ESPE Abstracts

Background: Peutz-Jeghers syndrome (PJS) is a rare autosomal-dominant disorder frequently caused by the serine-threonine-kinase-11(STK11) gene mutation and characterized by hamartomatous polyps throughout the gastrointestinal tract, mucocutaneous hyperpigmentation and predisposition to several malignancies. Rarely, PJS may be associated to an oestrogen producing large cell calcifying Sertoli cell tumour that may result in gynecomastia and increased growth velocity (GV).<p ...

Background: Mucopolysaccharidosis I Hurler (MPS-IH is an inborn error of metabolism arising from the defective activity of alpha-L-iduronidase, an enzyme involved in the degradation of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). As a result, the pathological lysosomal storage of GAGs in several tissues leads to multi-systemic complications, such as hepatosplenomegaly, progressive central nervous system deterioration, skeletal dysplasia and faltering growth, commonly resulting ...

Introduction: Thyroxine is important for nervous system development. Subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH), a mild thyroid dysfunction, is associated with impaired cognitive function in children and mood disorders in adults. Serotonin is also involved in brain development, mood and behavior modulation. The possible interaction between thyroid function tests, serum serotonin concentrations and emotional intelligence, was studied.Method...

Introduction: Childhood obesity is associated with several complications, involving many systems. The prevalence of respiratory problems, such as obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), is higher in obese children and adolescents. In fact, OSAS affects 13–59% of obese children and the severity is strongly associated with weight excess. Although overnight pulse oximetry (PO) can be used for diagnosing OSAS, a complete night polysomnography (PSG), which re...

Introduction: Hyperthyroidism (HT) is a condition characterized by inappropriately high thyroid hormone (TH) activity at receptor level, due to high synthesis and secretion of TH by thyroid gland. Antithyroid drugs as methimazole (MMI) are used as the first-line therapy in children. However, the optimal treatment duration and the predictive remission factors are still controversial.Objective: To investigate outcome of MM...

The extent and quality of parental care that children receive greatly influences their development, impacting their physical and psychological growth, their educational and social achievement, and their disease risk as both children and adults. It is thus remarkable that around 25% of children are physically abused worldwide. Parenting is a complex behavior, and we still know little about the causes and mechanisms by which people differ in their parental behaviors. To learn mo...

Background: Neuroendocrine tumors from adrenal and extra-adrenal chromaffin cells are characterized by overproduction of catecholamines (CA), leading to the increase of urinary O-methylated metabolites (uO-Met) excretion, reliable biomarkers for the initial screening, diagnosis and monitoring of patients with pheochromocytoma and paragangliomas (PPGLs).Objective: To develop and validate a UHPLC-MS/MS method for the simul...

In a retrospective study (1), we found that a GH<6.5 μg/L, IGF-I-WHO87/518 <30 μg/L and IGFBP-3<0.8 μg/mL confirmed GHD diagnosis with high diagnostic accuracy in neonates with clinical suspicion of GHD. GH and insulin negatively regulate IGFBP-2, and it was proposed to reflect GH status in the diagnostic work-out of GHD in childhood and adults. The accuracy of IGFBP-2 has not been set for neonates.Objective: To prospectively v...

Background: Increased frequency of VDD/I has been found in warmer countries over the last years.Objective and hypotheses: To evaluate the response to vitamin D treatment in VDD/I among children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes.Method: Total 25OHvitamin D levels (VDL) were measured in 76 consecutive children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes (36 males, mean age (S.D.) 13.6 (5.09) years, median disease duration ...

Background: Familiar isolated pituitary adenomas (FIPA) encompasses the familiar occurrence of isolated pituitary adenomas outside the setting of syndromic conditions such as MEN1 and Carney’s complex, and comprise about 2–3% of pituitary adenomas. About 20% of FIPA have mutations in the aryl hydrocarbon receptor interacting protein gene (AIP), usually associated with a worse outcome.Objective and hypotheses: Evaluate the presence of AIP gene m...