ESPE Abstracts

Background: Small for gestational age (SGA), defined as ≤−2.0 SDS birth length or weight, is a condition seen in up to 3% of all newborn. Most SGA children catch up height in postnatal life. In a significant number (~10%), however, height remains below the third centile. Recombinant GH therapy is indicated when growth failure continues to 4 years of age. The pathophysiological basis of SGA is complex: monogenic disorders and/or fetal programming by environmental fa...

Background: Knowledge about the effect of GH treatment on adaptive functioning in children with Prader–Willi syndrome (PWS) is limited.Objective and hypotheses: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of GH treatment on adaptive functioning in children with PWS.Method: Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale (VABS) was assessed at start, at the end of the RCT, and after 7 years of GH treatment. In the RCT, 75 children (42...

Background: Both The Endocrine Society and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) published guidelines for the treatment of children and adolescents with gender dysphoria (GD). The guidelines recommend the use of GnRH agonists in adolescence to suppress puberty, and the use of cross-sex hormones starting around age 16 for eligible patients. In actual practice, there is no consensus whether to use these early medical interventions. The aim of our stud...

Background: IGF1 is mainly sequestered in a 150 kDa ternary complex with IGFBP3 and the acid-labile subunit (ALS). Dissociation of IGF1 from the ternary complex is in part regulated by proteolysis of IGFBP3, which reduces its affinity for IGF1. Short children born SGA have lower IGF1 and IGFBP3 levels compared to healthy peers.Objective and hypotheses: To determine complex formation in healthy normal statured children, and assess variables influencing co...

Background: Silver Russell syndrome (SRS) is characterized by low birth weight, severe postnatal short stature and distinctive facies. In ~50% of patients, (epi)genetic alterations can be detected (~40% hypomethylation of H19 on chromosome 11, ~10% maternal uniparental disomy (UPD) 7). As SRS patients are usually born small for gestational age (SGA), they are treated with GH to improve height. However, data on long-term effects of GH treatment in SRS patients are very limited....

Introduction: Phosphoglucomutase 1 catalyzes the interconversion of glucose-6-phosphate and glucose-1-phosphate. Phosphoglucomutase 1 deficiency (PGM1-CDG), previously termed glycogenosis type XIV (OMIM 612934), is a rare variant of the congenital disorders of glycolysation (CDG), resulting in abnormal attachment and processing of protein linked N-glycans. We present a girl with PGM1-CDG and delayed pubertal development and review the endocrine findings of the few pat...

Introduction: Standard dose for GH deficient children is 0.025 mg/kg per day given subcutaneously once daily. Inborn panhypopituitarism is a special subset of GH deficiency. Its management is difficult because several hormones need to be replaced. We present three patients with perinatal onset panhypopituitarism.Case reports: Case 1 is a 7-year-old boy who had hypoglycaemic seizure with reanimation due to circulatory arrest shortly after birth. Panhypopi...

Background: Children with Prader–Willi syndrome (PWS) attain high serum immunoreactive IGF1 levels during standard dose GH treatment, which leads to concern, but lowering the dose, deteriorates their body composition.Objective and hypotheses: To evaluate serum IGF1, IGFBP3 and acid-labile subunit (ALS) levels, complex formation and IGF-bioactivity in GH-treated PWS children. We hypothesized that GH-treated children with PWS have a normal IGF-bioacti...

Background: Preterm newborns are at risk of becoming transiently hypothyroxinaemic, which has been associated with neurodevelopmental impairments in childhood. It is not known whether these associations persist into adulthood.Objective and hypotheses: We studied the relation between transient hypothyroxinaemia of prematurity and IQ, neuromotor functioning and problem behaviour at young adult age.Method: This was a prospective study...

Background: The hypothalamic leptin–melanocortin signalling pathway is a critical regulator of human appetite and weight regulation. Monogenetic defects in the POMC gene, the MSH ligand generating PC1 gene and the MSH receptor gene MC4R lead to severe early onset and leptin-resistant obesity. In PWS, where the function of genes such as MAGEL2 are impaired, the Magel2-/- mouse model revealed decreased POMC neuronal functioning as one c...