ESPE Abstracts

Background: Tall stature may be associated with psychological distress in some girls, and height reduction by oestrogen therapy has been described, but remains controversial. Possible side effects of ethinyl oestradiol therapy need to be balanced against a possible beneficial effect on adult height. In our centre natural 17-β oestradiol, which has a better safety profile, is used to reduce final height.Objective and hypotheses: To evaluate the pheno...

Background: Sexual maturation is closely linked to growth, suggesting common pathways between the reproductive development and the growth hormone/insulin-like growth factor-I (GH/IGF-I) axis. IGF-I bioavailability is regulated by Pregnancy associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A), Pregnancy associated plasma protein-A2 (PAPP-A2) and Stanniocalcin 2 (STC2). A large genome-wide association study (GWAS) identified PAPP-A, PAPP-A2 and STC2 to represent loci strongly a...

Background: The male Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Gonadal (HPG) axis undergoes a transient activity phase during the first months of life with surging serum concentrations of reproductive hormones. Theoretically, the hormonal surge could represent a passive postnatal feedback to the withdrawal from the high sex steroid levels in pregnancy. However, we believe that minipuberty rather represents an active, tightly genetically-regulated biological process. We therefore...

Background: In minipuberty, the male hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis is transiently activated triggering a surge in reproductive hormones causing growth of the genitalia. Longitudinal individual growth of the infant penis during minipuberty and associations to the HPG axis and IGF-I have not been thoroughly assessed.Aim: To describe the development of penile length and width as well as their relation to serum c...

Background: The circulating steroid metabolome in boys undergoes significant changes during infancy reflecting functional and structural rearrangements of the adrenal glands as well as the transient activity of the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis, also called minipuberty. Studies investigating the serum steroid metabolome dynamics during infancy in a longitudinal manner are however sparse.Objective: We ai...

Background: Growth in infancy is considered primarily to be regulated by nutrition and insulin, whereas less is known about the influence of IGF-I, reproductive hormones and other factors of importance. Recently, paternally inherited genetic defects of DLK1 (Delta-like 1 homolog) were found in girls with central precocious puberty (CPP) with a metabolic phenotype. In addition, low maternal serum DLK1 concentrations were significantly lower in pregnant women wh...

Background: The male Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Gonadal (HPG) axis is transiently active during the first months of life with surging serum concentrations of reproductive hormones. This period, termed minipuberty, promotes masculinization, including testicular, and penile growth, as well as further testicular descent in males. It appears to be essential for priming specific cell types, i.e. Sertoli-, Leydig-, and germ cells, including subsequent growth and maturat...

Background: Minipuberty denotes a transient activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) hormone axis in infancy. This activation provides an opportunity to examine the gonadal function in infants suspected of hypogonadism before the axis is silenced during childhood. However, female minipuberty remains poorly elucidated. Objective: The study aimed to evaluate dynamic changes in luteinizing hormone (LH), follic...

Background: Growth during infancy is a continuation of the rapid fetal growth and its regulation is complex and multifactorial. It is well-established that insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) and its regulators (e.g. IGF binding proteins (IGFBP-3) and pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A2 (PAPP-A2)) are important for prenatal and postnatal growth; however, their significance for growth during infancy is not fully explored.Aims: The aim...

Background: Anogenital distance (AGD) is an indicator of androgen action in utero. Reduced AGD has been found in males with hypospadias, cryptorchidism, low semen quality and infertility. Its usefulness as a clinical marker in patients with Disorders of Sex Development (DSD) is currently being investigated. However, detailed age, sex and method related reference ranges do not exist. Whether individual (body-size-adjusted) AGD is stable postnatally also remains to be e...