ESPE Abstracts

Background: Loss of imprinting has been implicated in the pathogenesis of several human diseases. Monogenic causes of central precocious puberty (CPP) were identified in families with loss-of-function mutations in two paternally expressed imprinted genes: Makorin zinc finger 3 (MKRN3) and Delta-like 1 homolog (DLK1). The role of imprinting defects in CPP has not been described so far.Objective: To inves...

Background: Idiopathic central precocious puberty (CPP) is mostly described as an isolated entity. A few studies have shown its association with clinical syndromes and rare cases of chromosomal abnormalities.Objective: To clinically characterize patients with CPP, pointing out prevalent associated conditions and phenotypes.Patients and Methods: One hundred and forty-five patients with idiopathic CPP were retrospectively evaluated. ...

Background: We recently identified loss-of-function mutations in makorin ring finger 3 (MKRN3) as a cause of familial central precocious puberty (CPP). Analysis of Mkrn3 expression in the arcuate nucleus of mice showed high expression levels in juvenile mice, with a marked reduction prior to puberty onset, suggesting that MKRN3 inhibits puberty initiation. The function of MKRN3 is not known but based on its amino acid sequence, it is predicted to act as an ubiquitin l...

Background: The etiological investigation of central precocious puberty (CPP) has improved with more precise clinical approach, neuroimaging, and genetic studies. CPP can be caused by congenital or acquired conditions, with or without central nervous system (CNS) lesions. More recently, genetic and epigenetic disorders have been identified in children with CPP, previously classified as idiopathic.Objective: To update the...

Background: Primary ovarian failure (POF) is a major cause of female infertility. POF is characterized by amenorrhea, hypo-estrogenism, and elevated gonadotrophin levels. In POF disorder, several genetic alterations have been described, however in most of the patients the etiology of this disorder remains unknown.Objective and hypotheses: To identify new genes implicated in the development of POF using whole-exome sequencing (WES)....

Introduction: Age at pubertal onset is a markedly inherited trait. The most common cause of pubertal delay, self-limited pubertal delay, is defined by the absence of secondary sexual characteristics after 13 years in girls and 14 years in boys, with progression before age 18. This study aimed to detect novel candidate genes for self-limited pubertal delay.Methods: Eighty-one patients with confirmed self-limited delayed p...

11-year-old female, admitted in the emergency room due to postprandial hyperglycemia (350 mg/dL) in her father´s glucometer without ketosis or acidosis. She referred one-month evolution of mild symptoms, as polydipsia, polyuria, sporadic abdominal pain and nocturia.She was the first child of non-consanguineous parents, born full term at vaginal delivery with a birth weight of 3760g (90th percentile). Since 5-years-old her weight was betwe...

Background: Preservation of C-peptide is important and has become regarded a relevant endpoint as already a quite small residual C-peptide seems to be related to both less acute and late diabetes complications.Objective: To assess the residual C-peptide secretion in pediatric patient with T1D.Method: Cross-sectional study of 157 patients with T1D. We analyzed: age at diagnosis, age at time of study (years), sex, diabetes duration (...

Background: Autoimmune thyroid diseases are multifactorial diseases with a genetic susceptibility and environmental factors. A potential role of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA4) gene, Fc receptor-like 3 (FCRL3) gene, Fas apoptotic inhibitory molecule 2 (FAIM2) gene polymorphisms on autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITDs) in children has not been established equivocally yet.Objective and hypotheses: To estimate the association of polymorphi...

Background: The hallmark of congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI) is the demonstration of detectable plasma insulin during hypoglycaemia. Insulin can be undetectable in a significant proportion of patients with CHI. Plasma samples for insulin requires rapid and careful handling for reliable results. There is little published data on the value of C-peptide in the diagnosis of CHI.Objective and hypotheses: To assess the usefulness of C-peptide in the diagnosis ...