ESPE Abstracts

Background: GLUT1 deficiency syndrome (GLUT1DS) is a treatable epileptic encephalopathy resulting from impaired glucose transport into the brain. Clinical features comprise motor and mental developmental delay, seizures with infantile onset, deceleration of head growth often resulting in acquired microcephaly, and a movement disorder with ataxia, dystonia, and spasticity. While it is known that ketogenic diet may cause growth retardation, GH deficiency (GHD) may represent anot...

Background: Rare genetic diseases of obesity are often driven by gene variants in the melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) pathway. The MC4R agonist setmelanotide demonstrated significant reductions in body weight in patients ≥6 years old with various rare genetic diseases of obesity, including proopiomelanocortin (POMC), proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 1 (PCSK1), or leptin receptor (LEPR) deficiency and Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS). While these condit...

Background: Short stature is a main feature of Noonan syndrome (NS). Although rhGH is commonly used in NS patients, it is not known whether a defect in the secretion of GH influences the response to rhGH therapy.Objective and hypotheses: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of rhGH treatment in NS patients, according to the presence of GH deficiency at the baseline.Method: We retrospectively collected data ...

Background: HbA1c was recommended as diagnostic tool in adults at risk for diabetes. In obese patients, HbA1c shows an association even with other features of metabolic syndrome. However, its value in pediatric population for this purpose has yet to be established.Material and methods: We determined HbA1c (IFCC method) in 307 overweight/obese children and adolescents (age 11.4±3.2; range 3.0–17.9 and BMI 27.9±4.7; range 20.4–47.6) val...

Background: Noonan syndrome (NS) is a congenital polymalformative disorder caused by aberrant up-regulated signalling through RAS GTPase. Although NS is associated with hematologic malignancies, no predisposition for neuronal tumors was reported so far.Objective and hypotheses: We describe two cases of young patients with NS and dysembryoplastic neuroepithelial tumor (DNET). This is the first case series reporting a rare type of intracranial tumor in NS....

Background: The prevalence of dysglycaemia is high among overweight children and adolescents. Current screening criteria with fasting laboratory values have low sensitivity to detect IGT. Fasting triglycerides (TG) >1.17 mmol/l has been proposed as a criterion for screening obese children and adolescents at risk for IGT.Aims and objectives: We aimed to compare the performance of different screening criteria for detecting IGT in obese and overweight c...

Background: An activation cascade of specific genes sets up the initiation of sex determination leading in males to testes formation and synthesis of testicular hormones. Disruption of this gene cascade may cause a spectrum of disorders/differences of sex development (DSD) phenotypes. Here we describe for the first time two sisters suffering from 46,XY DSD, who by whole exome sequencing were shown to carry a mutation in the X-linked StAR-related lipid transfer...

Disorders/differences in sex development (DSD) are defined as congenital conditions in which development of chromosomal, gonadal or anatomical sex is atypical. 46,XY DSD include defects in androgen synthesis or action or complete (CGD)/partial (PGD) gonadal dysgenesis. The aim of this study was to characterize the molecular genetic diagnosis of individuals with 46,XY DSD followed at Garrahan Pediatric Hospital.Medical records of 140 patients (P) followed...

Sex chromosome disorders, including sex chromosome mosaicism, result in a large clinical spectrum. There is scarce information about the histological pattern of these gonads.Aim: to characterize the histology and cell markers pattern in gonads of patients with chromosomal mosaicism.Gonadal biopsies from thirteen patients with chromosomal mosaicism, including chromosome Y were studied. Six were rearing as male and s...

The contiguous gene deletion syndrome, CAH-X, was reported in an 8.5% of Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH) patients with a TNXA/TNXB chimera. This results in deletions of CYP21A2 gene, encoding 21-hydroxylase necessary for cortisol biosynthesis, and TNXB, encoding the extracellular matrix glycoprotein tenascin-X (TNX). There are three TNXA/TNXB chimeras (CH1, CH2, CH3) that differ in the junction site, resulting in TNXB haploinsu...