ESPE Abstracts

Introduction: Peripheral diabetic neuropathy (PDN), clinical or subclinical, of large-diameter nerve fibers or small-diameter nerve fibers is a common complication of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM).Aims: Early detection of the prevalence of subclinical PDN by assessing the function of small and large nerve fibers in children and adolescents with T1DM.Methods: The study included 53...

Background: Puberty is a crucial developmental stage marked by the transition from childhood to adulthood, organized by complex hormonal signaling within the neuroendocrine system. The hypothalamus, a central region in this system, regulates pubertal functions through the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis. Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons, essential in puberty control, release GnRH in a pulsatile manner, initiating the production of sex ho...

Introduction: Childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions in contemporary societies with multiple comorbidities. Social stigma, low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, and behavioral problems are noted in youth with excess adiposity, and may persist for a long time. The aim of our study was to assess the alterations in cardiometabolic risk factors and mental health in children and adolescents with excess adiposity following the implementation of a multidi...

Introduction: Primary hypoparathyroidism is a rare cause of hypocalcemia, complicating various disorders. Clinical presentation ranges from asymptomatic patients to paresthesia, cramps, seizures, stridor, laryngospasm, cardiac arrhythmias, basal ganglia calcification, subcapsular cataracts, and dental enamel hypoplasia. This study aims to present the cases of two patients with rare causes of primary hypoparathyroidism and highlight the need for standardization...

Introduction: The assessment of bone maturation with artificial intelligence (AI) has introduced new straightforward indicators of bone health monitoring related the much more complex and expensive method of measuring bone density with DEXA (Dual-Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry). Bone Health Index (BHI) describes bone mass as a function of cortical thickness, width and length of the three middle metacarpals, using digital hand X-rays for bone age evaluation from D...

Third generation AIs have been repurposed as an off-label treatment in boys and girls, as they can retard closure of the epiphysial plate expanding the period of growth. Assessment of digital hand X-rays has introduced new follow-up indexes of bone health: Bone Health Index (BHI) from DICOM files describes bone mass as a function of cortical thickness, and Metacarpal Index (MCI) from digitized files expresses the cortical thickness standardized for the outer bone diameter at t...

Introduction: Sex differences associated with inflammation have been observed across numerous autoimmune and cardiometabolic conditions. We aim ed to explore the differential impact of sex hormones/sex chromosomes on molecular pathways potentially relevant for immune cell functions using a unique post-pubertal transgender cohort.Methods: RNA-sequencing was performed on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from a he...

Vitamin D is a steroid hormone, essential for the immune system and bone health. Given that sun exposure is meant to provide at least 80% of daily vitamin D requirements, the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to have a considerable influence on calcium metabolism We retrieved anonymized data on calcium metabolism parameters assessing the occurrence of subclinical hyperparathyroidism – subclinical nutritional rickets (PTH ≥ 45 pg/ml with normal serum Ca ≤ 10.5 mg/dl) in c...

Introduction: The World Health Organization (WHO) European Regional Obesity Report 2022 stated that obesity rates have reached epidemic proportions across the European Union (EU). Obesity affects nearly one in three children (29% of boys and 27% of girls), and is associated with adverse psychological and psychosocial outcome and increased risk for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). In addition, none of the 53 Member States are on track to meet the target of stop...

Background: Central precocious puberty (CPP) due to premature activation of GnRH secretion results in early epiphyseal fusion and to a significant compromise in the achieved final adult height as well as psychological consequences. So far only a limited number of genetic determinants have been associated with the pathogenesis in children with CPP. In this original research, rare sequence variants in MKRN3, DLK1, KISS1, and KISS1R genes were i...