Doctors in Russia have been baffled after treating a baby girl who started showing signs of puberty at just three months old.


Milana, now seven-months-old, has regular periods, her breasts have started forming and she has developed pubic hair.

A source at the Russian Children's Clinical Hospital: 'It is the first case in our experience of a baby going into puberty.

Medical attention: The seven-month-old girl is being treated at the Russian Children's Clinical Hospital but doctors have failed to find an explanation for her early puberty

'So far, the world's earliest registered case was for a five years old girl.'

The child is from the south of Russia, where local doctors said the baby was entirely normal at birth.

COULD IT BE PRECOCIOUS PUBERTY?WHAT IS IT?

Most girls start puberty between the age of ten and 16. Precocious puberty generally means that girls experience puberty before the age of eight. Hormonal problems and brain injury can be behind the condition but in most cases it starts without a reason.



HOW MANY ARE AFFECTED?

It is estimated that four to five per cent of children experience precocious puberty.



WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS?

Youngsters who experience puberty have similar symptoms as adolescents. This includes developing hair under the arms and pubic hair, breast development, acne, body odour mood swings, genital development and periods.



Children with an early onset tend to have a growth spurt but are shorter than average in adulthood. They may experience emotional problems following the stress of developing early.



HOW IS IT TREATED?

Doctors will either concentrate on treating the underlying cause, such as a tumour, or they will use medication to control the level of sex hormones.



They initially suspected a tumour was responsible for the mysterious medical condition which first came to light three months after birth.

They recommended chemotherapy, which was refused by the girl's parents, Anna and Yevgeniy Gaspirovich, both 30.

The tumour diagnosis was not confirmed and Olga Bogdanova, Deputy Chief Doctor of Novokubanskaya Central Clinical Hospital, said: 'We could not understand the reason of such an extraordinarily early puberty. We are still at a loss. Perhaps it was an inherited abnormality.'

After the baby was moved to Moscow for treatment, she was found to have five times more adult female hormones than an average grown-up woman.

Doctors now intend to treat her with therapy lasting a dozen years with annual injections aimed at suppressing her hormonal activity.

However, Milana's father, a driver, is worried they will not meet the estimated B£32,000 cost.

First to notice the symptoms was Milana's grandmother Valentina, who said: 'I told my daughter that there is nothing normal in a baby having pubic hair.'







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