ESPE Abstracts

Background: Intermittent breast budding (girls entering stage B2 and then subsequently regressing to B1) in healthy girls is a frequent phenomenon observed by most clinicians. However, little is known of normal progression of female puberty, and the phenomenon of transient breast development has, to our knowledge, never been studied in details.Objective and hypotheses: We present and validate the female Puberty Nomogram indicating age specific SD<...

Background: Prader–Willi syndrome (PWS) results from loss of paternally imprinted genes from the 15q11–13 region and causes hypotonia with weight faltering in infancy, followed later by obesity which is classically attributed to hyperphagia.Objective and hypotheses: To determine, where possible, the age at onset of unwanted weight gain (as opposed to actual obesity) in children with PWS attending a specialist clinic.Metho...

Introduction/Aim: Children with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) show alterations in infantile, childhood and pubertal growth. Growth Hormone (GH) therapy is recommended due to reported improvements in height velocity (HV) and body composition. The aim was to describe the patterns of growth in PWS and the influence of both changes in clinical practice and GH therapy.Methods: Height SDS (HSDS), BMISDS and HVSDS of children attending a dedicated PWS clinic, 200...

Introduction: Delayed or absent puberty is thought to be common in boys with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD).Objective: To evaluate testicular development, function and puberty in DMD in a 12 months prospective longitudinal study.Methods: Thirty-four boys had assessment of puberty and testes volume by a single endocrinologist. Testes volumes were converted to Z-scores adjusted for bone age. Boys were divided into group A [Baselin...

Background: Children born small-for-gestational-age (SGA) have a birth weight below 2,500 g at a gestational age over 37 weeks or a birth weight or length below the 3-rd percentile for gestational age. They usually recover growth during the first 6–12 months of life, but if not so, it is unlikely the recovery to happen after the age of two unless GH replacement therapy is initiated.Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the 1-st year growt...

Objectives: Age at menarche depends on genetic, environmental, epigenetic and other factors. Studies have shown that aspects of perinatal history, including birth weight, mode of delivery (caesarian section or vaginal delivery) and gestational week at birth influence the onset of puberty. The purpose of this study was to record the age at menarche in a sample of Greek girls and to correlate it with their perinatal history, the mothers’ age at menarche, t...

Introduction: Overgrowth syndromes comprise an heterogeneous group of rare disorders characterized by generalized or segmental excessive growth commonly associated with additional features, such as developmental delay, visceromegaly and macrocephaly. They may present with inherent health concerns and, in some instances, an increased risk of tumor development requiring prompt diagnosis and appropriate referral.Objective: ...

Background: Prader Willi Syndrome (PWS) patients under treatment with growth hormone (GH) have a better body composition and cognitive performance than untreated patients. The 2013 guideline recommended to start this treatment as soon as possible, for that reason 14 toddlers have been included in our center. Classically a 25% decrease in the caloric intake of PWS patients has been recommended to avoid obesity. However, from clinical practice observation, w...

Introduction: Body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) are the main anthropometric measures of obesity. However, their inability to take into account body fat distribution raises queries for their predictive value of insulin resistance (IR) in youth.Aim: The aim of this study is to compare BMI and WC with latest anthropometric indices in the assessment of IR in a paediatric Greek population with overweight and ...

Background: GH treatment is effective in improving adult height (AH) in short children born Small for Gestational Age. If SGA children are short at the start of puberty, they could benefit from combined GH/GnRH Analogue (GnRHa) treatment.Objective and hypotheses: To determine the timing and progression of pubertal development in short SGA children, comparing GH treatment with combined GH/GnRHa treatment.Method: For the present stud...