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Background: In boys with suspected partial androgen insensitivity syndrome (PAIS), systematic evidence that supports the long-term prognostic value of identifying a mutation in the androgen receptor gene (AR) is lacking. Objective: To assess the clinical characteristics and long-term outcomes in young men with suspected PAIS in relation to the results of AR analysis. Methods: Through the International Disorders of Sex Development Registry, clinical information was gathered on young men suspected of having PAIS (n = 52) who presented before the age of 16 years and had genetic analysis of AR. Results: The median ages at presentation and at the time of the study were 1 month (range, 1 day to 16 years) and 22 years (range, 16 to 52 years), respectively. Of the cohort, 29 men (56%) had 20 different AR mutations reported. At diagnosis, the median external masculinization scores were 7 and 6 in cases with and without AR mutation, respectively (P = .9), and median current external masculinization scores were 9 and 10, respectively (P = .28). Thirty-five men (67%) required at least one surgical procedure, and those with a mutation were more likely to require multiple surgeries for hypospadias (P = .004). All cases with an AR mutation had gynecomastia, compared to 9% of those without an AR mutation. Of the six men who had a mastectomy, five (83%) had an AR mutation. Conclusions: Boys with genetically confirmed PAIS are likely to have a poorer clinical outcome than those with XY DSD, with normal T synthesis, and without an identifiable AR mutation. Routine genetic analysis of AR to confirm PAIS informs long-term prognosis and management., Using the I-DSD Registry, a study of long-term outcome in young men suspected of having PAIS in childhood reveals that outcome is clearly worse in those with a confirmed AR gene mutation.

Patients with transfusion-dependent thalassemia major tend to have abnormal growth and sexual maturation at puberty, presumably as a result of pituitary iron overload. This study was designed to determine whether chelation therapy with deferoxamine before the age of puberty would ameliorate this problem.We examined 40 patients over 14 years of age with transfusion-dependent thalassemia major. The 19 patients in group A (mean [+/- SD] age at study, 17.0 +/- 1.5 years) had begun nightly treatment with subcutaneous deferoxamine before the age of 10 (mean age at start of treatment, 7.5 +/- 1.8 years). The 21 patients in group B (mean age, 24.1 +/- 3.8 years) had begun treatment after the age of 10 (mean age at start of treatment, 14.4 +/- 4.7 years).The abnormal findings were essentially confined to sexual development. The final height did not differ between groups or from the mean parental height in each group. Ninety percent of the patients in group A had normal sexual development, as compared with 38 percent of those in group B (P = 0.001). Outcomes were correlated with indexes of iron overload; the patients in group A had lower serum ferritin levels before chelation treatment (P = 0.01) and lower average serum ferritin levels during treatment (P = 0.005).Beginning chelation treatment with deferoxamine before the age of puberty can help children with transfusion-dependent thalassemia major to attain normal sexual maturation.

Background: In boys with suspected partial androgen insensitivity syndrome (PAIS), systematic evidence that supports the long-term prognostic value of identifying a mutation in the androgen receptor gene (AR) is lacking. Objective: To assess the clinical characteristics and long-term outcomes in young men with suspected PAIS in relation to the results of AR analysis. Methods: Through the International Disorders of Sex Development Registry, clinical information was gathered on young men suspected of having PAIS (n = 52) who presented before the age of 16 years and had genetic analysis of AR. Results: The median ages at presentation and at the time of the study were 1 month (range, 1 day to 16 years) and 22 years (range, 16 to 52 years), respectively. Of the cohort, 29 men (56%) had 20 different AR mutations reported. At diagnosis, the median external masculinization scores were 7 and 6 in cases with and without AR mutation, respectively (P =.9), and median current external masculinization scores were 9 and 10, respectively (P =.28). Thirty-five men (67%) required at least one surgical procedure, and those with a mutation were more likely to require multiple surgeries for hypospadias (P =.004). All cases with an AR mutation had gynecomastia, compared to 9% of those without an AR mutation. Of the six men who had a mastectomy, five (83%) had an AR mutation. Conclusions: Boys with genetically confirmed PAIS are likely to have a poorer clinical outcome than those with XY DSD, with normal T synthesis, and without an identifiable AR mutation. Routine genetic analysis of AR to confirm PAIS informs long-term prognosis and management.

Many women with 21-hydroxylase (21-OH)-deficient nonclassic adrenal hyperplasia (NCAH) carry at least one allele containing a severe mutation of CYP21, and as such are at risk for giving birth to an infant having classic adrenal hyperplasia (CAH). Infants with NCAH typically are asymptomatic at birth, in contrast to those with CAH, but they do develop symptoms of hyperandrogenism later in childhood or as adults. This international multicenter study, conducted both retrospectively and prospectively, was an attempt to determine how often mothers with 21-OH-deficient NCAH bear infants having CAH or NCAH. The 101 women entering the study had a total of 203 pregnancies that could be evaluated. Fourteen tertiary referral centers in nine countries participated in the study. The diagnosis of 21-OH-deficient NCAH was based on a baseline or post-ACTH level of 17-hydroxyprogesterone exceeding 10 ng/mL. Where feasible, the offspring underwent genotypic analysis. Nearly half the women with NCAH presented with oligomenorrhea, and four had primary amenorrhea. More than two-thirds of pregnancies took place before the mother was diagnosed as having NCAH. Spontaneous miscarriages occurred in one-fourth of 138 pregnancies before NCAH was diagnosed but in only four of 65 pregnancies occurring after the diagnosis (6%). The incidence of CAH in 162 live births was 2.5%. Twenty-four children (15%) have been diagnosed as having NCAH. Five other female infants developed signs of hyperandrogenism but did not meet hormonal criteria for a diagnosis of NCAH. Three of the four live-bom CAH children were White Jewish or Hispanic, as were two of three NCAH mothers giving birth to a CAH child. In this international study, a woman with NCAH had a 2.5% chance of giving birth to a child having CAH and a 15% chance of having a child with NCAH. Preconception screening for 21-OH-deficient NCAH is especially important for hyperandrogenic or oligoovulatory women who wish to become pregnant. Glucocorticoid therapy before conception and/or before birth may favorably influence the outcome.