Toddler with sexual urges and all-over body hair is diagnosed with bizarre ‘early puberty’ condition

A one-year-old boy in India who developed pubic hair and sexual urges has been diagnosed with a rare hormonal condition. 

The toddler, known only as Akash, was found to have the testosterone level of a 25-year-old.

This meant he had adult-sized genitalia, facial and body hair and his voice was starting to break. 

Doctors now say he is suffering from precocious puberty – defied as any child who goes through puberty before the age of seven or eight.

The toddler, known only as Akash, was found to have the testosterone levels of a 25-year-old. This meant he had adult-sized genitalia, facial and body hair and his voice was starting to break (file image)

Akash’s parents first noticed something was wrong six months ago when. His genitals were growing abnormally big, while the rest of his body was too small compared to other children his age. 

The child’s unnamed mother told the Hindustan Times: ‘We thought maybe he was just a big baby, so we did not take him to the doctor. 

‘But by the time he was one, it was apparent there was something wrong. 

‘My mother-in-law, who has taken care of several children in the family, also said that his growth seemed unnatural. That is when we took him to the doctor.’    

Precocious puberty is a rare condition. The youngest mother on record, Lina Medina, gave birth at the age of five years and seven months in Peru in 1939, and became an international celebrity at the time.

Her parents had assumed her growing abdomen was due to a tumour. But when remedies faiuled ti cure it, her father took her to hospital.

Just one month later she astounded the world by giving birth to a boy – and becoming the the youngest mother in history aged just five years and seven months. 

   

 

 

 

The boy’s doctor Vaishakhi Rustagi said: ‘Usually this disorder is caused due to brain or stomach tumour, but we didn’t find anything as such in blood reports.

‘The child was lucky in a way because tumour usually increases complications and leads to cancer.’

The paediatrician, of Max Super Speciality Hospital, said he saw similar cases ‘once every 10 years’ and added: ‘Precocious puberty is traumatic for a child of his age and it makes them violent.

‘His muscle strength increased to a level that even his parents couldn’t control him.

‘If such children are not treated, they will become violent. The physical changes will not be suitable for their age.

‘They will also stop growing after a few years and remain about 3-4ft tall.’

Akash was put on hormone therapy after his parents went to see a doctor when he was 18 months old and his voice had started to break.

His hormonal developments and genital size decreased after five months.

He is now given a monthly dose which blocks the effects of hormones.

The treatment will continue until he is mentally stable enough to grasp the changes in his body.

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Vaibhav was taken to a doctor when he was 18 months old. By then, he was 95cm tall, 10-15cm taller than children his age, and had already started getting facial and body hair. His voice had also started breaking, and he had fully developed sexual organs.

“His testosterone levels were exceptionally high, as high as that of a 25-year-old, because of which he had started experiencing physical changes. Since he was so young, he was not able to understand what was happening. He would experience sexual urges too,” said Dr Vaishakhi Rustagi, the consulting paediatric endocrinologist at Max Super Speciality Hospital, Shalimar Bagh, who is treating Vaibhav.

Tests revealed that his testosterone levels were 500-600 nanogram per deciliter (ng/dl). A one-year-old baby’s testosterone level is usually 20 ng/dl.

agine a one-year-old with fully developed sexual organs of a grown man.

A super speciality hospital in Delhi is currently treating Vaibhav (name changed on parents’ request), who has been diagnosed with a rare condition called precocious or early puberty.

Precocious puberty is a very rare condition, especially at such a young age. According to Dr Rustagi, only one in 100,000 have this condition, with the incidence increasing to one to two in 100,000 in boys aged eight to 10.

“It is a rare case that happens once in 10 odd years. Precocious puberty is traumatic for a child of his age. The baby can’t express his feelings or understand what his happening to him, while his parents are left confused,” said Dr Rustagi.

Further tests revealed that there was no underlying cause for the increased levels of hormones and the doctors put him on hormone therapy. He needs to take injections that help in blocking the effect of the hormones once a month. Later, the dose will be reduced to once in three months till he is 10-11 years old and is ready to accept the changes in his body.

“If such children are not treated, they will become violent. The physical changes will not be suitable for their age. They will also stop growing after a few years and remain about 3-4ft tall,” Rustagi said.

Vaibhav’s parents spend Rs 11,000 a month on the medication as the insurance company has rejected their claims.