ESPE Abstracts

Background: Heterozygous Aggrecan (Acan) mutations cause autosomal short stature (ISS) with advanced bone age, early-onset osteoarthritis and intervertebral disc disease (OMIM#165800) in humans. Cartilage matrix deficiency mouse (Acancmd) has a naturally occurring 7 bp micro-deletion in aggrecan gene. Heterozygous Acancmd mice develop postnatal dwarfism with progressing age. However, the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms causin...

Background: Heterozygous loss-of-function mutations in the aggrecan gene (ACAN) cause autosomal dominant short stature with advanced bone age, early-onset osteoarthritis and intervertebral disc disease (SSOAOD; OMIM#165800). ACAN mutations is a relatively common finding in idiopathic short stature (ISS) and has been reported to be the cause of growth failure in approximately 2% of children with ISS. However, the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms by ...

Background: Children with inflammatory diseases usually display abnormal growth patterns as well as delayed puberty. This is a result of several factors related to the disease itself, such as malnutrition, hypercortisolism, and elevated levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines. These factors in combination with glucocorticoid treatment contribute to growth retardation during chronic inflammation by systemically affecting the major regulator of growth, the GH/IGF1 axis. In conditio...

Cancer treatment may result in development of long-term endocrine complications, including growth hormone (GH) deficiency.1 Although extensive and careful monitoring has been carried out to establish the safety profile of GH therapy,2 a relative scarcity of data means that questions persist around its use in survivors of childhood cancer. The effects of GH on growth and metabolism mean that there is a particular interest in whether GH therapy increases th...

Background: Glucocorticoids (GCs) are frequently used to treat numerous chronic diseases in children. Beside their desired anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive effects, GCs are well known to cause osteoporosis and impaired linear bone growth. These serious side effects of GCs have at least partially been linked to impairment of Wnt/β-catenin signalling. There is no therapy available to rescue from the undesired skeletal effects of GCs.Objective a...

Background: Synthetic glucocorticoids (GCs) are widely used drugs but their suppression of growth in pediatric patients is a well-known problem. Different mechanisms have been suggested but we still do not know the sensitivity of human growth plate cartilage to GC treatment. Here in this study, we have investigated the direct effects of GC treatment on the expression of crucial genes in the growth plate, such as collagen-2A1, osterix (Osx), and transforming growth factor &#946...

Background: Treatment options in extremely tall adolescents are limited. Bilateral epiphysiodesis has been reported to be a safe and effective method to reduce predicted final height. However, there is still limited data on final height and long-term safety.Objective: The aim was to assess the safety and efficacy of bilateral epiphysiodesis to reduce adult height in adolescent girls and boys with extreme tall stature.</p...

Background: Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) is widely used in the clinic for non-union of fractures. However, effect of ESWT on longitudinal bone growth has not been well studied. We explored the in vitro and in vivo effects of low/high dose radial shock wave treatment (SWT) on growth plate (GP) cartilage. A positive or negative effect on growth could be harnessed for therapeutic growth modulation while no change establishes safety.<p class="abst...

Background: A total of 83,803 patients who received rhGH therapy were enrolled in KIGS (Pfizer International Growth Database) including 748 patients diagnosed with a specified or unspecified skeletal dysplasia. The most prevalent diagnoses were hypochondroplasia (n=238: Female=111, Male=127), achondroplasia (n=113: F=51, M=62) and Leri-Weill dyschondrosteosis, LWD (n=88: F=59, M=29).Objective: To analyse the first year response...

Background: Abnormal growth is a common problem in children. Some children do not respond to growth hormone therapy and alternative treatments selectively targeting the growth plate are needed. High doses of estrogens induce growth plate closure and stop further growth. However, high-dose estrogen treatment may also have severe side effects, including increased risk of cancer and reduced fertility. The expression of estrogen receptors (ER), including GPER-1, has been demonstra...