ESPE Yearbook of Paediatric Endocrinology

Brief summary: This retrospective study compared the efficacy and tolerability profiles of leuprolide and triptorelin in patients with central precocious puberty and did not find any significant difference between the two drugs.Treatment with GnRH analogues represents the standard of care for central precocious puberty (CPP) in order to preserve adult height potential1. Leuprolide and Triptorelin are the most prescribed drugs (1,2). They are g...

Brief summary: This cohort study explored the potential link between self-reported age at puberty and markers of male fecundity.In this article, the authors explored pubertal timing as a determinant of male fecundity. This cohort study was based on the Danish National Birth Cohort which consisted of around 100 000 mother-child pairs recruited during 1996–2002. A little more than 1000 men aged 19 were evaluated for semen volume, sperm concentration, ...

Brief summary: This longitudinal UK cohort study examined the prospective associations between objectively measured physical activity, independently of BMI, and pubertal timing in boys and girls.This large study analyzed device-measured physical activity and its intensity in relation to puberty timing, using accelerometers worn on the right hip. A previous meta-analysis reported that female athletes had later age at menarche than non-athletes (1), but it...

Brief summary: This prospective longitudinal study compared serum reproductive hormone levels and testicular volume around the onset of puberty between cryptorchid and healthy boys.Congenital cryptorchidism is the most common congenital anomaly among newborn boys, and still little is known about pubertal testicular function and serum reproductive hormone levels during puberty in this population.Pubertal follow-up with clinical exam...

Brief summary: This long-term longitudinal study of 437 Danish girls shows that AMH level measured in infancy is a useful tool to predict future ovarian activity.Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) is produced by granulosa cells in small ovarian follicles and thus reflects the ovarian reserve of resting primordial follicles (1). High AMH concentrations are observed in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) (2), while low age-specific AMH could be as...

Brief summary: This Danish single-center retrospective study evaluated the occurrence of pathological findings on neuroimaging among children diagnosed with central precocious puberty (CPP).CPP incidence has been increasing over the last four decades (1) and is more prevalent in females than in males. Most cases are idiopathic (2) but brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is routinely performed in order to exclude rare pathological causes.<p class="...

Brief summary: This study investigated the evolution of precocious puberty incidence in Korea between 2016 and 2021. A rapid increase was observed from April 2020, which the authors link to the restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.The onset of secondary sex characteristics has shown a secular trend towards earlier ages for many decades (1). This has been attributed to socioeconomic and environmental changes. Like many other countries, a steady incre...

Brief summary: This study identified a new role for GnRH in higher brain function using a rodent model of Down Syndrome. It reports for the first time an improvement of cognitive functions in patients with Down Syndrome treated with pulsatile GnRH.GnRH neurons are classically described as a population of neurons located in the hypothalamus and responsible for the activation and regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis. However, the recent de...