ESPE Abstracts

Background: Early predictors of cardiovascular risk using anthropometric and laboratory variables available in the general practice in obese children are poorly identified.Objective and hypotheses: To identify best predictors of early cardiovascular risk in obese children between anthropometric and laboratory parameters.Method: Cardiovascular risk was determined by measuring intima-media thickness of the right common carotid artery...

Cushing’s disease (CD) is defined as hypercortisolism secondary to an adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) secreting pituitary adenoma. It is rare in the pediatric age and early diagnosis and treatment are important to prevent long-term complications. In the diagnostic workup, bilateral inferior petrosal sinus sampling (BIPSS) of ACTH after corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) stimulation is the gold standard in the differential diagnosis of ACTH-dependent hypercortisolism. We re...

Background: There is increasing interest in vitamin D nutrition during pregnancy because of widespread reports of a high prevalence of low vitamin D status in pregnant women in high-latitude areas. It has been related to adverse events in mother and child. Neonates present a greater risk of hypocalcaemia, rickets and a higher incidence of infections during the 1st year of life.Objective and hypotheses: Real situation of pregnant women and newborn in rela...

Introduction: Precocious puberty (PP) is defined as the appearance of thelarche before the age of 8 years, in girls. The gold standard for the diagnosis is represented by the increase of LH level after stimulation with native GnRH, but a feasible alternative involves the administration of GnRH analogues. This test is poorly standardised and currently literature lacks of defined values to confirm the activation of the hypothalamic-gonadal axis, since they depen...

We present the case of a 11-years-old girl who came to our attention for a first critical episode lasting a few minutes, with spontaneous resolution, described as a generalized clonic tonic crisis, which occurred in full well-being. An electroencephalogram (EEG) was performed which showed focal epileptiform anomalies in the right temporal center that spread evoked by hyperpnea and eye closure and an EEG after sleep deprivation that showed an accentuation of the anomalies in ph...

Backgroud: SarsCov2 infection began to spread worldwide since December 2019 and, on March 2020, the World Health Organization characterized its related disease, named COVID-19, as a pandemic. In Italy, to contain the spread of infection a severe lockdown from March 10th, 2020 to May 4th, 2020 was instituted. Other less severe restrictions were imposed in the winter 2020-2021 and in the spring 2021. The containment measures caused a series of consequences for t...

Background: Premature pubarche refers to the appearance of pubic hair without other signs of puberty or virilization before 8 years in girls and 9 years in boys. The etiology of premature pubarche is not known. It has been suggested that an early maturation of the zona reticularis of the adrenal cortex is at the basis of premature pubarche, leading to an increase of adrenal androgens to levels that are normally seen in early puberty. In alternative, in children with normal and...

Background: Congenital proopiomelanocortin deficiency (POMC) gene mutations cause early-onset obesity, hyperphagia and ACTH deficiency. In the subjects with this picture, neuropsychiatric (NP) features were rarely reported. Many Authors described an appetite loss during the topiramate treatment.Objective and hypotheses: To discuss NP features observed in a POMC deficient patient and to propose a therapeutic attempt to reduce the hyperphagia.<p class=...

Background: The syndrome of inappropriate antidiuresis (SIAD) is one of the most common causes of hyponatremia: it’s a disorder of sodium and water balance, characterized by urinary dilution impairment and hypotonic hyponatremia, in the absence of renal disease or any non-osmotic stimulus, able to induce antidiuretic hormone (ADH) release. SIAD can be manifestation of a wide range of diseases, including cancer, head trauma, hydrocephalus and epilepsy. Usually transient an...

Background: The persistent Müllerian duct syndrome (PMDS) is a rare 46-XY disorder of sex development, characterized by the persistence of Müllerian derivatives (uterus, Fallopian tubes) in otherwise normally virilised males. The condition is transmitted as a recessive autosomal trait and is caused in most cases by a defect in either the anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) or the AMH type-II receptor (AMHR-II) genes.Case report: We present a 9 ye...