ESPE Abstracts

Background: Few studies have assessed 25-hydroxy vitamin D [25(OH)D] status among Italian children.Objective and hypotheses: To assess 25(OH)D in children and adolescents living in Tuscany, Italy, identifing risk factors for vitamin D deficiency in different age groups.Method: We evaluated 446 children children and adolescents (2.4–17.8 years), from Mugello (latitude 44° N), and we determined 25(OH)D, calcium, alkaline ph...

Background: Hypovitaminosis D is common in the general population. Although many studies on 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) are available on systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), little data is present in juvenile onset SLE (JSLE) patients.Objective and hypotheses: This study aimed to assess serum 25(OH)D levels in JSLE patients and to identify risk factors for vitamin D deficiency in this population.Method: Forty-five consecutive Cauc...

Background: Prader–Willi syndrome (PWS) has a relative hypoinsulinemia and a lower insulin resistance than non-PWS subjects. Mostly on the basis of such higher insulin sensitivity, PWS subjects have been hypothesized to be at lower risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).Objective and hypotheses: In this cross-sectional study, we analyzed the presence and the severity of NAFLD in a group of PWS children compared to matched pairs.<p cla...

Background: Unlike precocious puberty, early and/or fast puberty have been less studied, despite the fact that this disorder may be associated to an organic lesion at CNS level.Objective and hypotheses: We illustrate a case of early and fast puberty in a girl with an occult intra-cranial tumor.Method: The girl was the first child of non-consanguineous, Italian parents. The family had a positive history of early puberty. Target heig...

Background: The success of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has dramatically increased life expectancy for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients, revealing a range of chronic problems associated with HIV. Among others, low bone mineral density (BMD) has been described in HIV-infected youths. Little is currently known about the changes of BMD over time in these patients.Objective and hypotheses: The aim of the study was to asses...

Background: Triglyceride (TG)/HDL ratio has recently been considered a index of cardio-metabolic risk in healthy and obese subjects. Diet, lifestyle indexes, anthropometric parameters, and metabolic control are the variables with possible influence on belonging to a certain cardio-metabolic risk group.Objective and hypotheses: To identify whether HbA1c per se has an influence on TG/HDL and to study other possible variables influencing the ratio....

Background: Low birth weight is associated with cardiometabolic risk in adulthood. To date, there is no evidence of a relationship between birth length and metabolic risk.Objective and hypotheses: To evaluate the relationship between birth size and risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in obese children.Method: 41 obese children were studied (23 females/18 males, 13.2±1.26 years). All patients underwent anthropometric, biochemical...

Introduction: Childhood obesity is associated with several complications, involving many systems. The prevalence of respiratory problems, such as obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), is higher in obese children and adolescents. In fact, OSAS affects 13–59% of obese children and the severity is strongly associated with weight excess. Although overnight pulse oximetry (PO) can be used for diagnosing OSAS, a complete night polysomnography (PSG), which re...

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&pm;5.9 years, range: 1-18 years). The patients were referred from the Rett Center of two It...

Inflammation is a known feature of Down syndrome (DS) and is caused by a dysregulation between pro and anti-inflammatory cytokines. Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) is characterised by a slowly developing persistent inflammation of the thyroid gland which frequently leads to hypothyroidism. In DS children, HT is the most common autoimmune disease ad its prevalence has been reported to be more elevated than that generally seen in age-matched patients without DS: 34% vs 1.3%, r...