A one-year-old boy in India who
developed pubic hair and sexual urges has been diagnosed with a rare hormonal
condition. The toddler, known only as Akash, was found to have the
testosterone level of a 25-year-old.
This meant he had adult-sized
genitalia, facial and body hair and his voice was starting to break. Doctors
now say he is suffering from precocious puberty - defied as any child
who goes through puberty before the age of seven or eight.
Akash's parents
first noticed something was wrong six months ago.His genitals were growing
abnormally big, while the rest of his body was too small compared to other
children his age.
The child's unnamed mother told the Hindustan Times: 'We
thought maybe he was just a big baby, so we did not take him to the
doctor. 'But by the time he was one, it was apparent there was something
wrong.
'My mother-in-law, who has taken
care of several children in the family, also said that his growth seemed
unnatural. That is when we took him to the doctor.'
Precocious puberty
is a rare condition. The youngest mother on record, Lina Medina, gave
birth at the age of five years and seven months in Peru in 1939, and became an
international celebrity at the time. Her parents had assumed her growing
abdomen was due to a tumour. But when remedies failed to cure it, her father
took her to hospital. Just one month
later she astounded the world by giving birth to a boy - and becoming the the
youngest mother in history aged just five years and seven months.
Akash's doctor, Vaishakhi Rustagi,
told the Hindustan Times: 'Precocious puberty is traumatic for a child of his
age and it makes them violent - his muscle strength increased to a level that
even his parents couldn't control him.'
Another danger is that the child
will stop growing prematurely, therefore remaining 3-4ft tall for life.
The toddler has now been given
medication to relieve his symptoms - at least until he is old enough to
understand his condition, doctors said.
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