ESPE Abstracts

Background: Central precocious puberty (CPP) is often familial but its genetic cause is largely unknown. Very recently, the makorin RING finger protein 3 (MKRN3) gene has been found mutated for the first time in 5 families with familial precocious puberty. The inheritance pattern is particular being the MKRN3 a maternal imprinted gene. Moreover in a recent genome wide association study common intronic or intragenic variants harbouring this gene and other two imprinted genes, D...

Background: IGF1R mutations are characterized by IGF-1 resistance causing impaired fetal and postnatal growth. Several reports in children with heterozygous defects of IGF1R have demonstrated a variable phenotype, which can be associated to microcephaly, dismorphic features and mild developmental delay.Case presentation: We report of an 8-years-old boy, who came at our observation with short stature (−3.2 SDS) and mild microcephal...

Background: The correlation between obesity and depression is well established. Tryptophan (Trp) is an essential amino acid that acts as substrate for serotonin and melatonin biosynthesis, both know to play a role in satiety, anxiety, and depression. Furthermore, low plasma Trp levels have been associated with obesity.Objective: To investigate the effects of Trp supplementation as a conjunctive therapy to conventional life-style intervention on weight lo...

Background: Isolated hypoaldosteronism is an autosomal recessive inherited disorder of terminal aldosterone synthesis, leading to selective aldosterone deficiency. Two different biochemical forms of this disease have been described, called aldosterone synthase deficiency or corticosterone methyl oxydase, types 1 and 2. In type 1, there is no aldosterone synthase activity and the 18 hydroxycorticosterone (18 OHB) level is low, whereas in type 2, a residual activity of aldostero...

Introduction: X-linked hypophosphatemic rickets (XLHR) represents the most common form of genetic hypophosphatemia and causes rickets in children because of increased FGF23 secretion and renal phosphate wasting. Even though cranial vault an craniovertebral anomalies of potential neurosurgical interest, namely early closure of the cranial sutures and Chiari type I malformation (CM-I), have been observed in children with XLH, their actual incidence and character...

Background: Carney complex (CNC) is a rare autosomal dominant multiple endocrine neoplasia and lentiginosis syndrome, characterized by abnormal cutaneous and mucosal pigmentation, myxomas of the heart, skin, breast and other non-endocrine tumors. CNC is principally caused by loss-of-function mutations of PRKAR1A gene located at 17q22-24 coding for the regulatory subunit type I alpha of protein kinase A (PKA) gene. Cushing’s syndrome is a rare disorder in...

Introduction: PROKR2 is a 384-amino acid G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) that regulates GnRH secretion in the hypothalamus. PROKR2 mutations have been described as cause of a certain percentage of of hypogonadotropic hypogonadism and Kallmann syndrome.In 2017 a heterozygous frameshift gain of function mutation of PROKR2 was identified in a 3.5-year-old girl with central precocious puberty (CPP).The aim of our st...

Introduction: Heterozygous mutations in IHH are known to cause Brachydactyly type A1 (BDA1), in which the typical clinical features are bilaterally short-ening or absence of the middle phalanges of most digits of hands and feet, shortness of 1st proximal bone and short stature; althougt short stature is considered part of BDA1, in most reported cases is not always present or unrelevant compared to the stature of unaffected relatives. Recently heterozygous mutations ...

Background: The phenotype of SHOX aploinsufficiency is highly variable also in affected members of the same family with broad differences in severity of short stature, disproportion, presence of Madelung deformity.Case presentation: We present a family with a new mutation of SHOX gene. A 2.3 years old girl, born at term from unrelated parents, came to our observation for short stature. Her height was −2.02 SDS, arm span was normal, sitting heigh/he...

Background: Primordial dwarfism (PD) is a phenotype characterized by profound growth retardation and microcephaly that is prenatal in onset. Recently mutations in genes involved in ciliogenesis have been described in patients with primordial dwarfism phenotype. In 2012 mutations in rotatin (RTTN), a protein involved in cilia structure and function, have been described in in individuals with bilateral diffuse polymicrogyria, but not growth failure.Case pr...