Effect of leuprorelin plus growth hormone on serum luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, and estradiol levels in children with idiopathic central precocious puberty

Purpose: To evaluate the effects of leuprorelin plus growth hormone on serum luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and estradiol (E2) levels in children with idiopathic central precocious puberty. Methods: A total of 102 girls with idiopathic central precocious puberty who met the inclusion criteria between April 2020 and September 2021 were enrolled in this study, and assigned randomly to either a control group given leuprorelin only, or a combined treatment group given leuprorelin plus growth hormone. There were 51 cases in each group. The parameters/indices evaluated include sex hormone levels (serum LH, FSH, and E2), height standard deviation scores (HtSDS), predicted adult height (PAH), and insulin-like growth factors-1 (IGH-1). Results: Patients administered combined therapy showed lower levels of LH, FSH, and E2 than those on mono-therapy (p < 0.05). Leuprorelin plus growth hormone resulted in significantly higher HtSDS and PAH, and lower IGF-1 levels compared with those who received leuprorelin (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The combination of leuprorelin and growth hormone effectively reduces the serum levels of LH, FSH, and E2 in children with idiopathic central precocious puberty, and improves their linear growth rate and adult height. However, economic benefits and patient acceptance should be considered in future studies to assess its overall applicability.