RESUMEN
Growth and pubertal disturbances are the most common causes of morbidity, affecting 60-80% ß-thalassemia major (ß-TM) patients worldwide, due mainly to hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism (HH). We undertook a 6-year prospective study of 55 Indian ß-TM children with stunted growth and absent or arrested puberty, aged 15-18 years with pulsatile HH, to evaluate the role of low dose sex steroid priming (6-12 months) for physiological induction of puberty. Eighty percent responded favorably with increase in height, growth spurt and completed pubertal maturation [Tanner stage 4-5 (T4-T5)] and 20% moved from T2 to T3. There was biochemical improvement in maturation of hypothalamic-pituitary (H-P) axis. Those younger than 15 years with minimal iron load had the best outcome. Our data suggest that sex steroid priming is a feasible method of induction of physiological puberty in ß-TM patients with sexual infantilism and reversible apulsatile HH, especially in younger patients with minimal iron loads.