[Oestrogen treatment of girls with increased growth (author's transl)]

Forty-one pubescent girls of constitutionally tall stature were given conjugated oestrogens for a continuous period averaging twenty-two months. Oral progestin was also given, daily for five days during the second half of each menstrual cycle. Average predicted height of the girls was 186.5 cm, average final height was only 179.2 cm. In half of the girls in whom treatment had been started before menarche the height reduction was 2 cm greater than in those started after menarche. There were no severe side effects. Extreme care should be taken to limit strictly the indications for this treatment. Only girls with a growth prognosis above 183 cm should be considered. Therapeutic overstimulation of the endometrium must be avoided. Earlier views that the cessation of growth under oestrogen is due to early epiphyseal closure have been shown to be wrong. Growth frequently ceases long before epiphyseal closure. Reduction of somatomedin production was found to be the cause. The average serum somatomedin level fell to 56.9% of basal concentration after six months' treatment. At the same time, the circadian profile of growth hormone indicated a threefold increase above basal level. This phenomenon probably reflects a negative feedback mechanism between growth hormone and somatomedin.