ESPE Abstracts

Background: The hypothalamic leptin–melanocortin signalling pathway is a critical regulator of human appetite and weight regulation. Monogenetic defects in the POMC gene, the MSH ligand generating PC1 gene and the MSH receptor gene MC4R lead to severe early onset and leptin-resistant obesity. In PWS, where the function of genes such as MAGEL2 are impaired, the Magel2-/- mouse model revealed decreased POMC neuronal functioning as one c...

Background: Prader–Willi syndrome (PWS) is characterized by a switch from failure to thrive to excessive weight gain and hyperphagia with impaired satiety in early childhood. An elevated, more unfavorable ratio between acylated:unacylated ghrelin (AG:UAG) may be involved in the underlying mechanisms of this switch.Objective and hypotheses: To assess the evolution of the appetite regulating hormones AG, UAG, and the AG:UAG ratio in infants with PWS a...

Background: Type 1 diabetes may have an influence on concentration, attention and behaviour. These effects are relevant, as they may affect school performance and later career options for paediatric diabetes patients.Objective and hypotheses: This study examined attention, concentration and behavioural difficulties in diabetic children aged 5–13 years and their association with hypoglycaemic episodes and HbA1c.Method: 48 child...

Background: In mammals, maternal glucocorticoids are transmitted through breast milk, particularly under stressful circumstances. In humans, it is unclear whether milk cortisol levels are dependent on stressful perinatal circumstances, such as preterm birth.Objective and hypotheses: Our aim was to compare cortisol concentrations in breast milk of mothers of very preterm infants (GA <32 weeks) to breast milk cortisol concentrations of mothers of full-...

Background: Short stature has been associated with a reduction in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and more problem behavior in children and adults. In adolescents who were treated with growth hormone (GH) because of persistent short stature after being born SGA, an increase in HRQoL and decrease in behavioral problems was seen during or right after cessation of GH-treatment. However, long-term data, to analyze if these positive effects remain many years...

Introduction: Acromegaly is a rare disorder, developed by overproduction of growth hormone (GH) and insulin-growth factor 1 (IGF-1), in most cases based on a pituitary adenoma. The increased IGF-1 and GH levels lead to the growth of acres and organs as well as metabolic changes. When manifesting before epiphyseal closure, a giant growth develops.Case Report: A Ukrainian girl presented at the age of 14 years with enlargem...

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: Measurement of testicular volume is important when conditions associated with a delay or advance in the onset of puberty, or micro- and macroorchidism, are suspected. Measured testicular volumes must be compared with reference data, preferably expressed in S.D. curves using the LMS method, as is routinely done for many auxological measurements in pediatrics. The current study therefore aimed to construct LMS-smoothed age-reference charts for testicul...

Background: Short stature caused by point mutations or deletions of the short stature homeobox (SHOX) gene (SHOX haploinsufficiency, SHI) is a registered indication for growth hormone (GH) treatment. Patients with a SHOX enhancer deletion (SED) have a similar phenotype, but their response to GH is unknown. It is uncertain if duplications of SHOX or its enhancer (SDUP) can cause short stature.Objective and hypotheses: To describe the clinical characterist...