Once a chronic underlying disease has been treated, maturation usually proceeds. A naturally late development needs no treatment. A condition resulting from a genetic cause can't be cured, though replacing hormones may help secondary sexual characteristics develop. In some cases, surgery may be needed. Precocious Puberty Precocious puberty is sexual maturation that begins before age 8 in a girl or before age 10 in a boy.
Pubic hair grows, and the child's body shape changes.
In pseudoprecocious puberty, only the outward appearance becomes more adult, while the sex glands remain immature. True precocious puberty is two to five times more common in girls than in boys. Early hormone release may be caused by an abnormality in the pituitary, such as a hormone-secreting tumor, or by an abnormality in the hypothalamus, the region of the brain that controls the pituitary. About 60 percent of boys with precocious puberty have an identifiable abnormality. In contrast, no abnormality can be found in about 80 percent of girls age 6 or older with this condition, but most girls under 4 years of age with true precocious puberty have a brain abnormality.