ESPE Abstracts

Background: Hashimoto's Thyroiditis (HT) is a relatively common autoimmune disorder that involves both cellular and humoral immunity, the latter characterized by the presence of antithyroid antibodies. Nevertheless, despite the large number of relevant studies, the underlying pathogenetic mechanisms still remain unclear; evidence and indications pointing to both genetic and environmental components. Genetic studies have uncovered molecular associations tha...

Background: A significant component of total linear growth is height gain achieved after the initiation of puberty. Children with Isolated GH Deficiency (IGHD) frequently come for evaluation around the peripubertal stage. Therefore, increasing pubertal height gain in IGHD children entering puberty with a relatively low height is important. Researchers have tried to assess effectiveness of treatment in such patients based on various key measurements and a variety of end-points....

Background: After 50 years of hGH use for GH deficient (GHD) children the definition of the adequate hGH substitution dose and response remain uncertain.Objective and hypotheses: We hypothesized that subjects with GHD caused by congenital pituitary defects constitute an ideal model for defining substitution dose of hGH. Consequently, an appropriate study group was formed and pertinent long-term data were retrospectively analyzed.Me...

Background: Hypothalamic hamartomas (HH) are congenital morphogenetic defects frequently associated with central precocious puberty (CPP).Objective and hypotheses: Data on the outcome of girls with CPP due to HH are limited.Method: We report two patients with CPP caused by HH, one with normal fertility.Results: Patient 1, now aged 33 years, was examined at age 15 months (vaginal bleeding, breast and pubic hai...

Background: DICER1 is an endoribonuclease that acts post-transcriptionally by processing mRNA into siRNA and microRNA, thus leading to mRNA downregulation. DICER1 syndrome is usually caused by germline variants and is characterized by a variety of benign or malignant tumors: pleuropulmonary blastoma, ovarian Sertoli-Leydig cell tumor, cystic nephroma, pituitary blastoma and multinodular goitre. Patients with germline aberrations in the DICER1 gene may carry additional...

Background: The ability to respond to stress constitutes a defensive protective mechanism; both inadequate and excessive responses may be detrimental.Objective and hypotheses: To investigate the effect of increased body weight on the hormonal response to stress in children. Scheduled surgical procedures include two stressful parts, a psychological one (anticipation of operation) and a biological one (surgical stress per se) and were chosen as a study mod...

Background: Since the initiation of neonatal screening-programs for congenital hypothyroidism (CH) in the 1970’s, an increase in the incidence of CH has been observed. This change has been attributed to the gradual use of lower TSH cut-offs that lead to the detection of milder cases of CH. Based on currently used screening cut-offs, CH occurs in approximately 1:2 000 to 1:4 000 newborns, varying by geographic location and ethnicity. A female predominance, approaching a 2:...

Background: The association of GH deficiency (GHD) with central precocious puberty (CPP) has been reported in individuals with central nervous system (CNS) abnormalities, congenital or acquired. Co-existence of GHD and CPP has been rarely reported, always as an isolated, sporadic disorder.Objective and hypotheses: To present the familial occurrence of combined GHD and CPP.Method: GH was measured post L DOPA, glucagon and GHRH and g...

Background: Since the initiation of neonatal screening programs for Congenital Hypothyroidism (CH) in the 1970’s, a gradual decrease of TSH cut-off limits has been observed worldwide. Nevertheless, lack of universal consensus has led to wide variation of cut-off limits and LT4 therapy criteria among screening programs, even within the same country. The Greek neonatal CH screening program is carried out by a single laboratory that uses one of the lowest cut-off limits worl...

Background: The term Congenital Hypothyroidism (CH) describes children with subnormal thyroid hormone levels present at birth. According to literature, CH has an incidence of ~1:1500–1:3000 births with a clear predominance of females (female:male ratio 2:1) and is mainly caused by thyroid dysgenesis (80%). Low FT4 levels have been used as important criteria for CH diagnosis and treatment initiation. The Greek neonatal CH screening program has followed the TSH cut-off lowe...