Gender and hormonal regulation of growth

Puberty is the transitional period between childhood and adulthood when substantial growth, sexual maturation, and reproductive capacity is attained. The onset of puberty is triggered by the combined action of the somatotropic (GH-IGF-I) and gonadotropic (GnRH-LH/FSH-sex steroid) hormone axes, the latter of which stimulates the former to produce the pubertal growth spurt. Studies of GH secretion in boys and girls, in Turner's syndrome, in hypogonadal girls, and in androgen-deficient boys have revealed estrogen-dependent mechanisms controlling GH production, age-dependent response to and control of GH, and gender-dependent differences in response to GH therapy. The interplay between the somatotropic and gonadotropic hormone axes during puberty has profound implications on the treatment of adolescent patients in need of hormone replacement therapy for growth deficiency or hypogonadism.