ESPE Abstracts

Background: Children with growth hormone deficiency (GHD) may have to deal with practical, emotional, and functional difficulties. Unfortunately, to date, there is no condition specific measure of the impact of GHD for these children. The Growth Hormone Deficiency – Child Impact Measure (GHD-CIM) was developed according to FDA/EMA guidances to address this gap. There are two GHD-CIM versions: child self-report (PRO) for ages 9 to <13 years and observe...

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is a key component of the body's defence against cold challenge and possesses the ability to convert large amounts of chemical energy to heat, conferred by a unique protein, uncoupling protein (UCP)-1, diverting mitochondrial respiration from the production of adenosine triphosphate. In humans, the largest BAT depot is in the supraclavicular region. Sympathetic nervous system stimulation induces glucose uptake into brown adipose tissue, as does i...

Background: Treatment for child GHD requires daily injections, which can be painful and disruptive. For most children, these injections are administered by an adult, usually their parent. Unfortunately, little is known about the burden that a child's treatment places on a parent. The GHD-PTB was developed according to FDA/EMA guidances to address this gap. Items were based on qualitative interviews of 31 parents of children with GHD, ages 4 to <13 year...

Background: In males with congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (CHH), LH/FSH stimulation of gonads is deficient. In clinical practice, two hormone replacement strategies are employed to induce and maintain virilisation: Treatment with testosterone and gonadotropin replacement with hCG/rFSH.Objective: To delineate the role of gonadotropins in pathways of male androgen biosynthesis and to thereby better define the gona...

Background: Growth hormone deficiency (GHD) requires long-term daily injections with GH replacement therapy and is associated with considerable treatment burden by patients and caregivers. Somapacitan is a long-acting GH derivative that is being developed for once-weekly dosing in adults and children with GHD. A well-established protraction method, which is successfully in use to extend the half-life of insulin and glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1, has been applied in developing ...

Background: Case reports have documented variable glycaemic response to the mTOR inhibitor Sirolimus in severe diazoxide+/−octreotide unresponsive forms of congenital hyperinsulinaemic hypoglycaemia (CHI). A high incidence of adverse effects has been reported in patients receiving this medication.Objective(s): To describe the efficacy and safety of Sirolimus use over a 5-year period in the largest cohort of CHI patients treated to date.<p class...

Mast cells are known to control mineralocorticoid synthesis and secretion in human normal adrenal gland and aldosterone-producing adenomas through release of serotonin. We recently detected these immune cells in human fetal adrenal from 18 weeks of gestation in the subcapsular layer, in correlation with the expression of steroidogenic enzymes required for aldosterone biosynthesis. This observation suggests the implication of mast cells in the mineralocorticoid synthesizing pat...

Introduction: Adrenocortical tumors are very rare in children, with a prevalence of just 0.3 cases/million/year. Autonomic hormone production by adrenal cortical tumors may cause peripheral precocious puberty.Case report: A 4-year-old boy was presented by his parents because of pubertal behavior with aggressive features and a significant increase in the size of the penis. The parents also noticed a strong growth spurt and sweat odor. The boy had a good g...

South Asian (SA), British-born adults have increased cardiovascular (CV) risk factors compared to White Europeans (WE). Early detection of CV risk may allow intervention. The Manchester HAPO (Hyperglycaemia and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes) cohort showed babies of SA origin were born significantly shorter, lighter and had a lower mean BMI SDS than those of WE origin. We now report ethnic differences in body composition and CV markers in childhood. Measurements on 102 children (5...

Background: The fundamental challenge of developing a long-acting growth hormone (LAGH) is to create a more convenient growth hormone (GH) dosing profile while retaining the excellent safety, efficacy, and tolerability of daily GH. With GH receptors on virtually all cells, replacement therapy should achieve the same tissue distribution and effects of daily (and endogenous) GH while maintaining levels of GH and resulting IGF1 within the physiologic range....