ESPE Abstracts

Background: Following a phase of feeding difficulties and underweight in early life, children with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) develop hyperphagia and a tendency towards severe obesity. Growth hormone therapy (GH) has been approved in PWS to compensate their growth failure but may exert also additional effects on muscle component and body composition as well.Objectives: We aimed to test if an early initiation of GH thera...

The impact of DSD on future fertility is dependent on several factors. The key determinant of fertility potential is the status of gonadal development and function, and whether the individual has ovarian tissue with viable oocytes, or testicular tissue capable of producing functional sperm. Fertility risk will be primarily determined by the underlying diagnosis, modified by several additional factors. Whilst fertility preservation options are well established for many patient ...

Introduction: Thyroid dyshormonogenesis (TD) is a heterogeneous group of genetic diseases caused by the total or partial defect in the synthesis or secretion of thyroid hormones. It presents clinical heterogeneity, from subclinical hypothyroidism (SH) to goitre. The clearer understanding of the pathways and enzymatic activities involved in the synthesis of thyroid hormones has allowed us to identify an important number of causal genes. Defective organification...

Introduction: The thyrotropin receptor (TSHR) has a key role in the thyroid gland. It is involved in folliculogenesis, differentiation, organogenesis, and thyroid hormone synthesis and production. Its genetic defects can cause poor differentiation (thyroid dysgenesis) and/or thyroid malfunction (thyroid dyshormonogenesis, TD). Therefore, its phenotype spectrum is wide, ranging from severe congenital hypothyroidism (CH) to mild hyperthyrotropinemia. Some hetero...

Introduction: Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is an autosomal dominant condition caused by a loss-of-function mutation in tumor suppressor genes TSC1/TSC2 which are involved in the inhibition of mTOR signaling implicated in cell proliferation. Major clinical features includes cardiac rhabdomyomas, renal cysts, epilepsy associated to cerebral dysplasia evidenced by cortical tubers and skin manifestation as: angiofibromas, fibrous plaques and the Shagreen patch...

Background: Severe primary insulin-growth factor-1 (IGF1) deficiency (SPIGF1D) is a rare cause of growth retardation. Diagnostic criteria include age- and sex-dependent low basal IGF1 levels (<2.5th percentile), height ≤ −3SDS, absence of growth hormone (GH) deficiency and of any secondary causes of growth failure.Objectives: Phenotypic description, follow-up and molecular studies in a cohort of patients diagnosed with growth f...

Background: Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine disease among women of reproductive age with a prevalence of about 8% according to the Androgen Excess Society (AES) criteria. The pathophysiology of PCOS is not well understood and it is associated with a high prevalence of metabolic disorders. During puberty, irregular menses and acne are common, thus making the diagnosis of PCOS in adolescence challenging.Objective and hypothe...

Background: Homozygous natriuretic peptide receptor-2 (NPR2) mutations cause acromesomelic dysplasia, type Maroteaux, a skeletal dysplasia with extreme disproportionate short stature and recently, heterozygous NPR2 mutations have been identified also in patients with idiopathic short stature (ISS, 2–6%). SHOX mutations are found in ~2–5% of ISS cases and ~70% of Léri-Weill dyschondrosteosis (LWD) cases, characterized by disproportionat...

Background: The MAMLD1 gene (Xp28) is thought to cause disorder of sex development (DSD) in 46, XY patients, mostly presenting with hypospadias, and, recently, also gonadal dysgenesis. However, there is some controversy about the role of MAMLD1 in sex development because i) some MAMLD1 variants are also detected in normal individuals, ii) others are not present in all affected DSD individuals of the same family; iii) several MAMLD1 mutations...

Background: Mutations in SHOX or its regulatory regions have been detected in ~70% of Léri-Weill dyschondrosteosis (LWD) and ~2.5% of idiopathic short stature (ISS) cases, suggesting the implication of other genes or loci. Recent studies have identified NPR2 defects in ISS patients.Objective and hypotheses: To investigate if NPR2 mutations can account for a proportion of the cases referred for LWD and ISS in whom no SHOX/PAR1 mutation was detected.<...