ESPE Abstracts

Background: Congenital hypopituitarism is a rare disease. Although our understanding of the involved transcription factors is improving, mutations in candidate genes are rarely identified. Extra-pituitary symptoms can point towards new genes of interest. FOXL2 is mutated in blepharophimosis/ptosis/epicanthus inversus syndrome (BPES), a rare affection that combines congenital alterations of eyelids with ovarian dysgenesis in some families. Moreover, we have previously reported ...

The obesity epidemic continues to be a dramatic problem in the developed world despite attempts to curtail its rise. Reducing energy intake and/or increasing energy expenditure can result in weight loss; however, if one returns to their poor lifestyle habits the previous weight is not only recuperated, but often surpassed.We hypothesized that although a normal body weight may be achieved, the hypothalamic circuits controlling appetite and energy expendit...

The insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system is fundamental for physiological processes such as growth and metabolism. In addition, in the brain it regulates glucose metabolism and neuroprotection. The IGF axis can be altered by nutritional status, but little is known regarding the effects of specific dietary components on this system.Our aim was to examine how high-fat diet (HFD) and low-fat/high sucrose diet (LFHSD) intake affect the central and circula...

Introduction: The dichotomous nature of the definition of Metabolic Syndrome (MS) in both children and adults can under-diagnose subjects at risk and prevents adequate follow-up of therapeutic interventions. Recently, a continuous score of MS (sSMp) was validated in the pediatric population based on the IDF criteria for a population> 16 years.Objectives: To apply sSMp in a Chilean pediatric population cohort and corr...

Background: The diagnosis of GH deficiency in children is based on clinical, auxological, radiographic and biochemical criteria which include response to Pharmacological Estimulation Tests (PhT). It is well known that GH concentrations vary according to the assay method used. Currently in our population, the proposed cut-off value of serum GH PhT is 4.7 ng/ml measured by ICMA using the IRP 98/574.Objective and hypotheses: The aims of this study were to d...

Background: It is well known that ingestion of a high fat diet (HFD) can induce rapid weight gain and metabolic imbalances. However, males and females are not equally susceptible to these effects. Furthermore, an individual may be more prone to gain weight during specific developmental periods.Aims and objectives: We aimed to analyse the response to the acute exposure to a HFD during pubertal/adolescent period and to determine whether males and females r...

Body Mass Index (BMI) has a high association with body fat percentage and direct association with a higher degree of comorbidities. Categorizing patients only by the degree of obesity, as has been done over time, restricts the possibility of detecting and giving timely treatment to other aspects. The Edmonton Obesity Staging System for Pediatrics (EOSS-P) has been proposed as a tool to categorize obesity not only by BMI, but also by assessing metabolic complications, functiona...

Background: Fractures are common in children, but a significant fracture history, defined as low-trauma vertebral fractures or multiple long bone fractures, is rare. Children with such history and no osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) are often presumed to have another Mendelian disease. However, in adults, multiple common risk alleles of small effect influence risk of fracture. We tested if subjects with a significant childhood fracture history have an increased bu...

Aim: Circulating levels of calprotectin have been reported in obesity-related chronic low-grade inflammation in adults, but has not been evaluated in pediatric population. We investigated serum calprotectin in overweight and obese children and its association with metabolic comorbidities.Methods: We enrolled 131 children (11.7±4.1 years). According to BMI, the subjects were divided into three groups: obese >95th percentile; overweight BMI 75th&#...

Background: We recently demonstrated the presence of mast cells in human fetal adrenal gland from 18–20 weeks of gestation (WG) within the subcapsular layer. In the adult adrenal, mast cells have been implicated in mineralocorticoid synthesis and secretion especially in aldosterone-producing adenomas. Because similarities exist between tumors and normal fetal development and as cell-to-cell interactions involving immune cells are implicated in organogenesis, we hypothesiz...