Normal Puberty

Puberty is the body's natural process of sexual maturation. Puberty's trigger lies in a small part of the brain called the hypothalamus, a gland that secretes gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). GnRH stimulates the pituitary gland, a pea-sized organ continued to the lesser of the hypothalamus, to emit two hormones: luteinizing (pronounced LOO-tee-uh-nize-ing) hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). These ii hormones signal the female and male sex organs (ovaries and testes, respectively) to begin releasing the appropriate sex hormones, including estrogens and testosterone, which launch the other signs of puberty in the body.1

Precocious Puberty

In the majority of cases of precocious puberty, no underlying cause can exist identified. When a cause cannot be identified, the condition is called idiopathic precocious puberty.

Sometimes the cause is an abnormality involving the encephalon. In other children, the signs of puberty occur because of a problem such as a tumor or genetic abnormality in the ovaries, testes, or adrenal glands, causing overproduction of sex hormones.

Precocious puberty can be divided into two categories, depending on where in the trunk the abnormality occurs—central precocious puberty and peripheral precocious puberty.

  • Central Precocious Puberty
    This type of early on puberty, also known as gonadotropin-dependent precocious puberty, occurs when the abnormality is located in the encephalon. The encephalon signals the pituitary gland to begin puberty at an early age. Central precocious puberty is the virtually common grade of precocious puberty and affects many more girls than boys. The causes of central precocious puberty include:
    • Brain tumors
    • Prior radiation to the brain
    • Prior infection of the encephalon
    • Other brain abnormalities
  • Peripheral Precocious Puberty
    This form of early puberty is as well called gonadotropin-independent precocious puberty. In peripheral precocious puberty, the abnormality is not in the encephalon but in the testicles, ovaries, or adrenal glands, causing overproduction of sex hormones, like testosterone and estrogens. Peripheral precocious puberty may be caused pastii:
    • Tumors of the ovary, testis, or adrenal gland
    • In boys, tumors that secrete a hormone called hCG, or human chorionic gonadotropin (pronounced kawr-ee-ON-ik goh-nad-uh-TROH-pin)
    • Sure rare genetic syndromes, such every bit McCune-Albright syndrome or familial male precocious puberty
    • Astringent hypothyroidism, in which the thyroid gland secretes abnormally low levels of hormones
    • Disorders of the adrenal gland, such every bit built adrenal hyperplasia
    • Exposure of the child to medicines or creams that contain estrogens or androgens

Delayed Puberty

Many children with delayed puberty will somewhen go through an otherwise normal puberty, just at a late historic period. Sometimes, this delay occurs because the child is just maturing more than slowly than average, a condition chosen constitutional delay of puberty. This status oft runs in families.

Puberty can be delayed in children who take not gotten proper nutrition due to long-term illnesses. Besides, some young girls who undergo intense concrete training for a sport, such as running or gymnastics, start puberty later than normal.iii

In other cases, the delay in puberty is not just due to slow maturation only occurs because the kid has a long-term medical status known as hypogonadism (pronounced Howdy-poe-Get-nad-iz-uhm), in which the sex glands (the testes in men and the ovaries in women) produce few or no hormones. Hypogonadism can be divided into ii categories: secondary hypogonadism and primary hypogonadism.

  • Secondary hypogonadism (also known as central hypogonadism or hypogonadotropic hypogonadism), is caused by a problem with the pituitary gland or hypothalamus (role of the brain). In secondary hypogonadism, the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland fail to signal the gonads to properly release sex hormones. Causes of secondary hypogonadism include4:
    • Kallmann syndrome, a genetic problem that besides diminishes the sense of aroma
    • Isolated hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, a genetic condition that only affects sexual development only not the sense of smell
    • Prior radiation, trauma, surgery, or other injury to the brain or pituitary
    • Tumors of the brain or pituitary
  • In primary hypogonadism, the trouble lies in the ovaries or testes, which neglect to make sexual practice hormones normally. Some causes include4:
    • Genetic disorders, especially Turner syndrome (in women) and Klinefelter syndrome (in men)
    • Certain autoimmune disorders
    • Developmental disorders
    • Radiation or chemotherapy
    • Infection

Citations

Close Citations

  1. Long, D. (2015). Precocious Puberty. Pediatrics in Review, 36(7), 319.
  2. Lavin, N. (2009). Manual of Endocrinology and Metabolism. Lippincott Williams & Williams.
  3. Lindholm, C., Hagenfeldt, K., & Ringertz, B. M. (1994). Pubertal development in aristocracy juvenile gymnasts: Effects of physical training. Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica, 73, 269–273.
  4. U.S. National Library of Medicine. (2010). Hypogonadism. Retrieved June 4, 2012, from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001195.htm
  5. The Magic Foundation. (2018). Precocious Puberty. Retrieved May 16, 2018, from https://www.magicfoundation.org/Growth-Disorders/Precocious-Puberty/ external link

top of pageBack TO Meridian