ESPE Abstracts

Background: Low birth weight and unfavourable intrauterine conditions are associated with long-term effects on life. The influence of intrauterine conditions on personality might be underestimated.Objective and hypotheses: In a longitudinal study we followed genetically identical twins with intra-twin birth-weight (bw) differences due to twin–twin transfusion syndrome (ttts) from birth until puberty.Method: 23 pairs of monozyg...

Introduction: Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) is a disorder with a wide spectrum of severity. Impaired cognition has been reported in patients with CAH, although the findings have been conflicting. It has been hypothesized that the major causes of the deficits are prenatal hormonal imbalances and/or excessive glucocorticoid treatment.Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate cognitive function in chi...

Introduction: The CATCH 22 syndrome or DiGeorge syndrome or velocardiofacial syndrome, is a frequent pathology with the worldwide prevalence estimated between 1 / 2,000 and 1 / 4,000 live births. The classic clinic is characterized by typical facial features (narrow palpebral fissures, bulbous nasal tip, small mouth and ears, malar hypoplasia) with functional insufficiency of the soft palate in about 75% of those affected, difficulties in learning, language and behavior , cong...

Background: Patients with Prader-Willi-Syndrome (PWS) seem to be a risk-group for COVID-19 infection, due to their syndrome associated clinical features of hyperphagia and obesity, risk for central hypoventilation and obstructive sleep apnoea. Yet, little is known about the severity of infections and the long-term consequences in these patients. Therefore, we studied auxologic parameters and sleep laboratory examinations in PWS patients before and after COVID-...

Introduction: The role of genetics in obesity is a much under discussed area. Whilst it is undeniable that environmental factors play a major role in obesity in most cases, there is a small proportion of cases where genetic mutations are the main underlying cause. This includes novel monogenic conditions involving mutations in the Melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) signalling pathway. In a healthy individual, the post-meal increase in leptin (LEP) stimulates melan...

Transversal study. Patients from 0 to 17 years of age who had undergone an analytical determination of 25OHD during the year 2021 in our hospital were collected. The following were contrasted: 25OHD, PTH, total calcium, age, sex, reason for requesting analysis, time of year and country of origin. 25OHD ranges: normal >30 ng/mL, suboptimal 20-30 ng/mL and deficit <20 ng/mL; and normal PTH: 9-60 pg/mL.Results: 1. Prevalence of vitami...

Background: Alterations of pre- and early postnatal growth can have long lasting impact on adult height, body composition and metabolic health throughout life. In monozygotic twins discordant for prenatal growth due to twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS), we previously demonstrated lower cord blood IGF-I concentrations and earlier pubertal maturation, indicative of prenatal programming of endocrine systems, to be linked to reduced final height of the form...

Background: The GH/IGF-I axis is involved in metabolic control and studies suggest that IGF-I deficiency and subsequent changes in IGF-I signaling in brown adipose tissue (BAT) modifies its thermogenic capacity. Food restriction reduces thermogenic capacity in BAT, while leptin stimulates thermogenesis through uncoupling protein 1 (UCP-1) induction. Leptin and IGF-I maintain important crosstalk in different tissues, but whether these two hormones interact to r...

Introduction: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) consists of a pattern of persistent deficits in social communication and interaction across multiple contexts together with restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests or activities. In the general population autistic traits can be found more frequently in males than females. This male predominance indicates that high androgen levels may prenatally have influence on development of autistic traits.<p c...

Background: Low birth-weight (bw) and unfavourable intrauterine conditions are associated with a subsequent impact on the endocrine system. However, very little is known about the impact on thyroid function.Objective and hypotheses: We observed genetically identical twins with intra-twin bw-differences from birth until adolescence to objectify the impact of a lower bw on development and health in later life.Method: Bw-difference of...