ESPE Abstracts

Background: Combinations of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) have been successful in treating males with hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (HH). The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of corifollitropin alfa (CFA), a long-acting FSH analog, combined with hCG to induce testicular growth and pubertal development in adolescent males with HH.Methods: This was a 6...

Introduction: Improvements in the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) have increased survival, with the consequent concern about the long-term effects that childhood chemotherapy may have on ovarian function. AMH constitutes an indirect, reliable biomarker of the ovarian reserve, useful for the assessment of cancer therapy-related ovarian damage.Aim: To evaluate small ovarian f...

Background: Hypogonadism has been associated with cardiovascular disease. However, little is known about the cardiovascular impact of hypogonadism during development. Using hypospadias as a surrogate of hypogonadism, we investigated whether hypospadias is associated with vascular dysfunction during childhood and whether it is a risk factor for adult cardiovascular disease.Methods: Our human study spanned molecular mechan...

Background: Primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) affects 1% of women and is associated with significant medical consequences. In approximately 10% of cases, POI presents early with absent puberty or primary amenorrhoea. A genetic cause for POI can be found in up to 30% of women. Identified genes often relate to the complex biological processes occurring in fetal life which underpin normal ovary development and function in later adulthood.Objective: We aim...

Background and hypothesis: Mitochondrial disorders are multisystemic conditions associated with sensorineural hearing loss, encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis, and non-autoimmune diabetes. The majority of molecular etiologies involve mutations in the genes encoding the oxidative phosphorylation system's components. Superoxide generation is significantly increased and causes oxidative damage in the affected tissues in these disorders. The establishment of ...

Background: Dyslipidaemia is related with the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis in children, and the total cholesterol (TC) and non-high density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C) are commonly used screening tools for identifying children with dyslipidaemia. The triglyceride-to-high density lipoprotein cholesterol (TG/HDL-C) ratio has recently been reported as a marker of insulin resistance in obese children and adolescents.Objective and hyp...

Background: The short stature homeobox-containing (SHOX) gene, located in the telomeric pseudoautosomal region 1 (PAR1) on the short arm of both sex chromosomes, is important for linear growth.Objective and hypotheses: The aim of our study was to evaluate the presence of SHOX gene deletions/point mutations in children with short stature in order to understand the role of SHOX gene in idiopathic short stature (ISS) and estimate its frequency.<p class=...

Background: Inter-individual differences in the metabolism of cortisol have been postulated to emerge during puberty, and might be explained by a complex interplay of genetic and environmental factors. The aim of the current study was to estimate the relative contributions of genetic, shared environmental, and unshared environmental factors on cortisol metabolism in a longitudinal twin cohort assessed at pre-pubertal, mid-pubertal and post-pubertal ages....

Background: Polymorphisms in several genes may be associated with a higher risk of obesity and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).Objective: To examine the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) −238G>A, −1031 T>C and −863 C>A of Tumor Necrosis Factor-α (TNFA) gene; rs738409 C>G of patatin-like phospholipase domain containing 3 (PNPLA3) gene; +276 G>T and +45 T>G of Ad...

Background: Cholesterol levels are variable throughout childhood and adolescence. The attention not only to conventional lipid profiles but also to non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C) and triglyceride to HDL-C ratio (TG/HDL-C ratio) are becoming more apparent in pediatric lipid studies because of their clinical importance.Objective and hypotheses: The aim of the present study was to establish age- and gender-specific reference values for...