ESPE Abstracts

Three patients from two unrelated families in Malta; one consanguineous (siblings: Patient 1, male and Patient 2, female) and one non-consanguineous (Patient 3, male), manifested hypogonadotropic hypogonadism with delayed puberty, intellectual disability, scoliosis, and ataxia with cerebellar hypoplasia on MRI. GnRH tests revealed low peak LH and FSH concentrations in the patients: Patient 1; LH 2.3 IU/L, FSH 4.4 IU/L (14.3y), Patient 2; LH 3.6 IU/L, FSH 6.4 IU/L (12.5y), Pati...

At present no European recommendations for the management of pediatric thyroid nodules and differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) exist. Differences in clinical, molecular, and pathological characteristics between pediatric and adult DTC emphasize the need for specific recommendations for the pediatric population. An expert panel was instituted by the executive committee of the European Thyroid Association (ETA) including an international community of experts from a variety of...

Background: Primary adrenal insufficiency (PAI) in children is an uncommon condition. Diagnosis is usually challenging especially in resource limited settings where facilities for antibodies and genetic testing are constrained. Many genetic etiologies have been reported in children with PAI due to congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) and Allgrove syndrome are the commonest identified genetic causes to date in Sudan. Studies from Africa are rare and here we des...

Background and Aim: Several genetic variants associating with hepatic fat content in adults have been identified in genome-wide association studies. Their effects in children remain unclear. This study aimed to test the effect of genetic variants known to associate with hepatic fat in adults, individually and combined as a genetic risk score (GRS), on cardiometabolic traits, and to investigate the predictive ability of the GRS for hepatic steatosis in children...

Background: There is increasing evidence from epidemiological studies that some man-made chemicals present in the environment can disrupt endocrine homeostasis in exposed humans. Exposure during foetal life to e.g. phthalates has been linked to adverse effects on testicular and ovarian development, thyroid homeostasis and growth in postnatal life. Exposure to phthalates fluctuates not only from day to day but also over time which poses a major challenge for ex...

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a highly prevalent chronic liver disease which occurs in the setting of insulin resistance and increased adiposity. It has rapidly evolved into the most common liver disease seen in the pediatric population. NAFLD can be divided into non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFL), which denotes bland steatosis, and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), which is marked by steatosis and lobular inflammation and hepatoce...

Objectives: Diazoxide is first line treatment for hypoglycaemia due to hyperinsulinaemic hypoglycaemia (HH). However, the FDA has raised serious concerns regarding diazoxide-induced pulmonary hypertension (PH) in 2015. Although sporadic cases of PH have been reported, no HH cohort has been systematically characterised to understand severity and risk factors for diazoxide-induced PH.Methods: To investigate the onset, progress and associated factors in PH,...

Introduction: Our Centre is an international referral centre for genetic analysis of children with short stature (SS) and features of GH/IGF-1 resistance. Following candidate gene and whole exome sequencing, diagnoses for ~50% patients remained elusive. Copy number variation (CNV) has not previously been investigated in GH/IGF-1 resistance and we hypothesised that CNVs contribute to the phenotype in our undiagnosed cohort.Experimental Design and Methodol...

Background: Diazoxide and octreotide are first and second-line of treatment for HH respectively. Long-acting somatostatin analogue (Lanreotide, LA) has been used in adults with neuroendocrine conditions through its effect on somatostatin receptors 2 (SSTR2) and 5 (SSTR5).Objective and hypotheses: (i) To evaluate the efficacy, safety and pharmacokinetics of LA therapy in children with HH. (ii) To determine somatostatin receptor expression on pancreatic al...

Background: Congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI) is cause of severe hypoglycaemia. Octreotide (somatostatin analogue), given as four times daily s.c. injections or via a pump, is used as second line treatment in diazoxide unresponsive CHI patients.Objective and hypotheses: The aim of our study was to evaluate the use of a long acting somatostatin analogue (Lanreotide) in patients with CHI.Method: Diffuse CHI patients above three years ...