ESPE Abstracts

Introduction: Hypochondroplasia is a rare genetic growth-related condition primarily caused by FGFR3 variants that lead to decreased endochondral bone growth, disproportionate short stature and other medical complications. It shares pathogenetic and phenotypic similarities to achondroplasia. Outside of Japan, there are no approved pharmacological treatments for hypochondroplasia. Vosoritide, a C-type natriuretic peptide analog, is an approved first-in...

Background: Congenital Hyperinsulinism (CHI) is the most frequent cause of severe, persistent hypoglycemia in children. Persistent hypoglycemia places patients at risk for adverse clinical outcomes, and current guidelines recommend maintaining plasma glucose >3.9mmol/l. CHI patients often have substantial, residual hypoglycemia and fail to meet treatment goals with currently available standard of care (SOC) therapies. In this study, we aimed to characterize...

Introduction: Patients with classic congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) require glucocorticoid (GC) therapy to replace cortisol insufficiency and reduce excess adrenal androgens, usually necessitating supraphysiologic GC doses. CAHtalog™, developed in partnership with CARES Foundation using the PicnicHealth platform, is a real-world US patient registry that characterizes the natural history of classic CAH. This study explored changes in health states ba...

Background: Hypothalamic obesity (HO), due to midline congenital malformations, genetic diseases or hypothalamo-hypophysis tumours, is severe and difficult to treat. Patients are scarcely compliant to diet and physical activity, for disabilities often affecting them. Drugs have been rarely employed.Objective and hypotheses: Aim of the study was to treat hypopituitaric children and adolescents affected by severe HO with a multidisciplinary approach includ...

Background: An important issue in the management of congenital hypothyroidism (CH) is the best initial dose of levothyroxine (L-T4) in order to achieve optimal neurocognitive outcomes. Both European and American guidelines suggest an initial dose of 10–15 μg/kg per die but trials on long-term effects of different doses within this range are lacking.Objective and hypotheses: This was a multicenter randomized trial to ev...

Background: OTX2 is expressed in the human brain and plays a key role in the eye development. OTX2 mutations are reported in patients with ano/microphtalmia, optic nerve or optic chiasm hypoplasia, ocular coloboma and retinal dystrophies, associated in some cases with brain or pituitary abnormalities.Objective and hypotheses: Most of OTX2 mutations are nonsense or frameshift, more rarely missense mutations occur.Method: We...

Background: Puberty is characterised by important changes of brain networks. The glutamate system plays a main role in modulating the onset of puberty as shown for NMDA receptor agonists. However, the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Metabotropic mGlu5 receptors (mGluR5) are tightly linked to NMDA receptors. The effect of mGluR5 blockade on neurohormonal mechanisms in puberty initiation were not studied yet.Objective and hypotheses: To invest...

Objective: to assess the prevalence of endocrinopathies in a pediatric population of Rett syndrome (RTT) patients.Design: retrospective observational double center study.Methods: 51 caucasian patients (47 girls, 4 boy) with genetically confirmed diagnosis of RTT were enrolled (mean age: 9.65±5.9 years, range: 1-18 years). The patients were referred from the Rett Center of two It...

Introduction: Familial male-limited precocious puberty (or testotoxicosis) is a very rare genetic disorder with autosomal dominant transmission that causes gonadotropin-independent precocious puberty due to mutations activating the lutropin-chorionic gonadotropin receptor (LHCGR), which lead to elevated testosterone levels and suppressed gonadotropins. The age of onset is between 2-5 years essentially with penis and testes enlargement, linear growth accelerati...

Introduction: Non-nutritional rickets forms are often unrecognized. A late diagnosis could negatively affect the outcome. The aimof this study is to identify peculiar clinical and biochemical signs at the onset of non-nutritional rickets to promote early diagnosis.Materials and Methods: A retrospective monocentric observational study was conducted on a sample of outpatients consecutively evaluated at the pediatric endocr...