ESPE Abstracts

Background: Patients with rare monogenic obesity caused by biallelic variants of genes such as proopiomelanocortin (POMC; including variants in PCSK1) or leptin receptor (LEPR) deficiency, experience hyperphagia (a pathologic, insatiable hunger) and early-onset, severe obesity. This suggests potential increased risk over time of obesity-related comorbidities, including metabolic syndrome, a cluster of conditions associated with increased risk of cardiovascular...

Growth hormone (GH) stimulates insulin like growth factor I (IGF I) release. IGF-I is the standard biomarker for monitoring GH effects during treatment and to achieve optimal long-term safety, and to a limited extent, monitor efficacy in children with GH deficiency (GHD). The IGF I profile during treatment with a long acting GH (LAGH), such as once weekly somapacitan (Novo Nordisk), differs from the daily GH profile by exhibiting larger peaks and troughs over the dosing interv...

Background: Very tall people attract a lot of attention and represent a clinically and genetically heterogenous group of individuals. Identifying the genetic etiology can provide important insights into the molecular mechanisms regulating linear growth.Methods and Results: We studied a three-generation pedigree with several isolated (non-syndromic) tall members by whole exome sequencing; the tallest man had a height of 2...

Background: Puberty onset results from the interplay between genetic and environmental factors. During COVID-19 pandemic, children experienced epidemic-related changes, such as stress, sedentary lifestyle, excessive use of electronic devices, all leading to weight gain.Objective: The aim of our study is to retrospectively evaluate the incidence of premature activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, as eviden...

Background: LUM-201, a potent long-acting oral GH secretagogue (GHS), acts on the GHS Receptor-1a to induce GH secretion. The best candidates for this investigative oral treatment are pre-pubertal children with moderate GHD (standard stimulation testing peak GH between ≥3 <10ng/ml) that respond positively to the LUM-201 Predictive Enrichment Marker (PEM) test (Bright et al JES, 2021). PEM positive responders have basal serum IGF-1 >30ng/ml and a peak ...

Background: Sequencing of Primary Ovarian Insufficiency (POI) cohorts have identified variants in >100 “POI genes” in up to 50% of women. Establishing pathogenicity of these variants is challenging. Whether early-onset POI (EO-POI; adolescent-onset) has a unique genetic profile remains unknown.Methods: We performed exome sequencing (Nonacus) in an EO-POI cohort (sporadic and familial) and unaffected family...

Somapacitan (Novo Nordisk A/S) is a long-acting GH derivative, approved for once-weekly administration in children and adults with GHD. IGF-I is monitored and includes a fraction bound to binding proteins, e.g., IGF binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3). The IGF-I/IGFBP-3 molar ratio can be used as surrogate marker for freely circulating bioactive IGF-I. REAL4 is a randomised, open-label, multi-national phase 3 trial (NCT03811535) with a 52-week main phase and a 3-year extension (week 5...

Introduction: Hypochondroplasia (HCH) is a form of mild dwarfism caused by heterozygous gain-of-function mutations in the fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3). FGFR3 is a negative regulator of endochondral bone growth, and individuals with HCH typically exhibit characteristics such as disproportionate short stature with shortening limb length, lumbar lordosis, and macrocephaly. Regarding recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) therapy in children with H...

Background/Aim: Congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI) is a group of genetic disorders characterized by impaired insulin secretion, resulting in recurrent hypoglycaemia. Aim of this study is to investigate the proteomic profile in tear samples in children and adolescents with congenital hyperinsulinism who are treated and followed up at our Division. The tears’ proteomic profile will be correlated with the clinical presentation and laboratory data of the patie...

Background: Escobar Syndrome (ES; OMIM #265000) is a rare condition falling under the spectrum of Multiple Pterygium Syndromes (MPS). MPS encompasses a group of congenital anomaly disorders characterized by features such as neck, elbows, and knee webbing alongside joint contractures (arthrogryposis). ES, specifically, represents a non-lethal variant stemming from homozygous or compound heterozygous mutations in the CHRNG gene. Noteworthy characteristics includ...