ESPE Abstracts

Background: The influence of intrauterine life on long term health is supported by a wealth of epidemiological and experimental studies. A low oxygen and/or nutrient supply to the fetus, resulting in intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), may affect gonadal development of the offspring, with a potential impact on fertility. Data derived from animal models of placental insufficiency are very limited.Objective and hypotheses: To investigate the effects of...

Background: In Italy monogenic forms of hyperglycemia account for more than 6% of cases referred to pediatric diabetes clinics. In January 2019 we started a Monogenic Diabetes Clinic (MDC) with the three main aims: a) implementing a standardized pathway towards genetic testing, 2) ease the revision of complex cases, 3) implement standardized therapies for monogenic diabetes mellitus (MDM) subtypes.Methods: Type 1 diabete...

Background: Currently, the diagnosis of GH deficiency (GHD) in infants and young children is based on the assessment of GH serum levels either during hypoglycaemia or after pharmacological stimulation tests. However, GH cut-off values have not been standardized and provocative tests may be unsafe in this age range.Objective and hypotheses: Brain MRI may replace GH measurements in diagnosing GHD in infancy and young childhood.Method...

Early life events can profoundly affect an individual’s metabolic phenotype, inducing adaptive responses that may be protective in utero but potentially disadvantageous for long-term health. Indeed, environmental cues during sensitive windows of development may result in altered growth and lead to an increased risk of cardiovascular and metabolic alterations later in life. In this talk, I will discuss several models of exposure to early life events, which were th...

Decreased resting metabolic rate (RMR) is a risk factor for the development and progression of obesity. Childhood obesity is accompanied by the development of metabolic disorders, which often persist in adults. The relationship between the rate of basal metabolism and development of childhood obesity complications is not well understood.Objective and hypotheses: Measure resting metabolic rate in obese children and assess the pronouncement of metabolic di...

Introduction: Noonan syndrome (NS) is an autosomal dominant disorder that involving multiple organ systems, with an incidence of 1:1,000 to 1:2,500.The clinical features as short stature, dysmorphic facial features, congenital heart defects most commonly pulmonary valve stenosis, typical chest, cryptorchidism. The PTPN11 gene is located on the long arm of chromosome 12q24.1 and encodes for the non-receptor protein tyrosine phosphatase SHP-2 (SHP2), generating ...

Background: Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a complex, multisystem disorder and is the most frequent cause of syndromic obesity that arises from lack of expression of paternally inherited imprinted genes on chromosome 15q11-q13. Its major clinical features include neonatal hypotonia, short stature, developmental delay, behavioral abnormalities, hyperphagia, childhood onset obesity, hypothalamic hypogonadism, and characteristic appearance.Case history: We ...

Background: Patients with Turner’s syndrome (TS) develop osteoporosis, resulting from chromosomal deficiency and estrogen deficiency by gonadal dysgenesis.Objective and hypotheses: The aim of this study was to assess bone mineral density (BMD) and parameters of bone remodeling during somatropin therapy in prepubertal girls with TS.Population and/or methods: We examined 22 girls with TS of the age of 11–15 years (the mean ...

Background: Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a complex multisystem genetic disorder arising from lack of expression of paternally inherited imprinted genes on chromosome 15q11–q13. Hyperphagia represents one of the most serious symptoms of the PWS, leading to develop premature mortality.Objective and hypotheses: To compare orexigenic (ghrelin) and anorexigenic factor (brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)) concentration in non-GH-treated obese pati...

Background: The gastrointestinal (GI) tract plays a central role in maintaining energy balance and body weight regulation. These functions are mediated by the secretion of gut hormones, including ghrelin, cholecystokinin (CCK), peptide YY(PYY), oxyntomodulin (OXM) and many other hormones. Some of them are orexigenic hormones that promote food intake, while others act as satiety signals and enhance insulin secretion from the pancreatic beta cells. Current evide...