ESPE Abstracts

Background: MKNR3 is a paternally expressed gene whose loss-of-function mutations cause Central precocious puberty (CPP). The precise molecular disruption produced by MKRN3 mutations remains unclear albeit protein structure suggests MKRN3 could play a role in proteasome ubiquitination. Circulating MKRN3 levels has been negatively associated to LH peak, estradiol and kisspeptin in idiopathic CPP and healthy controls. However, no literature data is available for...

Childhood obesity has become a major health issue in the last decades. Moreover, identifying a simple, feasible, and valid screening tool to select subjects at higher risk for obesity-related comorbidities has become a challenge. Current guidelines reccommend to use BMI percentile for overweight and obesity diagnosis. However, waist-to-height ratio (WHR) has been associated with the risk of metabolic derangement in children and adolescents with overweight and obesity. In addit...

Background: Menarche is a significant event in the reproductive life of a woman and represents the late event in puberty indicating that a sexually immature child has become reproductively capable. Even though the timing of puberty onset is approximately conserved in different populations, the puberty starts across a wide range of ages in normal girls. However, in the last decades we are observing that girls are experiencing earlier breast development and earlier menarche, als...

Background: Although the transition from the pre-pubertal condition to puberty occurs physiologically within a bounded age range, recent data indicate a central role for epigenetics in the regulation of several genes that could mediate an alteration of pubertal onset. Moreover, changes occurring during this developmental stage have often been associated with susceptibility to a wide range of diseases in later life. To identify changes in DNA methylation profil...

Introduction: X-linked hypophosphatemic rickets (XLHR) represents the most common form of genetic hypophosphatemia and causes rickets in children because of increased FGF23 secretion and renal phosphate wasting. Even though cranial vault an craniovertebral anomalies of potential neurosurgical interest, namely early closure of the cranial sutures and Chiari type I malformation (CM-I), have been observed in children with XLH, their actual incidence and character...

Background: A close association has been reported between obesity and renal damage in adults, but evidence in childhood is still limited.Methods: We retrospectively studied 396 children and adolescents with obesity. Clinical, biochemical, and instrumental evaluations were performed. Patients were stratified according to the metabolically healthy obesity (MHO) and metabolically unhealthy obesity (MUO) phenotypes. Kidney d...

Purpose: The main purpose of the study is to assess the association between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and insulin secretion in children with obesity.Objectives: To achieve our aim we have assessed OSA and measured insulin secretion by the using the oral minimal model (OMM) in a cohort of 77 obese children and adolescents.Methods: We retrospectively enrolled children and adolesc...

Background: Carney complex (CNC) is a rare autosomal dominant multiple endocrine neoplasia and lentiginosis syndrome, characterized by abnormal cutaneous and mucosal pigmentation, myxomas of the heart, skin, breast and other non-endocrine tumors. CNC is principally caused by loss-of-function mutations of PRKAR1A gene located at 17q22-24 coding for the regulatory subunit type I alpha of protein kinase A (PKA) gene. Cushing’s syndrome is a rare disorder in...

Background: The rs72613567:TA variant in the hydroxysteroid 17-beta dehydrogenase 13 (HSD17B13) gene has been associated with decreased risk of liver damage.Aims: To investigate the association between the HSD17B13 rs72613567:TA variant and both hepatic steatosis and biochemical markers of liver damage in obese children and to evaluate its potential effect in NAFLD genetic predisposition.<p...

Background: The patatin-like phospholipase domain-containing protein 3 (PNPLA3) I148M and the transmembrane 6 superfamily member 2 (TM6SF2) E167K polymorphisms have been recognized as the major risk polymorphisms for Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD). Data supported a close relationship of NAFLD with thyroid function both in adults and children. To investigate the influence of NAFLD and of its genetics on thyroid function.<p class...