ESPE Abstracts

Background: The diagnosis of GHD in children is based on auxological, biochemical, neuro-radiological, and genetic tests. Biochemical tests include evaluation of stimulated GH secretion and baseline IGF-1 determination. Although IGF-1 is the most reliable indicator of GH action, its value should always be interpreted in conjunction with other clinical and biochemical parameters. Since IGF-1 has good specificity (about 90%), but low sensitivity (about 70%), nor...

Background: Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1) is an amino acid peptide produced under the effect of Growth Hormone (GH), mostly secreted by the liver, which stimulates bone growth. IGF-1 levels have high specificity and low sensitivity for the diagnosis of Growth Hormone Deficiency (GHD). Higher IGF-1 levels are classically associated with a better response to growth hormone therapy. The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between serum IGF...

The initial priority of newborn screening (NBS) for congenital hypothyroidism (CH) should be the detection of the primary forms (prevalence: 1:2000-3000), characterized by elevated TSH and reduced FT4 values. When financial resources are available, guidelines recommend adding measurement of T4 or FT4 to screen for central CH (CeCH), characterized by reduced T4/FT4 and reduced, normal or inadequately elevated TSH. Most NBS programs for CH are based on TSH measurement only, ther...