ESPE Abstracts

Aim: To study the incidence of childhood thyrotoxicosis in five counties in central Sweden during 1990–2009 and to study the treatment outcome.Methods: Children below the age of 16 years diagnosed with thyrotoxicosis during the 20-years period and living in the study area were identified retrospectively. Data on the total number of children below 16 years of age living in the area during the study period was collected from the National Board of Stat...

Introduction: Kisspeptin stimulates the gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons in hypothalamus initiating puberty. However, it is not known whether GnRH inhibits kisspeptin secretion by negative feedback and whether there are any associations between circulating levels of kisspeptin and other hormones, like ghrelin, important for the onset of puberty.Methods: Thirteen girls with suspected central precocious pubert...

Introduction: Delayed puberty is defined as the absence of physical signs of puberty by the age of 14 years in boys and 13 years in girls. According to this definition, the prevalence of delayed puberty would be 2%, if the ages of pubertal onset were normally distributed in the population. However, the prevalence or incidence of delayed puberty has not been described before, as far as we know. Our aim was to study the incidence of delayed puberty in central Sweden.<p class...

Background: The nutritional and hormonal state in utero may be a link between maternal obesity and obesity in the offspring. The gene expression in placentae in pregnancies complicated by diabetes is reduced for leptin, but increased for ghrelin. It is not known whether these genes’ expressions in placentae are altered in maternal obesity.Objectives and hypotheses: To compare obese and normal-weight women and their children concerning gene ...

Introduction: Ghrelin is a growth hormone-releasing acylated peptide stimulating the appetite, mainly produced in the stomach, and with an important role in pubertal development (1). Two ghrelin forms have been described, acylated (AG) and desacylated (DAG), but it is debated whether DAG is an active hormone or a degradation product of AG (2). Our aim was to evaluate the effects of adding the protease inhibitor 4-(2-aminoethyl) benzenesufonyl fluoride hydrochl...

Introduction: The diagnosis of growth hormone (GH) deficiency (GHD) is complicated by the low specificity of GH testing, especially in children before and during early pubertal stages. Sex steroid priming reduces false positive results in pre- and early pubertal children. However, only a small number of studies have assessed its efficacy in improving the diagnostic accuracy of GHD investigations.Aim: To evaluate the effe...

Introduction: The placenta is an endocrine organ vital to fetal growth. It has multiple functions: pregnancy maintenance, nutrient and oxygen transport to the fetus, and removal of waste products among other functions. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) and proteins are significant mediators of these functions. A description of their global expression in healthy placenta may increase our understanding of the molecular biological pathways that are important for normal fetal gr...

Background: Granulosa cell tumors (GCT) originate from sex cord/stromal tissue in the gonad. They are typically located in an ovary, but extra-gonadal localisation exists. These tumors are extremely rare in children and no systematic review has been published. The objective of this systematic review is to examine the following questions: What is the clinical picture of girls with a GCT? How are these patients treated and what is their prognosis?<p class="a...

Introduction: Delayed puberty in boys, defined as lack of pubertal onset by the age of 14 years, is often constitutional and self-limited. However, it can lead to feelings of sadness and anxiety. The long-term health consequences of delayed puberty in males are not well understood.Objective: To study the long-term morbidity in young men exposed to delayed puberty.Methods: All Swedi...