ESPE Abstracts

Background: Variants in SH2B1 or a 220–kilobase pair distal deletion of chromosome 16p11.2, including SH2B1, are associated with severe, early-onset obesity and hyperphagia. The melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) agonist setmelanotide is being investigated in individuals with rare variants in genes in the MC4R pathway.Methods: This ongoing, Phase 2 study (NCT03013543) enrolled individuals aged ≥6...

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: Rare genetic diseases of obesity can be caused by genetic variants leading to disrupted activity of the melanocortin-4 receptor pathway (MC4R). Setmelanotide, an MC4R agonist, is being investigated in a basket study of populations with rare variants in different genes in the MC4R pathway who have early-onset, severe obesity and hyperphagia.Methods: This ongoing, Phase 2, open-label study (NCT03013543) enrolle...

Background and Aim: Pediatric patients with germline mutations in the tumor suppressor gene PTEN (PTEN hamartoma tumor syndrome, PHTS) frequently develop lipomas. PTEN antagonizes phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) signaling, which can induce adipogenesis upon activation through insulin. The PI3K downstream target AKT can deactivate FOXO1 via phosphorylation, initiating the expression of the lipogenesis activating transcription factor SREBP1. To study t...

Background and Objectives: Childhood obesity is a global public health threat, with an alarming rise in incidence. Obesity at young age has short-term consequences, as well as long-term morbidity. It is, therefore, important to determine body composition longitudinal throughout infancy and childhood to prevent excess adiposity. Multiple methods are used to determine body composition in infants and young children, but none are described as suitable for longitud...

Early puberty is associated with obesity in young girls and has physical, psychosocial, and reproductive implications. In adults and children, MRI evidence of cellular inflammation in the mediobasal hypothalamus (MBH gliosis) is seen in obesity, and its anatomic location overlaps with key neuronal populations controlling reproduction, fertility, and feeding. We sought to assess whether MRI evidence of MBH gliosis associates with pubertal development in girls and if that differ...