ESPE Abstracts

Introduction: Developing an acute onset thyroid nodule is rare in children and usually associates with infectious or neoplastic disease; when linked to hyperthyroidism, the most likely diagnosis is toxic adenoma.Clinical description: 9-year-old boy with no relevant medical history was seen at the emergency department for acute cervical pain and tumor involving the left thyroid lobe with no inflammatory signs or history of trauma. Physical examination rev...

Introduction: As successful rates of haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) are on the rise, late endocrine and metabolic effects of these survivors have become more prevalent.Aims: We aimed to characterise the endocrine abnormalities observed following HSCT.Subjects and methods: A retrospective descriptive study in paediatric post-HSCT patients (< 18 years-old) follow...

Aggrecan is a structural glycoprotein of the extracellular matrix of cartilage present in the articular cartilage, growth plate and cartilage of the intervertebral disc. Biallelic pathogenic variants are the cause of aggrecan type spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia (OMIM#612813) while the presence of heterozygous pathogenic variants determine Kimberley type spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia (OMIM#608361) and short stature associated or not with acceleration of bone maturation and early o...

Background: Progranulin (PGRN) displays pleiotropic biological functions including on early embryogenesis, cell proliferation, lysosomal or neuronal functioning and wound repair, and has been proposed as a biomarker for metabolic diseases. Increased PGRN levels have been reported in type 2 diabetes, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and in preeclampsia associated to placental dysfunction. However, the ontogeny of PGRN concentrations and the potential value of P...

Background: severe primary insulin-like growth factor-1 deficiency (SPIGFD) is a rare growth disorder. Recombinant human insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) (rhIGF-1; Increlex® [mecasermin]) replacement therapy is EU and US-approved for treating growth failure due to SPIGFD. The long-term therapeutic objective of rhIGF-1 treatment in SPIGFD is to improve adult height (AH). Objective: to describe the characteristics, safety and effectiveness data ...

Introduction: ABCD syndrome is characterized by hypercalcemia, hypercalciuria, nephrocalcinosis, and renal impairment, generally under 4 years old. This is a rare cause of pediatric hypercalcemia with only 7 cases published, but it is believed to be underdiagnosed. The suspected mechanism would be associated with overexpression of transient receptor potential channels (TRP) that modulate intestinal absorption of calcium, since TRP-M2 is encoded on chromosome 2...

Background: Congenital Hypothyroidism (CH) is the most common neonatal endocrinologic disorder and one of the most preventable causes of mental retardation and neurological alterations in children. The incidence of CH lies between 1 in 2000-3000 newborns. The replacement therapy with levothyroxine (LT4) should be started immediately since studies show that a rapid normalization of TSH and fT4 optimizes the neurodevelopmental outcome. Infants with Down syndrome...

Introduction: No consensus on vitamin D (VitD) deficiency screening in children and adolescents exists.Aim: To evaluate a sample of patients in whom VitD dosing was performed and determine the rationale for this assessment.Methods: Retrospective, longitudinal study of pediatric patients, from a Portuguese tertiary hospital, who had at least two 25(OH)D level blood sampling between ...

Background: Approximately 10% of children born small for gestational age (SGA) fail to catch-up nd remain short (SGA-SS). Although several mechanisms causing SGA-SS have been elucidated, the primary cause remains speculative in most cases.Aim: To decipher genetic causes of SGA-SS defined as birth length and/or birth weight <-2 SD for gestational age, and body height <-2.5 SD after the 3rd year of life within a larg...

Background: Pseudohypoparathyroidism 1A, newly classified as inactivating PTH/PTHrP signaling disorder type 2 (iPPSD2), is defined by resistance to parathyroid hormone, short stature and early-onset obesity. Short stature is caused by skeletal dysplasia and additionally, in some cases, also by the coexistence of growth hormone deficiency, as other hormonal resistances might be present (e.g. thyroid-stimulating hormone, growth hormone releasing hormone (GHRH), ...