Transient ovarian testosterone and androstenedione hypersecretion: a cause of virilization or premature pubarche in prepubertal girls.

In 2 girls with signs of androgen overproduction, the usual causes were excluded. Patient 1 (3.6 years) presented with hypertrophy of the clitoris, patient 2 (7.8 years) with pubic and axillary hair. Urinary steroids and plasma dehydroepiandrosterone, 17-hydroxyprogesterone and estradiol were normal, but testosterone and androstenedione elevated in both cases. Echography showed polycystic ovaries. Testosterone and androstenedione returned to normal after laparotomy and removal of ovarian cysts in patient 1, and spontaneously in patient 2, in whom puberty started later appropriately for bone age.