ESPE Abstracts

Background: Thyroid nodules (TN) are rare in children but often show more aggressive features than in adults. Irradiated childhood cancer survivors (CCS) are at risk for malignant thyroid nodules.Objective and hypotheses: To retrospectively compare the incidence of differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC), the clinical onset and the medium-term follow-up in a pediatric population (EC <18 years), with and without risk factors examined for TN, among 1990 an...

Introduction: Testicular adrenal rest tumor (TART) is the most important cause of infertility in male with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH). TART is a benign tumor, mainly bilateral (75-80%), usually diagnosed in under-treated CAH male with hypercorticotropinemia, which generally regresses after glucocorticoids therapy adjustment. However, it may determine an irreversible damage by compression and toxic-paracrine effects on the surrounding testicular t...

Introduction: Long-standing primary hypothyroidism is an unusual cause of pituitary hyperplasia (PH) in children, sometimes difficult to distinguish on CT or MRI from primary pituitary tumors. Loss of thyroxine feedback determines overproduction of thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) and subsequent TSH-releasing cells hyperplasia in the anterior pituitary. Levothyroxine replacement therapy has been shown to usually determine regression of PH.<p class="abst...

Introduction: Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF) is an inherited auto-inflammatory disorder still extremely underdiagnosed in the Mediterranean area. The disease is secondary to a gain of function mutation of the MEFV gene, classically defined as “autosomal recessive”, with possible symptoms also in heterozygous patients. The mutation induces a hyperexpression of IL-1 beta and a chronic inflammation. Clinical manifestations are characterized by rec...

Introduction: The Covid-19 pandemic drastically modified social life and lifestyle in particular among children and adolescents, promoting sedentary behaviors and unhealthy eating habits. In this scenario, the effectiveness of the outpatient approach for pediatric obesity may decrease.Objectives: Aims of this study were to assess the rate and the factors associated with outpatient drop-out by comparing two groups of chil...

Background: systematic data about endocrinopathies in Rett syndrome (RTT) patients are still scarce and not univocal.Objective: to assess the prevalence of endocrinopathies in a pediatric population of RTT patients.Design: retrospective observational single center study.Methods: 29 caucasian patients (28 girls,1 boy) with genetically confirme...

Introduction: Advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) are heterogeneous groups of irreversible adducts resulting from non-enzymatic glycation and glyoxidation of proteins, lipids, and nucleic acid. AGEs and its cell receptor RAGE have been involved in the pathophysiology of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Interaction of AGEs with RAGE results in an increased generation of oxygen radicals and increased expressions of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Circulating soluble AGE rec...

Background: Turner syndrome (TS) affects about one in 2500 liveborn females. It results from the loss of all or part of X-chromosome and has a variable phenotype. The classical form is characterised by short stature, skeletal abnormalities, lymphedema, renal and cardiac anomalies, webbed neck, peculiar neurocognitive profile and gonadal dysgenesis. While loss of up to 2/3 of the X chromosome short arm is compatible with normal fertility, chromosome deletions involving Xq are o...

Background: It is reported that children with congenital hypothyroidism (CH) are at increased risk of developing childhood obesity. Moreover, it is known that the timing of adiposity rebound (AR) in childhood is strongly linked with future obesity. Aims of our study were to explore the timing of AR and to identify factors affecting AR in a cohort of children with CH diagnosed by newborn screening and treated with levothyroxine. Design: one-center, retrospectiv...

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...