ESPE Abstracts

Background: The gastrointestinal (GI) tract plays a central role in maintaining energy balance and body weight regulation. These functions are mediated by the secretion of gut hormones, including ghrelin, cholecystokinin (CCK), peptide YY(PYY), oxyntomodulin (OXM) and many other hormones. Some of them are orexigenic hormones that promote food intake, while others act as satiety signals and enhance insulin secretion from the pancreatic beta cells. Current evide...

Pediatric obesity is constantly increasing and exposes to serious cardiovascular and metabolic risks. The first treatment against obesity is lifestyle change. Actually, any intervention seems to be effective on the evolution of this condition, especially in the long term. For this reason, the interest in non-pharmaceutical compounds is growing. Several studies mentioned the use of zinc and inositol as compounds acting on weight loss and insulin resistance. The aim of this stud...

Background: The increase of global childhood obesity has led to an increase of associated co-morbidities also at a young age. The pro-inflammatory state and insulin resistance are two master regulators of several complications, including hypertension and pre-diabetes frequently connected in a complex crosstalk.Aim: To evaluate the relationship between glucose alterations and blood pressure and the pathogenetic involvemen...

Introduction: Genetic factors play an important role in determining individual susceptibility to weight gain and obesity. In the last few years, several genetic variants have been identified as monogenic forms of obesity. Among them, Leptin (LEP) and its receptor on hypothalamic neurons (LEPR) are key players in the regulation of body weight, food intake and energy homeostasis. Pathogenic variants in the LEPR gene cause severe childhood-onset obesity with an a...

Background: Fructose consumption in children is increasing, as is the prevalence of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). Despite the growing evidence supporting the effects of added sugars in the development of metabolic syndrome and related comorbidities, the association between fructose intake and liver diseases remains to be clarified, especially in young people. Our study aim ed to evaluate the role of fructose intake on metabo...