PT Health Life – In recent years, the number of children with early puberty coming for examination at hospitals has been increasing. Among them, a small number of cases may be pathological manifestations, requiring special treatment.
1. What is precocious puberty?
Puberty is defined as the presence of secondary sexual characteristics: breast development in girls, pubic hair, testicles, and penis enlargement in boys. Precocious puberty in girls is when the body develops female sexual characteristics before age 8 or has menstruation before age 9.5. In boys, the age to determine early puberty is before 9 years old. The trend of early puberty is increasing.
Precocious puberty in girls means that the child’s physical signs of maturity develop too early. This includes breast growth, pubic hair, and voice changes. The baby shows signs of sexual development such as enlarged breasts, the appearance of menstruation… However, in these special cases, it is also necessary to distinguish true puberty from premature breast development – a benign disorder in which breasts develop. Simple development without other signs of puberty.
Most children with this disorder initially grow quickly. But they also stop growing before reaching their full genetic height potential. Most children with early puberty will have quite limited height when they reach adulthood, with many consequences.
2 . Causes of early puberty
Children reach puberty when the brain begins to produce a hormone called gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). This hormone goes to the pituitary gland to help stimulate the production of estrogen (a hormone involved in the growth and development of sexual characteristics in women) and testosterone (a hormone responsible for the growth and development of sexual characteristics in women). sexuality in men). Therefore, it is divided into 2 types of early puberty:
Central precocious puberty (also known as gonadotropin precocious puberty). This is the most common type of precocious puberty. Most girls and half of boys with precocious puberty have this pattern.
Puberty is initiated by the premature secretion of hormones called gonadotropins. Gonadotropins include luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). In girls, precocious puberty may be due to early maturation of the hypothalamus, pituitary gland and ovaries. But in most cases, the cause cannot be found. In most children with this condition, there are no other medical problems or reasons for early puberty.
However, there are also a number of potential causes related to brain health problems such as:
- Brain tumors.
- Brain infection.
- Radiation to the brain, such as during cancer treatment.
- Brain damaged.
- Other brain defects.
Peripheral (peripheral) precocious puberty: This is a form of precocious puberty that does not begin with the release of premature gonadotropins and is rarer than central precocious puberty. The cause is the early secretion of many sex hormones , which comes from the release of estrogen or testosterone in the body due to problems occurring in the child’s ovaries, testicles, adrenal glands or pituitary gland.
Most cases of precocious puberty occur merely as an acceleration of normal physiological development. Sometimes, precocious puberty can be caused by tumors or tumors on the ovaries, adrenal glands, pituitary gland, or brain. Other causes may include central nervous system problems, a family history of the disease, or certain rare genetic syndromes. In many cases, the cause of the disorder cannot be found.
3. How does early puberty affect children?
if children with early puberty are not detected and treated promptly, it can lead to consequences such as: Reduced development ability due to bone tip close early. In many cases, children with early puberty are often shorter in height than their peers. Girls with early puberty are also at greater risk of breast cancer, cardiovascular disease and hypertension than normal children. Early endocrine disorders cause polycystic ovary syndrome , affecting fertility. after that. Children who reach puberty early will feel confident and self-conscious due to physical differences compared to their peers.
4. What should parents do when they suspect their child is experiencing early puberty?
According to statistics from the US National Pediatric Center, many parents bring their children to the doctor with anxiety without any legitimate reason. Many young children brought to the doctor have signs such as early breast development or pubic hair growth. These cases are not accompanied by other signs and are therefore not diagnosed as precocious puberty. Only about 10% of children brought to the doctor by their parents actually have precocious puberty.
If you think your child is showing signs of early puberty, don’t rush to conclusions. Take your child to see a pediatric endocrinologist to better understand and get a definitive diagnosis. When seeing signs of early puberty in their child, parents should take the child to see an endocrinologist for treatment.
Children who reach puberty before age 8 need to be carefully examined by: Blood and urine tests help detect abnormal hormone levels; CT scans, magnetic resonance imaging, and ultrasound help detect tumors that may be the cause of precocious puberty; X-rays of the wrist help determine the rate of bone maturation. While the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) stimulation test is a current diagnostic standard, research now indicates that ultrasound can also provide valuable diagnostic information.
X-rays of the left hand and wrist, called bone age, may be done to get a better idea of how far puberty is, how quickly it progresses, and how it may affect your height. your child achieves as an adult. If blood tests show that your child has precocious puberty, a brain MRI may be performed to ensure that there are no underlying abnormalities in the area of the pituitary gland.
