ESPE Abstracts

Objective: To report on a pediatric case series of massive insulin overdose, its altered pharmacokinetics and the patients favorable outcome.Cases and results: Case 1: 300 IU of insulin aspart were subcutaneously injected into a non-diabetic eight-year-old boy within an extended suicide. After 16 hours he was found unconscious with generalized convulsions. The initial blood glucose concentration was below detection limit. It normalized o...

Background: The melanocortin-4-receptor (MC4R) plays a key role in body weight regulation. Hypothalamic activation of MC4R reduces food intake and increases energy expenditure. Mutations in the MC4R gene lead to the most common cause of monogenetic obesity. More than 150 different mutations are currently known. Their prevalence in obese subjects differs between 0.2 and 5.8%, depending on ethnicity, age and grade of obesity of the analysed cohort. Impact on phenotype a...

Background: Low birth-weight (bw) and unfavourable intrauterine conditions are associated with a subsequent impact on the endocrine system. However, very little is known about the impact on thyroid function.Objective and hypotheses: We observed genetically identical twins with intra-twin bw-differences from birth until adolescence to objectify the impact of a lower bw on development and health in later life.Method: Bw-difference of...

Background: Leptin, primarily secreted by adipocytes, is a pivotal signal of the body's energy status and exhibits pleiotropic effects. Homozygous mutations in the leptin gene which result in defective synthesis, release or bioactivity, cause intense hyperphagia and early-onset severe obesity, along with multiple metabolic, hormonal, and immunological abnormalities. In vitro and animal model studies suggest that leptin plays a role in linear growth. So far...