ESPE Abstracts

Background: microRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small (18–25 nucleotides), non-coding RNA molecules. They play an important role in the regulation of gene expression by either suppressing translation of genes or inducing their mRNA degradation. Several miRNA species are expressed in adipose tissue and involved in adipocyte function.Objective and hypotheses: Obesity leads to the infiltration of macrophages into adipose tissue causing local inflammation...

Background: Liver steatosis (LS) is diagnosed in obesity at very early ages, not exclusively related to overweight severity.Objective and hypotheses: To investigate the features of patients diagnosed with obesity associated LS (ultrasonography).Method: We retrospectively studied 88 obese (BMI>+2 SDS) children with LS (LS-OB) and 88 age, gender, race and puberty matched obese children without LS (no-LS-OB). BMI-SDS, body composi...

Background: Liver steatosis (LS) results from ectopic fat deposition and can be present in obesity even at early ages. Similar to insulin resistance, the onset of LS does not seem to depend exclusively upon the severity of obesity and shows a large interindividual variability.Objective: Our objective was to develop a predictive normogram for LS in children and adolescents with obesity ba...

Background: Prenatal dexamethasone treatment (Pdex) has been used since the 1980s to prevent virilization in female offspring suspected to have congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH). However, due to lack of strong evidence for its best practice as well as limited data regarding long term adverse effects, use of dex is highly controversial. This study reveals the current medical practice regarding Pdex in female fetuses at risk of CAH due to 21 hydroxylase defic...

Background: Craniopharyngioma is a non-malignant embryonic tumour in the pituitary-hypothalamic area, associated with hypothalamic obesity. Dysfunctional parasympathetic nervous system activity has been proposed as one mechanism underlying alterations in energy metabolism. Arterial spin labelling (ASL) is a non-invasive MRI technique that quantifies brain tissue perfusion as a proxy for functional activity. Here, we measure cerebral perfusion in patients with ...

Background: Craniopharyngioma is a non-malignant, embryological brain tumour in the sellar and parasellar region. Hypothalamic damage is common and accompanied by development of obesity in at least 50% of cases. Mechanisms underlying hypothalamic obesity in craniopharyngioma patients however remain unclear and treatment options are invasive and limited. This feasibility study included a novel application of functional neuroimaging, an established method in obe...

Deficiency of pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A2 (PAPP-A2), a regulator of IGF-1 availability, causes postnatal growth failure in humans and mice, at least in part through dysregulation of bone size and density. The present study aimed to determine the effects of Pappa2 gene deletion and the response to recombinant murine IGF-1 (rmIGF-1) on femur microstructure and composition. Hydroxyapatite-related crystallography and ionic substitutions were analyzed by X-ray p...

Pregnancy associated plasma protein (PAPP)-A2 is an insulin-like growth factor (IGF) binding protein (BP) protease that regulates IGF-1 availability affecting postnatal growth. Mutations in human PAPP-A2 cause short stature and changes in bone size and mineral density. The present study aimed to characterize the effects of constitutive Pappa2 gene deletion on hypothalamic regulation of energy homeostasis in adult male and female mice. In addition to being sho...

Background: High amounts of protein in meals increase blood glucose in patients with type 1 diabetes. Fat delays the increase of blood glucose. Till now we do not know the amount of insulin necessary to prevent the increase of blood glucose after a fat and protein rich meal (FPRM).Aim: To find the Insulin dosage to normalize glucose level after a FPRM.Patients: Sixteen patients with type 1 diabetes (mean±SD; Age 19.7±2.7 ...

Background: Accumulation of fat mass in the development of obesity may result from hypertrophy and/or hyperplasia and is frequently associated with adipose tissue (AT) dysfunction in adults. However, the onset and mechanisms of AT dysfunction are not entirely understood.Objective and hypotheses: We assessed composition, function, lipolysis, and inflammation in 171 AT samples from lean and obese children and adolescents (aged 0 – 18 years) to evaluat...