ESPE Abstracts

SARS-CoV- 2 pandemic induced to develop new strategies to abate the distance between patients, families and paediatricians, especially in cases of patients who need long-term therapies. Furthermore, the need to minimize the inflow of children and adolescents affected by chronic diseases into the hospitals induced paediatric endocrinologists to limit visits and to consider a new setting to assist children in treatment with growth hormone (GH). Telemedicine and smart-working cou...

Background: Vitamin D insufficiency is more frequent than expected also in Western Europe, however the relieve of a ‘health’ child with rickets is uncommon in Caucasians.Objective and hypotheses: Explain clinical severity by a genetic background.Method: We describe the clinical case of a 2.5-year-old girl with skeletal deformities. She was 86.5 cm (10° Cent), 12.5 kg (3–10° Cent); PH1B1. She showed typical ...

Background: Severe short stature is considered when height falls below −4 SDS. When infants with extreme short stature are evaluated, often multidisciplinary input is required, before a formal diagnosis is met.Objective and hypotheses: We want to learn from delayed diagnosis of child with panhypopituitarism and review subsequent difficulties in starting GH treatment.Method: Retrospective review of notes, investigations and pa...

Background: Heterozygous alterations of SHOX and its regulatory region PAR1 are identified in approximately 70% of Léri-Weill dyschondrosteosis and 2–5% of idiopathic short stature cases. Identification of a SHOX mutation enables GH treatment to be offered to the patient.Objective: To evaluate the clinical characteristics of seven patients with SHOX haploinsufficiency and their evolution.Method: Retrospective analysis of ...

Systemic Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (sJIA) is a chronic autoinflammatory disease, with significant complications that can give short-term and long-term disability with reduced quality of life. Growth delay and short stature are described in >40% of cases, with a complex pathogenesis. Chronic inflammation, long-term corticosteroids treatment, hepatic involvement, malnutrition decrease IGF-1 and GH biological effects. Corticosteroids inhibit growth velocity, bone maturatio...

SHOX haploinsufficiency (SHOX-D) is a genetic cause of disharmonic short stature. However, the different impact on phenotype can show differences between patients with the same genotype.GH ameliorates final height, with significant differences between patients for the putative role of environmental factors who can influence growth.We describe the case of two sisters with SHOX-D (target height: 146.8 cm (-2.6SDS); mother: 146.5 cm; ...

SHOX haploinsufficiency (SHOX-D) is a cause of disharmonic short stature and a possible genetic cause of idiopathic short stature also in familial cases. We describe clinical, hormonal and genetic characteristics of patients with SHOX-D haploinsufficiency, followed and treated in the period 2014–2017, in a single Italian centre. The Rappold score was used to screen short children, to select those who needed a genetic analysis of SHOX gene by MLPA and sequencing. We select...

Background: Chromosomal imbalances are often due to sub microscopic deletions or duplications not evidenced by conventional cytogenetic methods.Objective and hypotheses: CGH array can help in the diagnosis of severe short stature, associated with mental retardation and dysmorphisms.Method: We describe the clinical case of a 13.1-year-old girl, born at 35 weeks, from a triplets pregnancy. She was 127.5 cm (<−5 SDS), 33 kg ...

Background: Congenital hypothyroidism (CH) has a high incidence, with a local increase in our screening relieves in the last years.Objective and hypotheses: An accurate follow up and an appropriate treatment guarantee an adequate neurological and auxological development.Method: We describe the personal report of 74 children (27 males and 43 females) with CH, diagnosed by neonatal screening and followed for 8.5±5.3 years.<p...

Background: Primary Addison’s disease (AD) is a rare endocrine condition, with reduced or absent secretion of adrenal hormones. Steroid replacement therapy normalizes endocrine assess and the quality of life. More than a half of patients display additional autoimmune conditions, which represent a considerable clinical concern.Objective and hypotheses: Antiparietal cells antibodies (APC-Ab) are commonly found in patients with autoimmune Addison’...