ESPE Abstracts

Congenital hypopituitarism (CH) is a highly variable disorder affecting 1:3000 - 1:4000 live births, and is characterized by deficiencies in one or more of the 7 pituitary hormones, with growth hormone (GH) being the most frequently-occurring deficiency. It may be associated with a range of syndromic features including visual impairment, midline brain abnormalities and facial clefting. The development of the pituitary gland is closely associated with that of the forebrain and ...

Background: Correct hypothalamo-pituitary (HP) formation is dependent on a complex network of numerous transcription factors and signalling molecules. Congenital hypopituitarism (CH) is a highly variable disorder involving deficiencies in one or more of the 7 pituitary hormones, and is often associated with syndromic features, spanning visual, midline brain, and facial abnormalities.Methods: We used a targeted gene panel...

Background/aim: HD is a life-threatening, but under-reported, disorder without accepted diagnostic criteria. We prospectively assessed the prevalence and severity of its 4 domains (sleep, appetite, temperature, thirst) in patients with congenital or acquired disorders, and their impact on quality of life (QoL).Methods: 66 patients (35M/31F) aged 12.4 ± 3.1 years, at risk of HD from tumours (n:36) or congenital maldeve...

Introduction: Anastrozole, an aromatase inhibitor, prevents the conversion of androgen to oestrogen, which is required for the adolescent growth spurt and the attainment of peak bone mass. Anastrozole may help minimise bone age (BA) advancement in conditions associated with adrenal androgen excess, such as congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) and premature adrenarche.Objectives: 1. To describe baseline characteristics an...

Whole exome sequencing performed on a male patient with a unique complex phenotype revealed a novel de novo missense variant in FASN (c.6395C>T, p.A2132V), encoding Fatty Acid Synthase. The patient presented with panhypopituitarism (GH, TSH, LH, FSH and ACTH deficiencies), short stature, sensorineural deafness, hypoparathyroidism, retinal dystrophy, and developmental delay. He was 127 cm tall at the age of 21 and failed to respond to GH treatment [IGF-1 ge...

Background: Genetic variants are identified in a small proportion (~10%) of patients with Congenital Hypopituitarism (CH), with variable associated phenotypes. We aimed to phenotypically characterise a large cohort of patients with genetically proven CH.Patients and methods: 1684 CH patients were screened (Sanger or whole exome sequencing) over a 20-year period (1998-2018) for mutations in genes regulating pitui...

Background: The BoneXpert method is an automated determination of bone age, which employs deformable models of each bone to locate the bones, and extracts the component of the bone appearance related to maturity in a holistic, statistical manner. The BoneXpert has been validated on normal children and children with diagnoses typical of pediatric endocrinology. Multiple clinical studies suggested that BoneXpert has adequate accuracy, precision, and efficiency to be clinically u...

Aim: To identify the distinctive features of GH Deficiency (GHD) and to assess the response to GH treatment (rhGH) in children with Septo-Optic-dysplasia (SOD) and Multiple Pituitary Hormone Deficiencies (MPHD).Methods: Retrospective longitudinal single centre study of children with SOD (n:171) and MPHD (n:53). GHD was diagnosed in patients with growth failure by an insufficient GH response (≤6.7 μg/l) to provocation (Insulin Induced Hypoglyca...

Background: Children with septo-optic dysplasia (SOD) and related disorders can present with either hypogonadotropic hypogonadism or precocious puberty. This phenotypic variability remains unexplained.Objective and hypotheses: To compare pubertal characteristics of SOD with isolated congenital hypopituitarism (CPHD) and optic nerve hypoplasia (ONH).Method: Retrospective longitudinal data collection from 259 patients with: SOD (...

Introduction: Septo-optic dysplasia (SOD) is characterized by a combination of midline forebrain, pituitary and eye abnormalities. We aimed to evaluate endocrine features of patients with SOD, and multiple pituitary hormone deficiencies (MPHD).Design: Retrospective data were collected from 130 patients: 102 SOD and 28 MPHD followed at a single tertiary centre. SOD were divided into two groups: with pituitary hormone deficiencies (SOD+, n=83) and...