ESPE Abstracts

Background: Pituitary apoplexy is a clinical syndrome caused by haemorrhage of the pituitary gland, typically characterised by acute confusion, headache, vomiting and visual disturbance. It is regarded as a medical emergency. It is rare in childhood and adolescence, occurring in association with pituitary tumours. We report an unusual case of pituitary apoplexy associated with a cerebral infarction secondary to internal carotid artery compression.<p class=...

Background: Pituitary gigantism is a rare condition that occurs due to excessive GH secretion during childhood, usually associated with a pituitary adenoma. We describe a case that required the full spectrum of standard therapeutic options available.Case report: A 15-year-old boy presented with a 3-year history of intractable occipital headaches and being psychologically distressed by his tall stature (203 cm). He had mild clinical features of GH excess....

Background: Pituitary adenomas secreting GH rarely present in childhood. We report the clinical features, management and outcome of the 5 cases referred to a tertiary Paediatric Endocrine/Neurosurgical service over a 20-year period.Patients: **4 Male:1 Female - all aged 15 years at referral. Tanner puberty stages G3-5; B3. Clinical follow-up data range 2 months – 8 years.Clinical features at presentation: Headache, n=...

Background: Prolactinomas are rare in the prepubertal and adolescent age group. Therapeutic approaches are guided by experience from treating adults. Few series have been reported.Objective: Retrospective analysis of presenting features, treatment and outcomes in young patients presenting to a Tertiary Endocrine Service (total referral population ~3.5 million) managed jointly between Paediatric and Adult Endocrine and Neurosurgical services.<p class=...

Introduction: Primary empty sella syndrome (ES) is rare in children. Reports relating it with various endocrine manifestations have been published. Asymptomatic cases have also been reported, this questions the existence of causal relationship.Objective: To analyze causal relationship between primary ES and endocrine manifestations in 15 pediatric cases seen in our clinics, and suggest patients follow-up.Population and methods: Ret...

Background: Vitamin D plays a significant role in musculoskeletal health and various extraskeletal functions making the prevention and treatment of this vitamin (now considered as a hormone) of utmost importance. Literature on requirement/supplementation of vitamin D in asymptomatic children is scarce and this study was an attempt to see the effect of three different doses of cholecalciferol supplementation regimens in children with asymptomatic vitamin D deficiency.<p cla...

Background: Short stature has several causes ranging from complex hormonal deficiencies mostly related to pituitary gland genetics, to idiopathic and environmental causes such as maternal smoking in pregnancy, etc. Floating harbor syndrome is a rare genetic disorder characterized by short stature, delayed bone age, mild to moderate mental retardation, retarded speech development, and typical facial dysmorphic features. The syndrome is caused by heterozygous mutations in exon 3...

Background: A common cause of neurodevelopmental impairment in children is congenital hypothyroidism, but can be preventable with adequate screening and proper management. Preterm newborns are more likely to have thyroid dysfunction, with small for gestational age (SGA) being an additional risk factor. However, only few studies addressed the altered thyroid hormone concentrations in the first few weeks of life concluding that Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone (TSH) levels are higher...

Whole exome sequencing performed on a male patient with a unique complex phenotype revealed a novel de novo missense variant in FASN (c.6395C>T, p.A2132V), encoding Fatty Acid Synthase. The patient presented with panhypopituitarism (GH, TSH, LH, FSH and ACTH deficiencies), short stature, sensorineural deafness, hypoparathyroidism, retinal dystrophy, and developmental delay. He was 127 cm tall at the age of 21 and failed to respond to GH treatment [IGF-1 ge...

Background: Unlike term neonates, known to exhibit a physiological pseudohypoaldosteronism, very preterms (VPT) display a high sodium waste at birth with partial aldosterone deficiency. This context, combined with a low aldosterone/renin ratio is highly suggestive of a defect in mineralocorticoid biosynthesis.Objectives and hypotheses: To investigate mineralocorticoid and glucocorticoid pathways in newborns, and to clarify the impact of prematurity upon ...