Some take-aways regarding adrenarche.

[Guest guest]

Hi All,

Some nuggets about Adrenarche...

--> Adrenarche occurs before puberty.

--> If you look at an RSS kids' growth chart (untreated), you will

see that they may enter adrenarche earlier than normal kids and that

once they hit puberty, the puberty length is actually shorter, but

accelerated. So, if you trace your finger along the growth curve,

you would see that there is only a brief period of time in which

to " catch " the puberty and extend it.

--> Puberty suppression drugs, such as lupron, can require a shot

every 28 days, and is a bit painful.

--> The drug that suppresses adrenarche is Arimidex. It suppresses

estrogen production. Estrogen production is what puts both boys and

girls into adrenarche, which leads to puberty. Estrogen is

the " enemy " of growth in RSS kids, since it pushes them into that

part of the growth curve that accelerates quickly, then flattens out!

(Ironically, estrogen is also the enemy of breast cancer patients who

have hormone sensitive breast cancer--e.g. MOI!, so you will find

Arimidex is also a Breast cancer drug).

--> Arimidex is much less intrusive to administer and may help buy

more growing time for the RSS child.

--> Signs of Adrenarche?: smelly armpits, pubic hair, breast

buds, 'dirty neck'-a condition where the back of the neck always

looks dirty due to dark pigmentation.

--> Dr. H. offered an intriguing hypothesis that RSS kids may be

ultra sensitive to estrogen (both boys and girls).....

Now, my understanding is that not all Ped Endos are on board with

aggressively going after adrenarche.....this is something Dr. H. is

supporting and talking about. Perhaps other parents can chime in

here regarding their experiences!

I found this online chat on the topic (i cannot vouch for the

contents, but check it out!)

http://forum.fathermag.com/puberty/

Katy