Delayed puberty: Update on Causes of delayed puberty, treatment, issues on pubertal induction protocols
Presentation posted on 3rd May 2023 given by Dr Richard Quinton of Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
Although primarily aimed at health care professionals, mainly paediatricians this presentation can give useful information to patients with Kallmann syndrome / hypogonadotropic hypogonadism.
It highlights the protocols used to distinguish Kallmann syndrome / HH from self correcting delayed puberty and outlines the different treatment options available.
Identifying Kallmann syndrome / HH early from self correcting delayed puberty can help in the prompt diagnosis and treatment of patients, instead of them being told to “wait and see” or being incorrectly labelled as “late bloomers”.
Endocrinologists at Imperial NHS Trust in the UK are planning a clinical study focused on Kisspeptin administration to Kallmann syndrome / CHH females under 35 years of age.
The study will be based at Charing Cross Hospital in London and will involve three separate day visits to the hospital. Food will be provided during the visit as well as travel costs and attendance payment.
Kisspeptin is a hormone that directly affects the hypothalamus and normally allows the correct release of GnRH and has the potential to be used in the treatment of Kallmann syndrome / CHH both for hormone replacement and for fertility treatments.
The study aims to find the best method of using Kisspeptin in the treatment of infertility in females.
Kisspeptin is the hormone that controls puberty and the reproductive function.
Among many other functions Kisspeptin acts on the hypothalamus to allow it to release GnRH. It is this GnRH that controls puberty and reproduction.
In people with Kallmann syndrome / CHH they are unable to release GnRH at all or in the correct manner in order to function correctly.
If injected with Kisspeptin people with Kallmann syndrome / CHH will not respond in the same way other people would. This makes Kisspeptin as useful diagnostic tool for Kallmann syndrome / CHH to distinguish it from delayed puberty.
