Search

Fifty-two tall girls were treated for constitutionally tall stature with different ethinyl oestradiol (EE) dosages. They were divided into three different treatment groups: group B (100 micrograms EE/day; n = 11); group C (300 micrograms; n = 25) and group D (500 micrograms; n = 16) and compared with an untreated group A (n = 21) matched for age, height, bone age (BA) and height prediction. Using the height prediction method TW II, EE treatment reduced final height compared with the untreated girls in a weak dose-dependent manner, 2.3 cm (100 micrograms/day), 3.0 cm (300 micrograms/day), and 3.8 cm (500 micrograms/day). Such a dose dependency was not found on applying the Bayley-Pineau height prediction method (100 micrograms/day; 4.1 cm; 300 micrograms/day: 4.2 cm; 500 micrograms/day: 4.5 cm). However, there was a striking inverse correlation of the BA at the onset of treatment with the height reduction achieved using the TW II method (r: -0.43; P0.001). Importantly, girls with a BA below 12 years at the onset of treatment experienced a height reduction of more than 6 cm. CONCLUSION The EE dose used in the range of 100-500 micrograms/day is not crucial for the amount of height reduction in tall girls. In general high dose EE treatment should be given restrictively, and especially so in girls with a BA (TW2 RUS-ZH) above 12.0 years.

Girls with Turner's Syndrome (TS) were treated with three different regimens: a) Oxandrolone (Oxa) 0.1 mg/kg/day, b) recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) 28 U/m2/week and c) rhGH 24 U/m2/week with Oxa 0.06 mg/kg/day (mGH+Oxa). Growth data are presented for the first two years of treatment. None of the girls were given any estrogens. Bone age (BA) was assessed by the TW2-RUS method and expressed in Turner specific bone age (BATS) based on the mean BA data for untreated TS (1). Therefore, in contrast to using BA deriving from non affected girls, the increase in BATS in untreated TS is by definition 1 year/ year at any age.