Pubertal growth spurt in patients with bilateral anorchia after testosterone replacement therapy

• Published in: Archives de pédiatrie : organe officiel de la Société française de pédiatrie 2019-09, Vol.26 (6), p.320-323
• Main Authors: Fouatih, K., Belin, F., Lambert, A.S., Bouligand, J., Bouvattier, C.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Androgen; Androgens - pharmacology; Androgens - therapeutic use; Anorchia; Body Height - drug effects; Case-Control Studies; Child; Cryptorchidism; Follow-Up Studies; Gonadal Dysgenesis, 46,XY - drug therapy; Gonadal Dysgenesis, 46,XY - physiopathology; Hormone Replacement Therapy; Humans; Male; Puberty; Puberty - physiology; Retrospective Studies; Testis - abnormalities; Testis - physiopathology; Testosterone - pharmacology; Testosterone - therapeutic use; Treatment Outcome
• ISSN: 0929-693X; 1769-664X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.arcped.2019.06.008

Anorchia, the absence of testes in 46,XY boys, is a very rare condition. It has been suggested that the testicular tissue disappears during pregnancy, as a result of a vascular accident associated with torsion or a genetic cause. Because pubertal growth spurt is directly influenced by androgen exposure, we decided to evaluate the pubertal height gain in nine patients with anorchia who were followed up at the pediatric endocrinology unit of Bicêtre University Hospital. We retrospectively included nine patients with bilateral anorchia whose puberty had been induced by androgen replacement therapy and for whom final height measurements were available. Data were obtained from medical records. Mean gain in pubertal height was 21.7±2.3cm, lower than the expected gain during puberty (25cm, P