ESPE Abstracts

Background: Non alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease in childhood, in obese subjects and associated with insulin resistance.FOXO1 is a key regulator in insulin signalling and in intracellular adipogenesis, and is implicated in liver steatosis. We have previously identified that a group of miRNAs are involved in its epigenetic regulation.Objective and hypotheses: We aimed to assess in liver tissue and in serum whe...

Cystic Fibrosis (CF), is due to CF-transmembrane-conductance-regulator (CFTR) loss-of-function. Significant heterogeneity exists between patients, suggesting potential epigenetic regulation, and comorbidities develop with time. MiRNAs are non-coding RNAs that act as epigenetic regulators. Although many studies have focused on the role for miRNAs in regulating CFTR gene expression, little attention has been given to how CFTR influences their expression and how this affects grow...

Background: The DNA-binding High Mobility Group Box-1 (HMGB1) is an intracellular gene regulator that can be secreted also in response to inflammatory mediators, including interleukins, binding subsequently to both RAGE and Toll-like receptors forming a self-reinforcing inflammatory circle. Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a condition characterized by chronic inflammation. Elevated serum HMGB1 concentrations were described in serum of obese children and to be associated with the metabo...

Background: MicroRNAs (miRNA) are small non coding RNA molecules, key regulators of metabolic pathways. Obesity is characterised by many metabolic changes. NAFLD is seen as a complication of obesity. FOXO-1, key regulator in insulin signalling, has been shown to be implicated in NAFLD. We previously identified miRNAs regulators of the FOXO-1 gene.Objective and hypotheses: To assess in serum whether the regulation of miR-146a and miR-486-5p, FOXO1 gene re...

Background: MEN1 is an autosomal dominant disorder that is due to mutations in the tumor suppressor gene MEN1, which encodes a 610-amino acid protein, menin. MEN1 is characterized by the occurrence of parathyroid, pancreatic islet, and anterior pituitary tumors. The prognosis for MEN1 patients might be improved by presymptomatic tumor detection and undertaking treatment specific for MEN1 tumors.Objective and Hypotheses: Genetics is increasingly becoming ...

The pathogenesis of altered bone metabolism leading to bone mass loss and fractures in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) is complex, and can involve malnutrition, malabsorption, lack of physical activity, vitamin D and K insufficiency, systemic inflammation, respiratory failure, liver disease, hypogonadism, and treatment with glucocorticosteroids. Many studies reported osteopenia, osteoporosis and fractures in adults with CF, with bone loss starting at an earlier age than in ...

Approximately 12% to 17% of MEN1 patients are diagnosed with the disease in the first two decades of life. Clinical evident disease appears uncommon before adolescence, with consensus guidelines currently recommending phenotype screening of confirmed MEN1 carriers commencing by age 5 years. A recent publication reviewed the recent literature in this area, that demonstrates that mortality is rare in children and young adults, whereas morbidity is not uncommon for various endocr...

Background: Hypercalciuria, short stature and low bone mineral density are features of distal renal tubular acidosis (dRTA) and osteogenesis imperfecta (OI). If untreated, the presence of dRTA in patients with OI may worsen the prognosis and lead to poorer height outcomes. We describe two unrelated children with an unusual association between OI and dRTA.Cases: Patient 1 is a 7-year-old female diagnosed prenatally with a COL1A2 mutation and postnatally w...

Background: Preterm newborns (PN) are at risk of developing congenital hypothyroidism (CH) with a high reported incidence (1:300 vs 1:2000 for at term newborns). The study's objective was to determine the TSH percentiles at neonatal screening (NS) in PN and to analyze the incidence of permanent and transient CH in this population.Materials and Methods: PN born in the Piedmont Region of Italy in the period 2019-2021 ...

Bone fragility is a more typical condition of old age, linked to physiological aging. In pediatric age, on the contrary, it represents a rare problem, but more often has an underlying primary cause. This condition manifests itself in most cases with recurrent or abnormal fractures and bone deformities, with a limitation of mobility, bone pain and consequent reduction in the quality of life of the child. The great difficulty for the clinician consists in reaching a correct diag...