ESPE Abstracts

Background: Caregivers of patients with Bardet Biedl syndrome (BBS) face substantial burden from highly prevalent features of the disease, namely hyperphagia, or uncontrollable hunger, and obesity. However, the burden experienced by caregivers of individuals with BBS is not well characterized.Methods: A multicountry cross-sectional survey of caregivers of individuals with BBS was conducted to quantify the burden experien...

Background: Hyperphagia, or pathologic insatiable hunger, and early-onset obesity are prevalent clinical features of Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS), a rare genetic disorder. While hyperphagia and obesity have broad impacts on individuals with BBS and their caregivers, the extent of this burden is not well characterized.Methods: This multicountry cross-sectional survey of caregivers of individuals with BBS was conducted to q...

Introduction: Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS), a common syndromic form of childhood obesity, is characterized by failure-to-thrive during infancy followed by progressive hyperphagia and obesity in childhood. The pathogenesis of hyperphagia and weight-gain in PWS is poorly understood and management strategies have had variable and limited success. Several studies support an etiological contribution of dysbiotic gut microbiota in the metabolic derangements of obesit...

Background: The peptides obestatin and adropin are thought to regulate glucose and lipid metabolism, weight gain, and fluid intake in adults. The roles of obestatin and adropin in the regulation of weight and glucose and lipid metabolism in Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) and non-syndromic pediatric obesity are poorly understood. This study compares the concentrations of obestatin and adropin in infants and children with PWS and age- and BMI-z matched controls, and explores the as...

Background: In a Phase 3 trial in participants with obesity due to Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS) and Alström syndrome, setmelanotide was associated with significant reduction from baseline in body weight and hunger at Week 52 (primary endpoint), with outcomes driven by responses in individuals with BBS.Methods: In the same trial (NCT03746522), individuals with BBS or Alström syndrome were randomized and received ...

Background: Children with metabolic syndrome carry an increased risk for development of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in adulthood. Patients with rare syndromic obesity, such as Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS), experience early-onset, severe obesity, which may convey an increased risk for developing obesity-related comorbidities and metabolic syndrome later in life. In clinical trials, treatment with the melanocortin-4 receptor a...

Introduction: Achondroplasia is caused by a pathogenic mutation in the FGFR3 gene, leading to impaired endochondral bone growth and multiple medical complications. Vosoritide, a modified recombinant human C-type natriuretic peptide (rhCNP), was approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in August 2021 for treating genetically confirmed achondroplasia in patients aged ≥2 years until closure of epiphyses. Acorn is the first treatment-based registry for a...

Background: Infants with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) exhibit stunted growth. However, little is known about the role of genes expressed from the imprinted PWS domain in healthy infants. This study aimed to analyze the relative gene expression of the SNURF-SNRPN/UBE3A cluster in the imprinted PWS domain in umbilical cord tissue, and its potential association with prenatal and postnatal growth in apparently healthy infants.Methods:...

Background: The melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) pathway is a key regulator of energy balance and satiety. Variants in genes upstream of MC4R encoding leptin receptor (LEPR), proopiomelanocortin (POMC), proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 1(PCSK1) and those involved in Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS) can impair MC4R pathway signaling. Clinically, these variants are characterized by hyperphagia (Pathologic insatiable hunger) and early-onset, severe obesity. E...