ESPE Abstracts

Triple A syndrome (AAAS) is a rare, incurable, recessive disorder, characterised by achalasia, alacrima, adrenal failure and a neurodegenerative phenotype. The AAAS gene encodes ALADIN, is a nuclear pore complex (NPC) protein necessary for nuclear import of DNA protective molecules, important for redox homeostasis. ALADIN’s role is not fully characterised: its discovery at the centrosome and the endoplasmic reticulum suggests a role outside the NPC. To date, the ...

Background: The Low dose dexamethasone suppression test (LDDST) is an important investigation for suspected Cushing’s Syndrome (CS). The traditional definition of normal suppression of serum cortisol to ≤50 nmol/l during the LDDST (0.5 mg 6 hrly × 48 h) comes from a time when biochemical autoanalysers did not routinely detect very low values. Previous studies reported 5.1–8.3% of patients with Cushing’s Disease (CD) suppressed to <50 nmol/l at 48 ...

Background: Obesity in childhood and adolescence represents a major health problem of our century that has reached epidemic proportions globally during the last decades. In obese subjects, a relatively high cortisol output in urine has been observed compared to nonobese individuals. However, cortisol concentrations in blood, saliva, and urine in association with obesity have not been consistent across studies. Hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) determined in scalp hair provide...

Background: A mutation in EIF2S3 (NM_001415; Xp22.11) was previously associated with microcephaly and developmental delay in a single pedigree. EIF2S3 encodes the eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 subunit 3 (eIF2γ), the largest of three EIF2 subunits. EIF2 initiates protein synthesis by forming a ternary complex with GTP and initiator methionyl-tRNA which then binds to the 40S ribosomal subunit, enabling scanning of mRNA from the 5′ end to...

Background: Imprinted genes are known to regulate fetal growth and a ‘parental conflict’ model predicts that paternally and maternally expressed imprinted genes promote and inhibit fetal growth, respectively. GNAS is a complex imprinted locus with multiple oppositely imprinted gene products. Maternal, but not paternal, G(s)alpha mutations lead to obesity in pseudohypoparathyroidism type IA (PHPIA). However, the disorder rarely causes severe obesity in infancy as pred...

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 ...

Introduction: Water and electrolyte disorders due to anterior and posterior pituitary deficiencies are common in children which are referred with intracranial tumors, especially arising from suprasellar and pituitary regions. But the prevelance and affecting factors of these disorders are not clear. We aimed that to determine the prevelance of postoperative water and electrolyte disorders and affecting factors in pediatric patients with intracranial tumors.<p class="abstex...

Background: Dyshormonogenic hypothyroidism is classically a monogenic disease with recessive inheritance. Thyroid dysgenesis showed a multigenic origin in a mouse model of double-heterozygous deletions of Nkx2.1/Pax8 transcription factor genes, suggesting a possible polygenic nature of certain cases of human hypothyroidism.Objective and Hypotheses: To investigate genetic traits of polygenic involvement in dyshormonogenic hypothyroidism,...

Background: Transient generalized glucocorticoid hypersensitivity 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 molecular mechanisms that underlie its pathophysiology have not been elucidated as yet. Adenovirus 36 has been reported to cause obesity in various animal species.Objective and Hypotheses...

Background: Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) encompasses a group of autosomal recessive disorders which lead to impairment of steroid biosynthesis in the adrenals and gonads. 21-hydroxylase deficiency (21OHD) is the most common form of CAH (95%), followed by 11β-hydroxylase deficiency (11OHD) and 3β-dehydrogenase steroid dehydrogenase type 2 deficiency (3bHSD2). LC–MSMS based steroid analysis has become an increasingly important method for steroid analyses i...