Description precocious puberty
Puberty is a period of human life, which is characterized by the development of secondary sexual characteristics. It is a breast enlargement, voice changes, hair growth, muscle growth, facial hair, and changes in store body fat. Precocious puberty is characterized by the onset of such symptoms before 8 years of age in girls and before 9 years of age in boys. It occurs in about 0.6% of all children, its incidence is not very rare. It is much more common in girls, which causes its formation are other causes than in boys. Can be a symptom of serious illness, he should not underestimate its development.
Risk factors
There are two types of premature puberty- and the central and peripheral.
Central has its origins in an earlier start axis hypotalamus- pituitary-gonadal. Part of the brain (hypothalamus) create so-called gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (gonadotropin- releasing hormone). This hormone acts on the pituitary (pendant brain), which subsequently releases the hormones follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH), which act on the gonads themselves (testis or ovaries).
Gonads are thus forced to activity and sex hormones forms typical of the sexes (izosexuální form).
Central precocious puberty may occur as a result of any damage mozku- after head injuries, inflammation of the meninges (meningitis), inflammation of the brain (encephalitis) in brain tumors.The cause is too long untreated underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism).
For peripheral precocious puberty (pseudopuberty) are other reasons. Sex hormones can be produced both by the gonads themselves without prior stimulation of the higher systems, but also may be formed at other locations organismu- most commonly in the adrenal glands, or in some tumors.
Sex hormones thus produced can be both typical for a given gender (ie female hormones in girls and men with boys) – when we talk about pseudopubertě izosexuální. There is also a form but at the heterosexual, for which make hormones of the opposite sex and cause further developments in his direction.
So for example tumors of the ovaries produce female hormones without depending on the stimulation of the brain, as well as other tumors, teratomas called that in children may occur, which are placed elsewhere in the body, can produce hormony- both female and male.
Adrenal disease called congenital adrenal hyperplasia is also a common cause onset pseudopuberty. In this disease occurs due to congenital (congenital =) failure of one or more enzymes in the adrenal glands (adrenes) to increased production of male sex hormones(androgens), which then cause premature pseudopubertu izosexuální for boys and girls in heterosexual.
Premature pseudopubertu can also rarely lead to sex hormones brought into the body from the outside. Recently emerging evidence for the connection establishment pseudopuberty in girls with receiving synthetic (environmental) estrogens in food or cosmetics (sunscreen, nail polish, shampoos containing placenta).
The greatest risk in the development of precocious puberty but is, apparently, and soy meals prepared from it (soy milk used as an alternative to cow’s milk).
Also discussed about the harmful consumption of food, the preparation of which was used meat or milk from animals that have been in the interests of greater profits to their natural growth and development accelerated androgens.
Prevention of premature puberty
Specific prevention against developing this disease does not exist. It is recommended for infants not to use soy milk as a main nutritional components and it is also useful to monitor the composition of the commonly used cosmetics, due to the possible content of synthetic estrogens.
symptoms of disease
Symptoms of precocious puberty in varying degrees resemble typical manifestations of puberty.
Central puberty in girls reflected first accelerated physical growth, the increase in breast cancer, later appearing hair genitals and armpits, and finally menses. The course is substantially the same as in normal puberty. Accelerates bone maturation, which if untreated should resulted in premature closure of the growth plates of the bones, and a lower final body height.
For boys with central precocious puberty manifests first increasing the testes, scrotumdarkening and grooving. Later it also increases penis, pubic hair appears, people can haveerections and nocturnal pollutions, which formed sperm are fully operational in the childhood.
Premature pseudopuberta izosexuální in both sexes exhibits symptoms that are varying degrees identical symptoms normal (physiological) puberty. It can also occur in only one of the symptoms of the development of secondary sexual characteristics, need only breast augmentation or lift only hair. This form is then called incomplete, or incomplete.
For heterosexual mold leads to the appearance of changes which are typical of the opposite sex.
For girls, these changes are called virilization, which leads to enlargement of the clitoris. Increased hair all over his body hair to beard on his cheeks, also hair on the genitals, which is called. Male pattern (not a complete horizontal line, but extends up to the navel) It is called hirsutism.
For boys there is a feminization – ie the development of secondary sexual characteristics typical of the female gender. These include breast enlargement, changes of hair, and typically female fat distribution.
Treatment of precocious puberty
When waylaid any of the symptoms of premature puberty, it is necessary to see a doctor, preferablya child endocrinologist. It already visible symptoms on the child can guess what type of fault it may be. Assess the degree of maturity of the genital organs (used to called. Tanner scale, which assesses the development of secondary sexual characteristics obodováním on a scale of 1 to 5). By comparing a patient’s height and weight tables, the degree of deviation between the norms and values of the patient.
Furthermore, the blood levels of each set and other sex hormones in girls is performedgynecological examination and ultrasound of the abdomen. It may thus prove maturity of the internal reproductive organs and also reveal the cause of premature overproduction of sex hormones (tumor).
It is very important to do radiograph of the wrist. According to the maturation stage of the carpal bones is determined by the so-called bone age, which shows how old the child is biologically.According to the degree of differences from the calendar age can be estimated its final height.
If this is the type of central precocious puberty, started treatment, which should slow down the development of other characters. It is the administration of so-called agonists gonadoliberines – i.e. substances that bind to the same receptors than hormones produced by the hypothalamus, and in that occupy receptors for them and inhibiting their further operation. It’s not important not so much for themselves manifestations of puberty, as a slowdown due to the increase and extension of the long bones.
For pseudopuberty it is necessary to determine the cause, which causes overproduction of sex hormones, and remove it. Since in most cases it is a tumor, it must be sooner retrieve and a subsequent treatment decisions are based on the condition of the patient and hormone levels.
How can I help myself
For a child with symptoms of premature puberty is necessary to immediately see a doctor, it is possible that it is a symptom of a serious cancer!
Even with nonmalignant cause of these changes are yet to be observed prescribed therapy, in terms of influencing the final height of the child.
Complications of premature puberty
The most common consequence of disease, premature closure of the growth plates, and thereby terminate the growth of the child at an early age. Sex hormones operate on bone growth in length.When an excess of very early age, the child shall accelerate the onset of growth Step, which is present at puberty, but due to earlier future maturity its growth also previously terminated. Child as missing several years of growth in prepubescent period and the final body height is way lower than it should be.
Early adolescence may bring along other problems, particularly social. The child is strikingly different from their peers, and that it can earmark their team. His psychological development but remains on the calendar age, early onset of puberty causes rapid mental and intellectual maturity.
Other names: precocious puberty, central precocious puberty, peripheral precocious puberty, premature pseudopuberta, precocious puberty izosexuální, heterosexual precocious puberty, precocious puberty is complete, incomplete precocious puberty