ESPE Abstracts

Introduction: Monogenic obesity is a heterogeneous group of rare conditions involving less than 5% of the children with obesity. The most common subtypes of monogenic obesity are mutations of the genes MC4R, SIM1, and PCSK1. Rare monogenic obesity forms include also MEHMO syndrome. MEHMO is an X-linked condition characterized by Mental retardation, Epilepsy, Hypogonadism/hypogenitalism, Microcephaly, and Obesity. In our studies we ha...

Background: Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) is a frequent complication of obesity in both adults and children and there is an alarming increase in prevalence of both. Studying of risk factors for NAFLD in children and adolescents might help to select vulnerable groups to start an early intervention.Objectives: The aim of our study was to detect the prevalence of NAFLD in pediatric obese patients (0-18.9 years, ...

Aims/hypothesis: The Wolfram syndrome, also known as the DIDMOAD syndrome (Diabetes Insipidus, early-onset Diabetes Mellitus, progressive Optic Atrophy, and Deafness), is mostly associated with recessive mutations in the WFS1 gene. However, dominant mutations in the WFS1 gene were described as causing less severe Wolfram-like syndrome, or isolated optic atrophy, or low-frequency sensorineural hearing loss.Method...

Background and Objective: Obesity is known to affect pubertal timing. However, existing data are still controversial, observing either delayed or accelerated pubertal onset, especially among boys. Herein, we evaluated pubertal milestones and underlying hormonal changes between lean and obese children.Material and Methods: We examined 13,484 events from 4,855 lean (BMI SDS <1.28) and 1,983 obese (BMI SDS > 1.88) c...

Background: Rodent models of leptin inactivity show progressive obesity due to exaggerated food intake. In humans, only rare monogenic cases of leptin deficiency and almost absent circulating leptin levels have been identified. Recently, two cases of children with early onset massive obesity due to biofunctionally inactive leptin in the face of normal total levels have been identified.Objective and hypotheses: Here we aimed to identify leptin inactivity ...

Background: Congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI) is the most common cause of the persistent hypoglycemia in children. Mutations in KCNJ11 and ABCC8 genes coding potassium channel subunits are responsible for a significant proportion of CHI patients. The type of mutation correlates with the type of B-cell hyperplasia (focal or diffuse), and determinates further diagnostics, treatment and prognosis of disorder.Aims and objectives: The aim of ...

Context: Childhood obesity is supposed to affect growth and development in children but there is uncertainty with regard to dynamics and potential causes. We analyzed differences in age-related growth patterns of obese and normal-weight children and their association with circulating endocrine and metabolic factors.Objective/Design: In a large German childhood cohort from Leipzig including 7986 children (22793 data sets) we compared cross-sectional and l...

Background: MEHMO (microcephaly, epilepsy, hypogenitalism, mental retardation, obesity) is a rare disorder with X-linked inheritance. Only three families with this disorder were described previously, with the linkage to a region on X chromosome. No specific gene has been identified so far.Aims and objectives: The aim was to identify the genetic etiology in two unrelated Slovak male probands (4.5 and 1.5 years old respectively) with the clinical diagnosis...

Background: The course of type 2 diabetes is more severe among children with obesity than among adults. Therefore, children at high risk for glycemic deterioration should be detected early enough to guide preventive (and interventional) clinical management.Methods: We established age- and puberty-specific reference values for 7 different indexes addressing the insulin response during oral glucose tolerance testing upon 4...

Background: Congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI) is the most common cause of the persistent hypoglycemia in children and occurs in approximately 1 in 50,000 live births. Genetic testing provides information on the pancreatic histological subtype (i.e. focal vs diffuse) and determines further management and prognosis of the patients. At least 11 known monogenic forms and several syndromes have been associated with CHI. Mutations in ABCC8 and KCNJ11 genes coding pot...