ESPE Abstracts

Background: Permanent adrenal insufficiency (AI) is an uncommon but potentially life-threatening condition in children. Patients are at particular risk during times of stress. Thus, caregivers should have good illness management skills. Despite frequent teaching and seemingly good knowledge of illness management we still see a reluctance of caregivers to administer intramuscular (IM) hydrocortisone at home when indicated, preferring instead to drive themselves...

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is a key component of the body's defence against cold challenge and possesses the ability to convert large amounts of chemical energy to heat, conferred by a unique protein, uncoupling protein (UCP)-1, diverting mitochondrial respiration from the production of adenosine triphosphate. In humans, the largest BAT depot is in the supraclavicular region. Sympathetic nervous system stimulation induces glucose uptake into brown adipose tissue, as does i...

Objectives: Celiac disease (CD) is a life-long inflammatory disease of the gastrointestinal tract that affects genetically susceptible individuals and is associated with several autoimmune diseases. The aim of the study was to evaluate the prevalence of coexistent autoimmune endocrine disorders in children and adolescents diagnosed with CD.Patients and Methods: Children diagnosed with CD in the Paediatric Gastroenterolog...

Background: PCC and PGL are rare in CYP. National children’s registry data reveal an annual incidence of 0.2 and 0.3 per million in 5–9 and 10–14 year age groups respectively. Almost all result from a genetic predisposition, can present with non-specific symptoms, and represent a significant management challenge.Aims: We aimed to provide the first interdisciplinary national management guidelines using the AGREEII framework for CYP with con...

Glucocorticoids regulate a wide range of biological processes including metabolism. Patients with adrenal insufficiency show impaired glucocorticoid biosynthesis either caused by adrenal defects (primary adrenal insufficiency) or by defects in the pituitary gland or hypothalamus (secondary or tertiary adrenal insufficiency). The systemic consequences of differentially disrupted steroid hormone biosynthesis remain unclear. Increasing evidence suggested steroid hormone precursor...

Introduction: Fractures have been recorded in up to one third of children who have suffered from physical abuse. The British Paediatric and Adolescent Bone Group (BPABG) position statement on vitamin D states that the level of 25 hydroxyvitamin D is not relevant to causation of fractures unless there is radiological or biochemical evidence of rickets. Clinicians are often asked in the court setting about the relevance of abnormal serum investigations in children who have fract...

Background: Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) due to COL1A1 and COL1A2 mutations is the most common cause of primary osteoporosis.Case presentation: We present a 10-year-old girl with a history of skeletal fragility, starting in the perinatal period. Her parents are not consanguineous and there is no family history of early osteoporosis. To date, she has sustained nineteen low-energy, long bone fractures and she has skeletal deformities (leg length discrepanc...

Pituitary adenomas are usually benign tumours arising from the hormone-secreting cells of the anterior pituitary gland. These adenomas can result in excess hormone secretion and the development of characteristic syndromes, such as Cushing’s disease, acromegaly and hyperprolactinaemia, and/or mass effects on surrounding vital structures causing for example visual disturbances and pituitary hormone deficiencies. In children and young people under 19 years (CYP), the managem...

Background: Nonsurgical development of nasal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks may occur in the setting of pituitary adenomas, especially following a favorable response of invasive prolactinomas to initiation of Dopamine Agonist (DA) therapy, but this has not previously described in children.Case description: A girl of Srilankan origin, aged 13.8 years, whose parents spoke no English, presented with headaches and secondary amenorrhea. Pituitary MRI reveale...

Objective: To describe six cases of possible partial ectopic posterior pituitary gland (PEPP) seen on head magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and their associated clinical and endocrinological manifestations.Methods: This is a single-center case series, from a tertiary public university health center in Montreal, Canada. Cases of children with possible PEPP were selected prospectively from 2005 to 2017, based on head MRI findings. Medical history, exam fi...