Aromatase inhibitors (AIs), blockers of
estrogen biosynthesis, delay bone maturation and therefore are used increasingly to promote growth in children and adolescents with
growth disorders. The effects of treatment on skeletal health are largely unknown. Since
estrogen deficiency is associated with various detrimental skeletal effects, we evaluated in this cross-sectional posttreatment study vertebral body morphology, dimensions and endplates, and intervertebral disks by the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in two cohorts of males previously treated with the AI
letrozole or placebo. Males with idiopathic short stature received treatment with
letrozole or placebo for 2 years during prepuberty or early puberty; males with constitutional delay of puberty received
letrozole or placebo in combination with low-dose
testosterone for 1 year during early or midpuberty. In males with idiopathic short stature, mild vertebral body
deformities were found in 5 of 11 (45%)
letrozole-treated subjects, whereas in the placebo group no
deformities were detected (p = .01). In the cohort of males with constitutional delay of puberty, a high prevalence of endplate and intervertebral disk abnormalities was observed in both the
letrozole- and the placebo-treated groups. We conclude that AI
therapy during prepuberty or early puberty may predispose to vertebral
deformities, which probably reflect impaired vertebral body growth rather than impaired bone quality and
compression fractures. If AIs are used in growth indications, follow-up of vertebral morphology is indicated.