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Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staffTreatment for precocious puberty depends on the cause.
Treating central precocious puberty
Most children with central precocious puberty, in which there's no underlying medical condition, can be effectively treated with medication. This treatment, called Gn-RH analogue therapy, usually includes a monthly injection of a medication, such as leuprolide (Lupron Depot), which delays further development. The child continues to receive this medication until he or she reaches the normal age of puberty. Once he or she stops receiving the medication, the process of puberty begins again.
Treating an underlying medical condition
If another medical condition is causing your child's precocious puberty, treatment of that condition is necessary to stop the progress of puberty. For example, if a child has a tumor that's producing hormones and causing precocious puberty, puberty usually will stop when the tumor is surgically removed.
- Styne D. Precocious puberty (sexual precocity). In: Gardner DG, et al. Greenspan's Basic & Clinical Endocrinology. 8th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill; 2007. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=2630860. Accessed Nov. 6, 2010.
- Saenger P. Overview of precocious puberty. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Nov. 8, 2010.
- Precocious puberty. The Hormone Foundation. http://www.hormone.org/Resources/Growth/upload/bilingual_precocious_puberty.pdf . Accessed Nov. 6, 2010.
- Precocious puberty. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/print/sec19/ch282/ch282h.html. Accessed Nov. 7, 2010.
- Carel JC, et al. Precocious puberty. New England Journal of Medicine. 2008;358:2366.
- Eugster EA. Peripheral precocious puberty: Causes and current management. Hormone Research 2009;71(suppl):64.
- Kaplowicz PB. Treatment of central precocious puberty. Current Opinion in Endocrinology, Diabetes & Obesity. 2009;16:31.
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