Pre-pubertal Low Dose Transdermal Estradiol in Turner Syndrome

August 24, 2026 updated by: Children's National Research Institute

Ultra-low Dose Transdermal Estradiol Therapy in Prepubertal Girls With Turner Syndrome and Primary Ovarian Insufficiency.

This is a research study to find out if treatment with transdermal estradiol patches started between 8 to 11.5 years is safe in girls with Turner syndrome who have ovarian failure and to see whether it may improve performance on two tests of working speed and short-term memory.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

The investigators hypothesize that ultra-low dose TDE will improve neurocognitive measures without a negative impact on growth and pubertal maturation in the peripubertal period. To test this hypothesis, investigators will conduct a prospective single center pilot trial and recruit up to 15 girls with TS and POI (FSH>10 in the past year), ages 8 to <11.5 years who will receive ultra-low dose TDE [defined as 1/8th patch of 0.025mg/24h applied weekly (delivering 3.125mcg/24h)] for 6 months to address the following objectives.

Primary: Study the effect of ultra-low dose TDE therapy on processing speed and working memory. The investigators will administer the Pattern Comparison Processing Speed Test as well as the List Sorting Working Memory test NIH toolbox EnglishV3 at baseline, and 6-months of TDE treatment.

Secondary: Assess change in pubertal status, FSH, LH and estradiol levels with ultra-low dose TDE therapy. Height, weight measurements, assessment of Tanner staging for breast development, laboratory measurements of ultrasensitive estradiol, FSH, LH, lipid profile at baseline and 6-months of TDE treatment will be completed

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
15

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • District of Columbia
      • Washington D.C., District of Columbia, United States, 20010
        • Children's National Hospital
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Roopa Kanakatti Shankar, MBBS, MS

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Provision of signed and dated informed consent form
  2. Stated willingness to comply with all study procedures and availability for the duration of the study
  3. Female, aged 8 years up to 11 y and 180 days with karyotype confirmed Turner syndrome
  4. FSH result> 10miu/mL in the past 12 months. Since variability in FSH is not uncommon, a single measure of FSH >10mIU/mL in the past calendar year will be deemed sufficient for inclusion into the study even if repeat measures may be under 10mIU/mL.
  5. Ability to take the transdermal estradiol medication and be willing to adhere to the treatment regimen
  6. Ability to complete the primary endpoint testing in English. Non-English speakers may be recruited if the participant is capable of performing the English version of the tests.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Spontaneous thelarche with breast Tanner stage 3 or more, spontaneous menarche or history of abnormal uterine bleeding.
  2. Previous estrogen exposure
  3. Cognitive impairment is severe enough to prevent assessment of the primary outcome measures.
  4. Untreated hypothyroidism or celiac disease: Individuals may be recruited if on treatment and stable medication dose in past 3 months.
  5. Subjects known to have Y-chromosome material unless they have undergone gonadectomy and have fully external female genitalia
  6. History of any type of malignancy
  7. History of a known clotting disorder/deep venous thrombosis
  8. Any clinically significant abnormality as determined by the principal investigator.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Estradiol Treatment
Patients opt to receive 6 months of transdermal ultra low dose estradiol treatment
Drug: Estradiol transdermal patch 0.025mg/24 hours- 1/8th fractionated patch
Estradiol transdermal patch 0.025mg/24 hours- 1/8th fractionated patch will be applied and changed weekly for 6 months

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Pattern Comparison processing speed test
Time Frame: 6 months
Changes in the Pattern Comparison processing speed test (PC) at 6 months on the NIH toolbox EnglishV3 compared to baseline. Pattern Comparison processing speed test (PC) is a measure of the speed of information processing. Participants see a pair of simple pictures on the iPad screen and must quickly discern whether the pictures are the same or different. The total raw score is the number of items answered correctly during the 80 seconds of presentation time (Max 133 items). The raw score is converted to a age-adjusted normative scores. The Median Response Time Per Item is also available.
6 months
List Sorting Working Memory (LSWM) test
Time Frame: 6 months
Changes in the List sorting working memory test on the NIH toolbox EnglishV3 at 6 months compared to baseline. The List Sorting Working Memory test measures a participant's working memory, the ability to hold information in a short-term buffer and then manipulate the information. Pictures and written names of different foods and animals are displayed with accompanying audio-recorded and visual prompts, and the participant is asked to say the items back in size order from smallest to largest, first within a single dimension and then on two dimensions. The raw score (up to 24 Max) is then converted to age-adjusted normative scores.
6 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Breast Tanner stage
Time Frame: 6 months
Changes in breast sexual maturity rating (Tanner staging) on examination over 6 months with ultra-low dose estradiol treatment
6 months
Pubertal hormone changes
Time Frame: 6 months
Changes in serum estradiol (measured in pg/mL), after 6 months of ultra-low dose estradiol treatment compared to baseline.
6 months
LH
Time Frame: 6 months
Luteinizing hormone (LH) (measured in U/L) over 6 months of estradiol therapy
6 months
FSH
Time Frame: 6 months
Change in Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) measured in U/L over 6 months of estradiol therapy
6 months

Other Outcome Measures

Other Outcome Measures

For clinical trials, a planned measurement described in the protocol that is used to determine the effect of an intervention/treatment on participants. For observational studies, a measurement or observation that is used to describe patterns of diseases or traits, or associations with exposures, risk factors, or treatment. Types of outcome measures include primary outcome measure and secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Height velocity
Time Frame: 6 months
Change in annualized height velocity (in cm/year) over 6 months of treatment with ultra-low dose estradiol. This will be calculated based on height measurements (in cm) at baseline and 6 months.
6 months
Lipid profile
Time Frame: 6 months
Changes in lipid profile (total cholesterol, triglycerides, high density lipoproteins, low density lipoproteins) over 6 months of treatment with ultra-low dose estradiol will be assessed.
6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Children's National Research Institute

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
September 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
June 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
June 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
August 5, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
August 24, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
August 25, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
August 25, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
August 24, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
August 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • STUDY00002034

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Patient Privacy and on account of being a pilot trial

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Cookie Settings

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. For more details carefully read our Privacy and Cookies Policy. ...>>>You can change your preferences or withdraw your consent at any time by deleting the cookies from your website or computer as described in the policy. Please accept it and choose your preferences by ticking the corresponding boxes in the "Manage Settings" section below. Please carefully read our Terms of Service before you proceed with using any part of this website.
«Manage Settings