SPONTANEOUS PUBERTY IN TURNER SYNDROME

Background: To find out the incidence of spontaneous pubertal developm ent in girls with Turner syndrome we investigated patients with a bone age of at least eleven years. Results: 6 out of 17 patients showed sp ontaneous puberty. There exists no clear correlation between karyotype and phenotype on the one hand and incidence of spontaneous puberty on the other. Basal as well as stimulated gonadotropin levels in the lat e childhood could better indicate spontaneous puberty in Turner syndro me. Conclusion: In contrast to the generally held opinion spontaneous pubertal development is not rare in girls with Turner syndrome. Theref ore estrogen replacement therapy should be started only after it becam e certain that there will be no spontaneous puberty.