Stanford Report, June 15, 2005

Turner Syndrome group to host tea

Girls with Turner Syndrome and their families are invited to a tea at Stanford Hospital on June 26 at 2 p.m.

The gathering will allow parents of girls with the condition, who are missing all or part of one of their X chromosomes, to meet. The event will also give them a chance to meet Jessica Nevin, the new president of the Bay Area Turner Syndrome Society.

About one in 2,000 girls has Turner Syndrome. Girls with the condition lack functional ovaries and if left untreated are often very short. Patricia Fechner, MD, an endocrinologist at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, will give a short talk on the use of growth hormone in the girls to increase their adult height. She will also discuss how estrogen therapy can increase the chances that a girl with the syndrome may one day have a successful pregnancy.

"Initially parents of girls newly diagnosed with Turner Syndrome are very concerned about their daughters," said Fechner. "The use of growth hormone can help these girls achieve better height. And when coupled with the appropriate use of estrogen therapy we can develop the uterus adequately to support a future pregnancy through the use of a donor egg."

Please RSVP by calling Fechner at 723-5791.