Ovulation and menstrual function of adolescent girls with central precocious puberty after therapy with gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists

Abstract

Chronic GmRH agonist (GnRHa) administration has been shown to suppress pituitary-gonadal function in children with central precocious puberty (CPP), but long term data after the reactivation of gonadarche posttherapy are not yet available. This study evaluated the menstrual function of 46 girls with CPP who had been treated for at least 2 yr with GnRHa (deslorelin or histrelin, sc, daily) and were up to 7 yr posttreatment, including 21 postmenarcheal girls who collected weekly overnight urine samples for 12 consecutive weeks to assess rates of ovulation by urinary pregnanediol-3 beta-glucuronide measurements. Menarche occurred at age 12.1 +/- 1.0 yr (mean +/- SD), on the average 1.2 +/- 0.8 yr posttherapy (range, 0.1-4.3 yr). Menstrual cycle lengths became increasingly regular, with cycles of 25- to 35-day duration reported by 41% of the girls in the first year postmenarche and 65% of the girls studied 3 or more years postmenarche. Ovulation was demonstrated in 50% of the girls studied within 1 yr of menarche and in 90% of the girls studied 2 yr or more postmenarche, including 5 girls who reported pregnancies. The development of regular ovulatory menstrual function in these girls with CPP is in accord with previously documented patterns in normal adolescents. While these data provide further evidence supporting the safety of long term GnRHa therapy, continued studies will be necessary to characterize fully the reproductive function in CPP patients through adolescence and adulthood.