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Increased liver enzymes and hormonal therapies in girls and adolescents with Turner syndrome

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Abstract

Elevated liver enzymes can be seen relatively frequently in patients with Turner syndrome (TS), while the pathogenesis of this remains unclear. Our epidemiological and prospective study aimed to investigate: a) the natural 2- yr course of liver disease in a selected cohort of young patients with TS, who had been preliminarily recruited on the basis of persistently elevated liver enzymes; b) the role of prolonged hormonal therapies in the etiology of liver dysfunction. From an overall population of 214 TS patients younger than 20 yr, only 19 (8.9%) were recruited, according to the following inclusion criteria: increased serum concentrations of one or more liver enzymes, exceeding the uppermost limit of the respective normal ranges, and persistence of these liver alterations for 6 months after the preliminary assessment. On the basis of the results of this prospective study, we can conclude that: a) the prevalence of liver abnormalities in girls and adolescents with TS is much lower and more strictly related to hormonal therapies than in TS adults; b) both autoim-munity and obesity are not frequently involved in the etiology of TS liver dysfunction; c) liver damage is either mild or moderate and its severity is not conditioned by karyotype; d) its course may be self-limiting; e) its natural history may be characterized in some cases by a slight deterioration of intrahepatic cholestasis, with no negative repercussions on liver synthetic function.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, University of Messina, Messina

    M. Wasniewska, M. F. Messina & F. De Luca MD

  2. Department of Pediatrics, University of Bologna, Bologna

    R. Bergamaschi

  3. Division of Pediatric Endocrinology, Regina Margherita Hospital of Turin, Turin

    P. Matarazzo

  4. Department of Pediatrics, University of Modena, Modena

    B. Predieri

  5. Department of Pediatrics, University of Pisa, Pisa

    S. Bertelloni

  6. Department of Pediatrics, University of Novara, Novara

    A. Petri

  7. Department of Pediatrics, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy

    M. Sposito

Authors
  1. M. Wasniewska
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  2. R. Bergamaschi
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  3. P. Matarazzo
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  4. B. Predieri
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  5. S. Bertelloni
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  6. A. Petri
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  7. M. Sposito
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  8. M. F. Messina
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  9. F. De Luca MD
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behalf of Italian Study Group for Turner syndrome

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Correspondence to F. De Luca MD.

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Wasniewska, M., Bergamaschi, R., Matarazzo, P. et al. Increased liver enzymes and hormonal therapies in girls and adolescents with Turner syndrome. J Endocrinol Invest 28, 720–726 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03347555

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03347555

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