How Puberty Starts

Puberty always starts in the brain. The hypothalamus, a place inside your brain, sends a signal to another part of the brain called the pituitary gland. This signal is called a gonadotropin releasing hormone, or GnRH, for short.1 It tells the pituitary to release larger amounts of hormones called gonadotropins that go straight to the ovaries or to the testicles. That's where the body begins to produce the sex hormones estrogen (for girls) or testosterone (for boys) that begin puberty.

Modern treatments for central precocious puberty are designed to tell the pituitary to ignore the GnRH signal. This helps your child's body lower the level of sex hormones it is making.

 

Next: How Central Precocious Puberty Affects Height

References:
1. Pinyerd B, Zipf WB. Puberty—timing is everything! J Pediatr Nurs. 2005;20(2):75-82.

Indication

SUPPRELIN® LA (histrelin acetate) subcutaneous implant is used for the treatment of children with central precocious puberty (CPP).

Important Safety Information

  • SUPPRELIN LA should not be used by women who are or may become pregnant, and in patients who are allergic to gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) or GnRH agonist analogs. Safety and effectiveness in children under 2 years of age has not been determined.

  • SUPPRELIN LA, like other GnRH agonists, may cause a temporary increase in the blood levels of specific hormones associated with the onset of puberty (estrogen in girls and testosterone in both sexes) during the first week of treatment. This increase may temporarily worsen puberty symptoms during the first week, additionally, you may see new symptoms appear during this period. Within the 4 weeks of treatment with SUPPRELIN LA, hormonal suppression generally occurs and the physical signs of puberty should decrease.

  • Your doctor should monitor the levels of specific hormones associated with puberty progression, 1 month after starting SUPPRELIN LA and then every 6 months thereafter. Every 6-12 months, height and bone age should be also monitored by your doctor.

  • During the clinical trial testing of SUPPRELIN LA, the most common side effects involved the implant site and included temporary bruising, pain, soreness, redness of the skin and swelling.

Please talk with your doctor for more information or if you have any questions.