ESPE Abstracts

Background: It is well known that ingestion of a high fat diet (HFD) can induce rapid weight gain and metabolic imbalances. However, males and females are not equally susceptible to these effects. Furthermore, an individual may be more prone to gain weight during specific developmental periods.Aims and objectives: We aimed to analyse the response to the acute exposure to a HFD during pubertal/adolescent period and to determine whether males and females r...

Background: Obesity is a worldwide epidemic affecting adults and children. Social changes throughout history have contributed to modifications in nutrition and physical activity levels. These changes in lifestyle affected health, increasing the number of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. Obese children already have a low grade systemic inflammation as well as markers of increased cardiovascular risk. The endothelial function is an important and early marker of atheroscler...

Background: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the hypothalamic-pituitary area is extremely useful in the investigation of patients with central diabetes insipidus (CDI) due to infiltrative processes.Objective: We aimed to associate pituitary stalk thickness with the etiology of CDI and hormone deficiencies.Method: A retrospective single-center study of 15 patients (four boys and 11 girls) with CDI was performed and clinical-epide...

Introduction: PTH is one of the principal regulatory hormones for calcium and phosphate homeostasis. Hypoparathyroidism, caused by reduced parathyroid hormone (PTH) concentration is characterised by hypocalcemia and hyperphosphataemia. Hypoparathyroidism in children can occur either as part of a genetic syndrome, autoimmune disorder, be acquired secondarily to thyroidectomy or some destructive process of the glands. If the reason for decreased PTH concentration is unknown, it ...

Context: Kenny–Caffey syndrome (KCS) is a rare condition characterized by proportionate short stature, cortical thickening and medullary stenosis of tubular bones, delayed closure of the anterior fontanelle, ocular and dental anomalies, and variable hypocalcemia due to hypoparathyroidism. KCS is classified into two types according to its clinical features and inheritance pattern. KCS Type 2 (KCS2) is caused by mutations in FAM111A and is distinguished fr...

Introduction: Preclinical models demonstrated that Angiopoietin-like protein 4 (ANGPTL-4) regulates lipid metabolism and affects energy homeostasis. However, no data exist regarding its involvement in childhood and adolescence, periods of life with important metabolic changes.Objectives: We aimed to investigate circulating levels of ANGPTL-4 in children and adolescents and its relationship with gender, puberty and obesit...

Introduction: Familiar short stature (FSS) is a common variant of growth with heterogeneous etiology. Children with FSS are often excluded from further check-up and treatment. However, significant number of children with FSS comply even with the European criteria for growth hormone (GH) therapy – patients with SHOX-deficiency, growth hormone deficiency (GHD) or these born short for gestational age (SGA). The aim of the study was to identify genetic etiology of short statu...

Introduction: Congenital central hypothyroidism (CCH) is a rare disease with inappropriate thyroid hormone secretion due to impaired TSH stimulation. TSH levels are not elevated; the patients are not diagnosed in TSH-based newborn screening. Biallelic variants in TRHR gene (encoding TRH receptor) are one of four genetic defects known to cause isolated CCH (THRH, THSB, IGSF1, TBL1X). The phenotype is variable but generally mild (neon...

Background: Congenital Hyperinsulinism (CHI) is a heterogeneous genetically determined condition that is characterised by unregulated secretion of insulin from pancreatic β-cells. The most common and severe cases are caused by mutations in the ABCC8 gene encoding the SUR1 subunit of the KATP channel subunit. To assess the pathogenic effect of novel ABCC8 mutations we performed in-vitro functional studies.Objective and hy...

Background: PAPP-A2 is a metalloproteinase that specifically cleaves IGFBPs 3 and 5. Papp-a2 knock-out (KO) mice show a reduction in body size and skeletal abnormalities.Objective and hypotheses: Our objective is to report two affected families from Spain and USA. The Spanish family presents a homozygous frameshift mutation in exon 3 of the PAPP-A2 gene (c.1927_ 1928insAT, p.D643fs25X) resulting in a premature stop codon, with 2 of 4 si...