Delayed closure of epiphyseal cartilages induced by the aromatase inhibitor anastrozole. Would it help short children grow up?

Estrogens locally generated from androgen precursors due to the action of aromatase play a main role in epiphyseal cartilage fusion. Treatment with an aromatase inhibitor (anastrozole, 1 mg/day for 3 yr) in a boy previously operated on for a hamartoma causing precocious puberty and presenting with advanced bone maturation and nearly fused epiphyseal cartilages, slowed cartilage fusion consenting a higher final stature than expected (164.4 cm vs 158.4 cm). It is suggested that treatment with aromatase inhibitors, alone or in combination with rh-GH, may also be useful in children with constitutional short stature in order to delay epiphyseal closure and improve the final height.