ESPE Abstracts

Background: Pubertal gynaecomastia is thought to be a clinical sign of an oestrogen-androgen imbalance, affecting up to 60% of boys. In most cases no underlying endocrinopathy can be identified. In boys, Anti-müllerian hormone (AMH) is produced by immature Sertoli cells and circulating level decreases as testosterone increases during pubertal maturation. In a previous cross sectional study we found significant lower levels of AMH in boys with pubertal gynaecomastia (Mieri...

Background: Pubertal gynaecomastia (PG) is considered a clinical sign of an oestrogen–androgen imbalance at the breast tissue level although little evidence exists. PG occurs in 40–60% of adolescent Caucasian boys, and in most cases however, no underlying endocrinopathy can be identified. Very few longitudinal studies on PG exist.Objective and method: As a part of the longitudinal COPENHAGEN Puberty Study we followed 110 healthy Danish boys (ag...

Background: Since the late 1960’s, pubertal breast staging has been based on Tanner’s classification. Appearance of glandular breast tissue may be difficult to distinguish by palpation from the surrounding subcutaneous fat tissue, especially in obese girls. To our knowledge, validation of the clinical assessment of pubertal stages by MRI quantification of glandular breast tissue has never been performed.Objective and hypotheses: i) To report no...

Background: Intermittent breast budding (girls entering stage B2 and then subsequently regressing to B1) in healthy girls is a frequent phenomenon observed by most clinicians. However, little is known of normal progression of female puberty, and the phenomenon of transient breast development has, to our knowledge, never been studied in details.Objective and hypotheses: We present and validate the female Puberty Nomogram indicating age specific SD<...

Background: In adult women, serum levels of AMH reflect both the number of small growing follicles and remaining primordial follicles. AMH levels range 15 fold between healthy girls. Interpretation of AMH is contentious due to minor intra-individual changes around time of pubertal onset despite continuous loss of primordial follicles.Objective and Hypotheses: To describe ovarian morphology (volume, follicles) in healthy girls and adolescents in relation ...

Background: Obesity in childhood is defined by age- and sex-specific BMI cut-off values. However, BMI does not disclose the distribution of fat mass. Increased abdominal adipose tissue is associated with a higher risk of cardio-metabolic disease in adulthood. Thus, precise measurements of abdominal adipose tissue in children may enable early prevention of disease.Objective and hypotheses: To validate measurements of abdominal adipose tissue by anthropome...

Background: FSH stimulates ovarian follicle maturation and estradiol synthesis which is responsible for breast development. Age at pubertal onset varies substantially among healthy girls. Although more than half of the variation is heritable, only a small part has been attributed to specific genetic polymorphisms identified so far.Objective and Hypotheses: We assessed the effect on pubertal onset of three genetic polymorphisms affecting FSH action.<p...

The conspicuous increase in the incidence of type 1 diabetes (T1D) in the Western world after World War II cannot be explained solely by genetic factors but suggests that this rise must be due to crucial interactions between predisposing genes and environmental changes. Three parallel phenomena in early childhood – the dynamic development of the immune system, the maturation of the gut microbiome and the appearance of the first T1D-associated autoantibodies – imply...

The mammalian thyroid gland stands out in comparison to other organs as it develops from no less than three independent anlagen that originate in anterior endoderm. The median or central anlage present in the pharyngeal floor gives rise to the thyroid bud or diverticulum that provides progenitors to the thyroxin-producing follicular cells. Bilaterally, the ultimobranchial bodies bud off from the inferior-most pharyngeal pouch. Until recently those structures were considered me...

Background: The heterozygous mutation in the SRCAP gene (611421) on chromosome 16p11.2 causes a rare genetic disorder named Floating–Harbor syndrome (FHS). The clinical diagnosis of FHS is characterized by a triad of short stature with significantly delayed bone age; expressive language delay, usually in the presence of normal motor development; and a triangular face with prominent nose and deep-set eyes.Objective: To investigate the presence of SRC...