ESPE Abstracts

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...

Objective: Hypothalamic dysfunction is a rare condition and can be encountered in patients who have been diagnosed or treated for a suprasellar brain tumor. Due to its rarity, signs and symptoms of hypothalamic dysfunction may be difficult to recognize, leading to delayed diagnosis of the suprasellar brain tumor or to difficulties in finding the health care expertise for hypothalamic dysfunction after tumor treatment. To improve care and outcome of patients wi...

Background: A reduced reproductive lifespan is one of the most significant implications for girls with Turner syndrome (TS) and is due to an accelerated loss of ovarian insufficiency. Lately, there has been a surge in scientific research aimed at whether ovarian tissue cryopreservation (OTC) is a viable option for fertility preservation in girls with TS. This required a unilateral ovariectomy for girls with TS who may already have a poor ovarian reserve.<p...

Background: In our center for adults with rare genetic syndromes, we see adolescents and young adults with overgrowth syndromes, among others. In our 'general endocrinology' outpatient clinic, we also see patients with overgrowth, but in these cases the overgrowth is due to excess of growth hormone (GH). Our clinical impression is that the differentiation between the two is often challenging. Therefore, we believe it is important to emphasize the dif...

Leptin receptor deficiency is a rare genetic disorder that affects the body’s ability to regulate appetite and weight. For patients and their families, the disorder seriously disrupts daily life, however, little is published about this impact. We here report the experiences of a 10.5-year-old girl with leptin receptor deficiency and her family. The diagnosis of this rare genetic obesity had a deep impact on the life of the child and her family. It led to a better underst...

Background: Hypothalamic-pituitary (HP) deficiencies are frequent in childhood brain tumor survivors (CBTS) after cranial radiation. There is currently no consensus on the most optimal way to screen for HP dysfunction regarding diagnostic tests or time interval. It is not known whether MRI changes in time in the HP-region or in brain volume are predictive of HP dysfunction.Aim: To quantify changes in the HP-region and in brain volume on MRI in CBTS after...

Background: The majority of children diagnosed with idiopathic isolated growth hormone deficiency (IIGHD) show a normal growth hormone (GH) secretion (assessed by GH stimulation tests) when retested at near adult height (NAH). It appears plausible that if normal stimulated GH secretion is observed in mid-puberty, continuing recombinant human GH (rhGH) treatment may only have a minor effect on NAH. The effect on NAH has never been investigated in a prospective ...

Introduction: Growth hormone (GH) treatment is essential for growth in children with GH deficiency. Also short children born small for gestational age (SGA), and children with syndromes like Turner Syndrome (TS), Noonan Syndrome (NS) and Silver Russel Syndrome (SRS) can benefit from GH treatment. For children with needle anxiety GH delivered by a jet device can be a solution for the daily subcutaneous treatment for many years. In 2021, a global recall of the o...

Background: Congenital hypothyroidism (CH) is a common and preventable cause of mental retardation in children, and is detected using dried blood spots in many neonatal screening programs. Upon suspicion of CH, plasma free thyroxine (FT4) and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) concentrations are measured. CH can be of thyroidal or central origin (CH-T and CH-C, respectively). While CH-T diagnosis is based on an elevated plasma TSH in combination with a low FT4,...

Background: Patients with a mutation in the thyroid hormone (TH) receptor TRα1 are characterized by growth retardation, delayed bone development, mild cognitive defects and constipation. They also have abnormal TH levels: low FT4, high T3, and low rT3 levels, suggesting an altered peripheral TH metabolism by deiodinases. The type 3 deiodinase (D3) inactivates TH by catalyzing the degradation of T3. D3 is importantly expressed in...