Pseudo-Sexual-Precocity; The Adrenal Cortical Syndrome in Preadolescent Girls

THE SYMPTOMS and signs produced by adrenal-cortical-endocrine-tumors (hyperplasias, adenomas, or malignancies) vary according to the sex and age of the patient. If such a tumor arises during intra-uterine life, pseudohermaphroditismus results; if it occurs in a little boy, sexual precocity develops with genitalia of adult size and corresponding secondary sex characteristics; if the adult male is affected, gynecomastia, and perhaps even lactation and other evidences of femininization appear; the adult female is masculinized (so-called virilism or hirsutism) and amenorrhea, heterosexual hypertrichosis, enlarged clitoris and atrophy of the mammary tissue develop. When a little girl is afflicted by such a tumor, however, pseudo-sexual precocity occurs, the outstanding characteristics of which are the very early appearance of pubic hair and hypertrophy of the clitoris causing it to resemble a small penis.course of observations on the maintenance dose of monosodium thyroxine (3), thyroxine as the free amino acid was accidentally substituted and it appeared to possess slight activity. It,therefore, seemed desirable to determine more precisely the effect of thyroxine given orally as the fre eamino acid, by administering large daily doses for a comparativelylong period.