Histrelin implant for the treatment of central precocious puberty

Abstract

Central precocious puberty is defined as puberty occurring prior to the age of 7.5–8 years in girls and 9 years in boys. The main goals of treatment include the arrest of pubertal progression and preservation of final adult height. In the USA, depot leuprolide has been the mainstay of treatment. It is a gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist that is administered as an intramuscular injection every 4 weeks. Recently, a 1-year subcutaneous implant has been developed for continuous delivery of the gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist histrelin. Initial prospective trials have demonstrated that it is efficacious, safe and well tolerated. It is an exciting alternative to painful monthly injections for the treatment of central precocious puberty.