ESPE Abstracts

Background: Primary IGF1 deficiency can result from molecular defects in genes encoding for the GHR, IGF1, STAT5b and ALS. Heterozygous, activating mutations in the STAT3 gene have been recently described in children with severe growth failure associated with a spectrum of early-onset autoimmune disease.Case presentation: We report the molecular diagnosis in two unrelated patients with severe growth failure and IGF1 deficiency: P1, a 3.6 year ol...

Background: Few studies have described the phenotypic spectrum of Septo-Optic Dysplasia (SOD). The aim of this study was to evaluate the range of H-P structural abnormalities and the endocrine morbidity of children with SOD and related disorders.Methods: Retrospective longitudinal single centre study of children with SOD (n:171), Multiple Pituitary Hormone Deficiency (MPHD) (n:53) and Optic Nerve Hypoplasia (ONH) (n:35).<p class="ab...

Introduction: Recent studies have revealed the presence of zinc and the expression of zinc transporter (ZnT) family members in most endocrine cell types. Moreover it was demonstrated that the ZnT family plays an important role in the synthesis and secretion of many hormones like insulin. We studied the prevalence of ZnT8 Ab in patients with autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITD).Material and methods: The study was performed in the group consisting of 20 Grav...

Congenital hypothyroidism (CH) occurs in approximately 1:2000–1:3000 newborns in Italy. Lowering of the TSH cut-off was the most important factor contributing to the increase of CH incidence in Italy. The aim of this study is the determination of the prevalence of CH in northwest Sicily, evaluated by the single screening centre of the Children Hospital ‘G. Di Cristina’, ARNAS, Palermo. From January 2013 to December 2017, 79.699 newborns were screened testing TSH...

Background: Polyuria and polydipsia must never be underestimated.Objective and hypotheses: A 7-year-old girl presented with polyuria, polydipsia and nocturia of 1 year duration, during which she underwent outpatient follow up with her general practitioner and urologist. No weight loss or other endocrine signs.Method: Polyuria was confirmed by water balance (120 ml/kg per 24 h), urinary osmolality (222 mmol/kg), plasma osmolality (2...

Introduction: The human fecal microbiota is known to shift in composition during adolescence, but whether fecal microbiota is associated with timing of sexual maturation is unknown. In mice, the change in the composition of fecal microbiota during puberty appears to be sex-specific and associate with changes in testosterone. We investigated the association between intestinal microbiota and pubertal timing in adolescents.Subjects ...

Background: In 2003 recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) was approved by European Medicines Agency to treat short children born small for gestational age (SGA), but so far no study evaluated the prevalence of SGA children with short stature who qualify for rhGH treatment in Europe.Objectives: To investigate the prevalence of SGA and short stature in children born SGA and of SGA children who qualify for rhGH treatment ...

We describe a female neonate born from consanguineous parents who presented at birth with respiratory distress and severe hypoglycemia. At six months of age, the child was admitted to the Intensive care Unit because of two critical episodes characterized by fever and loss of consciousness. Child condition were critical and suggestive of sepsis, but blood tests showed severe hypoglycemia (19 mg/dl), hyponatremia (Na 132 mmol/l), compensated metabolic acidosis and increased infl...

Background: The placenta plays a key role in regulating fatty acid (FA) transport from maternal to fetal circulation. An unfavourable FA profile in the placenta, reflecting an inadequate nutritional status during pregnancy, may cause changes in placental DNA methylation and negatively affect fetal growth and metabolic health of the offspring.Objectives: We aimed to study the association of an unfavourable placental FA profile with placental DNA methylati...

Context: The early activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis during infancy can be used in the evaluation of infants suspected of disorders of sex development (DSD). However, few data exists on sex-specific reference ranges for these hormones during early life.Objective: To evaluate sex-differences in reproductive hormone concentrations in serum from healthy infants in order to define sex-specific cut-off values and to apply these in infants ...