ESPE Abstracts

Introduction: Pituitary stalk thickening (PST) is a rare condition in pediatric patients. As there are few studies published in pediatric population, the definition has been difficult to establish. The etiologies involved in PST can be divided in neoplastic, congenital, inflammatory/infectious or autoimmune diseases. In children the most frequent causes are neoplastic, followed by congenital lesions. The inflammatory/infectious and autoimmune diseases are rare...

The Easypod™ Connect Observational Study (ECOS) assessed real-time adherence in patients from 24 countries who were receiving recombinant human growth hormone (r-hGH; Saizen®) via easypod™, which is an electronic injection device. Overall, ECOS showed mean adherence was maintained at ~80% for up to 3 years. Here, we assess the adherence to r-hGH administered via easypod™ in the Argentinian cohort of patients from ECOS (NCT01582334).<p class="ab...

Background: Neonatal diabetes (ND) is a rare monogenic form of diabetes presenting within the first six months of life. The most frequent causes include mutations in KCNJ11, ABCC8 and insulin genes, but up to 40% of patients remain without a molecular genetic diagnosis.Case presentation: Case 1: a female newborn of non-consanguineous parents, born at 35 weeks, SGA. She presented with hyperglycemia at second day of life...

Background: Children with more than one AID (pediatric polyautoimmunity) may have a stronger genetic component than children with a single AID. PTPN22 C1858T SNP has been associated with multiple different AIDs in adults and children.Objective and hypotheses: Evaluate the association of PTPN22 C1858T gene polymorphism with pediatric polyautoimmunity.Method: A cross-sectional study was performed in subjects with an AID of p...

Background: Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) caused by loss of function mutation in the NF1 gene; leads to the hyperactivation of RAS and its downstream mediators and contributes to tumour formation. The main manifestations of NF1 are café au lait macule, axillary and/or inguinal freckling. Neurofibroma plexiform is specific for NF1 and identified on the face and trunk. Urogenital presentation is infrequent in the penis. Identification of this lesion is essential because it...

Context: Children with 21-hydroxylase deficiency (21OHD) require chronic glucocorticoid administration to substitute glucocorticoids and suppress adrenocorticotropic hormone-induced hyperandrogenemia. There is still no evidence about the best timing of the highest hydrocortisone (HC) dose. Administration of the highest dose in the morning aims to mimic the physiological rhythm of cortisol, while a high dose late in the evening may inhibit the early-morning inc...

Introduction: Ghrelin binds to its receptor GHSR1A, encoded by GHSR, on somatotrophs of the pituitary. Growth hormone (GH) secretion is enhanced by ghrelin binding as well as the receptor’s constitutive activity. Results from in vitro experiments, knock-out mice, and GWAS suggest that heterozygous loss-of-function of GHSR may be associated with short stature, but observations in case studies are equivocal. We aimed to better ch...

Introduction: Among children with short stature, some show persistent IGF-I levels <-2.0 SDS despite a normal growth hormone (GH) response in a stimulation test. This may be caused by conditions that could benefit from recombinant human GH (rhGH) therapy (e.g. GH neurosecretory dysfunction, bioinactive GH, partial GH insensitivity). Therefore, the IGF-I generation test (IGFIGT) was implemented in 2006 using a national, standardized protocol. Children with a...

Background: Silver Russell syndrome (SRS) is a heterogeneous disorder characterised by intrauterine and post-natal growth retardation, relative macrocephaly, protruding forehead, feeding difficulties and body asymmetry. Variants in HMGA2 are a rare cause of SRS and despite strong evidence for the crucial role of HMGA2 in growth regulation, its functional role in human linear growth is unclear.Methods: Patients w...

Background: The methylation of IGF1 promoter P2 was reported to negatively correlate with serum IGF-1 concentration and rhGH treatment response in children with idiopathic short stature. These findings have not yet been confirmed.Objective: This study aimed to determine IGF1 promoter P2 methylation in short children treated with rhGH and correlate clinical parameters with the methylation status. In addition, long-term st...