ESPE Abstracts

Background: Children born small-for-gestational age (SGA), especially those who experience spontaneous postnatal catch-up growth, are at increased risk for developing insulin resistance, central adiposity and cardiovascular abnormalities later in life. By age 3-6 years, SGA children have a broader aortic and carotid intima media thickness (aIMT and cIMT) which are markers of preclinical atherosclerosis.Objective: To assess longitudinally – at age 12...

Introduction: Growth prediction algorithms (i.e. iGRO), provide an estimate of a patients’ likely growth in the first year, and subsequent years, of GH treatment at a given dose, taking into account the patient’s combination of physical characteristics. Comparing a patient’s actual growth with their predicted growth after the first year of GH treatment, it is possible to determine whether the patient is responding to GH as expected (Index of responsiveness; IoR)...

Aggrecan, encoded by ACAN, is a major proteoglycan component in the extracellular matrix of the growth plate. At least 25 pathological ACAN mutations have been identified in patients with highly variable phenotypes of syndromic or non-syndromic short stature. A 6-year-old boy was referred to our Centre for short stature (height 103.60 cm, −3.14 SDS) in familial short stature. Mid-Parental target height was 161.15 cm (−2.38 SDS); His father (height 167.3 cm) is from...

The patient was referred to our Centre for short stature. Weight and length at birth were within normal limits. In the neonatal period he showed jaundice and hypoglycemia. A reduced growth velocity was reported from the age of six months. At 15 months his length was 70 cm (−3.75 SDS), his weight 8.1 kg (−2.26 SDS). Parental target height was 167.6 cm (−1.38 SDS). He had normal psychomotor development. The examination showed macrocrania and nasal voice. Blood ...

GR and GT are diamniotic monochorial preterm twins (32 GA), both AGA (GR: W -1 SDS, L -1.5 SDS; GT: W and L 0 SDS), with normal karyotype and array-CGH on amniotic fluid, with no major complications associated to prematurity. At birth GT presented bilaterally cryptorchidism associated with micropenis, GR presented normal male genitalia. In the first year of life a severe growth deceleration in length (from -3SDS to -5 SDS) was observed, mainly after six months of life in both ...

Objectives: Preterm infants often present CH characterized by delayed TSH elevation. We describe the clinical and biochemical features and the evolution of CH in preterm infants with delayed TSH elevation, detected by the second screening for CH.Material and Methods: All preterm infants born between 2007 and 2014 negative to the first screening (b-TSH<10 mcU/ml) at 2–5 days of life and positive to the second screening at 12–33 days (b-TSH&#...

Introduction: Thyroid cancer is the most common pediatric endocrine cancer, constituting 0.5%–3% of all childhood malignancies. Cancer can be present in multinodular thyroid disease but the majority of malignant nodules are solitary. Thyroid malignancies in children are almost always well differentiated.Aim: Prevalence, clinical features, pathological profile and therapy of thyroid cancer in children.Patients and method: Retro...

Background: The pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes (T1D) is multifactorial, caused by interaction of genetic, epigenetic and environmental factors that lead to the production of antibodies early on life and a gradual loss of insulin secretory capacity of the pancreas. The genetics and immunological characteristics of our T1D population have not been precisely identified.Objective and hypotheses: To compare biochemical, genetic and immunological features of ...

Background: Dietary patterns have notably changed in Mediterranean countries during the last decades. Mediterranean diet (MeDiet) is associated with lower prevalence of cardiometabolic diseases.Objective and hypotheses: To assess adherence to MeDiet in children and adolescents with abdominal obesity during a comprehensive weight loss intervention.Method: Children and adolescents with abdominal obesity (waist circumference >p90)...

Background: Congenital hypopituitarism is a rare cause of pituitary insufficiency (incidence: 12–42 new cases/million per year; prevalence: 300–455 cases/million). The aetiology remains largely unclear: the most frequently correlated genetic abnormalities are those involving transcription factors implicated in pituitary organogenesis. The phenotype and neuroradiological findings associated with the underlying genotype may be highly variable (from an isolated hypopitu...