ESPE Abstracts

Introduction: The diagnosis and treatment of patients with rare diseases is often difficult as most clinicians do not encounter them. Therefore, centralization and collaboration between centers of expertise is necessary. European Reference Networks (ERN’s) such as RareEndoERN provide a platform for this, with one of its main thematic groups having a specific focus on rare growth and obesity disorders. Genetic obesity encompasses a heterogeneous group of c...

Background: The COVID-19 crisis required paediatric endocrinologists to rapidly adopt telehealth into their clinical practice. Accurate auxology is a cornerstone of paediatric endocrinology care and is needed to monitor growth and guide medication changes. Remote consultations depend upon parent-reported measurements. However, home height measurements are often inaccurate.Aim: We designed a quality improvement study with...

Background: There is limited reporting of the impact of genital difference on early childhood experience, although the young person’s viewpoint should be at the core of patient centred clinical decision making. The experience of girls living with Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH) may differ according to context, being influenced by interactions within the family, with specialist teams as well as prevailing social values. Clearly there is a need to inv...

Background: There is little information on growth and fractures in boys with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD).Objective & hypotheses: To determine the extent of growth & skeletal morbidity in a contemporary cohort of DMD in the UK.Method: Clinical details of 832 boys with DMD in the North Star database (2006–2015) from 23 centres were analysed following categorisation into five age groups: A:<5 years (n, ...

Background: Controlling eating rate may be a mechanism for reducing calorie consumption. We need to understand the physiological basis of this to design effective paediatric interventions.Objective and hypotheses: This study investigated the effect of eating rate during lunch on post-meal neural response (fMRI), satiety hormone levels, appetite ratings (VAS), meal enjoyment, memory for recent eating and snack consumption.Method: Tw...

Background: Despite extensive evidence in adults that lifestyle modification, including a healthy diet, may prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes, studies examining the impact of chronic dietary exposures on insulin dynamics in at-risk children are lacking.Objective and hypotheses: To assess how dietary intake predicts insulin sensitivity and secretion over a 2-year period in children with a family history of obesity.Method: Data st...

Introduction: Hypophosphatasia (HPP) is the rare, inherited, metabolic disease with broad-ranging severity caused by inactivating mutation(s) in the tissue-nonspecific alkaline phosphatase (TNSALP) gene. In the childhood form of HPP, there are mineralization defects of the bones and teeth, often with impaired physical function, muscle weakness, and decreased growth. We previously reported sustained radiographic improvement in rickets compared to historical controls in 5–1...

Background: Hypophosphatasia (HPP) is the rare inherited metabolic disorder resulting from loss-of-function mutation(s) in the tissue-nonspecific alkaline phosphatase (TNSALP) gene. TNSALP deficiency can cause a spectrum of complications in children including premature deciduous tooth loss, rickets, poor growth, and compromised physical function. We previously reported that children, 5–12 years old, with HPP and treated with asfotase alfa, a recombinant bone-targeted huma...

Background: Physical activity is beneficial to lipid profiles, however the association between sedentary behaviours and paediatric dyslipidaemia remains controversial. Understanding these associations is critical given that youth are increasingly engaging in sedentary pursuits, and are sleeping, on average, 1 h less than children were 20 years ago.Objective and hypotheses: To investigate whether various forms of sedentary behavior/sleep predict lipid pro...

Introduction: Rapid-onset obesity with hypoventilation, hypothalamic dysfunction and autonomic dysregulation (ROHHAD) is a rare syndrome that presents during early childhood and is associated with high morbidity and mortality. 40-50% of patients have neural crest tumours, most commonly ganglioneuromas or ganglio-neuroblastomas denoted by the suffix ROHHAD(NET) in a subset of patients. Currently, there is no specific diagnostic biomarker available and diagnosis...