ESPE Abstracts

Background: Cytochrome P450 side-chain cleavage enzyme (CYP11A1 gene) catalyses the conversion of cholesterol to pregnenolone in steroidogenic cells, the first step in the biosynthesis of all steroid hormones. SCC deficiency has been established as an autosomal recessive disorder caused by inactivating homozygous or compound heterozygous mutations in the CYP11A1 gene, with a wide phenotypic spectrum ranging from prematurity, complete underandrogenization and severe early-onset...

Background: The hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis responds to several acute or chronic environmental stessors, including those of social stress.Objective and hypotheses: To assess the HPA axis acute response during mental stress and mobile phone call exposure in healthy adolescents through salivary cortisol measurements and to investigate the modulatory effect of baseline biochemical or low-inflammation markers during this response....

Background: Diabetic neuropathy is among the least recognized complications of diabetes, despite its significant negative impact on survival and quality of life. Characteristic neuronal alterations may occur subclinically early in the course of the disease, even in childhood. The prevalence of subclinical neuropathy in paediatric population ranges from 7.9 – 19% in different studies.Objective and hypotheses: Our objective was to study the prevalence...

Background: Diabetes is a recognised long term sequelae in childhood cancer survivors following bone marrow transplantation and total body irradiation (BMT/TBI), due to a combination of insulin deficiency and resistance.Aim: To characterise presentation, treatment and clinical course of diabetes in childhood leukaemia survivors post BMT/TBI.Method: A single centre retrospective case note review of diabetes post BMT/TBI identified f...

Background: Cataract as a chronic complication of diabetes is well established in the literature and the risk factors are also well known. However, rare cases of acute bilateral cataract have been reported, all of them happening relatively shortly after diagnosis in T1DM. While the pathophysiology of this phenomenon remains unclear – as a lot of different theories proposed so far with the most accepted being the osmotic stress induced oxidative damage – fail to expla...

Background: A significant component of total linear growth is height gain achieved after the initiation of puberty. Children with Isolated GH Deficiency (IGHD) frequently come for evaluation around the peripubertal stage. Therefore, increasing pubertal height gain in IGHD children entering puberty with a relatively low height is important. Researchers have tried to assess effectiveness of treatment in such patients based on various key measurements and a variety of end-points....

Background: Adult survivors of childhood leukaemia treated Bone marrow transplantation with total body irradiation (BMT/TBI) have an increased risk of diabetes mellitus (DM) disproportionate to their level of adiposity or other recognised risk factors. Post prandial hyperglycaemia due to reduced β-cell reserve after irradiation will be missed by fasting glucose (FG) levels. However, the UK National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) screening guidelines recommend the...

Introduction: Osteogenesis imperfecta is a rare disease leading to immobility by recurrent fractures, hyperlaxicity of ligaments, short stature and muscular weakness. Beside drug treatment and surgical procedures physiotherapy is one of the most important treatment approaches to increase mobility. The objective of our analysis was to evaluate the effect of a new standardized 12 months physiotherapy concept including whole body vibration over 6 months on motor function and bone...

Background: After 50 years of hGH use for GH deficient (GHD) children the definition of the adequate hGH substitution dose and response remain uncertain.Objective and hypotheses: We hypothesized that subjects with GHD caused by congenital pituitary defects constitute an ideal model for defining substitution dose of hGH. Consequently, an appropriate study group was formed and pertinent long-term data were retrospectively analyzed.Me...

Background: Hypothalamic hamartomas (HH) are congenital morphogenetic defects frequently associated with central precocious puberty (CPP).Objective and hypotheses: Data on the outcome of girls with CPP due to HH are limited.Method: We report two patients with CPP caused by HH, one with normal fertility.Results: Patient 1, now aged 33 years, was examined at age 15 months (vaginal bleeding, breast and pubic hai...