ESPE Abstracts

Background-Hypothesis: Sudden initiation of treatment for diabetes insipidus (DI) with DDAVP causes abrupt volume expansion resulting in particularly high secretion of Atrial Natriuteric Peptide (ANP) (1). ANP blocks all stimulators of zona glomerulosa steroidogenesis, resulting in secondary mineralocorticoid deficiency and acute hyponatremia, causing renal salt wasting (RSW) (2). Cases: Two sisters, a 19-year-old girl (A) and a 7-year-old girl (B) with Wolfra...

Background: Wolfram syndrome (WS) is a rare autosomal recessive genetic disorder. We present two sisters from non-consanguineous parents, who presented to our pediatric endocrinology clinic due to severe polyuria-polydipsia with inappropriately treated DM (HbA1c 8.2% and 10.1%) and untreated DI.Methods: DNA was tested with PCR amplification and sequencing analysis (Sanger sequencing) of the entire coding region and all exon-intron splice junctions of the...

Background: Protein subfamilies within the Nuclear receptor (NR) family share common domain architecture. These closely related receptors and their cognate ligand compounds play a key role in homeostasis, reproduction, growth, and development. Despite their biological significance, their evolution and diversification remains to be elucidated. SNPs and mutations are characterized by the permanent alteration of the nucleotide sequence in the genome of an organism. These alterati...

Background: Glucocorticoids regulate a broad spectrum of physiologic functions essential for life and exert their actions through their ubiquitously expressed glucocorticoid receptor (GR). The GR interacts with several molecules, including the non-coding RNA growth arrest-specific 5 (Gas5), which decreases the transcriptional activity of the GR by preventing its binding to DNA, and reduces tissue sensitivity to glucocorticoids.Objective and Hypotheses: T...

Background: Somavaratan, a novel long-acting rhGH fusion protein with t1/2>100 h, previously demonstrated clinically meaningful improvements in height velocity (HV) and IGF-I in prepubertal GHD children (Moore JCEM 2016).Objective and hypotheses: To evaluate maintenance of somavaratan treatment effects in the 2nd treatment year.Method: After subcutaneous pediatric doses were evaluated in a single dose PK/PD study (<e...

Background: Transient Generalized Glucocorticoid Hypersensitivity (TGGH) is a rare disorder characterized by increased tissue sensitivity to glucocorticoids and compensatory hypoactivation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis. The condition itself and the underlying molecular mechanisms have not been fully elucidated.Objective and hypotheses: To present the clinical manifestations, endocrinologic evaluation and molecular studies in ...

Background: Chronic stress and increased adiposity have been associated with each other in children. Further studies are needed, however, to evaluate both the directionality of this association and the mediating metabolic mechanisms.Objective and hypotheses: This study investigates the interrelations between BMI, body composition parameters, indices of the stress response, such as hair and salivary cortisol levels, and, metabolic mediators, such as insul...

Background: Since the initiation of neonatal screening programs for Congenital Hypothyroidism (CH) in the 1970’s, a gradual decrease of TSH cut-off limits has been observed worldwide. Nevertheless, lack of universal consensus has led to wide variation of cut-off limits and LT4 therapy criteria among screening programs, even within the same country. The Greek neonatal CH screening program is carried out by a single laboratory that uses one of the lowest cut-off limits worl...

Background: The term Congenital Hypothyroidism (CH) describes children with subnormal thyroid hormone levels present at birth. According to literature, CH has an incidence of ~1:1500–1:3000 births with a clear predominance of females (female:male ratio 2:1) and is mainly caused by thyroid dysgenesis (80%). Low FT4 levels have been used as important criteria for CH diagnosis and treatment initiation. The Greek neonatal CH screening program has followed the TSH cut-off lowe...

Background: A high frequency of extrathyroidal congenital anomalies has been reported in infants with congenital hypothyroidism (CH) detected by neonatal screening. Current ESPE guidelines suggest that congenital malformations, underlying dysmorphic syndromes and psychomotor and language development should be sought for and monitored in CH patients. The identification of co-existing nosologies and malformations is helpful not only for clinical purposes but also for uncovering ...