ESPE Abstracts

An oral GH secretagogue (GHS), LUM-201, stimulates GHSR-1a receptor to enhance endogenous GH pulsatile release. In moderate iPGHD, pulses of GH are found but at reduced levels, resulting in decreased IGF-1 and poor growth. The impact of LUM-201 on GH profiles during treatment of such children has not been reported.Objective: To characterize GH profiles, defined by deconvolution analysis, based on GH concentration in a time series and its...

Background: Achondroplasia (ACH), the most common short-limbed skeletal dysplasia, is characterized by impaired endochondral ossification resulting from gain-of-function pathogenic variants in the fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3) gene, a negative regulator of endochondral bone growth. People with ACH are at risk for several significant co-morbidities, including brainstem compression due to foramen magnum stenosis, sleep-disordered breathing, chronic...

Background and aim: Congenital growth hormone deficiency (cGHD) is a rare but life-threatening condition whose diagnosis is challenging in the absence of reliable reference values, both in healthy neonates and in preterm ones. We recently estimated GH reference interval in 1036 healthy, at-term newborns (HN) form dried blood spot samples using a previously validated analytical method.Aim: of this study is to provide valu...

Introduction: The diagnosis of GHD requires the coexistence of anamnestic, auxological and laboratory data. The latter are burdened by the poor accuracy and adverse effects of the stimulation tests. A recent european audit (Horm Res Paediatr 2019;92(3): 150-156) on GH diagnostic reported as preferred tests in Italy Insulin tolerance test (ITT), glucagon, clonidine, arginine and Arg-GHRH. We conducted a survey to explore which of them are most used in It...

Background: Preterm newborns (PN) are at risk of developing congenital hypothyroidism (CH) with a high reported incidence (1:300 vs 1:2000 for at term newborns). The study's objective was to determine the TSH percentiles at neonatal screening (NS) in PN and to analyze the incidence of permanent and transient CH in this population.Materials and Methods: PN born in the Piedmont Region of Italy in the period 2019-2021 ...

Bone fragility is a more typical condition of old age, linked to physiological aging. In pediatric age, on the contrary, it represents a rare problem, but more often has an underlying primary cause. This condition manifests itself in most cases with recurrent or abnormal fractures and bone deformities, with a limitation of mobility, bone pain and consequent reduction in the quality of life of the child. The great difficulty for the clinician consists in reaching a correct diag...

Background: Hypoparathyroidism is characterized by absence or inadequately low circulating concentrations of parathyroid hormone, resulting in hypocalcaemia, hyperphosphataemia and elevated fractional excretion of calcium in the urine. The use of activated vitamin D analogues and calcium supplements are recommended as the primary therapy. To avoid vitamin D and calcium side effects, subcutaneous recombinant human parathormone [rhPTH (1-34)] has been proposed f...

Introduction: Developed countries have shown, among the 20th century, a time trend towards a younger age at menarche. Tanner described an anticipation of 3 months every decade. In the last two decades of twenty century we have observed an apparent stabilization of menarche age in most of Western countries.Objective: analyze average age of menarche in Tuscany girls and compare our results with those in literatu...

Introduction: Copeptin is a stable AVP surrogate, secreted in equimolar relationship, who has been proposed for the diagnosis of AVP-related hypo and hypernatremic disorders, i.e. the syndrome of inappropriate ADH secretions (SIADH), the cerebral/renal salt wasting syndrome (C/RSW) and diabetes insipidus (DI). Few data exist about the normal ranges for plasma copeptin levels in the pediatric age, reported between 2.4-8.6 pmol/L. The aim of this study is to rep...

Introduction: Although vitamin D deficit is the most common cause of rickets there are many rare genetically transmitted forms as hypophosphatemic rickets, a family of hereditary diseases characterized by low phosphorous plasma levels and resistance to 25OH-vitamin D replacement.Case report: This is the case of a 3.6 year-old Italian child sent from the General Pediatrician, for rickets suspicion. Silent personal history...