ESPE Abstracts

Background: McCune-Albright-Syndrome (MAS) is an extremely rare multisystem disorder that affects bones (fibrous dysplasia), skin (cafe-au-lait spots) and endocrine organs (hyperfunctioning endocrinopathies) and is caused by somatic mutations in GNAS gene.Materials and methods: We have evaluated 55 pediatric patients (44 girls (G) and 11 boys (B)) diagnosed in the period of 20 years. Mutation analyses using competitive allele-specific TaqMan PCR...

Background: The influence of intrauterine life on long term health is supported by a wealth of epidemiological and experimental studies. A low oxygen and/or nutrient supply to the fetus, resulting in intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), may affect gonadal development of the offspring, with a potential impact on fertility. Data derived from animal models of placental insufficiency are very limited.Objective and hypotheses: To investigate the effects of...

Background: The glucose metabolism derangements (GMD) can have an important impact on nutritional status and respiratory function in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF).Objective and hypotheses: The aim of our study is to evaluate the effects of 4 years of glargine therapy in patients affected by CF and GMD.Method: All CF patients attended to the Center of Cystic Fibrosis of our department were screened by oral glucose tolerance tes...

Background: A high risk of congenital hypothyroidism (CH) has been documented in multiple pregnancies. Over the years special screening procedures for preterm and twin babies (re-screening at 2–4 weeks of life) have been adopted by many screening laboratories worldwide. However, no extensive studies have been performed to verify how many co-twins with negative test at first screening (3–5 days of life) become positive at re-screening, and the utility of a long-term f...

Background: Sporadic pseudohypoparathyroidism type Ib (spor-PHP-Ib) is caused by GNAS methylation alterations with loss of imprinting at the exon A/B differentially methylated region (DMR), without genetic deletions disrupting the STX16 ICR. These patients classically display hormone resistance limited to PTH and TSH with no Albright hereditary osteodistrophy (AHO).Objective and hypotheses: We describe two cases with the same imprinting methylat...

Background: Adolescence is a critical period of life, and even more if a chronic illness is present like type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). The healthy lifestyle practice is one of the pillars of the T1DM treatment.Objective and hypotheses: To evaluate the association between lifestyle and health related quality of life (HRQoL) in adolescents with T1DM.Method: Lifestyle and HRQoL were evaluated in 69 T1DM adolescents (34 male, mean a...

Background: Epidemiologic studies have shown strong associations between high carotenoids levels and reduced risk of developing various forms of cancer, cardiovascular system diseases, etc.Objective and hypotheses: Carotenoids are hydrophobic substances and are contained in blood in lipoprotein particles. Their conformation depends on their molecular environment. By evaluating the conformation of carotenoids we can obtain various information about the li...

Background: GH has a strong positive influence on bone stimulating both bone elongation and increase in size by enhancing the accrual of trabecular and cortical bone up to the attainment of peak bone mass in young adult.Aim of the study: We compared the effect of two different GH dosages on statural growth and bone geometry in two groups of GH-deficient children at final height. Data has been collected retrospectively from 1994 to 2013.<p class="abst...

Background: Thyroid dysgenesis has been considered a sporadic disease, but recent observations suggested a possible genetic basis.Objective and hypotheses: The aim of our report is to evaluate the incidence of hormonal and ultrasound thyroid anomalies in siblings of CH patients with thyroid dysgenesis.Method: In Emilia-Romagna Region (Italy) 328 CH infants were diagnosed by neonatal screening between January 2000 and December 2012....

Background: Pancreatic epithelial cells represent an attractive cell source for replacement therapy of type 1 diabetes. Previously, we designed a protocol for expansion of human pancreatic duct-derived cells (HDDCs) and showed their β-cell engineering potential.Objective and hypotheses: In this study, we reprogrammed HDDCs into β-cell-like lineage by over-expressing mRNAs of key pancreatic transcription factors (TFs).Meth...