ESPE Abstracts

Background: Congenial Leptin deficiency (CLD) manifests as severe obesity, hyperphagia, and metabolic complications. While Metroleptin is the treatment of choice, its cost makes it inaccessible for many. We present two sisters, aged 14 and 7, diagnosed with CLD, who had significant improvement with the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist, Semaglutide. Both experienced notable reduction in body weight and metabolic markers with Semaglutide, highlig...

Background: Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonists are approved for the treatment of T2DM and obesity and high dose liraglutide is FDA approved for chronic weight management in pediatric patients aged 12 and older who are obese. GLP-1R may also have a beneficial effect on the central and peripheral nervous system. Corneal Confocal Microscopy (CCM) has been used to show early nerve fiber regeneration in adults with obesity with and without diabetes....

Background: Obesity is highly prevalent worldwide, particularly in the MENA region. Whilst simple obesity has a variable genetic and environmental basis, syndromic and non-syndromic monogenic obesity has a strong genetic component. Melanocortin 4 receptor (MC4R) mutations are the commonest cause of monogenic obesity. MC4R also regulates neuropathic pain pathways via JNK signaling after nerve injury.Methods: Five children...

Background: Achondroplasia, the most prevalent skeletal dysplasia in children, is a multisystemic disease resulting from a common mutation in the fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3) gene. This mutation disrupts endochondral ossification, leading to disproportionate short stature. Historically, management has been primarily supportive due to the absence of targeted therapies. However, recent advancements have led to clinical trials for potential treatme...

Background: Childhood obesity is recognized as a chronic illness with limited therapeutic options. Addressing this condition through lifestyle interventions has proven to be challenging, particularly for adolescents, with only minimal outcomes observed. The use of GLP-1 agonists (such as Liraglutide) for reducing body weight in pediatric patients has yielded conflicting results. To date, no studies conducted in the Middle East have reported on the outcomes of ...

Background: Woodhouse-Sakati syndrome (WSS) is a rare, autosomal recessive genetic disorder with variable clinical manifestations mainly affecting the endocrine and nervous systems. Diabetes mellitus is one endocrine manifestation but there are no comprehensive data on the epidemiology, clinical features, underlying mechanisms, and management, particularly within the Qatari population.Methods: This retrospective study wa...

Context: Monogenic obesity (MO) is a rare form of obesity due to pathogenic variants in genes implicated in the leptin-melanocortin signaling pathway and accounts for around 5% of severe early-onset obesity. Mutations in the MC4R and Leptin genes are the commonest causes of MO. Determining the genetic causes has important clinical benefits as novel therapeutic interventions were developed for some forms of MO.Objective:<...

Background: Obesity is highly prevalent in the MENA region, especially in children and it has been associated with neurodegeneration. We have undertaken corneal confocal microscopy (CCM) to assess for evidence of neurodegeneration in children with simple obesity and monogenic obesity (MC4R gene mutation) and further assessed the effect of glucagon-like peptide 1 agonist (GLP-1) therapy on corneal nerve regeneration.Methods:</stro...

Background: Childhood obesity is highly prevalent in the MENA region and may be associated with sub-clinical neuropathy.Methods: Children with obesity with normal glucose tolerance (NGT), impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and Type 2 diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) and healthy controls (HC) underwent body composition analysis, assessment of vibration perception threshold (VPT), monofilament sensitivity and corneal confocal micros...

Background: Childhood obesity presents a significant global health concern, leading to long-term morbidity and mortality. While lifestyle interventions remain fundamental, pharmacological approaches, particularly using glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists, show promise in certain patient populations. However, studies exploring this avenue, particularly in the Middle East and North African region, are limited. This study aims to share our experienc...