ESPE Abstracts

Background: Anogenital distance (AGD) is an indicator of androgen action in utero. Reduced AGD has been found in males with hypospadias, cryptorchidism, low semen quality and infertility. Its usefulness as a clinical marker in patients with Disorders of Sex Development (DSD) is currently being investigated. However, detailed age, sex and method related reference ranges do not exist. Whether individual (body-size-adjusted) AGD is stable postnatally also remains to be e...

Background: FSH stimulates ovarian follicle maturation and estradiol synthesis which is responsible for breast development. Age at pubertal onset varies substantially among healthy girls. Although more than half of the variation is heritable, only a small part has been attributed to specific genetic polymorphisms identified so far.Objective and Hypotheses: We assessed the effect on pubertal onset of three genetic polymorphisms affecting FSH action.<p...

Objective: The complex clinical phenotypes arising from HNF4A and HNF1A mutations are similar and include diazoxide-responsive CHI from infancy and maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) from adolescence. We aimed to characterise the clinical and genetic aspects of a cohort of paediatric patients with HNF4A or HNF1A mutations.Methods: Patients from five international centres over ...

Congenital adrenal hyperplasia is an autosomal recessive inborn error of metabolism due to impaired activity of one enzyme required for cortisol biosynthesis. Steroid 21-hydroxylase (21OH) deficiency is the cause in more than 90% of the patients. The 21OH is encoded by the CYP21A2 gene located on the chromosome 6 in the region known as the RCCX module. Due to the high homology and tandem-repeat organization of the RCCX module, this region of the genome is subjected to...

Background: GH deficiency type IA represents the most serious form of isolated deficit GH (IDGH). It’s transmitted as an autosomal recessive pattern and in most cases there is a homozygous deletion of the GH1 gene. Good initial response to treatment is characteristic, although often could appear antibodies against recombinant GH.Case presentation: We report a case of a 5-year-old Pakistanist boy evaluated for severe growth failure (heigh <8.07 <...

Background: Rodent models of leptin inactivity show progressive obesity due to exaggerated food intake. In humans, only rare monogenic cases of leptin deficiency and almost absent circulating leptin levels have been identified. Recently, two cases of children with early onset massive obesity due to biofunctionally inactive leptin in the face of normal total levels have been identified.Objective and hypotheses: Here we aimed to identify leptin inactivity ...

Background: Evaluation of glucose metabolism is currently based on 2 h glucose during an oral glucose tolerance test (oGTT) or fasting glucose and insulin or A1c, as these are the only parameters where cutoff values exist. This does, however, not adequately reflect the degree of hyperinsulinemia due to insulin resistance in obese children.Objective and design: From frequent glucose and insulin levels during an oGTT of 64 healthy lean children (aged 7.7&#...

Background: 11β-hydroxylase deficiency (HD) represents a rare cause of congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) characterized by glucocorticoid deficiency and excess of mineralcorticoids and androgens. The CYP11B1 gene on chromosome 8q22 encodes the 11β-hydroxylase.Objective: To report clinical, biochemical and molecular features of patients with 11β-HD.Results: Four male patients of Turkish descent with 11β-HD incl...

Background: CrescNet is a large data base used to document children’s growth and weight development in more than 300 primary care practices and in eight specialized paediatric endocrinological centres in Germany.Aims and method: We investigated 3281 patients with IGF1 measurements during their consultations and subsequent checkups. We analysed 2269 children without an indication for rhGH treatment and 1012 who were subsequently treated with rhGH. A ...

Background: Concern remains regarding the potential influence of growth hormone (GH) treatment on neoplasia because of the general growth-inducing effect of GH and associations between high serum IGF1 concentrations and certain cancers in adulthood. Many studies that evaluated risk for primary cancer in GH-treated patients without previous malignancy found no increased rates of primary neoplasia. A higher risk for colorectal cancer was observed in a single-country cohort treat...