ESPE Abstracts

Background: Protein-losing enteropathy (PLE) is a complex life-threatening complication that occurs in 5-15% of patients who undergo Fontan procedure to palliate a functional or anatomic single ventricle. Patients with PLE suffer from enteric protein loss, hypoproteinemia, hypoalbuminemia and electrolyte alterations. Enteral budesonide is widely recognized as the corticosteroid of choice to treat gut inflammation underlying PLE for its strong local anti-inflam...

Background: Cushing’s disease, due to ACTH-secreting pituitary adenomas, is rare in the pediatric age (0.2–0.5/ million people per year), although accounts for 75–80% of Cushing syndrome in childhood compared to 49–71% in adulthood. We report clinical presentation, diagnostic workup and treatment of a new case with major therapeutics problems.Case report: A 15-year-old girl was referred to our clinic because of secondary amenorrhea, a...

Background: The abnormalities of the Internal Carotid Artery (ICA) are very rare phenomenona and the agenesis, in particular, has an estimated incidence of 0,01% among the general population. It could also be associated with another rare condition: the congenital hypopituitarism.Objective and hypotheses: To describe a very rare case characterized by the association between congenital hypopituitarism and abnormalities of the internal carotid artery.<p...

Introduction: The leptin-melanocortin pathway is a well-studied pivotal player of body weight regulation and energy homeostasis. Pathogenic mutations of the genes involved in this pathway may result in early-onset severe obesity (ESO).Case Report: We hereby report the case of a 14-year-old girl who was referred to our pediatric outpatient clinic for the evaluation of ESO. Her parents were non-obese first cousins born in Morocco. At the t...

Introduction: Salt wasting is a potentially life-threatening condition in the newborn period. Other than 21 OH-CAH other rarer adrenal causes should be considered in the differential diagnosisObjective: To report the laboratory, clinical features, management and genotype of a series of consecutive patients who showed up at our Center for a salt wasting syndrome in the last 32 years, excluding patients with 21 OH CAH....

Primary hyperparathyroidism is a condition characterized by one or more hyperfunctioning parathyroids leading to hypercalcemia and inappropriately normal or elevated levels of parathyroid hormone (PTH). Clinically it can occur asymptomatically or manifests with osteopenia, increased risk of pathological fractures, nephrolithiasis, gastrointestinal symptoms (vomiting, constipation, abdominal pain) or asthenia. We report the case of A.L.M, a 15-year-old female who went to the Em...

Introduction: in females with precocious thelarche (PT) (< 8 years), elevation of morning luteinizing hormone levels (mLH) may be indicative of pubertal activation of the pituitary gonadal axis. However, this approach could not be satisfactory in real life management of PT due to the risk of reduced specificity and sensitivity of the mLH thresholds. We propose a diagnostic flow-chart based on basal and stimulated gonadotrophins integrated with bone age and ...

Background: Girls with Turner Syndrome (TS) are at an increased risk of primary ovarian failure. Oestrogen replacement is commenced at around the age of 12 years, in girls who do not enter puberty spontaneously, with incremental changes to the dose over the next 3 years until adult replacement doses are achieved. We have previously shown good correlation between serum and urinary LH (uLH) and FSH (uFSH) in children being assessed for disorders of puberty.<...

Background: Pain represents one of the most stressful experiences for children undergoing medical therapies (Kortesluoma, 2008), but is under represented in literature for what concerns pediatric endocrinology. Children consider Injections one of the most painful, frighteningand distressing procedures (Fassler, 1985). The treatment for patients with Growth Hormone Deficiency requires daily subcutaneous injection, performed by parents or patients themselves. Th...

Autoimmune polyglandular syndrome type 1 (APS-1) is also known as autoimmune polyendocrinopathy-candidiasis-ectodermal dystrophy (APECED). Clinical manifestations are widely variable. It is an autoimmune disease which is characterized by the triad hypoparathyroidism, Addison disease, and chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis. However, several other autoimmune disorders, not necessarily endocrinological, differing in number and severity, may be present. APS1 is mostly caused by mut...