A 57-year-old woman presented with an apparently obvious diagnosis of iatrogenic virilization. At the age of 51, she began a 4-year treatment with prednisone or cyclosporine, which are known to promote hair growth, for Behçet disease. At the age of 56, osteoporosis was overtreated with the anabolic steroid nandrolone. Insignificant inhibition by dexamethasone of the extremely high serum concentrations of testosterone and less high concentrations of weak androgens prompted us to search for a virilizing tumor. Computed tomography showed a 2.3 x 1.5 cm nodule in the right adrenal gland. As the patient refused surgery, virilization was treated with the antiandrogen cyproterone acetate (CPA), but for only 4 months because clinical and hormone abnormalities reversed and the tumor was no longer visible. The patient remains symptom-free. This first report of a curative effect of CPA on a purely virilizing adrenal tumor opens new avenues in the management of such tumors.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1677/erc.1.01065 | DOI Listing |
Introduction: Screening for congenital adrenal hyperplasia through the measurement of 17-hydroxyprogesterone on the neonatal blood spot aims to: a) prevent neonatal deaths; b) allow earlier identification and thereby decrease the severity of the initial salt-wasting episode; and c) shorten the time during which a severely virilized genetic female newborn may be assigned the male sex. It is now practiced in the majority of high-income countries, although the positive predictive value of the test is very low in infants born preterm, who seem to be infrequently affected. In almost all low- and middle-income countries, it has not yet been implemented.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Clin Res Pediatr Endocrinol
January 2025
Marmara University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatric Endocrinology, İstanbul, Turkey
Signs of virilization, such as clitoromegaly, labio-scrotal fusion, and urogenital sinus may be observed in females with 21-hydroxylase deficiency (21-OHD) and other rare virilizing forms of congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH). This makes sex determination difficult, and multiple reconstructive surgeries in the postnatal period may be required. As 21-OHD is an autosomal recessive disease, the chance of any child being affected is one in four and so only one in eight will be an affected female.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Clin Res Pediatr Endocrinol
January 2025
University of Health Sciences Turkey, Dr. Sami Ulus Child Health and Diseases Training and Research Hospital, Clinic of Pediatric Endocrinology, Ankara, Turkey
Although the most common cause of congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) worldwide is 21-hydroxylase deficiency (21-OHD), which accounts for more than 95% of cases, other rare causes of CAH such as 11-beta-hydroxylase deficiency (11β-OHD), 3-beta-hydroxy steroid dehydrogenase (3β-HSD) deficiency, 17-hydroxylase deficiency and lipoid CAH (LCAH) may also be encountered in clinical practice. 11β-OHD is the most common type of CAH after 21-OHD, and CYP11B1 deficiency in adrenal steroidogenesis causes the inability to produce cortisol and aldosterone and the excessive production of adrenal androgens. Although the clinical and laboratory features are similar to 21-OHD, findings of mineralocorticoid deficiency are not observed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Clin Res Pediatr Endocrinol
January 2025
Ankara University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatric Endocrinology, Ankara, Turkey
Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) is an autosomal recessive disease caused by the deficiency of one of the enzymes involved in cortisol synthesis. More than 95% of the cases occur as a result of defects in the gene encoding 21-hydroxylase (). 21-hydroxylase deficiency has been divided into classical and non-classical forms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Clin Res Pediatr Endocrinol
January 2025
Ankara University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatric Endocrinology, Ankara, Turkey
Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) is an autosomal recessive disease caused by the deficiency of one of the enzymes involved in cortisol synthesis. Between 90% and 99% of cases of CAH are caused by 21-hydroxylase deficiency (21-OHD) caused by mutations in . Although 21-OHD has been historically divided into classical and non-classical forms, it is now thought to show a continuous phenotype.
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