ESPE Abstracts

Background: Hyperinsulinism/hyperammonaemia (HI/HA) syndrome is associated with postprandial hypoglycaemia and mild hyperammonemia. There is increased insulin release following protein ingestion, which is amenable to diaxozide therapy. While developmental delay and normoglycaemic seizures can also occur, hepatomegaly has not been reported. We report a child with HI/HA and hepatomegaly, mild learning difficulty and obesity, who was initially mistaken to have glycogen storage di...

Background: Juvenile Pagets disease (JPD), an ultra-rare, debilitating bone disease stemming from unopposed RANKL action due to loss of functional osteoprotegerin (OPG) is caused by recessive mutations in TNFRSF11B. A genotype-phenotype correlation spanning from mild to very severe forms is described.Objective and hypotheses: To describe the complexity of the human phenotype of OPG deficiency in more detail and to investigate heterozygous mutation carrie...

Background: In humans, glucocorticoids (GCs) regulate a broad spectrum of physiologic functions, exerting both genomic and nongenomic actions through their ubiquitously expressed glucocorticoid receptor (hGR). The rapid nongenomic actions of GCs are likely to be mediated by membrane hGRs that transduce the glucocorticoid signal via activation of kinases. S-palmitoylation plays an important role in plasma membrane localization and occurs through a highly conserved nine amino ac...

Background: The noncoding RNA growth-arrest-specific transcript 5 (Gas5) is abundant in cells whose growth has been arrested owing to lack of nutrients or growth factors. Gas5 is a riborepressor of the glucocorticoid receptor, influencing cell survival and metabolic activities during starvation by inhibiting the latter’s transcriptional activity.Aim: To determine the expression levels of Gas5 in blood samples of obese, overweight and lean children a...

Background: Treatment with GH of children born SGA allows an increase in growth velocity (GV) and improves adult height. Increased insulin resistance has been described in these patients, which reverts after interrupting GH administration. However, long-term metabolic consequences are not clearly established.Objective and hypotheses: Describe insulin resistance (HOMA-IR index) and auxological development (GV and height) in SGA children treated with GH fo...

Background: Ovotesticular DSD is a rare disorder defined by the presence of both ovarian and testicular tissues in the same individual. SRY is present in approximately 1/3 of patients with 46, XX ovotesticular DSD. In SRY-negative ovotesticular DSD, the mechanism responsible for the presence of testicular tissue is not yet understood.Case presentation: A male patient was referred to us for hypospadias and bilateral cryptorchidism at 2.5...

Background: >There is a wide variation in the reported rate of acute adrenal insufficiency (AI) related adverse events (sick day episodes and adrenal crises) between centres.Objective: Evaluate the level of consensus on the criteria that should be considered ‘essential’ for defining and managing adverse events associated with acute AI in children.Methods: Three groups of ...

Background: The circulating steroid metabolome in boys undergoes significant changes during infancy reflecting functional and structural rearrangements of the adrenal glands as well as the transient activity of the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis, also called minipuberty. Studies investigating the serum steroid metabolome dynamics during infancy in a longitudinal manner are however sparse.Objective: We ai...

Objectives: Menarche is defined as the first menstrual bleeding in females, and the age of onset varies and depends on a complex interaction between genetic and environmental factors. The LIN28B gene single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) rs314276, rs7759938 and rs314280 appear to be associated with cases of premature and early menarche. International databases report that the presence of a G allele of rs314280SNP shifts menarche 1.2 months earlier, a C allele...

Background: HSH is a rare condition, first described by Paunier et al. (1968). It is an autosomal recessive disorder arising from impaired intestinal absorption of magnesium (Mg) together with renal Mg loss due to a re-absorption defect in the distal convoluted tubule. Mutations in the TRPM6 gene (Chr9q21) (OMIM #607009) have been identified as the underlying genetic defect. A review of 28 affected individuals (21 families) showed median age of diagnosis of 2 months, ...