ESPE Abstracts

Background: Growth disorders in children often present a multifactorial challenge involving genetics, nutrition, and endocrine function. This case report focuses on a young girl with growth retardation linked to a homozygous pathogenic variant in the PAPPA2 gene, encoding pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A2 (PAPP-A2), a key regulator in the insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-I) axis.Case Presentation: A 5-year-old girl...

Introduction: The complex interplay between nutritional status, body mass index (BMI), and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) is pivotal in understanding pediatric growth. Our study investigates these relationships to enhance growth outcomes in children.Objective: We aimed to evaluate the effects of nutritional interventions on BMI, height growth velocity, and IGF-1 levels in 125 underweight children aged 2-10, who und...

Introduction: Children born small for gestational age (SGA) are susceptible to abnormal glucose metabolism and insulin resistance, which may be exacerbated by (GH) therapy.Methods: A comprehensive analysis of existing literature was conducted to assess the outcomes and implications of GH treatment in this specific pediatric population.Results: 10 studies were reviewed, (1458 SGA ch...

Background: The infantile growth parameters of children diagnosed later in life with GH-deficiency is still very controversial.Methods: We synthesized data from eight key studies, spanning from 1984 to 2003, alongside our current patient data. The LSDS and WtSDS at birth, 2 months, and 24 months are compared, noting the presence or absence of significant growth retardation or deviation from expected growth standards....

Introduction: Growth Hormone Deficiency (GHD) is a critical condition that impairs the normal growth patterns in children, leading to various health challenges. Previous studies, including that by Leger et al. (1996), have characterized the secretion curve of growth hormone (GH) in early childhood. Our study aims to link the timed infantile growth data, specifically Length and Weight Standard Deviation Scores (LSDS and WTSDS), of children with diagnos...

Background: The precise growth hormone (GH) cut-off value for diagnosing growth hormone deficiency (GHD) in children is a subject of ongoing debate. With GH provocative tests typically using cut-offs between 4.7 and 6.5 µg/L, the traditional threshold of <10 µg/L is being reconsidered in favor of <7 µg/L due to advancements in GH assay standardization. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the pituitary gland is a crucial diagnostic tool,...

Introduction: Glucagon serves as a growth hormone (GH) secretagogue. Serial measurements of GH concentration following glucagon administration are one of the growth hormone stimulation tests (GHSTs) for assessing GH sufficiency in children with suspected growth hormone deficiency (GHD). Although intramuscular glucagon is utilized to evaluate GH secretion, the relationship between changes in blood glucose (BG) and GH during this test has not been thoroughly stu...

Background: The global prevalence of childhood and adolescent obesity has surged since 1980, reaching 107.7 million cases in 2015. Notably, 23% of children in developed countries are overweight or obese. The Atherogenic Index of Plasma (AIP) emerges as a novel, robust biomarker, closely linked to obesity, and serves as a reliable indicator of dyslipidemia and associated conditions, including cardiovascular diseases.Aim: ...

Background: Growth patterns in early childhood have profound implications for long-term health outcomes. This study aim ed to compare the growth trajectories of Small for Gestational Age (SGA) and Appropriate for Gestational Age (AGA) preterm infants over the first 60 months of life.Methods: A longitudinal analysis of Z-scores for weight-for-age (WAZ), length-for-age (LAZ), and weight-for-length (WLZ) was conducted on pr...

Background: Small for Gestational Age (SGA) infants, characterized by a birth weight below the 10th percentile for their gestational age, are susceptible to growth challenges. This longitudinal study investigates the postnatal growth of 10 SGA infants with birth weights under 1.5 kg, tracking their Weight-for-Age Z-score (WAZ), Length-for-Age Z-score (LAZ), and Weight-for-Length Z-score (WLZ) for five years.Methods: This...