Changes in carotid artery sonogram in premature adrenarche.

BACKGROUND: Premature adrenarche (PA), the appearance of pubic hair before the age of 8 years in girls and before 9 years in boys, may predict future morbidity, such as metabolic syndrome (MS). OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to assess carotid artery ultrasound changes in children with PA. DESIGN/METHODS: PA children were matched with a group of prepubertal controls without PA. Subjects and controls underwent clinical and biochemical evaluation and sonograms of the carotid arteries. RESULTS: Twelve children with PA and their matched controls were studied. Carotid artery ultrasonography showed elevation of the inner and outer diameter of the left carotid, and the cross-sectional area of the lumen and outer wall, and the outer diameter of the right carotid artery in PA. However, none of the above results maintained statistical significance when a Hochberg correction was applied. CONCLUSIONS: Carotid artery diameter and cross-sectional area may be useful non-invasive markers of vascular pathology and MS in premature pubarche.

Profile of Daughters and Sisters of Women With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: The Role of Proband's Glucose Tolerance.

CONTEXT: First-degree relatives of women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) present hormonal and metabolic alterations compared to girls unrelated to PCOS. It is unknown whether glucose intolerance in the PCOS proband confers a more severe metabolic predisposition on their first-degree relatives. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether glucose tolerance status in women with PCOS is associated with worsened glucose metabolism and sex hormone levels in their peripubertal daughters or sisters. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Seven academic centers in North America, South America, and Europe. PATIENTS: Sixty-four pairs of women with PCOS and their daughters or younger sisters aged between 8 and 14 years were recruited. Twenty-five mothers or older sisters with PCOS were glucose intolerant (GI) and 39 were normal glucose tolerant (NGT). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Beta-cell function estimated by the insulin secretion-sensitivity index-2 (ISSI-2) during an oral glucose tolerance test and by the disposition index during a frequently sampled IV glucose tolerance test. Free testosterone and 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP) levels. RESULTS: Being related to a GI PCOS proband was associated with a lower ISSI-2 (P-value = 0.032) after adjusting for ethnicity, body mass index z-score, and pubertal stage. They also had higher free testosterone (P-value = 0.011) and 17-OHP levels compared to girls with an NGT proband, the latter becoming significant after adjusting for confounders (P-value = 0.040). CONCLUSIONS: Compared to first-degree female relatives of women with PCOS and NGT, first-degree relatives of women with PCOS and GI display lower beta-cell function and hyperandrogenemia, putting them at higher risk of GI and PCOS development.

Short stature in a patient with familial glucocorticoid deficiency.

A 10.5-year-old Caucasian girl with familial glucocorticoid deficiency (FGD) is presented. She had a homozygous S74I mutation of the ACTH receptor and her parents were heterozygous for the same mutation. Around 4 years prior to the diagnosis of FGD, she was diagnosed with antibody positive primary hypothyroidism and was on thyroxin supplementation. FGD patients are considered to be tall. Our patient was only 146.5 cm (4' 9.25") tall at age 17 years (-2.21 standard deviations below the mean for her age). The possible mechanism for short stature in FGD is speculated.

Evidence of metabolic syndrome in lean children with premature pubarche at diagnosis.

We investigated for evidence of early metabolic syndrome irrespective of body mass index (BMI) in subjects with premature pubarche (PP). Ten children with PP were compared with controls matched for age, sex, ethnicity, and BMI. Congenital adrenal hyperplasia and other known causes of PP were excluded by standard methods. Anthropometry, blood pressure (BP), dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry body scan, fasting blood lipid profile, and cytokines were obtained. The children were divided into 2 groups: (1) the total group of children with PP, and their age-, sex-, ethnicity-, and BMI-matched controls and (2) those with PP and normal BMI (<19 kg/m(2)) and their matched controls selected from the original groups. The PP subjects with normal BMI (S(1)) showed significantly higher systolic BP (P = .028), diastolic BP (P = .028), and mean arterial pressure (P = .018) compared with matched controls (C(1)). Nevertheless, for both groups, all the above parameters were statistically not significant when corrected for height. Fat distribution in PP subjects indicated significantly higher android (P = .047) and android-gynoid ratio (P = .013). Normal-BMI PP children had significantly higher android-gynoid ratio fat distribution compared with their matched controls (P = .037). Trunk fat percentage (p: 0.04) and trunk fat (grams) (P = .007) were significantly elevated in PP children compared with matched controls. Again, for both groups, all the above parameters were not statistically significant when corrected for height. The PP subjects had significantly higher tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha (P = .038) and interleukin-8 (picograms per milliliter) (P = .05) compared with matched controls. Normal-BMI PP children also had higher TNF-alpha (P = .028) compared with matched controls. When corrected for height, TNF-alpha was higher in the total (P = .037) and normal-BMI (P = .043) PP children. Premature pubarche can be linked to markers of the metabolic syndrome in lean children.

Exome sequencing for the diagnosis of 46,XY disorders of sex development.

CONTEXT: Disorders of sex development (DSD) are clinical conditions where there is a discrepancy between the chromosomal sex and the phenotypic (gonadal or genital) sex of an individual. Such conditions can be stressful for patients and their families and have historically been difficult to diagnose, especially at the genetic level. In particular, for cases of 46,XY gonadal dysgenesis, once variants in SRY and NR5A1 have been ruled out, there are few other single gene tests available. OBJECTIVE: We used exome sequencing followed by analysis with a list of all known human DSD-associated genes to investigate the underlying genetic etiology of 46,XY DSD patients who had not previously received a genetic diagnosis. DESIGN: Samples were either submitted to the research laboratory or submitted as clinical samples to the UCLA Clinical Genomic Center. Sequencing data were filtered using a list of genes known to be involved in DSD. RESULTS: We were able to identify a likely genetic diagnosis in more than a third of cases, including 22.5% with a pathogenic finding, an additional 12.5% with likely pathogenic findings, and 15% with variants of unknown clinical significance. CONCLUSIONS: Early identification of the genetic cause of a DSD will in many cases streamline and direct the clinical management of the patient, with more focused endocrine and imaging studies and better-informed surgical decisions. Exome sequencing proved an efficient method toward such a goal in 46,XY DSD patients.

Autoimmune alternating hypo- and hyperthyroidism in children.

Two children presented with autoimmune alternating hypo- and hyperthyroidism related to the presence of blocking and stimulating thyroid antibodies. It was difficult to control their thyroid function adequately with an appropriate single drug regimen, and both children underwent total thyroidectomy with subsequent stable management with levothyroxine replacement therapy postsurgically. Although this phenomenon is well described in adults, this report is the first of such occurrence in children. The possible mechanism for the variation in the type of clinical presentation and options for management are discussed.

Premature pubarche in girls is associated with functional adrenal but not ovarian hyperandrogenism.

OBJECTIVE: We hypothesized that there would be evidence of functional ovarian hyperandrogenism in girls with premature pubarche (PP) at diagnosis. METHODS: White girls <8 years of age and black girls <6 years with PP (n = 15) were studied. Prepubertal girls (n = 13; 5.3-10.9 years) and early pubertal girls (n = 8) served as control subjects. The biochemical marker for functional ovarian hyperandrogenism was the 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP), androstenedione (AD), and estradiol (E2) response to subcutaneous leuprolide during adrenal suppression with dexamethasone. This was studied in girls with PP and in control subjects. RESULTS: ACTH stimulated 17-hydroxypregnenolone (17-OH Preg), dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), and AD levels, and 17-OH Preg:17-OHP and DHEA:AD ratios were significantly higher in girls with PP than in prepubertal control subjects (n = 18) (P < or =.003). The ovarian response to leuprolide stimulation was comparable in girls with PP and prepubertal control subjects, but the response in prepubertal study subjects was significantly lower than in pubertal control subjects (P =.016 for Delta17-OHP, P =.001 for DeltaAD, and P =.026 for DeltaE2). CONCLUSIONS: Contrary to the hypothesis, PP in girls was not associated with prepubertal evidence of ovarian hyperandrogenism but was associated with functional adrenal hyperandrogenism.