ESPE Abstracts

Background: Reaching a definitive diagnosis in individuals with XY DSD is challenging and the time taken to reach a diagnosis is an important clinical benchmark that has not been sufficiently explored in this group of conditions.Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic process with a focus on the time to diagnosis in children with XY DSD reported via the e-reporting platform (e-REC) of the European Registries for Rare Endoc...

Currently, the majority of patients with DSD do not have a molecular diagnosis. Although high throughput sequencing is having an impact on the clinical diagnosis of DSD the accurate interpretation genomic datasets of the identification of new gene mutations causing DSD is challenging. This is due to emerging evidence that DSD may be caused by mutations in many different genes and the prevalence of mutations in a single gene may be very low. As larger number of DSD patients are...

Background: Hypospadias in boys may be associated with a lack of androgen exposure during the masculinisation programming window. As testosterone has effects on the vasculature, we assessed whether boys with hypospadias show any evidence of vascular dysfunction.Methods: Excess foreskin tissue was obtained from boys undergoing hypospadias repair (cases) or circumcision (controls) and small arteries dissected from this tissue. Vascular contractility was as...

Introduction: Patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency (21OHD) have specific plasma and urinary steroid patterns, with 11-oxygenatedC19 steroids established as key adrenal-specific androgens. Monitoring glucocorticoid (GC) replacement remains a challenge in the absence of reliable biomarkers.Aim: To reassess the urinary steroid profile of children with CAH in relation to plasma ...

Introduction: The diagnosis and treatment of patients with rare diseases is often difficult as most clinicians do not encounter them. Therefore, centralization and collaboration between centers of expertise is necessary. European Reference Networks (ERN’s) such as RareEndoERN provide a platform for this, with one of its main thematic groups having a specific focus on rare growth and obesity disorders. Genetic obesity encompasses a heterogeneous group of c...

Background: Hypogonadism has been associated with cardiovascular disease. However, little is known about the cardiovascular impact of hypogonadism during development. Using hypospadias as a surrogate of hypogonadism, we investigated whether hypospadias is associated with vascular dysfunction during childhood and whether it is a risk factor for adult cardiovascular disease.Methods: Our human study spanned molecular mechan...

Background: A new classification of pseudohypoparathyroidism is available (Thiele et al. 2016, J Endocrinol). The phenotype variability of inactivating PTH/PTHrP Signaling Disorders (iPPSD, former pseudohypoparathyroidism) cases is still very challenging, even for experts. Thus, it is crucial to collect data in a centralized manner for future investigation.Methods: The EuRRECa/EuRR-Bone registries are the first ...

Introduction: The European Registries for Rare Bone and Mineral Conditions (EuRR-Bone) were created in collaboration with the European Reference Network on Rare Bone Conditions (ERN-BOND). EuRR-Bone collects data using 2 platforms: e-REC, a tool that captures the occurrence of bone and mineral conditions, and the Core Registry which collects a set of Core Data Elements as well as longitudinal patient and clinician reported outcomes in condition specific module...

Introduction: Gonadectomy may be indicated in people with differences or disorders of sex development (DSD). Based on historical data from the International-DSD (I-DSD) Registry that showed considerable practice variation, this I-DSD care quality improvement project seeks to determine, through prospective surveillance, the frequency of gonadectomy in individuals with DSD internationally.Methods: All existing I-DSD centre...

Background: Hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, a condition of central hypogonadism secondary to deficiency of gonadotropin releasing hormone and/or gonadotropins, is a rare disease affecting approximately 1 in 5000-15,000. A key step in improving understanding of best practice in this condition is the collection of geographically widespread data. Standardised and accessible international data collection can facilitate this, with implementation of established proto...