Premature thelarche and central precocious puberty: the relationship between clinical presentation and the gonadotropin response to luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone

Premature thelarche is a benign condition that affects young girls. In contrast, central precocious puberty is considered a more serious disorder that causes progressive secondary sexual development, accelerated growth and skeletal maturation, early epiphyseal fusion, and short adult stature. Differentiation between these 2 conditions is important, but may be difficult on clinical grounds, since patients with both disorders may present initially as isolated breast development. To examine the potential usefulness of gonadotropin measurements in distinguishing early central precocious puberty from premature thelarche, we measured basal and LHRH-stimulated plasma gonadotropin levels in 58 girls with idiopathic premature breast development. The girls were divided into six clinically distinct groups, based on the severity of clinical presentation, ranging from isolated breast development (group A) to complete secondary sexual development and accelerated growth and skeletal maturation (group F). The mean basal ...