ESPE Abstracts

Background: It is well known that growth hormone (GH) brings about several effects, involving bone, body composition, lipids and glucose homeostasis. However, the complex interplay between these parameters is rather poorly studied in children with childhood-onset-GH deficiency (CO-GHD).Objective and hypotheses: To investigate lipids, adipokines (leptin- adiponectin- resistin) and glucose homeostasis and their relationship with bone and body composition i...

Background: Prevalence and severity of obesity and associated comorbidities are increasing in adolescents. Data on neck and upper arm (UA) circumference in addition to established anthropometric measures to define cardiometabolic risk are limited to date.Methods: Data from Phase I of the EU-funded PreSTART-study (trial registration number NCT02545140) was applied. Demographic, clinical, biochemical and lifestyle data were collected in adolescent...

Introduction: In the last years, the prevalence of high blood pressure (HBP) has increased in children, contributing to raise the risk of future cardiovascular disease. It is known that family history, pregnancy characteristics and type of feeding in the first months of life are of great importance in the prevention of diseases in the offspring. In this study we aimed to investigate the association between early life risk factors and HBP in children and adolescents.<p clas...

Lonapegsomatropin (TransCon hGH) is an investigational once-weekly prodrug of somatropin for the treatment of GHD. Previous trials in treatment-naïve (52-week heiGHt Trial) and treatment-experienced children (26-week fliGHt Trial) have reported the efficacy and safety of lonapegsomatropin. Subjects were eligible to enter the open-label extension enliGHten Trial, which continues to evaluate weekly lonapegsomatropin in pediatric GHD. In heiGHt, treatment-naïve subjects...

Background: In Androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS) is a hereditary disease in which AR mutations in 46,XY patients present with partial (PAIS) or complete (CAIS) defects in virilisation.Objective and hypotheses: The aim was to analyze the effect of lack of androgen action in germ cell (GC) health and survival along postnatal development, previous to Sertoli cell (SC) pubertal maturation.Method: The histological features and quant...

Hypoparathyroidism is treated with oral calcium carbonate and vitamin D analogues to increase serum calcium levels. Recombinant human parathyroid hormone (rhPTH) therapy can be considered in patients with poorly controlled hypocalcaemia or side effects to conventional treatment. Constipation, a known side effect of calcium carbonate, is often easily managed with simple laxatives. We describe resolution of severe constipation by changing conventional treatment to rhPTH. A femal...

Background: Medium chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency (MCADD) is an autosomal recessive fatty acid β-oxidation defect. The enzyme is important in the breakdown of medium chain fats into acetyl-CoA to produce ketones, alternative energy source when glucose hepatic glycogen stores become depleted during prolonged fasting. In MCADD, during periods of fasting/ acute illness, there are insufficient ketones to compensate for the glucose energy deficit, ...

Introduction: Pituitary adenomas (PA) in pediatric and young patients comprise a rare pathology of unknown prevalence. The majority are sporadic, but 5% occur in a familial setting, either as isolated (FIPA) or as part of a syndrome. The identification of genetic alterations has broaden the scope of molecular investigations. We describe the clinical characteristics of patients with sporadic PA arising before the age of 35 years and perform thorough genetic scr...

Despite significant advances in the medical management of childhood diseases, glucocorticoids (GCs) continue to be the mainstay of therapy for numerous serious conditions, including hematological malignancies, Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and inflammatory disorders. In order to understand the natural history of bone development in GC-treated children, a pan-Canadian longitudinal observational research study called "STOPP" (STeroid...

Catch-up growth (CUG) is characterized by a period of supranormal height velocity following a transient period of growth inhibition. The two classical hypotheses on the mechanism are the neuro-endocrine hypothesis (a central mechanism that would recognize the degree of mismatch between actual size and target size) and the growth plate hypothesis (local regulation of growth according to a preset cellular program of senescence, characterized by decreasing growth proliferation ra...