ESPE Abstracts

Background: Growth hormone (GH) has been used for over 50 years to benefit both children with GH deficiency (GHD) and other forms of short stature as well as to correct the metabolic abnormalities found in adults with GHD (AGHD). Moreover, low IGF levels have been associated with the risk of diabetes, heart disease and osteoporosis. On the other hand, epidemiological studies suggest that high IGF-1 levels may be associated with cancer risk in the general population. Furthermor...

Background: Recent studies in multiple models of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) have demonstrated the role of mitochondrial abnormalities in the pathogenesis of this disease and its complications. Humanin is a potent cyto-protective and ‘metaboloprotective’ molecule in vitro and in vivo, including the protection of β cells from apoptosis, improvements in insulin secretion and action, and both prevention and treatment of diabetes in the NOD mou...

Background: Humanin is a novel signaling peptide which has been showed, by in vitro and in vivo studies, to improve insulin sensitivity. As plasma humanin levels decrease during adulthood, particularly during aging, it has been proposed that the increment of insulin resistance in aging might be associated with lesser humanin plasma values.Objective and hypotheses: The physiological insulin resistance observed during puberty in normal ch...