ESPE Abstracts

Background: Small for gestational age (SGA) children who experience rapid and exaggerated postnatal catch-up are prone to develop insulin resistance and to progress faster into puberty, resulting in a shorter final height. Short, non-catch-up SGA children treated with recombinant human GH (rhGH) may present with the same sequence. In a previous controlled study from our group performed in short SGA children, metformin – added to rhGH therapy – improved endocrine-meta...

Background: GH deficiency (GHD) occurs due to different aetiologies, morphological abnormalities in pituitary, or mutations leading the individual to lose the genetic growth potential. The pituitary dysfunction can be as GHD alone or associated with other hormones deficiencies. Patients with abnormalities in pituitary may present a greater height loss than others and couldn’t reach the target height (TH) according to final height (FH).Objectives: To...

Background: A growth prediction model would not only allow patients with growth disorders the opportunity to see the expected effect of their recombinant human growth hormone (r hGH) treatment, but also support healthcare professionals to individualise treatment to optimise growth outcomes.Aim: To develop a growth prediction model in children with growth disorders.Patients and Methods: Height and c...

Background: Treatment for growth disorders requires daily injections of recombinant human growth hormone (r-hGH) over multiple years, and automated devices may help in this regard. The ability to adjust injection device settings, which are pre-set as default unless changed by healthcare professionals, may improve patient comfort and needle anxiety and thereby improve adherence.Aim: To study the association between inject...

Introduction: Kisspeptin is a neuropeptide, encoded by the KISS1 gene, which acts upstream of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons and also has a critical role for maturation and function of the reproductive axis. Inactivating mutations of its receptor (KISS1R) cause normosmic isolated hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (IHH). In this report, we aim to present three siblings who have IHH due to novel compound heterozygous KISS1R mutation.Cas...

Background: 80–95% of congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) cases are due to mutations in the CYP21A2 gene encoding 21 hydroxylase. The residual activity of the gene defines the clinical form. Routine mutational screening of CYP21A2 defects is shown to effectively support the complex diagnostic and treatment procedure of newborns with CAH.Objective: We aimed to characterise the phenotype of a girl with compound heterozygosity of ...

Background: An activation cascade of specific genes sets up the initiation of sex determination leading in males to testes formation and synthesis of testicular hormones. Disruption of this gene cascade may cause a spectrum of disorders/differences of sex development (DSD) phenotypes. Here we describe for the first time two sisters suffering from 46,XY DSD, who by whole exome sequencing were shown to carry a mutation in the X-linked StAR-related lipid transfer...

Background: rhGH therapy may improve linear growth in children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Poor bone health and abnormal body composition are recognised complications in paediatric IBD.Objective and hypotheses: To investigate the effects of rhGH on bone health and body composition.Method: Sub-analysis of 13 children with IBD (12CD; 1UC) in a randomized controlled trial. Either rhGH (0.067 mg/kg per day) as daily s.c. inj...

Introduction: Multinodular goiter is an extremely rare condition in neonates and can account for tracheal airway compression.Case report: A newborn girl presented immediately after birth with an inspiratory and expiratory stridor and a visible swelling in the neck. She was born term after an uneventful pregnancy with a birth weight of 3.26 kg. The mother had no known thyroid disease and had not used antithyroid or goitrogenic medication. She had a normal...

Background: There is little information on growth and fractures in boys with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD).Objective & hypotheses: To determine the extent of growth & skeletal morbidity in a contemporary cohort of DMD in the UK.Method: Clinical details of 832 boys with DMD in the North Star database (2006–2015) from 23 centres were analysed following categorisation into five age groups: A:<5 years (n, ...