ESPE Abstracts

Introduction: The soluble leptin receptor (sLR) is the main binding protein of leptin in the serum. It reflects the amount of membrane-bound leptin receptors (LEPR) as the sLR is produced by proteolytic cleavage of the extracellular domain of membrane-bound LEPR. Low sLR but high leptin levels were measured in patients with severe obesity. In patients with monogenic obesity caused by biallelic LEPR variants, sLR levels were found to be either undetect...

Background: Current reference values for leptin in childhood and adolescence are presented separately for girls and boys, and as a function of age without considering the variability of fat mass. This complicates the interpretation of measured serum leptin concentrations since fat mass is the major determinant of circulating leptin concentrations. To fill this gap, we aimed at pooling existing data (age, BMI, sex, tanner stage (TS), serum leptin concentrations...

McCune Albright Syndrome (MAS, OMIM # 174800) is a rare congenital sporadic disorder with an estimated prevalence ranging from 1 in 1,00,000 to 1 in 100,000. MAS is caused by a post-zygotic somatic activating mutation of the GNAS1 gene resulting in an increased GSα protein signaling leading to hyperfunction of glycoprotein hormone receptors, autonomous cell proliferation, and hormonal hypersecretion. The mosaic constitutive activation of this signal transducer is clinical...

Background and Aim: A substantial proportion of SGA patients have a syndrome underlying their growth restriction. Most SGA cohorts comprise both syndromic (S-SGA) and non-syndromic patients (nonS-SGA) impeding delineation of the recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) response. We present a detailed characterization of the Belgian SGA cohort and analyze rhGH response based on adult height (AH).Patients & Methods: Cli...

Background: Osteoporosis is a complex disorder, influenced by both environmental and genetic factors. Primary osteoporosis is a rare early onset disorder with high morbidity and mortality. Wnt signaling pathway has been shown to be involved in the regulation of bone remodeling.Case: Native Argentinean boy born from a consanguineous family with history of retinal detachment in the maternal line. Delivered at term, birth weight 2900 g (−0.95 SDS), bi...

Background: Primary Ovarian Insufficiency (POI) and infertility are common concerns of female Childhood Cancer Survivors (CCS) and are known to impact their quality of life. Increased availability of fertility preservation techniques mandate a better understanding of risk factors for POI in this population.Objective and hypotheses: To describe the prevalence of and risk factors for POI in a cohort of adult CCS.Method: Cross-section...

Background: Central hypothyroidism (CeH) is a rare thyroid hormone deficiency due to an insufficient stimulation of a normal thyroid gland. Candidate genes for isolated CeH include TSHβ, TRH receptor (TRHR) or IGSF1 genes while the combined pituitary hormone deficits (CPHDs) are the consequence of defects in embryonic pituitary transcription factors or in the prokineticin receptor 2 (PROKR2).Patients series: Here we report nine males (M) and 15 fema...

Background: Childhood tumours of the hypothalamic pituitary axis (HPATs) are very rare and hence any single centre experience is limited. Without evidence-based guidance, treatment is individualised on a case basis. Survival rates are high, but at the expense of significant morbidity. Centralised care or wider multi-professional consultation may improve neuroendocrine and visual outcomes.Objective and hypotheses: i) To facilitate multi-professional dialo...

Background: Recently, a national database has been developed to register yearly data from all children detected with CAH in the neonatal screening program from 2002 onwards. So far longitudinal data of 105 children have been registered (roughly 65% of Dutch CAH patients) to evaluate medical treatment and long-term effects in CAH. A national CAH work group developed guidelines for diagnostics and follow up in CAH.Objective and hypotheses: Aim of our curre...

Background: Obesity represents one of the most challenging public health problems of our century. According to the World Health Organization, there is a need to create reliable monitoring and behavioral systems, and to investigate their effectiveness in preventing childhood obesity.Objective: To evaluate the BigO behavioral indicators in a pediatric population in Greece.Methodology: The study was c...