ESPE Abstracts

Background: Pycnodysostosis is a rare recessive condition with mutation in the cathepsin K gene, causing reduction in bone reabsorption resulting in abnormally dense and fragile bones. Characteristic features include deformity of the skull, maxilla causing craniofacial, dental abnormalities with skeletal changes and short stature. Growth hormone therapy has been attempted in a small group of patients with Pycnodysostosis to promote final adult height, however has not been show...

Background/Aim: Type 1 diabetes Mellitus (T1DM) often presents with clear clinical signs after a long-term asymptomatic autoimmune process. This long and silent period has been leading to an increase in awareness day by day in order to prevent and predict the development of the disease. Among the well-known genetic and environmental risk factors, close relatives of the index cases constitute a population that is quite suitable for predicting and preventing the...

Background: Fetal skeletal bone development and mineralisation depends on placental calcium transfer. Although Parathyroid Hormone (PTH) pathway has some contribution, TRPV6 (the sixth member of the Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid family) is a recently identified receptor involved in calcium transport and is predominantly expressed in the placenta. It has not previously been linked with skeletal development disorders.Case: This infant had...

Background: Gordon Holmes syndrome (GHS) is characterized by cerebellar ataxia/atrophy and normosmic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (nHH). The underlying pathophysiology of this combined neurodegeneration and nHH remains unknown.Patients and methods: We studied a cohort of multiplex families with GHS through autozygosity mapping and whole exome sequencing.Results: We identified patients from three independent families carrying loss-...

Skeletal dysplasias are conditions in which there is an abnormality of bone and/or cartilage growth, which may show phenotypic evolution throughout life. They are genetically and radiologically heterogeneous, with accurate diagnosis requiring careful correlation of clinical, genetic and radiological information. Presentation may be with unexplained short stature, and this, in the presence of disproportion is the most common indication for a skeletal survey within paediatric en...

Abnormal bone development is commonly seen in children with chronic disease. However, fragility fractures in the young individual may be less common compared to older adults, which may be due to under recognition. The underlying chronic condition and medication can impact on bone turnover, modelling, bone mineral homeostasis, growth, pubertal development and muscle mass. The diagnosis and management of osteoporosis in children and adolescents with chronic disease remains conte...

Background: Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) has been established as a safe and effective bariatric procedure during adolescence, but its long-term results remain uncertain. Our aim was to report and compare the short- and long-term outcomes of LSG in adolescents.Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of patients submitted to LSG between 2010 and 2013 in our Institution. Baseline, short-term (1 year) and lon...

Background: Disproportional short stature (DSS) is the most frequent clinical presentation of skeletal dysplasias, which are a heterogeneous group of more than 450 disorders of bone. Skeletal survey is important to establish the diagnosis and to guide the genetic test, but has several limitations, especially in mild and atypical cases.Objective and hypotheses: To identify the genetic aetiology of DSS by exome sequencing.Method: Who...

Aims: To examine growth, body composition and glucose metabolism during childhood in children born small for gestational age (SGA).Methods: Single centre cohort study of 150 children (63 boys), identified from newborn records as being born SGA (birth weight SDS <−1.5) and assessed between the age of 4 and 7 years. Data collected included: anthropometric parameters (height, weight, BMI: transformed into age- and sex-adjusted SDS), lean and fat m...

Background: The large phenotypic spectrum of Disorders of Sex Development are caused by mutations in many different genes, but a large phenotypic spectrum of sexual disturbancies may also be seen with different mutations in the same gene.Objective and hypotheses: To report on one new mutation in the 5 alfa reductase (SRD5A2) gene, and describe the extremes of the phenotypic spectrum of 5 alfa reductase deficiency presented in two patients.<p class="a...