ESPE Abstracts

Introduction: Adolescents are considered the main consumer group of Energy Drinks (EDs). EDs are associated with adverse cardiovascular events, such as severe cardiac arrhythmia or arterial hypertension. Recent studies of our department revealed a significantly increased brachial blood pressure and arterial stiffness after the acute ED consumption in healthy adolescents. Increased central blood pressure is linked with the onset of end-organ damages such as lef...

Objective: IGF-1 receptor mutations (IGF1RM) are a rare abnormality; however, affected patients exhibit severe postnatal growth retardations without catch-up growth. Although several cases of IGF1RM have been described, a comprehensive retrospective analysis of the potential benefit of rhGH treatment is still missing. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate baseline auxology, response to rhGH therapy and potential metabolic effects in patients with IGF1RM in compari...

Background: Achondroplasia (ACH), caused by a pathogenic variant in the fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 gene (FGFR3), is characterized by severe growth failure and may be associated with multisystemic complications. The clinical phenotype is variable and relates to deformity of rhizomelic shortened legs, and myelon compression at cranial base and spine. Recent guidelines are published for diagnostic workflow, neurosurgical, orthopaedic and otorhinolaryngol...

Background: Achondroplasia (Ach) is a rare growth disorder caused by a point mutation in the fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 gene that results in dysproportionate extreme short stature and can lead to a wide range of multisystemic complications throughout the individual's life with reduced quality of life. In the past, orthopaedic and neurosurgical therapies have been developed to partially improve mobility, reduce pain and prevent neurological disabi...

Background: Treatment of pediatric obesity is challenging and especially the long-term outcome has been modest in many previous studies.Objective and hypotheses: We wanted to evaluate the efficacy of obesity treatment in specialist care and to find out factors, which have a major impact on the outcome.Methods: A total of 654 children (302 girls) aged 2–18 years treated for obesity between 2005 and 2012 in three specialist clin...

Genomic imprinting in mammals is controlled by DNA methylation. This essential epigenetic phenomenon mediates the mono-allelic expression of about hundred autosomal protein-coding genes and hundreds of regulatory non-coding RNAs, such that these become expressed from one of the two parental alleles only. Although the first imprinted genes were discovered less than thirty years ago, given their key roles in fetal development, homeostasis and brain functions, these exceptional g...

Introduction: Growth velocity is reduced in patients with GH deficiency and this may result in an increase in Body Mass Index (BMI). Treatment performed with Growth Hormone (GH) while accelerating growth velocity, might reduce BMI. The objective of this study was to evaluate BMI in patients with GHD at diagnosis, 1 y and 2 y after started treatment with GH and to compare if there is difference between the BMI of the patients with and without pituitary abnormalities.<p clas...

Background: Epidemiological evidence in Europe indicates the increasing prevalence of premature puberty, especially in girls. This may be attributed to in utero and early-life exposure to environmental estrogen-like compounds present in pesticides, plastics (bisphenol A, phtalates …) and beauty products.Objective and hypotheses: The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of premature thelarche (PT) and central precocious puberty (C...

Background: It has been previously proposed that not all children with short stature displaying an inadequate response to tests for growth hormone (GH) secretion truly suffer from GH deficiency (GHD). Instead, amongst these, solely children with an identifiable monogenic cause of GHD or an identifiable functional or anatomical anomaly in the hypothalamic-pituitary axis should be considered GHD. The remaining patients should be defined as affected by “sho...

Background: Gonadotropin releasing hormone analogs (GnRHa) are effective in improving adult height in children with precocious onset of puberty, rapid progression, and good growth potential. In last years, however, some transient metabolic complications have been described during the treatment without the reassurance of long-term data yet. The aim of our study is to clarify if body mass index (BMI) at diagnosis of idiopathic central precocious puberty (iCPP) c...