ESPE Abstracts

Background: Rare congenital conditions with incongruence of chromosomal, gonadal, and phenotypic sex have been summarized as disorders of sex development (DSD). Included in DSD are conditions with diverse genetic etiology, varying levels of prenatal androgen effects, phenotypes, and subsequently, different medical treatments. Quality of life (QoL) and psychological wellbeing are indicators of successful psychosocial adaptation to the conditions. Studies addressing these issues...

Introduction: The diagnosis of a disorder/difference of sexual development (dsd) is an exceptional psychosocial situation. As the diagnosis is often made in childhood, the parents are the primary communication partners. In some cases, the impossibility of immediate sex determination of the child can be a traumatic experience with a negative impact on the relationship between the parents and the child, the couple and members of the entire family. It has been recommended by the ...

Background: 11β-hydroxylase deficiency (HD) represents a rare cause of congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) characterized by glucocorticoid deficiency and excess of mineralcorticoids and androgens. The CYP11B1 gene on chromosome 8q22 encodes the 11β-hydroxylase.Objective: To report clinical, biochemical and molecular features of patients with 11β-HD.Results: Four male patients of Turkish descent with 11β-HD incl...

Introduction: Limited research has focused on the potential connection between thyroid function and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), particularly beyond prenatal effects. The few studies addressing children and adolescents have important methodological shortcomings, mainly when seeking to establish causality. To clarify this relationship, a combined epidemiological and genetic approach was adopted to overcome the methodological limitations of e...

Background: A fair number of epidemiological studies suggest that age at menarche (AAM) is associated with depression, but the reported effect sizes are small, and there is evidence of residual confounding. Moreover, previous Mendelian randomization (MR) studies to avoid inferential problems inherent to epidemiological studies have provided mixed findings.Methods: To clarify the causal relationship between age at menarch...

Background: Macroprolactinomas in children below 10 years of age are rare. Usually prolactinomas respond well to dopamine agonists so that neurosurgical resection is rarely necessary. For non-responders to dopamine agonist therapy other extended treatment options have to be considered.Clinical case: We report a 14-year-old boy who presented at the age of 11 years with headaches for 5 years and progressive bilateral vision problems. The diagnosis of a mac...

Background: POMC plays a major role in central body weight regulation. Recently we have shown that a POMC hypermethylation variant is significantly associated with obesity in children and adolescents (Kuehnen et al. PLoS Genetics 2012).Objective and hypotheses: Here we report about our extended studies to elucidate the mechanism behind the occurrence of the POMC hypermethylation variant in obese individuals.<p clas...

Objectives: Continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) has been associated with lower HbA1c. To explore whether CSII initiation leads to HbA1c improvement in each individual with type-1 diabetes and to identify co-variates which might influence change in HbA1c.Methods: 5,040 pediatric type-1-diabetes subjects (δ20 y, 49% boys, median age at diabetes onset [Q1;Q3]: 5.9 [3.5;8.4] years) ...

Background: There is preliminary evidence that adrenal steroids other than cortisol may be valuable biomarkers for major depressive disorder (MDD). So far, studies have been conducted in adults only, and conclusions are limited, mainly due to small sample sizes. Therefore, the present study was intended to assess whether adrenal steroids (progesterone, 17-hydroxyprogesterone, 21-deoxycortisol, 11-deoxycortisol, cortisol, cortisone, deoxycorticosterone, cortico...

Background: There is a distinct increase in the prevalence of depression with the onset of puberty. The role of peripubertal testosterone levels in boys in this context is insufficiently understood. Moreover, the number of CAG repeats of the androgen receptor gene (AR) and the depression status (subclinical vs. overt depression) may modulate the role of testosterone, but this has not yet been studied in a clinical sample.Methods:...