Premature adrenarche w/adv bone age

[misty2u]

My 9 yo son has been diagnosed with Premature adrenarche and advanced bone age.  He has not entered into puberty or had any genital changes yet.  Symptoms are bone age is showing 13 yo in the fingers, armpit and genital hair, body odor and slight acne occasionally.  He is about 7-10 pounds overweight.  Family traits are that his father is incredibly hairy, front and back, is 1/2 Cuban, 1/2 German and is shorter than his brother and nephew who are over 6ft.  The Pediatric Endo ordered an ACTH stim test, in which he said the results came back normal.  His bone age is increasing every visit.  Now they have ordered a CAT Scan of the Adrenals to check for a tumor.  I am concerned about exposing him to the radiation of the scan and have several questions.  Could an MRI be used instead?  Is there a possible genetic connection such as hyperplasia because of his fathers symptoms?  Is this the next best course of action?  What if the scan comes back normal too... then what?  My son eats almost all organic and plays very competitive baseball... very healthy on the outside.  My current Endo has so far ignored our request to come in for a consult before doing the Cat Scan.  Should I go for a second opinion in another town/state?  If so, what is the top pediatric endocrine group in the U.S.?  Thank you immensely for any answers you are able to provide.

[misty2u]

Hello Blakemom,

Yes, it is indeed nice to know we are not alone.  How funny that they both play baseball!  I have been contacting a few major children's hospitals to find out whether Cat Scans are the norm and I have found out that most hospitals prefer MRI's.  Has your doctor suggested testing for a tumor at all?  I really don't believe that is our answer, but it is the next step according to them.  I know one other person that went through all of this and the final outcome was diagnosed as "Environmental."  They couldn't determine the cause and ended putting her on medication to slow puberty.  It is so frustrating!!  As I find info, I will post to you.  Best wishes.

[blakemom]

Hello Misty2u,

I just posted about my son who is 10 with 13 yr old bone age and premature adrenarche.  His CAH test just came back negative, but I am concerned about the advanced bone age.  The ped. endocronolgist is recommending that we wait for 6 months, do another hand xray and then proceed from there.  I have been searching the internet but have not found anything helpful yet.  He also eats well, mostly organic, is not overweight, plays competitive baseball, and is otherwise very healthy.  Please post again if you find any helpful information.  It's nice to know there is someone else looking for answers on this same subject.