ESPE Abstracts

Background: Weight status in children is commonly defined using BMI (SDS), but this measure is problematic due to the skewness of the BMI distribution and its age-dependant increase. In addition, it is difficult for physicians or parents alike to grasp what a certain value means. Excess body weight (EBW) is frequently used in adult patients in the context of bariatric surgery.Objective and hypotheses: An appropriate definition for the paediatric populati...

Background: The androgen receptor (AR) is essential for the development of primary and secondary male characteristics and is activated by its ligand dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Reduced AR activity can cause undervirilization and infertility. We recently developed an assay to test AR function as a ligand-dependent transcriptional activator in human genital skin fibroblasts (GF). So far it is unclear, if AR expression levels correlate with AR function in the male external genital...

Human growth is a complex trait. A considerable number of gene defects have been shown to cause short stature, but there are only few examples of genetic causes of non-syndromic tall stature. Besides rare variants with large effects and common risk alleles with small effect size, oligogenic effects may contribute to this phenotype. Exome sequencing was carried out in a tall male (height 3.5 SDS) and his parents. Filtered damaging variants with high CADD scores were validated b...

Background: Following the 2010 CAH consensus, the need for genetic confirmation of diagnosis remains uncertain and variation in practice is unclear.Methods: This variation was assessed by using the International CAH(I-CAH) Registry which was developed using the same platform as the I-DSD Registry.Results: After the development of the I-CAH Registry in October 2014, the rate of addition of CAH cases increased from 2/month to 14/mont...

Introduction: Lack of impulse control and impaired stress regulation may explain the development of obesity and its challenging therapy, already in youth. To improve self-regulation of overweight adolescents and subsequently their weight status, we tested, whether a biofeedback relaxation exercise decreases stress and whether relaxation services implemented in a novel Smartphone App supported intervention have effects on stress and weight outcomes.Method...

Introduction: Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) is the most common genetic condition in the spectrum of differences of sex development (DSD). Surgery in DSD is a controversial topic and there is no consensus if to perform surgery, how to perform surgery, and when to perform surgery. The current study was designed to evaluate the current practice in CAH related surgical practice in girls.Patients and Methods: All cases...

Introduction: The umbrella term disorders of sex development (DSD) encompass a conglomerate of different genetic conditions affecting gonadal and adrenal function. Access to specialized health care and dissatisfaction with medical and psychosocial care is an issue for many adult patients. However, it is not evident which type of health care meets the needs of care seekers with DSD.Patients and methods: The European multidisciplinary outcome study dsd-LIF...

dsd-LIFE is a comprehensive clinical outcome study investigating medical, surgical, psychosocial and ethical issues to improve treatment and care of patients with the different diagnoses included in the umbrella term disorders/differences of sex development (dsd). The multidisciplinary dsd-LIFE consortium consists of 15 experienced European scientists in the areas endocrinology, psychology, surgery, gynaecology, urology and ethics. The fields of investigation of dsd-LIFE are H...

Beckwith Wiedemann syndrome (BWS) is a rare overgrowth disorder characterised by macroglossia, exomphalos, lateralised overgrowth, organomegaly, hyperinsulinism, and an increased risk of embryonic tumor during early life. In about 80% of BWS cases, molecular defects are identified at the imprinted 11p15.5 region which contains the IGF2 and the CDKN1C genes (most patients show methylation defects at either imprinting control region IC1 or IC2, or paternal unip...

Human growth results from an increase in cell size, cell division and amount of interstitium and is determined by the complex interplay of genetic and environmental factors. Over the last 14 years our group has been studying growth through the genetic interrogation of rare individuals presenting with syndromic overgrowth defined as an increased height and/or head circumference, compared to the age-related peer group, in combination with an intellectual disability. In the years...