title: Isolated premature pubarche: ultrasonographic and color Doppler analysis--a longitudinal study.
abstract: Twenty-seven girls with premature pubarche were studied by ultrasonographic and color Doppler analyses to determine the incidence of polycystic ovaries (PCO), to longitudinally assess their evolution, and to search for any hormonal correlation. The girls were submitted to auxological, clinical, and hormonal evaluation, and 21-hydroxylase deficiency was ruled out by an ACTH test. Furthermore, the girls underwent ultrasonographic and color Doppler ovarian and uterine analyses. Among girls with premature pubarche, the prevalence of PCO was 41%. Advanced skeletal maturation, tall stature, and increased hair distribution were constant in these patients. In patients with ultrasonographic and color Doppler evidence of PCO, the ovarian volume, the number of small-sized subcapsular follicles, the stromal echogenicity, and the ovarian stromal vascularization progressively increased during the study. In the whole studied population, ovarian volume correlated with the number of small-sized follicles (r = 0.719; P < 0.0001). Furthermore, a slight and inverse correlation has been found between ovarian volume and ovarian stromal artery pulsatility index (r = -536; P = 0.048). In conclusion, we affirm that PCO are greatly represented among girls with premature pubarche and progressively evolve.
authors.affiliation: Reproductive Medicine Unit, University of Bologna, Via Massarenti 13, 40138 Bologna, Italy. battaglia@med.unibo.it
authors.forename: Cesare
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Battaglia
authors.forename: Giorgia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Regnani
authors.forename: Fulvia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mancini
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Iughetti
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bernasconi
authors.forename: Annibale
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Volpe
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Flamigni
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Venturoli
mesh_terms: D001158:Arteries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D002648:Child; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006197:Hair / Q000473:pathology; D006728:Hormones / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D010053:Ovary / Q000098:blood supply / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D011085:Polycystic Ovary Syndrome / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D015995:Prevalence; D011629:Puberty, Precocious / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D011674:Pulse; D018615:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Color; D014599:Uterus / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging
chemical_list: D006728:Hormones