ESPE Abstracts

Introduction: In 1950s - 1960s, the thalidomide disaster resulted in congenital malformations in more than 10,000 children. Derivative of thalidomide interferes with early embryonic transcriptional regulation due to selective degradation of SALL4 protein and thus, thalidomide embryopathy phenocopies pathogenic variants of the SALL4 gene. Their phenotypes range from phocomelia, reduced radial ray, to defects of the heart, kidneys, eye, and cerebral mid...

Background: ROHHAD/ROHHADNET syndrome (rapid-onset obesity with hypothalamic dysfunction, central hypoventilation, autonomic dysregulation with or without neural tumor - NET) – has been reported in association with cerebral venous thrombosis events, as reported also in central hypoventilation syndrome. It is not clear whether thrombotic risk represents a cause or a consequence of hypoventilation and hypothalamic dysfunction. Aim of our study was to chara...

Background: ROHHAD syndrome (rapid-onset obesity with hypothalamic dysfunction, central hypoventilation, autonomic dysregulation) – also defined as ROHHADNET when associated with neural tumors - is a rare condition with a high mortality rate. The aim of this study is to describe the phenotypes of a multicentric cohort of ROHHAD patients.Patients and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed clinical data from 22 patient...

Achondroplasia is the most common skeletal dysplasia caused by a gain of function of the fibroblast growth factor receptor 3(FGFR3) that impairs endochondral ossification, exiting in short stature and altered bone microarchitecture. Although fractures and reduced bone mineralization are not comorbidities frequently reported, specific normative DXA data are lacking. Aim of the study was to assess bone density parameters in an Achondroplasia cohort. Fifty-seven patients (Female-...

Background: Childhood-onset obesity is a multifactorial disease with a lifelong health burden. In many cases, obesity is the result of the interaction between genetic predisposition and environmental factors. Aim of our study was to define phenotypic features of obese children and adolescents and to find possible associations between clinical phenotype and genetic variants.Patients and Methods: We recruited obese childre...

Background: Hypergonadotropic hypogonadism (HH) is an hallmark of Turner Syndrome (TS) and hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is often required for pubertal induction; this retrospective study highlights the pituitary-gonadal axis during infancy (<5 years), childhood (5–10.9 years) and adolescence (> 11 years) in a cohort of TS patients enrolled between February 1999 to March 2023. Our aim is to underline the diagnostic role of Gonadotropins as a ma...

Background: Hypoglycaemia and poor cardiovascular outcomes are described in children and young people (CYP) with primary adrenal insufficiency (PAI). In this study, we described cortisol exposure during hydrocortisone replacement therapy, glucose regulation by continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) and cardiovascular function. Here, we present the final study data.Methods: CYP with PAI underwent CGM for 7 days using Dexcom ...

Background: Transgirls (female-identifying adolescents assigned male at birth) can be treated with GnRH (gonadotropin releasing hormone analogs) followed by the addition of estrogens.Recently in a small cohort of 25 transgirls their average final height was reported to be +1.9 SDS (standard deviation score) calculated for adult Dutch females.High dosage estrogens can be used to stimulate bone maturation, thereb...

Introduction: An association between the ketogenic diet (KD) and hypercalcaemia has been suggested in one case series of three children1, where hypercalcaemia occurred within 12 months of starting KD. We describe a case where severe hypercalcaemia occurs after four years on KD.Case: A 5.5-year-old boy is referred for hypercalcaemia in context of early sepsis and a background of Dynamin-1 gene mutation causing ...

Background: Differentiation of the gonads in men is closely dependent on Sertoli cells maturation. Differences of sex development (DSD) are caused by variations in this process. The study of the mechanisms underlying these complex conditions is crucial for optimal clinical management and Sertoli cells would be an ideal model for this purpose. However, there are two main obstacles for the study of human Sertoli cells. Firstly, mature human Sertoli cells lose their proliferation...