ESPE Abstracts

Background: Nonsurgical development of nasal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks may occur in the setting of pituitary adenomas, especially following a favorable response of invasive prolactinomas to initiation of Dopamine Agonist (DA) therapy, but this has not previously described in children.Case description: A girl of Srilankan origin, aged 13.8 years, whose parents spoke no English, presented with headaches and secondary amenorrhea. Pituitary MRI reveale...

Background: Paediatric HPAT, though generally benign, incurs significant neuro-endocrine morbidity. Their management is unclear and the paediatric neuro-oncology or adult pituitary forum at which they are discussed lack pituitary or age-specific expertise respectively. The UK National HPAT Interest Group has pioneered a monthly, multi-site, interdisciplinary, video conferencing decision-making forum, to garner necessary experience and evidence of outcomes to assist worldwide r...

Background: Childhood tumours of the hypothalamic pituitary axis (HPATs) are very rare and hence any single centre experience is limited. Without evidence-based guidance, treatment is individualised on a case basis. Survival rates are high, but at the expense of significant morbidity. Centralised care or wider multi-professional consultation may improve neuroendocrine and visual outcomes.Objective and hypotheses: i) To facilitate multi-professional dialo...

Diazoxide Choline Controlled Release Tablet (DCCR) is under development for the treatment of Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS). The objective of this research was to characterize single dose and steady state pharmacokinetics, dose linearity and food effects of DCCR across five clinical studies. Single dose pharmacokinetics of DCCR were compared to diazoxide oral suspension (Proglycem®) in a study in obese subjects (PK001). Steady state pharmacokinetics were evaluated...

DCCR is a once daily tablet formulation of the choline salt of diazoxide, a KATP channel agonist. DCCR is being developed for the treatment of hyperphagia in Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), the most common genetic cause of life-threatening obesity. In a phase 2 study, DCCR treatment resulted in significant reductions of hyperphagia and aggressive behaviors. Diazoxide increases glucose by decreasing beta-cell insulin secretion in hyperinsulinemic conditions. However, ot...

Background: Ovotesticular disorders of sexual development (DSD) are a rare form of DSD with co-existence of both ovarian and testicular tissue in one or both gonads.Case report: A term infant (weight +1.38 SDS) presented at birth with severe penoscrotal hypospadias, a small phallus and a right hemiscrotum with descended gonad (external masculinization score 1.5). Pelvic ultrasound revealed no Mullerian structures, a small right gonad with probable epidid...

Background: Bone age studies require X-ray of the left hand and wrist to assess skeletal maturity. The Tanner-Whitehouse 3 (TW3) scoring method provides an objective framework for calculating bone age and specifies exact placement of the hand. In our service we have noted a number of poor quality films, caused by difficulty with hand placement, e.g. scrunching of the fingers. This compromises the ability to score accurately and in a proportion necessitates re-X-ray, with time,...

A gradual reduction of national median HbA1c levels in England and Wales since 2009 can be attributed to development of a network approach to care supported by the National Paediatric Diabetes Audit (NPDA) and a Best Practice Tariff in England, introduced by the Department of Health in 2012. This delivery of a co-ordinated national programme of support for 173 multi-disciplinary teams distributed across over 140 NHS Trusts and Health Boards, has been at risk of plateauing in r...

Introduction: The Short Synacthen Test (SST) is the most popular diagnostic investigation of adrenal insufficiency (AI) amongst adult and paediatric endocrinologists. AI can present insidiously and symptoms may be non-specific. The number of medical indications for glucocorticoids is growing and SST usage is correspondingly increasing. There is evidence that an early morning plasma cortisol (EMC) of below ~100–150 nmol/l is highly predictive of failing the SST and the cor...

Introduction: The Short Synacthen Test (SST) is the most popular diagnostic investigation of adrenal insufficiency (AI) worldwide. Symptoms of AI are frequently non-specific, often delaying diagnosis, however fortunately cases of adrenal crisis remain relatively rare. Diagnostic cut-offs for plasma cortisol on SST are controversial, made more complicated by modern assays and paediatric normative values extrapolated from adult data. Some advocate a division between biochemical ...