ESPE Abstracts

Background: Transgender youth in Thailand often encounter limitations when accessing gender services, leading many to use non-prescribed hormones. However, there is limited information available on the specific types of hormones used by this population.Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of transgender female youth in Thailand and the types of hormones they use.M...

Introduction: Hyperthyroidism is a rare but potentially serious childhood disorder that, if left unchecked, can lead to a wide range of complications, including effects on growth and development. Medical history, physical examination and thyroid function tests help diagnose hyperthyroidism. Graves' disease is the most common cause of hyperthyroidism in children, accounting for over 95% of cases, and is caused by stimulating antibodies directed against the...

Background and Aim: Pediatric patients with germline mutations in the phosphatase and tensin homolog (Pten) gene frequently develop aberrant adipose tissue growth called lipomas. In severe cases, recurrent lipoma formation can have adverse effects on organ function and quality of life. Due to the lack of understanding the basis of lipoma development, no systemic treatment options are available. We therefore aimed to characterize an already described lipoma bea...

Background: Gonadotropin releasing hormone analogs (GnRHa) are effective in improving adult height in children with precocious onset of puberty, rapid progression, and good growth potential. In last years, however, some transient metabolic complications have been described during the treatment without the reassurance of long-term data yet. The aim of our study is to clarify if body mass index (BMI) at diagnosis of idiopathic central precocious puberty (iCPP) c...

Background: Vertebral changes such as biconcave end plate depressions are well described in children with sickle cell disease (SCD). However, as vertebral height reductions are a marker of osteoporosis in children, we aimed to determine whether these could present underlying osteoporosis, by performing transiliac bone biopsies in two patients.Case 1: A 13-year-old female with SCD, presented with back pain. She had delaye...

Background and aim: PTEN hamartoma tumor syndrome (PHTS) is caused by germline mutation in the phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) gene. PTEN is a tumor suppressor gene and antagonist of the growth and survival signalling Phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT/mammalian target of Rapamycin (mTOR)- cascade. Patients with PHTS, amongst other symptoms, develop lipomas, for which the underlying mechanism is not completely understood. To investigate the role of PTE...

Background: Craniopharyngioma is a non-malignant embryonic tumour in the pituitary-hypothalamic area, associated with hypothalamic obesity. Dysfunctional parasympathetic nervous system activity has been proposed as one mechanism underlying alterations in energy metabolism. Arterial spin labelling (ASL) is a non-invasive MRI technique that quantifies brain tissue perfusion as a proxy for functional activity. Here, we measure cerebral perfusion in patients with ...

Background: Congenital hypopituitarism (CH) is characterized by a deficiency of one or more pituitary hormones. Mutations in the genes coding for transcription factors, such HESX1, involved in the development of the pituitary, determine a highly variable phenotype which may include severe midline defects, septo-optic dysplasia and other congenital abnormalities. A small number of HESX1 variants have been identified in humans. The phenotype sh...

Background: The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a multicellular neurovascular unit (NVU) that allows selective passage of necessary molecules into the central nervous system (CNS) while limiting the entry of neurotoxins and most drugs. A cross talk with pericytes and neural cells mediates the acquisition of tight junctions (TJs) in brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMECs), which limit the paracellular passage of solutes, thereby regulating CNS homeostasis. H...

Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a rare genetic disease characterized by bone fragility and an increased risk of fractures. Intravenous bisphosphonates are the current gold standard for the treatment of OI: the aim of this therapy is an increase in Bone Mass Density (BMD) and a consequent reduction in pathological fracture rates. Currently, the only bisphosphonate approved in Italy for pediatric population is neridronate, infused in hospital once every four months. In San Raffa...