ESPE Abstracts

Science was formerly an integral part of philosophy, but these two broad disciplines have gradually grown apart and are now typically viewed as completely different endeavors. In this talk, I will argue in favor of a renaissance in the integration of science and philosophy. I will argue first that philosophy can fruitfully contribute to science. I will take the example of stem cells in various contexts (homeostasis, regeneration and regenerative medicine, cancer) to illustrate...

Background: The survival of an organism relies on its ability to promptly, effectively and reproducibly communicate with brain networks that control food intake and energy homeostasis. To achieve this, circulating factors of hunger and satiety reflecting nutrient availability must cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) to reach effectors neurons.Objective and hypotheses: Here I will discuss the key role played in this process by a peculiar type of glial cel...

Innervation of the hypothalamic median eminence by Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone (GnRH) neurons is vital to ensure puberty onset and successful reproduction. However, the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying median eminence development and pubertal timing are incompletely understood. Here we show that Semaphorin-6A is strongly expressed by median eminence-resident oligodendrocytes positioned adjacent to GnRH neuron projections and fenestrated capillaries, and that Sem...

Among the many complications of type 1 diabetes (T1D), hypoglycemia is an acute concern for children with T1D and their families. Moreover, fear of hypoglycemia is a common barrier to achieving glucose targets. Numerous advances in care have been made since the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial was published in 1993 in which lower HbA1c was associated with increasing risk of severe hypoglycemia. More recent data indicate that lower HbA1c (7% ISPAD target) can be ach...

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory disease affecting children and adolescence. The traditional therapeutic options for AD, including emollients topically and immune modulatory agents systemically focusing on reducing skin inflammation and restoring the function of the epidermal barrier, are proven ineffective in many cases. Several studies have linked vitamin D supplementation with either a decreased risk to develop AD or a clinical improvement of the symptoms of...

Background: Glucose is the main energy source for the brain’s cells. Glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1), encoded by the SLC2A1 gene, is a membrane protein that plays an essential role in the transport of glucose across the blood-brain barrier. A mutation in GLUT1, so-called GLUT1 deficiency syndrome (GLUT1 DS; OMIM #606777), results in low levels of glucose in the cerebrospinal fluid despite normoglycaemia. GLUT1 deficiency causes a series of symptoms that ma...

Background: Sleep is a complex and essential biological process that is required on a daily basis for all humans, playing a vital role in the maintenance of the homeostasis in short and long term.Aims and objectives: To investigate the role of sleep hours in correlation with risk factors for metabolic disorders in a children population.Methods: The program was implemented in 949 children (5–12 years old) living in Sparta-Greec...

Silver-Russell syndrome (SRS) is a rare heterogeneous syndrome associated with severe prenatal and postnatal growth retardation.Context: There is little information on puberty onset and bone age trend in children with SRS.Study Design and partecipants: Retrospective observational study, including patients with a confirmed diagnosis of SRS divided in 2 molecular groups [ 11p15 loss of methylation, (...

Objective Summarizing and analysing the clinical characteristics of 193 patients with McCune-Albright syndrome (MAS) in China to improve the understanding of MAS for early detection, diagnosis and management. Methods All MAS-themed case-report or case-series studies published by the Chinese between January 1990 and November 2022 were retrieved from the Wanfang Full Text, CNKI, China Science and Technology Journal, PubMed and Embase databases, and clinical data were collected. ...

Introduction: Skin barrier defects play central role in the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis (AD) affecting local immunity and skin hydration. Severe AD may deleteriously affect growth and nutrition in these children.Objectives: To 1) measure the effect of AD on linear growth in infants and children 2) to study the effect of hypoalbuminemia and hypo-proteinemia on the growth of these children.Methods: We studied linear growth and ...