ESPE Abstracts

Background and Aims: Children with Down's syndrome (DS) are at increased risk of autoimmune conditions including type 1 diabetes (T1D), coeliac and thyroid disease. We previously examined the clinical and immunogenetic characteristics of these conditions in children with DS. An earlier age-of-onset of diabetes was observed compared with children with T1D from the general population despite having decreased frequencies of the established genetic susceptibil...

Introduction: Orthodenticle homeobox 2 (OTX2) is a transcription factor that plays a critical role in brain and eye development. Heterozygous deleterious mutations in this gene lead to eye malformation such as anophthalmia, microphthalmia, coloboma or optic nerve hypoplasia, normal or hypoplastic pituitary gland and normal or ectopic posterior pituitary gland with isolated growth hormone deficiency or combined pituitary hormone deficiency. There is no...

Objective and hypotheses: A retrospective review of bone morbidity in a contemporary cohort of boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) managed in a Scottish tertiary neuromuscular centre.Method: Clinical details and results of bone surveillance were obtained in 47 boys, aged 9 years (2–16). DXA bone mineral content (BMC) at total body (TB) and lumbar spine (LS) were adjusted for bone area. Fractures were classified based on radiological confirma...

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...

Background: Genetic defects in the insulin receptor (INSR) are rare. Precise prevalence is unknown and significant clinical heterogeneity exists. Over 120 allelic variants have been described to date, spread throughout the receptor, and few geographical founder effects have been described. In this case series we identify a novel missense mutation in the tyrosine kinase domain of the INSR in three independently ascertained Irish families.Objective and Hyp...

Background: Patients with congenital IGHD or MPHD develop adiposity already "in utero". The effects of growth hormone (GH) treatment on adipose tissue are controversial, many claiming that GH reduces body fat (1.2). In addition there are reports that long-term GH treatment causes glucose intolerance, insulin resistance, followed in some instances by diabetes (3).Objective: To determine whether long-term hGH treat...

Background: Spatial navigation is an essential human skill that helps individuals track their changes in position and orientation by integrating self-motion cues. Meta-analyses indicate that males, on average, perform better than females on a number of spatial tasks. Sex steroids, mainly androgens, modulate the remodeling of synapses in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus, a limbic brain area with critical influence on spatial and contextual memory. Androgen...

Background: Consultations for infantile hypercalcaemia have increased at Sydney Children’s Hospital since guidelines for vitamin D3 supplementation during pregnancy were introduced in 2006. Recent nationwide shortages of low-calcium formula (LCF) suggest this problem may be widespread.Aim: To determine if infantile hypercalcaemia is occurring more commonly, identify potential aetiologies and clinical significance.Me...

Introduction: Neonatal diabetes, defined as the onset of diabetes within the first six months of life, is very rare disease. Several genetic factors caused to neonatal disease have been identified to date. PTF1A (pancreatic transcription factor 1a) play a key role in early pancreas development and cerebellar neurogenesis. Biallelic mutations in PTF1A have been reported in patients with pancreatic and cerebellar agenesis, whereas mutations loc...

Background: Disorders of sex development (DSD) due to mutations in the NR5A1 (SF1) gene result in a highly variable phenotype.Objective: To report the clinical phenotype and the molecular/structural characteristics of the gene-protein product arising from three novel mutations of the NR5A1 (SF1) gene found in patients presenting with 46,XY DSD.Method: Phenotype determined from interrogation of clinical case notes. Interpre...