ESPE Abstracts

Background: There is growing evidence of a correlation between fat and bone metabolism at both the clinical and molecular levels, although the systemic regulators have not been clearly identified. The receptor activator of nuclear factor kB ligand (RANKL) and its soluble decoy receptor, osteoprotegerin (OPG), are involved in bone resorption and vascular calcification. OPG levels has been related with insulin resistance in adult obese subjects.Objective a...

Background: Ovotesticular Disorder of Sex Development (OTDSD – true hermaphroditism) is rare, characterized by the presence of both presence of both testis and ovay tissue. Usually, these patients seek medical attention due to ambiguous genitalia.Case presentation: A 15-year-old boy, with ‘atypical’ genitalia and breast enlargement came for surgical correction. His genitalia had a more masculine aspect at birth and he had been submitted to...

Background: Disproportional short stature (DSS) is the most frequent clinical presentation of skeletal dysplasias, which are a heterogeneous group of more than 450 disorders of bone. Skeletal survey is important to establish the diagnosis and to guide the genetic test, but has several limitations, especially in mild and atypical cases.Objective and hypotheses: To identify the genetic aetiology of DSS by exome sequencing.Method: Who...

Introduction: The majority of children with short stature are classified as ISS by the absence of findings that could elucidate the cause of their growth impairment. Several monogenic defects have already been identified in children with ISS, but the candidate gene approach is not feasible when there are no specific findings to guide a specific genetic test.Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic yield of a targeted gene p...

Introduction: Children with Prader-Willi syndrome present with short stature and obesity. However, very little is known about the role of this imprinted control region in the general population. This study aims to analyze the methylation status of the PWS imprinting control region (ICR) in placenta and its association with postnatal growth and obesity parameters in healthy children.Methodology: The methylation percentages of the PWS-ICR ...

Background: Infants with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) exhibit stunted growth. However, little is known about the role of genes expressed from the imprinted PWS domain in healthy infants. This study aimed to analyze the relative gene expression of the SNURF-SNRPN/UBE3A cluster in the imprinted PWS domain in umbilical cord tissue, and its potential association with prenatal and postnatal growth in apparently healthy infants.Methods:...

Background: Bone age (BA) is commonly used in pediatrics to define skeletal maturity for medical and non-medical purposes. Normal range is represented by 2 standard deviations (SDs) above and below the mean. A BA greater than ±2 SDs from the chronological age (CA) is considered abnormal. BA in achondroplasia (ACH) has not been fully characterized; calculation is challenging given difficulties in comparing x-rays with standard radiographs if using the Greuli...

Background: Most published studies on 46,XY DSD focused on genetic findings without association with biochemical work-up.Objectives: To retrospectively analyze the clinical and genetic findings of a large cohort of 46,XY DSD patients.Methods: 285 non-syndromic 46,XY DSD individuals (192 sporadic and 89 familial cases) were studied. LH, FSH, testosterone (T), androstenedione (A) wer...

Introduction: Classic congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) caused by 21-hydroxylase deficiency results in impaired synthesis of gluco- and often also of mineralocorticoids. Early treatment with glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids prevents life-threatening crises. In some centres, additional salt is prescribed in the first year. However, until now the use of salt is controversial and not proved to result in better outcome in studies.<s...

Background: Subjects with non classical congenital adrenal hyperplasia (NCCAH) often present an increased growth velocity secondary to elevation of adrenal androgens that promote early bone maturation and compromise final height (FH). The aim of the study was to analyze prognostic factors affecting growth trajectory and FH in children with NCCAH.Design: retrospective, multicentric studyStud...