ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an understanding of the controlling mechanisms for the onset of puberty, and for precocious and delayed puberty. It provides an insight into the pathology and symptomatology, the investigation and the management of disorders of puberty. The concerns of parents and care givers, and sometimes the young person, result in referrals to specialist centres for both precocious and delayed puberty, but only a proportion, roughly half, meet the criteria for diagnosis for precocious puberty. Puberty is a physical and psychological process that girls and boys experience as they develop sexual organs so that they can procreate. Central precocious puberty is caused by the early onset of activity in the arcuate nucleus with early onset of gonadotrophin secretion. Management of central precocious puberty is by suppression of Luteinising hormone and Follicle-stimulating hormone, using depot injections of a gonadotrophin-releasing hormone agonist.
