Endocrinology of different age groups

This chapter discusses endocrine care for adolescents and the ageing. It discusses timing of transitional periods and associated changes in hormones, such as those that take place during puberty. It describes disorders in hormones during puberty, such as hyper-/hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism, craniopharyngiomas, microphallus, scoliosis, midline defects, anosmia, gonadotropin-releasing hormone deficiency, abnormal uterine bleeding, gynaecomastia, growth-hormone deficiency, and polycystic ovary syndrome (commonly abbreviated as PCOS). It also describes disorders accompanied with ageing, such as declines in growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor, or ‘somatopause’, as well as andropause and menopause. Differentiating what is normal physiology from pathology is important to prevent over-investigation.