ESPE Abstracts

Introduction: Signs of hyperandrogenemia are common through adolescent and young females, hirsutism affecting 5% of reproductive -aged women. The most common cause of hyperandrogenemia and insulin resistance (IR) is polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) (1). The differential diagnosis includes congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) (2), androgen secreting tumors, but also very rare genetic syndromes of IR.Case report: A 13 year...

The skeletal research field develops rapidly and has produced several exciting findings in the last year and includes advances in the treatment of rare skeletal disorders and an ever deeper understanding into the fundamental molecular mechanisms that control skeletal development, metabolism, growth, and mineralization. The targeting of the C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) pathway and options to directly antagonize the overactivity of the FGFR3 pathway in achondroplasia continu...

Longitudinal growth is driven by endochondral ossification at the growth plate, where chondrocytes undergo a well-organized cellular differentiation process from stem-like progenitors to rapidly-proliferating transit-amplifying cells and to hypertrophic chondrocytes. Numerous recent studies have demonstrated that epigenetic modifications play a crucial role in human development and childhood growth. For example, Brachydactyly mental retardation syndrome (BDMR) is caused by hap...

Epiphyseal growth plates, tiny cartilage discs located to the end of long bones, are necessary for longitudinal growth of the skeleton. When and why these structures appeared as individual organs was not very clear until recently. Bringing together an evolutionary approach with comparative analysis, mathematical modelling and both physical and biological experiments allowed to reveal that spatial allocation of the growth plate reduces mechanical stresses within the structure, ...

Nuclear Factor kappa B (NF-κB) is a group of seven transcription factors, including p65 (RelA), c-Rel, RelB, p50/p105 (NF-κB1), and p52/p100 (NF-κB2). Upon activation by a wide variety of stimuli, NF-κB translocates to the nucleus, where it modulates the expression of target genes involved in cell growth, survival, and death.Previous evidence indicates that NF-κB regulates bone growth and development. Mice deficient in both the N...

SHOX deficiency is the most frequent genetic growth disorder associated with isolated and syndromic forms of short stature. Caused by mutations in the homeobox gene SHOX, its varied clinical manifestations include isolated short stature, Léri-Weill dyschondrosteosis, and Langer mesomelic dysplasia. In addition, SHOX deficiency contributes to the skeletal features in Turner syndrome. Causative SHOX mutations have allowed downstream pathology to be linked ...

It is known that almost 180 million children in the world have stunted growth. Most of these children live in eastern and central Africa and in South-central Asia. Among multiple factors causing stunted growth in the developing world, malnutrition is the most important one. On the other hand, reduced caloric intake is also a cause of poor statural growth in developed countries.Mammals, including humans, exposed to malnutrition experience poor bone growth...

Children’s linear growth is a complex process determined by genetic and environmental factors. It is well known that nutrition influences linear growth, but the precise mechanisms by which nutrition interact with height gain was never fully elucidated. In the present lecture, the way by which nutrition affects linear growth will be discussed. Specifically, we will discuss the effect of nutrition on the GH- IGF-1 axis and its local effect on the chondrocytes of the epiphys...

Background: Children with inflammatory diseases usually display abnormal growth patterns as well as delayed puberty. This is a result of several factors related to the disease itself, such as malnutrition, hypercortisolism, and elevated levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines. These factors in combination with glucocorticoid treatment contribute to growth retardation during chronic inflammation by systemically affecting the major regulator of growth, the GH/IGF1 axis. In conditio...

The functional activities of growth plate chondrocytes are tightly controled to regulate the pace of linear growth. Simplistically, growth rate is determined by the number of cells within the proliferative zone which is regulated by their rate of proliferation and also their rate of differentiation into the hypertrophic phenotype. In turn, a strong positive correlation exists between the final hypertrophic cell volume and the rate of growth. Interruption and/or deregulation of...