ESPE Abstracts

Background: Prenatal growth restraint associates with risk for later diabetes particularly if such restraint is followed by postnatal formula-feeding (FOF) rather than breast-feeding (BRF). Circulating incretins can influence the neonatal programming of hypothalamic setpoints for appetite and energy expenditure, and are thus candidate mediators of the long-term effects exerted by early nutrition.Objective, hypotheses and method: We have tested this conce...

Background: Infants born small-for-gestational age (SGA) who develop postnatal weight catch-up are at risk for insulin resistance, central adiposity and cardiovascular disease in later life, even in the absence of overweight.Objective and hypotheses: In young (age 3–6 years) non-obese SGA children, we assessed arterial health by intima-media thickness (IMT) and abdominal fat distribution (subcutaneous, visceral, pre-peritoneal and hepatic components...

Background: Hyperinsulinemic androgen excess is the most common cause of hirsutism, acne, seborrhea and menstrual irregularity in adolescent girls. The ovarian androgen excess originates most often from an absolute or relative excess of fat (in adipose tissue and in organs such as the liver) and from the ensuing elevations in insulinaemia and gonadotropin secretion. There is no approved therapy for androgen excess in adolescent girls. The prime recommendation is to reduce body...

Background: Soluble CD163 (sCD163) is shed from the cell surface into the circulation as a specific marker of macrophage activation. Macrophages are involved in low-grade inflammatory states such as obesity.Objective and hypotheses: To investigate the relationships between circulating sCD163 and metabolic parameters in asymptomatic prepubertal children.Method: A population of 236 school-aged Caucasian children (111 girls and 125 bo...

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a prevalent disorder in adolescent girls, commonly driven by hepato-visceral fat excess, usually presenting with hirsutism and menstrual irregularity, and often followed by subfertility and type 2 diabetes.We studied the miRNA profile of adolescent girls with PCOS, and the effects of randomized treatment with an oral contraceptive (OC) or with spironolactone-pioglitazone-metformin (SPIOMET, aiming at loss of hepato-vis...

Background/objectives: Individuals born small-for-gestational age (SGA), especially those who experience postnatal catch-up growth, are at increased risk for developing endocrine-metabolic abnormalities before puberty. In adults, brown adipose tissue (BAT) has been associated with protection against metabolic disorders, such as obesity, type 2 diabetes and dyslipidaemia. Here, we assessed for the first time whether BAT activation differs between prepubertal children born SGA o...

Background: Children born small-for-gestational age (SGA), especially those who experience spontaneous postnatal catch-up growth, are at increased risk for developing insulin resistance, central adiposity and cardiovascular abnormalities later in life. By age 3-6 years, SGA children have a broader aortic and carotid intima media thickness (aIMT and cIMT) which are markers of preclinical atherosclerosis.Objective: To assess longitudinally – at age 12...

Background: Prenatal growth restraint associates with increased oxidative stress – as judged by mitochondrial dysfunction – in pregnancies complicated by preeclampsia or diabetes, but it is uncertain whether this is also the case in uncomplicated pregnancies.Objective and hypotheses: To assess the link between fetal growth restraint and placental mitochondrial dysfunction, as reflected by changes in mitochondrial DNA content and superoxide dism...

Background: Progranulin (PGRN) displays pleiotropic biological functions including on early embryogenesis, cell proliferation, lysosomal or neuronal functioning and wound repair, and has been proposed as a biomarker for metabolic diseases. Increased PGRN levels have been reported in type 2 diabetes, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and in preeclampsia associated to placental dysfunction. However, the ontogeny of PGRN concentrations and the potential value of P...

Background: Low birth weight (LBW) followed by a rapid postnatal catch-up in weight predisposes individuals to a central distribution of body fat, which is reverted by metformin. Growth-and-differentiation-factor-15 (GDF15) plays an important role in the regulation of energy homeostasis, reducing food intake and lowering body weight. We aimed to assess whether GDF15 concentrations are raised by long-term metformin treatment in LBW/catch-up girls with precociou...