ESPE Abstracts

Diabetes mellitus is a bihormonal disorder involving both insufficient insulin secretion (from the beta-cells(and dysregulation of glucagon secretion (from the alpha-cells). In healthy people, a fall in plasma glucose increases glucagon and stimulates counterregulatory hepatic glucose production. This response is impaired in many patients with type-1 diabetes (T1D). Why this defect develops is unknown but it may lead to fatal hypoglycaemia, which accounts for up to 10% of the ...

The epidemic spread of obesity in children has triggered the commitment of scientific research, which has allowed us to understand its genetic basis; the different forms of genetic obesity share common clinical aspects, making it difficult to achieve a molecular diagnosis based only on our clinical suspicion. We report a female patient presented with neonatal hypotonia, hyperphagia and early onset excessive weight gain, strabismus and high hypermetropia. Regarding her neurodev...

Background and Objectives: In recent years, a growing number of studies investigated the profile of serum metabolomics in health and disease. These studies have led to the discovery of novel biological biomarkers and causative agents for a variety of medical conditions. Here, we focused on profiling serum metabolites of children diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency (GHD).Methods: We conducted a prospective study and ...

Background: The recent discovery that genetically-modified pancreatic alpha-cells can regenerate and convert into beta-like cells in vivo holds great promise for diabetes research. However, to eventually translate these findings to human, it is crucial to discover compounds with similar activities.Results: We recently identified GABA as an inducer of alpha-to-beta-like cell conversion in vivo. This conversion induces alpha-cell replacement mechanisms thr...

The presence of endometriosis, from minimal/mild disease up to the rASRM classification for endometriosis stages III and IV, has been described repeatedly in adolescent women. The complaints are common and elicit compassion, but rarely stimulate a thorough research of the cause. The clinical reality is that common complaints of dysmenorrhea or acyclic pelvic pain – even before the onset of menstruation – may hide a disease the severity of which is not reflected by th...

Recently our 24-hour culture has been identified as another lifestyle factor that can cause type 2 diabetes. Technological and societal advances such as electric lighting and digital screens – leading to light exposure that is too dim during the day and too bright during the evening –, shift work, time zone transfers, and round-the-clock food availability disrupt our intrinsic and evolutionarily preserved 24-hour rhythms resulting in a desynchronization between lig...

Background: Prader–Willi syndrome (PWS) is characterized by a switch from failure to thrive to excessive weight gain and hyperphagia with impaired satiety in early childhood. An elevated, more unfavorable ratio between acylated:unacylated ghrelin (AG:UAG) may be involved in the underlying mechanisms of this switch.Objective and hypotheses: To assess the evolution of the appetite regulating hormones AG, UAG, and the AG:UAG ratio in infants with PWS a...

Background: The role of calcium in cardiovascular and metabolic risk is controversial.Objective and hypotheses: To examine the effect of highly mineralized natural water in lowering body weight, blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar and to assess health behaviour of the staff of a pediatric hospital.Method: Out of 650 pediatric hospital staff members, we examined 161 healthy subjects, aged 28–64 years, 77.5% women, two d...

Background: Prader–Willi syndrome (PWS) is characterized by a switch in early childhood from failure to thrive to excessive weight gain and hyperphagia with impaired satiety. The underlying mechanism for this switch may involve hyperghrelinemia, but only poor data exists regarding levels of acylated ghrelin (AG), unacylated ghrelin (UAG), and the AG/UAG ratio in PWS.Objective and hypotheses: To investigate plasma levels of AG and UAG in PWS, compare...

Background: Disorders/Differences of Sex Development (DSD) is diagnosed in approximately one out of 4'500 newborns. Children born with DSD present with a very diverse phenotype and they and their families face considerable challenges, potentially including surgical intervention and gender assignment, as well as associated complications such as infertility and predisposition to gonadal tumors. Due to the lack of knowledge concerning the complete gene and pr...