ESPE Abstracts

Background: Individuals with the ultra-rare genetic disorder FOP experience progressive heterotopic ossification. Median age at diagnosis is 5 years; patients are supported by multiple specialties. Most patients become immobilised by the third decade of life, requiring lifelong assistance. We characterise AADA use as an indicator of disease severity in younger individuals with FOP enrolled in a 36-month, prospective, global NHS (NCT02322255).<p class="abst...

Introduction: Paediatric Inflammatory Multisystem Syndrome Temporarily associated with SARS-CoV-2 (PIMS-TS) was first reported by our hospital in the UK. Vitamin D3(25(OH)D) has important roles in cardiac function, immunomodulation, and inflammation. It therefore may be an important biomarker for severity in PIMS-TS, however 25(OH)D status and treatment guidance in PIMS-TS are lacking. We report serum 25(OH)D levels on admission and associations wit...

Background: FOP is an ultra-rare, severely disabling genetic disorder characterised by progressive heterotopic ossification. The median age at diagnosis is 5 years and patients are supported by multiple specialties. We describe normal long bone growth changes and incidence of bone abnormalities in participants with FOP aged <18 years in a 3-year, prospective, global NHS (NCT02322255).Methods: Individuals with FOP age...

Background: Thyroid hormones contribute to a wide range of physiological processes and health outcomes. Epigenetic regulation of thyroid development and function has been little explored. PAX8 (Paired Box 8) is a thyroid transcription factor implicated in thyroid gland development and differentiation. PAX8 gene methylation appears to be sensitive to the environment in early pregnancy.Methods and Findings: Using a recall-by-epige...

Background and Aims: Central Precocious Puberty (CPP) caused by the early activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis is a rare affection that occurs in 0.2% in girls. Clinical signs are suggestive and LHRH-test could be sometimes difficult to use and not always contributive. Gonadotropin assay in twenty-four hours-urinary collection could be an interesting option. The present work intended to evaluate the diagnostic interest of 24-hour urinary gonad...

Here we identified and characterized a heterozygous tandem duplication at the ASIP (agouti-signaling protein) gene locus causing ubiquitous, ectopic ASIP expression in a female index patient with extreme childhood obesity. In patient-derived adipose tissue samples, we observed pronounced differentiation of stroma-vascular fraction (SVF) cells into adipocytes in the patient compared to normal control cells. We further found reduced mitochondrial maximum respir...

Objectives: To discuss all challenges involved with providing children (including the very young) and adolescents with diabetes (CwD) with the latest appropriate technology, such as automated insulin delivery systems (AIDs), to manage their blood glucose and help improve their quality of life and suggest ways in which access to new types of devices available to adults can be improved for children with T1D.Methods: In con...

Objective: Determining the cause of early obesity in children is of paramount importance for early and efficient treatment, including novel targeted pharmaceutical treatment options (e.g. MCR4 agonist). Here, we report findings from diagnostic whole exome sequencing of children with obesity, identifying genetic variants both within and outside the leptin-melanocortin pathway associated with obesity. These findings provide valuable insights for informe...

Background: The prevalence of childhood and adulthood obesity as a chronic condition is rising worldwide with comorbidities and impairment of psychosocial development starting already early in life. The transition from adolescence to adulthood is a vulnerable period for young individuals with chronic conditions, yet the transition of children with obesity remains poorly studied. We aimed to characterize the transition of children with overweight/obesity from a...

Background: Sp7, also known as Osterix (Osx), is a zinc-finger transcription factor, essential for osteoblast differentiation and bone formation. While bone formation is absent in Osx knockout mice, human loss of function mutations lead to impaired bone formation and cause recessive osteogenesis imperfecta, type XII (OMIM 613849 ).Case: The 5-year-old son of non-consanguineous parents presented with multiple long bone fr...