ESPE Abstracts

Introduction: Central precocious puberty (CPP) is due to premature activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis. Mutations in the imprinted gene MKRN3 are the most common monogenic form of CPP. Recently, attention was directed to DLK1, another imprinted gene. Defects in this gene resulted to be a rare cause of CPP in girls and adult women with precocious menarche, obesity and metabolic derangement. We aimed to investigate a cohort of female and male p...

Introduction:Up to 20% of children with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) develops low-grade optic pathway gliomas(OPGs) that can result in neuroendocrinopathy.The aim of the study was to identify prognostic factors for developing neuroendocrinopathies in patients with NF1 and OPGs before any treatment.Methods: Records of 117 children with NF1 and OPGs followed at 4 Italian centers between 1997-20...

Background: Antipituitary (APA) and antihypothalamus antibodies (AHA) have not been investigated in children and adolescents with brain tumors.Patients and Methods: Sixty-three patients with craniopharyngioma, glioma and germinoma treated with surgery and/or chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy were evaluated at a median age of 13 years. Forty-one had MPHD, 6 had a single defect being GH the most common (65.1%), followed...

Central diabetes insipidus (CDI) in children is caused by brain tumors, Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH), trauma, infections, or genetic abnormalities in about 60% of the cases. In the remaining 40%, CDI is idiopathic even after detailed clinical and radiological investigations. Aim of the study was to assess whether measurement of serum antibodies against human growth hormone (GH) could aid in the identification of the etiological factors for CDI.<p class="abst...

Objectives: To evaluate the potential diagnostic role and sensitivity of T2-weighted DRIVE sequence in pituitary stalk (PS) identification and measurements in patients with hypothalamic-pituitary disorders. The degree of agreement and reliability between standard pre- and post-contrast T1-weighted images and T2-DRIVE will be tested in a large group of patients with pituitary dysfunction.Design: We searched for pituitary MRI reports using ‘T2-DRIVE&#...

Background: Mutations in the gene encoding LHX4, a homeodomain-containing factor with two LIM domains, are responsible for dominant hypopituitarisms with incomplete penetrance and variable expressivity. To date, only 14 unambiguous LHX4 mutations have been reported. Among those cases, 12 had an absent or ectopic posterior pituitary (EPP) and/or an abnormal sella turcica.Objective and hypotheses: To i) assess the contribution of LHX4 in combined pituitary...

Background: Primary adrenal insufficiency (PAI) is a rare life-threatening disorder. Data on PAI in children are scanty, with the exception of Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH) due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency (21OHD).Objective and hypotheses: Evaluate etiology of PAI in a large cohort of children and characterize clinical presentation in subjects with PAI not due to 21-OHD.Method: Children followed in eight tertiary centers wer...

Background: Children with familial forms of central diabetes insipidus (CDI) display polyuria and polydipsia within the first years of life.Objective and hypotheses: We hypothesize that children with an early-onset idiopathic CDI might be affected by de novo genetic mutations.Method: Eleven children aged between 1 month and 7 years with polyuria and polydipsia and negative family history were enrolled. In nine of them with...

Background: Children with familial forms of central diabetes insipidus (CDI) display polyuria and polydipsia within the first years of life.Objective and hypotheses: We hypothesize that children with an early-onset idiopathic CDI might be affected by de novo genetic mutations.Method: Eleven children aged between 1 month and 7 years with polyuria and polydipsia and negative family history were enrolled. In nine of them with...

Background: There is still need to define permanent GHD after adult height achievement in young adults with childhood-onset GHD (COGHD).Objective and hypothesis: To reassess GH response during transition.Method: We present the final data of 129 subjects (71M) recruited from a multicenter cross-sectional observational study, in whom anthropometrics, ITT (n=99), GHRH–arginine (n=122), IGF-1 evaluations were und...