[Testosterone treatment of delayed puberty: a longitudinal study in relation to a control group]

Delayed puberty is a very common clinical situation that affects a great number of adolescents. We analyzed the effects that testosterone therapy produces in this situation, including the start of puberty and, therefore, lessening the psychological effects that this delay causes.

We carried out a longitudinal study, in which we followed the growth and maturation of 32 boys from the age of 14 to 19 years. The sample was divided into a control group (n = 17) and a treatment group (n = 15). The treatment group received 50 mg/month of testosterone enantate depot during 6 months. None of the subjects, neither in the control group nor in the treatment group, had started puberty or if so, they had started it in an insufficient way for their age.

The boys treated with testosterone developed a greater growth velocity compared to the control group during the first year of observation (9.07 +/- 1.11 cm/year vs 6.9 +/- 1.76, respectively, p < 0.0001). They had a higher increment in the muscular area of the arm (p < 0.005) and pubertal stage G changes occurred more quickly. On the other hand, the growth of the testicular volume was similar in both groups. At 19 years of age, no significant difference between the groups was observed in any of the clinical parameters studied.

Treatment wit testosterone at the dose used promotes a significant response that leads to the start of puberty, but without stopping the maturation of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis that is produced in normal puberty, allowing a normal testicular evolution. The treatment does not show any long-term effects. It is, therefore, an effective treatment of delayed puberty.