ESPE Abstracts

Daily injections are required for human growth hormone (GH) replacement therapy. Somapacitan is a long-acting GH derivative being developed for once-weekly dosing in adults and children using a proven protraction method, currently successfully in use to extend the half-life of insulin and glucagon-like peptide 1.To evaluate the efficacy and safety of three different once-weekly somapacitan doses compared with Norditropin®, a daily GH, ove...

Adamantinomatous craniopharyngiomas (ACPs) are clinically challenging tumours, the majority of which have activating mutations in CTNNB1. They are histologically complex, showing solid tumor component comprised of different morphological cell types (e.g. β-catenin accumulating cluster cells and palisading epithelium), surrounded by a florid glial reaction with immune cells, but also a cystic component. ACP cysts often exert substantial mass effect on critical str...

Background: Biallelic mutations of the CYP11B2 aldosterone synthase gene cause deficiency of aldosterone synthesis. Patients exhibit isolated deficiency of aldosterone biosynthesis, increased plasma renin activity, increased steroid precursors desoxycorticosterone, corticosterone, as well as 18-hydroxy-desoxycorticosterone, and show salt wasting and poor growth. The aldosterone synthase enzyme has 18-hydroxylase (corticosterone methyloxidase type I, CMO I) and 18-oxidase (CMO ...

Background: Individuals born with a 45,X/46,XY karyotype can present with diverging phenotypes from normal male, Turner-like to ambiguous genitalia, the latter classically being called mixed gonadal dysgenesis. No correlation between phenotype and degree of mosaicisms in the karyotype could be ascertained so far, making clinical management of these patients difficult.Objective: To understand, if androgen action through the androgen receptor (AR) is compr...

Background: Diagnosis of congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) is delayed in developing countries and children are long exposed to high levels of androgens. These androgens have deleterious effect on heart.Objective and hypotheses: Evaluate cardiac function of children followed for CAH and compared it to a group of healthy children.Method: We carried out a case-control study, 1 case for 2 controls matched for age and genotypic sex, ...

Background: BoneXpert software calculates bone health index (BHI) from cortical thickness and mineralisation of three metacarpals, and bone age (BA) using 13 bones: Radius, ulna and bones in ray 1, 3, 5. Strong correlations between BoneXpert BHI and dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and peripheral quantitative computed CT (pQCT) measurements are reported 1. Low bone mineral density (BMD), measured by DXA, and improvement with GH is described in childhood GH deficiency (GH...

Background: Animal models of insulin-dependent diabetes show hyperactivity of hypothalamus–pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis, independently of hypoglycaemia. Few data exists regarding type 1 diabetes (T1D) in children.Objective: To describe HPA axis activity according to the anxiety levels in prepubertal T1D children.Method: Prepubertal T1D children and siblings of T1D children (controls) were included. State-Trait Anxiety Inventor...

Background: Testicular Adrenal Rest Tumours (TARTs) are benign tumours that frequently occur in male patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia. They exhibit both testicular and adrenal characteristics, but their aetiology is unknown. Additionally, TART resembles Leydig cell tumours (LCTs), while no marker exist to discriminate between these testis tumours. GATA transcription factors play an important role in eukaryotic development and are expressed in foetal and adult adren...

Background: Nicotinamide nucleotide transhydrogenase (NNT) gene mutations have been recently shown to cause familial glucocorticoid deficiency (FGD), by decreasing reactive oxygen species (ROS) detoxification in adrenocortical cells. Affected infants present within the first few months with isolated glucocorticoid deficiency.Objective and Hypotheses: To study the genetic etiology of four cases presenting uniquely with neonatal addisonian crisis (both min...

Background: Growth hormone deficiency (GHD) is the most common endocrine cause of impaired growth. Recombinant human GH (rhGH) therapy does not always achieve complete catch-up growth or final height within the genetic target height despite standardised treatment guidelines. The factors causing the considerable variability in responsiveness to rhGH have not yet been fully elucidated. Apart from a number of auxological and clinical parameters, genetic factors also appear to pla...