ESPE Abstracts

Objective: In patients with growth hormone deficiency (GHD), even in those with no major organic lesion, anterior pituitary height (APH) is reported decreased. Limitations in the evaluation of APH and changes according to pubertal status make its validity questionable. Recently, in a small scale study, pons ratio (PR) has been suggested as a more sensitive marker for evaluation of pituitary gland in GHD patients. The study aims to evaluate the validity of PR a...

Background: AHDS is a devastating disease caused by defects in the thyroid hormone (TH) transporter MCT8. Endocrine expression is heralded by systemic hyperthyroidism with elevated serum T3, mildly increased TSH and decreased T4. However, the brain is hypothyroid, causing severe psychomotor retardation. Therapeutic attempts with PTU+levothyroxine or the T3-analogue DITPA could normalize TH derangements but without any neurological improvement. ...

Introduction: The steroid metabolism of the newborn and infant is subject to rapid changes and is extremely difficult and complex to assess. Of all analytical techniques, the platform technology of GC-MS allows the most comprehensive assessment of the entire steroid metabolome and this approach is also non-invasive.Method: In order to characterize the essential changes in steroid metabolism during infancy, a total of 355...

Background and aim: Epidemiologic studies have been shown that obesity increases the risk of renal disease and it impact on prognosis. In this study, we aimed to investigate both glomerular and tubular involvement in asymptomatic obese children and to investigate the association of metabolic-anthropometric parameters with renal parameters.Material-method: Children with BMI ≥95th percentile and diagnosed as primary obesity (n=43) were inclu...

Introduction: ACTs comprise adenomas (ACAs) and carcinomas (ACCs), the latter having a poor prognosis. In children, ACTs are functional and thus symptomatic. We investigated whether GC-MS urinary steroid metabotyping can detect tumors and differentiate between adenomas and carcinomas.Method: We investigated 46 patients (median 6.9; range 0.7-17 yrs; 36 females) with ACTs from the GPOH-MET Study (Registry of the German So...

Background: N-acetylneuraminic acid synthetase-congenital disorder of glycosylation (NANS-CDG) is a recently established rare autosomal recessive disease caused by pathogenic variants in NANS involved in the biosynthesis of N-acetylneuraminic acid (the most common member of sialic acids). Sialic acids are ubiquitously distributed in the body including the brain and skeletal system, and are required for the development and function of multiple organs/tissues. C...

Background: N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) are ionotropic glutamate receptors that are widely expressed in the CNS where they play an important role in neurotransmission and cell viability and serve as drug targets for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders.Objective and hypotheses: Much less is known about the role of pancreatic NMDARs. Since neurons and pancreatic islets have many features in common, we hypothesiz...

Introduction: Insulin resistance accelerates the onset of atherosclerosis and arterial stiffness in children. Trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), a gut-derived metabolite linked to cardio-metabolic issues in adults, could exacerbate these conditions in children as well. This study explores how insulin resistance and serum TMAO levels relate to vascular damage in obese children.Methods: We included 60 children aged 6 to 18, di...

Background: The N-acetyltransferase 2 (NAT2) A803G polymorphism leading to substitution of lysine to arginine at residue 268 and codifying for a cytosolic enzyme catalysing acetyl-CoA-dependent N- and O-acetylation reactions, has been associated with decreased insulin sensitivity in a large adult population with the A allele associated with insulin resistance (IR)-related traits.Objective and hypotheses: We screened for this polymorphism, for th...

Background: Phthalate exposure results in endocrine disruption by inhibiting steroidogenesis, inducing focal dysgenesis and disrupting germ cell development in the rat fetal testis. Whilst phthalate exposure does not reduce testosterone production by the human fetal testis, its effects on germ cells and induction of dysgenetic areas in the developing human testis are less well described.Objective and Hypotheses: To determine the effects of phthalate expo...