Auxological and biochemical evaluation of pubertal suppression with the GnRH agonist leuprolide acetate in early and precocious puberty

We studied the auxological effects of treatment with the GnRH agonist leupr olide acetate (Lucrin(R)) at 3.75 mg/28 days in 38 children with early or p recocious puberty. We present our newly developed scoring system, the Puber ty Suppression Score (PSS), in which clinical and biochemical parameters de termine whether suppression was effective. Leuprolide acetate suppressed pu bertal development in the majority of cases. During treatment there was a s ignificant correlation between the number of times that PSS was >0 and gain in predicted adult height (PAH) compared to initial prediction at the star t of treatment. After 6 months of treatment, ineffective suppression measur ed by PSS was associated with the magnitude of gain in PAH. We conclude tha t a leuprolide acetate dosage of 3.75 mg every 28 days effectively suppress es puberty. PSS is helpful in monitoring the suppressive capacity of a GnRH agonist, We recommend to start with leuprolide acetate at 3.75 mg/28 days and to increase the injection frequency or dose in case PSS is >0 after 6 m onths of treatment. Copyright (C) 2000 S. Karger AG, Basel.