Androgens, estrogens, and the ultimate height in XO gonadal dysgenesis

We observed 40 patients with 45,X gonadal dysgenesis from the age of 13 to 15 years until the age of 18 to 21 years. The ultimate height of the 12 nontreated patients was 143.2 cm. Of 15 patients treated with nandrolone phenpropionate or methandrostenolone, the ultimate height was 143.3 cm, and of 13 patients treated with ethinyl estradiol, the height reached was 144.1 cm. The mean height of ten patients first seen at the age of 25 to 31 years was 140.1 cm. The mean height at any age was almost identical in all the groups. The growth velocity was somewhat accelerated by anabolic steroids and to a lesser extent, by estrogens only during the first year of therapy, and this did not influence the ultimate height. We saw no deleterious effects of the estrogens. In all the groups, there were patients who grew for some time at rates of up to 4 to 6 cm/yr. Therefore, long-term follow-up studies are needed for the evaluation of the effects of any treatment.