Abstract
“Early normal puberty” (H. Seckel, 1951) is no pathological form of sexual development but an extreme variant of the norm. This is a report on 11 girls and 2 boys. First pubertal signs, inaccurately remembered in most cases, varied from age 6.25 to 9.0 Menarche occurred with 10.45 ± 0.95 ys. Statural growth, skeletal and sexual maturation were equally accelerated. Mean predicted adult height (acc. to Tanner) was 176.0 cm for the girls, 175.9 cm for the boys. 3 patients meanwhile ceased to grow; their predicted and definite height was 168.8/168 cm; 175.4/ 174 cm; 172/171 cm, resp. . Thus, adult height is normal and may be slightly supranormal in early normal puberty, - in contrast to children with precocious puberty. The early sexual maturation appears to be triggered by the forced physical development on the whole, manifested by the advanced bone age. Mean difference between chronological and skeletal age was 2.32 ± 0.7 ys. Acceleration of growth and skeletal maturation seems to be caused by increased secretion of hGH. In 3 girls aged 7.9; 9.75 and 12.3 ys we have determined the nocturnal hGH-secretion. Total secretion was significantly enhanced. The highest peaks measured were 157;70;63 ng/ml. Thus, “early normal puberty” appears to be the exact counterpart to “constit. delay of growth and adolescence” where we have stated a relative lack of total hGH-secretion.
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Bierich, J., Esteves, P. Investigations on “EARLY NORMAL PUBERTY”. Pediatr Res 13, 1196 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197910000-00098
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197910000-00098