ESPE Abstracts

Human growth is a complex trait. A considerable number of gene defects have been shown to cause short stature, but there are only few examples of genetic causes of non-syndromic tall stature. Besides rare variants with large effects and common risk alleles with small effect size, oligogenic effects may contribute to this phenotype. Exome sequencing was carried out in a tall male (height 3.5 SDS) and his parents. Filtered damaging variants with high CADD scores were validated b...

Introduction: Familial tall stature (FTS) is defined as height taller than +2 SD in a subject growing within his/her midparental height (MPH) with no apparent dysmorphic features. FTS is routinely not an indication for genetic investigation. However, some subtle dysmorphic features of various genetic disorders might be missed justifying the need for further investigation.Aims: To elucidate the genetic cause of FTS and to...

Introduction: In 1950s - 1960s, the thalidomide disaster resulted in congenital malformations in more than 10,000 children. Derivative of thalidomide interferes with early embryonic transcriptional regulation due to selective degradation of SALL4 protein and thus, thalidomide embryopathy phenocopies pathogenic variants of the SALL4 gene. Their phenotypes range from phocomelia, reduced radial ray, to defects of the heart, kidneys, eye, and cerebral mid...

Background: Very tall people attract a lot of attention and represent a clinically and genetically heterogenous group of individuals. Identifying the genetic etiology can provide important insights into the molecular mechanisms regulating linear growth.Methods and Results: We studied a three-generation pedigree with several isolated (non-syndromic) tall members by whole exome sequencing; the tallest man had a height of 2...

Introduction: Primary multiple pituitary hormone deficiency (MPHD) is caused by impaired development of the pituitary gland during the intrauterine period. Pathogenic variants in numerous genes affecting pituitary morphogenesis or differentiation have been proven to cause MPHD. However, in most people, genetic examination still fails to bring a conclusive finding explaining the cause of MPHD. The aim of our study was to identify the genetic aetiology of MPHD u...

Introduction: Patients carrying homozygous IGF1 loss-of-function mutations are extremely rare and show severe pre- and postnatal growth failure, microcephaly, developmental delay, retrognathia and sensorineural deafness. Heterozygous variants in IGF1 appear to be more common in short stature, but only few cases have been reported in detail. Therefore, clinical features and growth response to recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) therapy are...

Introduction: The ESPE e-Learning web portal is a free, globally accessible online tool to enhance learning in Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes. Since August 2022, the e-learning content includes 30 accredited hours of ESPE/ISPAD e-learning Continuing Medical Education (CME) courses with ten core modules each in Paediatric Endocrinology, Paediatric Endocrinology in Resource Limited Setting (RLS) and Paediatric Diabetes. The CME modules were created by wor...

Background: Subtle phenotypic differences have previously been described among children with varied genetic subtypes of Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) – 15q11-q13 paternal microdeletion, maternal uniparental disomy (mUPD), and rare imprinting center defects. The MKRN3 gene, located on 15q11.2, is a master regulator of pubertal initiation and is a candidate gene for abnormal pubertal development in PWS.Objective and hy...

Background: 5α-reductase type 2 deficiency (SRD5A2) is a rare cause of 46,XY DSD. Consensus guidelines on sex of rearing assignment at birth favours male gender. Typically undervirilised genitalia at birth virilise variably at puberty, posing gender identity challenges.Aim: We describe relevant data on clinical phenotype, hormonal and molecular workup and gender preference in patients with SRD5A2 deficiency from a ...

Background: Androgen excess in childhood is a common clinical presentation and might signify serious pathology. We have recently explored patterns and severity of androgen excess in a large female adult cohort to differentiate common polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) from non-PCOS pathology, including congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), ovarian hyperthecosis and adrenal and ovarian tumours (Elhassan et al., JCE&M 2018). Herein, we undertake a similar approach f...