ESPE Abstracts

Background: Homozygous aggrecan (ACAN) mutations have been described in a few skeletal dysplasias whilst more recently, heterozygous ACAN mutations have been reported in few families presenting with idiopathic short stature with advanced bone maturation and premature growth cessation.Case presentation: We describe two novel heterozygous ACAN stop mutations, detected using a skeletal dysplasia NGS panel and confirmed by Sanger sequencing...

Background: Heterozygous mutations in the Aggrecan gene (ACAN) cause autosomal dominant short stature with bone age (BA) acceleration, and premature growth cessation.Objective and methods: To characterize the phenotypic spectrum, associated conditions and describe response to growth-promoting therapies, detailed clinical evaluation of 73 mutation positive individuals from 16 families different families with heterozygous ACAN mutations was perfor...

Introduction: Variants in the N-terminal of the Indian-hedgehog gene (IHH) have been associated with Brachydactyly type-A1 (AD) and Acrocapitofemoral dysplasia (AR), only three of which have been functionally studied. However, heterozygous IHH variants, majority classified as variants of unknown significance (VUS) are being increasingly identified, not only in the N-terminal but also in the uncharacterized C-terminal, by NGS, in individuals with short...

Background: A total of 456 skeletal dysplasias have been classified by molecular, biochemical and/or radiological criteria, into 40 groups. Despite this, the precise, final diagnosis is often difficult due to the high phenotypic and genotypic variability.Objective: To improve the molecular and clinical diagnosis of skeletal dysplasias using a custom-designed next-generation sequencing (NGS) panel.Method: A total of 56 skeletal dysp...

Background: For a few years now tubeless disposable patch pumps are available for insulin therapy.Objective and hypotheses: Alarmed by initially non explainable beginning metabolic decompensation of two children with type 1 diabetes during their hospital stay for the initial therapy adjustment with patch pumps and alarmed by patients’ reports of frequent premature pump changes and alarms, we decided to scrutinize the patch pumps under laboratory con...

Background: Phthalates are ubiquitous environmental contaminants and endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs). Nowadays, they are considered reproductive toxicants and in-utero exposure is well documented, although evidence of early life exposure is scarce, and needs to be described. Aim of this study is to assess phthalate exposure and its changes over the first months of life in a cohort of healthy full term infants and their mothers from a restricted area of t...

Background: The activation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis during the first months both in males(M) and females(F) is named as minipuberty. Urinary gonadotropins (uGn) represent an unexpensive and non-invasive method of assessing pubertal development and they have recently been used also for studying minipuberty.Aims of the study are: 1) to describe the urinary hormonal pattern (uLH, uFSH, testosterone – uT, oestra...

Background: In the past years, new glucometers with integrated automated bolus calculator, are available in the market for patients whith type 1 diabetes (DM1) in multiple daily injections (MDI) therapy. The limited bibliography about the use of these meters in the pediatric population with DM1, suggests that it may have beneficial effects in terms of glycaemic control and improved quality of life.Objective and hypotheses: The use of a glucometer with an...

Objective: To analyze the efficacy of GH treatment in pediatric patients in a hospital from 1982 to 2013.Material and methods: Retrospective study whose population are patients who have been or are being treated with GH in a Tertiary Hospital. The following data were collected: indication of treatment, years of treatment, genetic target height, height at start and the end of treatment, with their corresponding S.D.. A simple linear regress...

Background: Mutations in the 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (17βHSD 3) result in 46,XY disorder of sex development (DSD). Biochemical hallmark of 17βHSD 3 deficiency is a Testosterone/Androstenedione ratio (T/A ratio) <0.8. 17βHSD 3 mutations have been associated with a wide spectrum of phenotypes, ranging from under-virilized male to a female appearance of genitalia at birth. Indeed, 17βHSD 3 deficiency in prepubertal patients is often clinicall...