Lawrence Koomson is a doctor living and working in London. On the face of it, he seems no different to any other young man but Lawrence has a secret.
At 33, he has never been through puberty.
He’s never had a spot. He’s never had an erection. And he’s trapped in the body of a 12-year-old boy.
But this all changed in April 2005, when he began treatment to bring on puberty.
“I feel an outsider, different to everyone else,” he said before the treatment. “People take going through puberty for granted; it’s just something that happens. For me it has just never happened.” Lawrence has Kallmann’s syndrome, a rare condition affecting predominantly men, but also women. A small area in the brain called the hypothalamus cannot work properly causing a hormonal imbalance.
For men like Lawrence, this means his body doesn’t produce testosterone, which prevents puberty being triggered. Another characteristic of Kallmann’s syndrome is an absent sense of smell.
Having Kallmann’s syndrome can lead to extreme difficulties, especially during adolescence, when all one’s peers are going through puberty. And the consequences of delayed puberty and not becoming sexually mature naturally has a far reaching impact on sufferers’ lives.
In essence he’s got the testosterone levels of a one-year-old so we’ve got quite a lot of catching up to do Professor Pierre Bouloux
Lawrence’s doctor and the UK specialist in the field is endocrinologist Professor Pierre Bouloux. “We’ve tested Lawrence’s blood testosterone levels and the results make for quite interesting reading,” he said, before the treatment. “The reference range for men Lawrence’s age would be a testosterone level between 9.9 and 27.8.
“Lawrence’s level is less than 0.5. In essence he’s got the testosterone levels of a one-year-old so we’ve got quite a lot of catching up to do.
“In terms of penile length we’re talking about a resting length of about four centimetres, and for a chap of Lawrence’s size that shows that development hasn’t occurred as yet.”
With treatment, it’s hoped Lawrence will grow body hair, his voice will break, he’ll develop body muscle and sexual organs and for the first time will experience sexual desire.
