ESPE Abstracts

Objective: Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) increased oxidative stress and promote inflammation, resulting in the cellular damage, by interacting with their receptor (RAGE) on cell membrane. By contrast, the soluble receptor for AGE (sRAGE), that is proteolytically cleaved from cell surface receptor via matrix metalloproteinases, sequester RAGE ligands and act as a cytoprotective and anti-inflammatory agent. AGEs-RAGE/sRAGE interaction is deemed to play a role in the pat...

Background: The initial L-T4 dose currently recommended in the treatment of congenital hypothyroidism (CH) is 10–15 mcg/kg per day.Objective and hypotheses: We designed a multicenter randomized trial to evaluate the effects of different starting doses of L-T4 within the range 10–15 mcg/kg per day on neurocognitive development in children with CH.Method: Seventy-two children with CH diagnosed by neonatal screening were enr...

Background: Autoimmune diseases have a higher incidence and prevalence among the individuals with Down syndrome (DS) compared to chromosomally normal people (increased risk for thyroid, gut and islet autoimmunity, juvenile idiopathic arthritis) These findings provide insights into a very aggressive phenotypic expression of autoimmunity in DS children.Objective and hypotheses: To investigate for the 1st time whether the association with DS might per se mo...

Background: Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) is the commonest autoimmune disorder in Turner syndrome (TS). Although there are in the pediatric literature many studies on the relationships between TS and HT, only few of them have specifically investigated whether the association with TS might be able to significantly affect the evolution over time of thyroid function in children and adolescents with HT, by conditioning a different thyroid status prognosis.<p class="abstext...

Background: The phenotypic spectrum of short stature homeobox-containing gene deficiency disorders (SHOX-D) ranges from non-specific short stature to Leri-Weill dyschondrosteosis. Current guidelines support rhGH in SHOX-D children, but long-term data are still lacking. Moreover, no correlation has been established yet between the severity of phenotype, including the response to rhGH, and the underlying SHOX pathogenic variant.Aims: To ev...

Background: Prolonged severe hypothyroidism due to Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) is a rare cause of pituitary hyperplasia (PH) in children. Loss of thyroxine negative feedback causes a TRH-dependent hyperplasia of pituitary thyrotroph cells resulting in adenohypophysis enlargement. A transdifferentiation of pituitary somatotroph cells into thyrotroph cells could explain growth failure in those patients. We report a case series of patients with growth impairment diagnosed...

Bile acids (BA) are C24 steroids synthesized from cholesterol in liver. Originally, they were mainly considered to function as emulsifiers supporting resorption of lipophilic food compounds and excretion of metabolic products. Recently, their additional biological and endocrine functions in the regulation of metabolism have aroused interest of researchers. In contrast to BA in blood, it is surprising that hardly any data exist on BA in the most accessible human biof...

Background: Central precocious puberty (CPP) results from premature activation of hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, which leads to an increased release of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). GnRH stimulates the development of secondary sexual features, rapid bone maturation and growth. GnRH agonists (GnRHa) represent the gold-standard therapy in CPP children and their use is responsible for pituitary GnRH receptors down-regulation, luteinizing hormone (L...

Background: Thyroid hormones (TH) play multiple effects on glucose metabolism. Some recent studies carried out in adult patients suggested an association between altered sensitivity to TH and type 2 diabetes, obesity, and metabolic syndrome. No studies are currently available on the presence of altered sensitivity to the action of TH in youths with prediabetes.Objective: To evaluate the relationship between sensitivity t...

Hypercalcemia and nephrocalcinosis (NC) are rare findings associated with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), whose pathogenetic mechanisms are still unclear. In this study we aimed to investigate the prevalence of NC in a cohort of Italian children affected with classical form of CAH, and to correlate its association with metabolic control of the disease.Subjects and Methods: This is a multicenter one year-perspective study involving ...