SPONTANEOUS PUBERTAL DEVELOPMENT IN EX-THALASSEMIC WITH HYPERGONADOTROPINAEMIA SECONDARY TO ALLOGENIC BONE-MARROW TRANSPLANTATION

In this paper we report the results of a longitudinal study, over a period of 7 years, of pubertal development and hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis in 3 girls affected by thalassaemia major who underwent to bone marrow transplantation (BMT) in the prepubertal age. After BMT increase in FSH and LH levels, before and after GnRH, have been documented and a spontaneous puberty have been observed in all patients. From these observations we conclude that pubertal development is possible even in the presence of hypergonadotropinaemia and gonadal damage secondary to chemotherapeutic agents, used for conditioning treatment to BMT, may be partial. Therefore these findings emphasize the need for a vigilant follow-up before giving a definitive conclusion of permanent gonadal demage.