ESPE Abstracts

Background: Children with Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) show endocrine complications and metabolic alterations. The physiopathology of these conditions is not completely understood: iron overload due to chronic transfusions, ischemic damage, and inflammatory state related to vaso-occlusive crises may be involved. Aims of this study were to evaluate the growth pattern and the endocrine and metabolic alterations in a cohort of children with SCD and to detect the relationship between...

Background: During the last years, it has been sporadically reported that Graves’ disease (GD) and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) may follow one another in the same individuals, due to a sequential phenotypic conversion from GD to HT or vice versa.Objective and hypotheses: To shed further light on the specific relationships between Down syndrome (DS) and metamorphic thyroid autoimmunity.Method: We have reconstructed the con...

GH and IGF1 regulate cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis playing a key role in growth, and leading to consider potential oncogenic effects of GH. To evaluate possible oncogenic risks in GHD patients who underwent GH replacement therapy, the SAGhE consortium was created. The data collected have not yielded definite conclusions and continuous surveillance is yet required. MiRNAs are regulators of gene expression, and are involved in many biological processes. We ai...

Background: Nowadays, the role of minipuberty in influencing pubertal development is well documented. Phthalates are ubiquitous environmental contaminants and endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) with reproductive toxic effect. Aim of this study is to assess phthalate exposure within the first months of life in a cohort of healthy term infants and their mothers and the possible relationship with minipuberty.Methods: Sin...

Background: Hypospadias is one of the most common congenital anomalies in males. Surgical repairing aims to improve the aesthetic and functional outcome. The success rate of hypospadias repairing is variable according to the severity of the malformation with a complication rate(CR) of almost 60% in proximal forms. Testosterone treatment before surgery is still controversial and its impact on surgical outcomes, and the best regimen for administration, is unclea...

Background: Gender identity (GI) is the unified and persistent self-perception on the male-female spectrum, and its acquisition is a multifactorial process maybe influenced also by minipuberty. GI develops in early childhood and is consolidated around 3-4 years. Several tests assess GI as the Gender Identity Questionnaire for Children (GIQC). GIQC is intended for parents and aims to assess GI in both clinical and non-clinical populations. Aim of the research i...

Background: Gender role behaviour refers to a set of behaviours that differ for boys and girls, although its source and development remain controversial. Gender differences in the choice of toys and activities are observed as early as 12 months. Ad hoc tests, such as the Toy Preference Test (TPT), have been developed to highlight gender differences in paediatric populations. The aim of our study was to investigate play behaviour, to determine which toys are mo...

Background: MADaM syndrome associated with MTX2 gene, is a very rare premature-aging syndrome, caused by a homozygous mutation in the MTX2 gene, which encodes for metaxin-2, a mitochondrial outer membrane protein involved in protein translocation into mitochondria and in TNF-a- induced apoptosis.Case report: Term male newborn, due to a physiological pregnancy [birth weight 4230 g (1.61 SD), length 56 cm (3.24 SD), head c...

Introduction: Italy was the first EU country to be affected by COVID-19 outbreak. The sudden change in everyday life was challenging for children and young people (CYP) who rely heavily on peer connections for emotional and social support. Concerns for consequences in CYP with type 1 diabetes (T1D) rose.Objectives: To compare the diabetes-specific health-related quality of life (D-HRQOL) of CYP with T1D and their parents...

The growth response in patients undergoing GH treatment is variable depending both on the patient's basal conditions and on personal innate sensitivity to therapy. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are epigenetic regulators of gene expression, and are recognised as important regulators of biological and metabolic processes. It is unknown at present whether miRNAs could be early biomarkers of response to GH treatment in a perspective of individualised medicine, and whether they could disc...