Diabetes drug slows early-onset puberty in girls

"The findings indicate that we can slow down puberty," said the study's senior author, Lourdes Ibanez, MD, PhD, of the University of Barcelona in Spain. "This is important because when puberty is faster in girls, the appearance of menses occurs earlier, and this sequence of events may ultimately result in a shorter adult height."

Also, getting a first menstrual period before age 12 has been linked to an increased risk of breast cancer. Early puberty (breast development) is a risk factor for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), especially if the girl is overweight, she said. PCOS is a common cause of infertility.

All 38 girls in the study had not yet reached puberty at the start of the study but had developed pubic hair abnormally early—before the age of 8 years. These girls typically start puberty earlier than their peers, Ibanez said.

The study patients had another risk factor for early puberty. All had been born small and experienced rapid catch-up growth during infancy, thus developing more fat than normal. This fat tends to be around the middle, which increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and heart disease in adulthood. Belly fat also is a marker of insulin resistance, in which the body needs more insulin than usual to clear glucose, or sugar, from the blood. Girls who are the most insulin resistant begin menstruating much earlier than their peers, Ibanez said.

Therefore, Ibanez and her co-workers studied whether a low dose of metformin, a drug that improves insulin resistance, would slow the transition through puberty by decreasing insulin resistance and abdominal fat. The girls had an average age of nearly 8 when they started the study. They randomly received either no treatment (19 girls) or treatment with low-dose metformin once a day (19 girls) for 4 years.

The metformin-treated girls started puberty and menstruation later than the untreated girls, the authors found. After 4 years of treatment, they also gained about 50 percent less fat—especially abdominal fat—and became less insulin resistant, compared with girls who did not receive the drug, according to Ibanez. They also had fewer risk factors for future heart disease, including better cholesterol levels, she said.

Bone mineral density testing showed no harm to bone development in the treated girls. At 4 years, treated patients continued to grow taller, but most untreated girls had already stopped growing.

Use of metformin in this patient population is experimental. Metformin is approved for treatment of type 2 diabetes in people 10 years or older.

Source: The Endocrine Society

Inheritance of hormonal disorder marked by excessive insulin in daughters
Elevated levels of insulin could be an early sign that girls whose mothers suffer from polycystic ovary syndrome -- or PCOS -- may also be susceptible to the disease, according to gynecologists who have found evidence of insulin resistance in young children.
Age at puberty linked to mother's prenatal diet
A high-fat diet during pregnancy and nursing may lead to the child having an early onset of puberty and subsequent adulthood obesity, according to a new animal study. The results were presented Monday, June 16, at The Endocrine Society's 90th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.
Jumping for joy... and stronger bones
High impact activities such as jumping and skipping that can easily be incorporated into warm-ups before sports and physical education classes, have been shown to benefit bone health in adolescents.
Asthma in boys may be just a phase, but for girls it may be there to stay
Boys may be more apt than girls to have childhood asthma, but, when compared to girls, they are also more likely to grow out of it in adolescence and have a decreased incidence of asthma in the post-pubertal years. This indicates that there may be a buried mechanism in asthma development, according to a prospective study that analyzed airway responsiveness (AR) in more than 1,000 children with mild to moderate asthma over a period of about nine years.
Positive parenting associated with less aggression in early-maturing teen girls
Adolescent girls who go through puberty early and have parents who do not nurture them, communicate with them or have knowledge of their activities appear more likely to display aggressive behavior, according to a report in the August issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
Small birth size linked to changes in the cardiovascular system that predispose to later disease
Researchers have found the first evidence that smaller size at birth is associated with specific alterations in the functioning of the heart and circulation in children and that these changes differ between boys and girls.
UK and US guidelines on kids' physical activity levels need rethinking
UK and US guidelines on how much physical activity children need to boost their health and stave off obesity need to be revised, conclude researchers in a study published ahead of print in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.
Family stress and child's temper extremes contribute to anxiety and depression in children
Small children who grow up in a family where the mother has psychological distress, the family is exposed to stress or is lacking social support, are at higher risk of developing anxious and depressive symptoms in early adolescence. Girls are more vulnerable than boys, and very timid or short-tempered children are more vulnerable than others to develop emotional problems. This is shown in a new doctorate study from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH).

Diabetes drug slows early-onset puberty in girls

Related stories:

News discussion: