ESPE Abstracts

Background: Achondroplasia (ACH), the most common short-limbed skeletal dysplasia, is characterized by impaired endochondral ossification resulting from gain-of-function pathogenic variants in the fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3) gene, a negative regulator of endochondral bone growth. People with ACH are at risk for several significant co-morbidities, including brainstem compression due to foramen magnum stenosis, sleep-disordered breathing, chronic...

Background: XLH is a rare, genetic, life-long disease caused by PHEX pathogenic variants. It is associated with progressive accumulation of musculoskeletal features and symptoms that evolve across the patient’s lifetime if untreated. Although the disease is well characterised in children and adults, there are limited data describing the health outcomes and experiences of adolescents, particularly at end of skeletal growth (EOSG), a crucial phase during t...

Background: The rapid advancement in understanding molecular mechanisms, and the availability of genetic testing, has led to a paradigm change in many endocrine disorders. Making an accurate diagnosis enables tailored follow-up, treatment, and family genetic counselling. However, a cooperation is required, since the endocrinologist has a more profound understanding of the disorders, but the geneticist is usually better skilled in analyzing genetic results and ...

Background: GH secretion is affected by duration and quality of sleep. Studies examining the connection between sleep and linear growth have reported conflicting results. Recently, we reported that nutritional supplementation was effective in promoting growth in children. In the present study, we extended our evaluation of the nutritional supplement to assess the association between nutrition, sleep and growth.Objective and hypotheses: To examine whether...

Background: A high frequency of extrathyroidal congenital anomalies has been reported in infants with congenital hypothyroidism (CH) detected by neonatal screening. Current ESPE guidelines suggest that congenital malformations, underlying dysmorphic syndromes and psychomotor and language development should be sought for and monitored in CH patients. The identification of co-existing nosologies and malformations is helpful not only for clinical purposes but also for uncovering ...

Introduction: The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has witnessed increasing number of researchers over last decade; for example, in-between 2015 and 2016, the number of researchers (in full time equivalent) per 1 million inhabitants was 2.4K in UAE, 1.1K in Morocco, 680 in Egypt, 604 in Qatar and 242 in Oman. Research and Development investment among Arabic countries was the highest in Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirate...

Introduction: Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by impairment of one of the enzymes involved in the steroidogenesis pathway. CAH due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency (21-OHD) is attributed to mutations of the CYP21A2 gene and is distinguished into classic [salt wasting (SW), simple virilizing (SV)] and non-classic form. Herein we present a) the genetic investigation of 526 subjects with suspicion of 21-OHD in t...

Introduction: Resistance to Thyroid Hormone (RTH) is a clinical syndrome characterized by impaired end-organ responsiveness to Thyroid Hormone (TH). The cardinal features of this syndrome are elevated serum levels of free THs with normal or high TSH, often with goiter and no clear symptoms of thyrotoxicosis. Mutations in the Thyroid Hormone Receptor beta (THRB) gene constitute the most frequent cause of RTH, defined as RTHβ.<p class="abstext"...

Introduction: Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) is a rare neurological condition characterized by raised intracranial pressure (ICP) in the absence of hydrocephalus, brain parenchymal lesion, vascular malformation, or central nervous system (CNS) infection. Hyperthyroidism is a rare but known cause of raised ICP in children and adults, with only a few case reports in the paediatric population. We describe a 7-year-old boy with IIH associated with hype...

Introduction: Maturity Onset Diabetes of the Young (MODY) constitutes a genetically and clinically heterogeneous type of Monogenic Diabetes (MD), characterized by early onset of hyperglycemia, autosomal dominant inheritance and defect in β-cell insulin secretion. To date, 14 different MODY subtypes have been reported, each one with a distinct genetic etiology.Materials and Methods: We designed a NGS TGP of seven ...