title: Premature thelarche: clinical and laboratorial assessment by immunochemiluminescent assay.
abstract: In order to establish cut-off limits and to distinguish isolated premature thelarche (IPT) from precocious puberty (PP), we evaluated data from 79 girls with premature thelarche, comparing basal and stimulated LH and FSH serum concentrations with those from 91 healthy girls. A GnRH stimulation test was performed in 10 normal girls and in 42 with premature thelarche. Comparison among groups was performed by Kruskal-Wallis and Dunns tests. LH values were significantly greater in girls with IPT than in control groups. Basal gonadotropin concentrations were higher in patients with PP than in controls, but not different from patients with IPT. Peak LH levels after GnRH stimulation distinguished those two groups, with a cut-off value of 4.0 IU/L, but still with minimal overlap. In conclusion, a girl with premature thelarche and LH peak value above 4.5 IU/L has, indeed, PP, but values between 3.5 and 4.5 IU/L point to careful follow-up.
authors.affiliation: Endocrinology Department, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal do Triângulo Mineiro, Uberaba, MG, Brazil. borgmf@uol.com.br
authors.forename: Maria F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Borges
authors.forename: Kátia D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Pacheco
authors.forename: Andréia A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.forename: Cláudia V C
authors.initials: CV
authors.lastname: Rita
authors.forename: Karla D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Pacheco
authors.forename: Elisabete A M
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Resende
authors.forename: Beatriz H J
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Lara
authors.forename: Beatriz P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Ferreira
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001940:Breast / Q000254:growth & development*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005640:Follicle Stimulating Hormone / Q000097:blood*; D007987:Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D007118:Immunoassay / Q000379:methods*; D007223:Infant; D008163:Luminescent Measurements; D007986:Luteinizing Hormone / Q000097:blood*; D011629:Puberty, Precocious / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D007987:Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone; D007986:Luteinizing Hormone; D005640:Follicle Stimulating Hormone