ESPE Abstracts

Objective: Low birth weight and prematurity are linked to various behavioural outcomes. In addition, preterm (PT) infants show altered maturation of pituitary–gonadal axis, as demonstrated by its pronounced transient activation during the first postnatal months. Given that gonadal steroid hormones shape the basic processes of neural and behavioural sexual differentiation these elevated sex steroids in premature infants might affect the developing brain and alter subsequen...

KBG syndrome (OMIM 148050) is a an emerging autosomal dominant disorder caused by heterozygous mutations in the ANKRD11 gene or deletions of 16q24.3, characterized by developmental delay, short stature, dysmorphic facial features and skeletal anomalies. Patients and methods: We report 22 patients with dysmorphic features, learning disabilities, behavior problems and macrodontia, where a clinical diagnosis of KBG was suspected. An ANKRD11 defect was confirmed in 12 patients. In...

The LMNA gene encodes lamin A/C, intermediate filament proteins associated with the inner nuclear membrane. Mutations in LMNA gene cause a wide range of human diseases sometimes called ‘laminopathies’ that affect different organ systems depending upon the mutation. Most laminopathies involve tissue of mesenchymal origins, resulting in such features as cardiac disorders and/or muscular dystrophy, lipodystrophy or progeroid syndromes. The group of progeroid syndromes i...

Vanishing testis syndrome leads to hypergonadotropic hypogonadism. We report the case of a 28-years-old patient, who was diagnosed with bilateral cryptorchidism and phymosis at birth. At one, three and seven years-of-age orchidopexy was unsuccessfull to find testicular tissue. Meanwhile one cure of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) therapy was applied, without success. Endocrine investigation was continued just in 2011, at 24 years-of-age, when infantile external male genital...

Background: Reduced growth is a common feature in RASopathies. Poor data are available about pubertal spurt and the effect on final height (FH) in patients with these disorders.Objective and hypotheses: To study growth, body proportions, pubertal pattern, and FH including subject treated with GH-therapy for proven GH deficiency.Method: We analized growth trend and body proportions in 88 patients affected by RASopathies with molecul...

Background: Pubertal growth, age of puberty onset and pubertal spurt duration are correlated to final height (FH). Few data are available in subjects with rare genetic syndromes.Objective and hypotheses: To evaluate pubertal pattern and its influence on FH in subjects with different genetic syndromes including the effect of GH-therapy for GH deficiency (GHD) and GnRH analogs for precocious puberty (PP).Method: We studied for growth...

Background: Intensive insulin treatment allows a good metabolic control and prevents long-term complications. Basal-bolus regimen is the best treatment for children with type 1 diabetes T1D but requires several insulin injections a day. The needle-fear and discomfort felt by the child and parents/caregivers for insulin administration is one of the main obstacle to good compliance.Objective and hypotheses: To compare glycemic control and satisfaction with...

We describe a 5 years-old patient referred to our centre for dysmorphic features and delayed psychomotor development. Negative family history, second child, full-term birth, eutocic delivery, regular growth parameters at birth and neonatal adaptation. Autonomous walking at 20 months with clumsiness; first words at 2 years with dysarthria and dysphagia. Brain MRI and array-CGH were normal. At the neurological examination: perioral hypotonia, sialorrhea, praxic difficulties. At ...

ERF protein is a major binding target of ERK1/2 kinases, key effectors of the RAS–MEK–ERK signaling cascade. ERF has a role as a negative transcriptional regulator of RAS/MAPK mitogenic pathway (1) and, in theory, a loss-of-function mutation (LOF) in ERF could cause a Rasopathy phenotype. To date, LOF variants of ERF have been reported in 45 individuals with craniosynostosis but without a Noonan-like phenotype. There is only one case report describing a patient wit...

Background: Patients with Turner Syndrome (TS) are at high risk for congenital heart disease (CHD), aortic dilatation and dissection with increased mortality and morbidity. Thoracic gadolinium-enhanced MRI angiography allows clear imaging of all great vessels and revealed a spectrum of silent vascular anomalies (VA), both venous and arterial, undetected at Echocardiography.The aim of this study is to retrospectively evaluate the prevalen...