ESPE Abstracts

Introduction: The UK 100,000 Genomes Project (100KGP) recently investigated the genetic basis of rare disease using whole genome sequencing. The genetic aetiology of most rare paediatric endocrine disease remains unexplained.Methods: Children with genetically unexplained rare endocrine disease attending a subspecialist paediatric endocrinology clinic underwent whole genome sequencing as part of the 100KGP. Parental DNA w...

Background: The incidence of Graves’ disease in patients aged <15 years is estimated at 0.9 per 100,000. Parental anxiety around definitive treatment, timing of this around schooling and clinician confidence in long-term medical treatment often results in prolonged medical management. This audit aimed to assess the rates of remission, timing of definitive treatment and long-term medical management in children managed for Graves’ at a UK tertiary...

Background: Hypopituitarism in children is a complex condition and its hierarchical evolution at different developmental windows is unpredictable. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is helpful but largely a subjective assessment of anomalies of the hypothalamo-pituitary (H-P) structures. We aimed to test the utility of a quantitative measure of pituitary and stalk in predicting neuroendocrine phenotypes.Patients and Methods:</stron...

Background: Hypothalamic dysfunction (HD) is life-threatening but precise diagnostic tools are lacking. Normal hypothalamic anatomy is difficult to delineate on MRI. Damage to the area is inferred from a visible lesion, but how widely it disturbs signalling connections or correlates with symptoms is unclear. Furthermore, in congenital/syndromic diseases the hypothalamus appears normal even in cases with clear HD. We aimed to develop novel clinical and radiolog...

Background: The presentation of early-onset Primary Ovarian Insufficiency (EO-POI), most often with primary amenorrhea, is at one end of a spectrum spanning 40 years. The aetiology of POI is frequently unclear but next generation sequencing of varied age groups has identified several associated genetic variants. Whether girls with EO-POI are more likely to have a genetic aetiology than those with later presentations remains unknown.<stro...

Background: ROHHAD syndrome (rapid-onset obesity with hypothalamic dysfunction, central hypoventilation, autonomic dysregulation) – also defined as ROHHADNET when associated with neural tumors - is a rare condition with a high mortality rate. The aim of this study is to describe the phenotypes of a multicentric cohort of ROHHAD patients.Patients and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed clinical data from 22 patient...

Introduction: Genetic alterations within the cAMP/PKA pathway, including the genes GNAS, PDE11A, PDE8, PRKAR1A/B, and PRKACA, result in a spectrum of adrenocortical disorders. To date, somatic PRKACA variants and germline PRKACA copy number gain have been associated with the development of cortisol-secreting adrenocortical adenomas and bilateral adrenal hyperplasia, respectively. While variants within the PRKAR1A ge...

Introduction: Ovary development was once considered a largely passive process. RNA sequencing (RNAseq) approaches have allowed us to begin to characterise ovary development in previously unparalleled detail, revealing the process to be complex and, still, little understood. A challenge is synthesising and using these data to advance our understanding of clinical disease. Through a clinically-focused lens, we elucidate novel aspects of the transcriptional lands...