ESPE Abstracts

Background: The effect of bisphosphonates in patients with severe osteopenia of prematurity is unknown in terms of either fracture prevention or long-term safety. A 6-month-old male infant born at 24+2 weeks gestation was referred for consideration of bisphosphonate therapy in the management of severe osteopenia of prematurity. The neonatal course included chronic lung disease requiring four courses of corticosteroids. Despite optimal calcium, phosphate and vitamin D supplemen...

Background: Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome (BWS) characterised by a group of clinical abnormalities (macrosomia, macroglossia, neonatal hypoglycaemia, omphalocoele and umbilical hernia) results from dysregulation of imprinted genes due to mosaic paternal uniparental isodisomy (patUPD) of 11p15.5. Its association with tumours of embryonic origin is well documented and screening guidelines largely aim to detect hepatoblastoma and Wilm’s tumours during the first decade of life....

Background: Antithyroid drugs such as carbimazole form the mainstay of medical management of hyperthyroidism in children. Parents are always warned about agranulocytosis, which is a rare side effect of these drugs. Development of arthralgia after starting antithyroid medication can be a disabling side effect and needs to be distinguished from the more serious antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) positive vasculitis.Objective and hypotheses: Here we...

Background: Hypophosphatasia (HPP) is a rare, inherited, metabolic disease caused by loss-of-function mutation(s) in the gene encoding tissue nonspecific alkaline phosphatase (TNSALP). Poor skeletal mineralisation, muscle weakness, pain, and accompanying complications characteristic of HPP result in impaired physical function, decreasing ability to perform daily activities, and quality of life. Improvement in physical function is a treatment target, yet established physical ac...

Background: Prolactinomas are relatively rare during childhood, with an incidence of 0.1 per million. Children with hyperprolactinaemia have widely varied presentations depending on age, sex, and tumour size. Whilst adults typically present with galactorrhoea or hypogonadism, children tend to present with pubertal delay and growth issues.Objective and hypotheses: Poorer surgical outcomes have been reported in children with macroprolactinomas compared to ...

Background: Obesity interventions often result in increased motivation to eat after weight loss.Objective: We investigated relationships between obesity outcomes and changes in brain activation by visual food cues and hormone levels in response to obesity intervention by family-based behavioral treatment (FBT).Design, Methods, and Participants: Functional neuroimaging and plasma ho...

Background: Obesity results from interactions between environmental and genetic factors. Despite a relatively high heritability of common, non-syndromic obesity (40–70%), the search for genetic variants contributing to susceptibility has been a challenging task. To date, more than 40 genetic variants have been associated with obesity and fat distribution. However, since these variants do not fully explain the heritability of obesity, other forms of va...

Behavioral studies suggest that brain satiety responses to food consumption are altered in children with obesity. We studied brain regions involved in satiety processing using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) before and after a test meal. Satiety-related hormonal changes were assessed. Fifty-four 9-11 year-old children with obesity (OB) and 22 children with healthy weight (HW) were studied. Subjects underwent two fMRI scans, one before and one after a test meal, an...

Pituitary adenomas are usually benign tumours arising from the hormone-secreting cells of the anterior pituitary gland. These adenomas can result in excess hormone secretion and the development of characteristic syndromes, such as Cushing’s disease, acromegaly and hyperprolactinaemia, and/or mass effects on surrounding vital structures causing for example visual disturbances and pituitary hormone deficiencies. In children and young people under 19 years (CYP), the managem...

Background: Children with Asthma who do not respond to first-line therapy may need inhaled corticosteroid-long-acting beta agonist combination (ICS-LABA) therapy. Adrenal insufficiency (AI) due to adrenal suppression is a recognized but relatively uncommon side effect of ICS. An increase in suspected cases of AI associated with one particular ICS-LABA, mometasone-formoterol (Zenhale) was observed at a tertiary care Asthma clinic over a 6-month period.Obj...