ESPE Abstracts

Background: If children with intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) are stunt after birth, they will not have the desired height. Short stature is not fatal but affects personality and social and physical development of children.Objective and hypotheses: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of human GH on growth rate of short stature children with history of low birth weight.Method: This study was conducted on 148 chil...

Background: Primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) affects 1% of women and is associated with significant medical consequences. In approximately 10% of cases, POI presents early with absent puberty or primary amenorrhoea. A genetic cause for POI can be found in up to 30% of women. Identified genes often relate to the complex biological processes occurring in fetal life which underpin normal ovary development and function in later adulthood.Objective: We aim...

Background: Management of adrenal insufficiency(AI) during sick-day episodes require adjustment of oral glucocorticoid therapy or administration of intramuscular injection to prevent adrenal crisis. Education of families of a young person with AI on management during sick day episode is therefore critical.Aim: To critically appraise patient education of sick-day episode management of adrenal insufficiency by conducting</...

Background: In patients with acid-labile subunit (ALS) deficiency, the inability to build ternary complexes results in a marked reduction of circulating total IGF1. Height reduction by heterozygosity is about 1 SD in comparison to wild type. In homozygosity or compound heterozygosity a height loss of −2 to −2.5 SD occurs. This is suggestive of a gene-dose effect. How does treatment with human GH influence height development in relation...

Background: Precocious puberty is common in boys occasionally in girls with beta human chorionic gonadotropin (β-hCG)-secreting intracranial tumors, and is reported to be peripheral precocious puberty exclusively.Object: To described a girl with intracranial β-hCG-secreting germ cell tumor（GCT） who presented with central precocious puberty（CPP）.Method:<...

Background: Neural crest (NC) cells emerge at the interface between neural and non-neural ectoderm, and migrate extensively to form a variety of NC derivatives such as peripheral neurons, glia, melanocytes, endocrine cells, and mesenchymal precursor cells. NC cells possess various unique properties and are capable of undergoing cell fate decisions across multiple tissues and germ layers. In zebrafish and mouse, GnRH neurons are reported to arise also from NC.<p class="abst...

Introduction: The placenta is an endocrine organ vital to fetal growth. It has multiple functions: pregnancy maintenance, nutrient and oxygen transport to the fetus, and removal of waste products among other functions. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) and proteins are significant mediators of these functions. A description of their global expression in healthy placenta may increase our understanding of the molecular biological pathways that are important for normal fetal gr...

Background: Androgens are steroid hormones necessary for human sex development. Testosterone (T) and the more potent dihydrotestosterone (DHT) are maybe the best known androgens, which exert their effect by binding and activating the androgen receptor. Steroid reductases 5α (SRD5As) catalyse the conversion of T to DHT in the classic androgen production pathway, or from 17-hydroxyprogesterone to 17OH-dihydroprogesterone, and androstenedione to androstanedione in alternate ...

Background: Obesity and metabolic syndrome related co-morbidities are increasingly recognized in children. Reproduction is an important target of obesity complications, including adverse effects on spermatogenesis and steroidogenesis in males. Adipocytokines are key players in various complications of obesity.Objective and hypotheses: The aim was to study the potential effects of adipocytokines on Sertoli cell function and possibly link the findings to t...

Background: microRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small (18–25 nucleotides), non-coding RNA molecules. They play an important role in the regulation of gene expression by either suppressing translation of genes or inducing their mRNA degradation. Several miRNA species are expressed in adipose tissue and involved in adipocyte function.Objective and hypotheses: Obesity leads to the infiltration of macrophages into adipose tissue causing local inflammation...