ESPE Abstracts

Objectives: The aims of this study were: (1) to evaluate the perception of children with GH Deficiency (GHD) and their parents, regarding their current and future predicted height, as well as the modulating factors; (2) to investigate the relation between perceptions of height and psychosocial functioning in children with GHD.Methods: The study group consists of 322 children/adolescents (219 boys) diagnosed with (isolated) GHD, treated with GH. The mean ...

Objectives: To describe the Health Related Quality of life (HrQoL) of children/adolescents with GH Deficiency (GHD) and to examine the effects of sociodemographic (i.e., patients’ age, sex and family socioeconomic status) and clinical characteristics (i.e. degree of short stature and duration of treatment) on HrQoL from patients’ and their parents’ perspectives. Associations between QoLISSY questionnaire and demographics were evaluated using Mann-Whitney or Krus...

Backgound: Alopecia areata (AA) or Alopecia Totalis (AT) is an autoimmune disease directed at the hair follicle, either limited to patchy hair loss over the scalp (focalis), or as total loss of scalp hair (totalis) or as total loss of both scalp and body hair (universalis). Management can be challenging, and despite multiple treatment modalities, no therapy still stands. While localized AA may respond well to topical corticosteroids, many patients require more aggressive secon...

Background: Type 1 diabetes (T1DM) is a chronic disease with increasing incidence and major impact on the health care costs.Objective and hypotheses: To estimate the direct cost of pediatric T1DM in the Greek National Health System (NHS) and its distribution by service category.Method: This is a retrospective cost-of-illness study, focusing on the direct costs from the healthcare system’s point of view. All patients aged 0&#15...

Bakground: There is a dearth of data examining the direct costs of diabetes type 1 (T1DM) in Greece and their predictors.Objective and hypotheses: To examine the predictors of elevated direct costs of T1DM in the National Health System in Greece.Method: All patients diagnosed with T1DM, who were followed in the Diabetic Clinic of the University Pediatric Department of one of the two major Children’s hospitals in Athens, from 1...

Background: Short stature is a recognized complication of Crohn’s disease (CD) in children. Less is known on the impact of disease on final adult height and body proportions.Objective and hypotheses: To assess height and body proportions in 48 adults (F: 30; M: 18) with childhood (ACO) or adult (AAO) onset CD and 44 children (C) (F:22; M:22) with CD.Method: Standing, sitting height (SH) and leg length (SILL) were measured and ...

Background: Current literature suggests an important role of both endocrine disruptors and genetic factors in the occurrence of cryptorchidism.Objective and hypotheses: The aim of the study is to investigate the impact of variants in INSL3 and HOXD13 genes in the pathogenesis of isolated cryptorchidism in Greece. 43 boys with isolated cryptorchidism and 50 healthy non-cryptorchidic boys (control group) were enrolled.<p class="abstex...

Background: Coping with a chronic medical condition requiring prolonged treatment may have an effect on psychological adaptation and self-esteem of patients.Objective and hypotheses: To identify key factors that influence self-perception and well-being in children and adolescents on GH therapy.Method: A prospective study with the use of validated questionnaires SPP (the Greek version). The patient cohort included 272 Greek children...

Background: Glucocorticoids regulate a broad spectrum of physiologic functions essential for life and exert their actions through their ubiquitously expressed glucocorticoid receptor (GR). The GR interacts with several molecules, including the non-coding RNA growth arrest-specific 5 (Gas5), which decreases the transcriptional activity of the GR by preventing its binding to DNA, and reduces tissue sensitivity to glucocorticoids.Objective and Hypotheses: T...

Background: The female gonadal axis is activated in mini-puberty and thereafter it is quiescent until puberty. We have shown that many girls with no clinical sign of puberty in the age group 1-6 yr. have a rather strong luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) response to a gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) test. However, stimulated LH and FSH values decreased in the age interval 1-6 yr and no LH/FSH values rose above 0.43. Serum est...