[Familial precocious puberty -- a variant of norm or pathology?].

Since 1937, when familial precocious puberty (FPP) was described for the first time, only few reports on FPP have been published. The majority of them is concerned with the most investigated form of FPP, occurring only in male --testotoxicosis (male-limited precocious puberty -- MLPP). Recently another form of FPP -- familial hyperestrogenism (aromatase excess syndrome -- AES) has been described. The authors aimed to review the literature data concerning different forms of FPP emphasizing the diagnostic criteria, etiology, mode of inheritance and treatment.