ESPE Abstracts

Introduction: Primary Pseudotumor cerebri (PPTC), also known as idiopathic intracranial hypertension, is clinically characterized by increased intracranial pressure in an alert and oriented patient, with no evidence of deformity or obstruction of the ventricular system on neuroimaging. Cerebrospinal fluid analysis is normal except for increased intracranial pressure at lumbar puncture, greater than the 90th percentile (28 cm of H2O) in the pediatric population. Papilledema may...

Background: Childhood obesity is one of the most prevalent and challenging health care concerns. In this context, insulin resistance (IR) is an important disorder with strong association with metabolic (type 2 diabetes, hypercholesterolemia) and cardiovascular (hypertension, atherosclerosis) outcomes. Clinical trials have been showing Metformin as an effective drug on reducing the IR and BMI. However, there is little data on use of metformin in children....

Background: Thyroid function in preterm infants is often altered for various reasons. LBW or VLBW newborns frequently present a particular form of congenital hypothyroidism (CH) characterized by low FT4 and delayed TSH elevation. The incidence of this disease is 1:250 for VLBW babies and 1:1589 for LBW newborns. In this condition, neonatal screening based solely on TSH can miss the diagnosis, therefore some screening programs have proposed to repeat the screening te...

Background: Different studies have underlined the role of anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) and inhibin B as markers of the ovarian function in paediatric and adolescent patients with Turner syndrome (TS).Objective and hypotheses: Our study aims to verify the role of AMH in a cohort of patients affected by TS.Method: We analysed 23 TS patients, aged 2–34 years, describing their auxological parameters and the pubertal developme...

Background: Thyroid hormones (TH) play multiple effects on glucose metabolism. Some recent studies carried out in adult patients suggested an association between altered sensitivity to TH and type 2 diabetes, obesity, and metabolic syndrome. No studies are currently available on the presence of altered sensitivity to the action of TH in youths with prediabetes.Objective: To evaluate the relationship between sensitivity t...

Background: Achondroplasia (ACH), the most common short-limbed skeletal dysplasia, is characterized by impaired endochondral ossification resulting from gain-of-function pathogenic variants in the fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3) gene, a negative regulator of endochondral bone growth. People with ACH are at risk for several significant co-morbidities, including brainstem compression due to foramen magnum stenosis, sleep-disordered breathing, chronic...

Early identification of monogenic obesity, a rare condition, is quite challenging for pediatricians. Src-homology-2 (SH2) B adapter protein 1 (SH2B1) is an important component in the leptin-melanocortin pathway and it is found to play an important role in leptin and insulin signaling. In humans a rare deletion of a 220-kb region on chromosome 16p11.2 encompassing approximately 9 genes, including the SH2B1 gene, is associated with a highly penetrant form of isolated severe earl...

Background: Terminal or interstitial deletions of Xp (Xp22.2→Xpter) in males have been recognized as a cause of contiguous gene syndromes showing variable association of apparently unrelated clinical manifestations such as Leri-Weill dyschondrosteosis (SHOX), chondrodysplasia punctata (ARSE), mental retardation (NLGN4), ichthyosis (STS), Kallmann syndrome (KAL1), and ocular albinism (GPR143).Case reports: We report ...

Introduction: We report a series of three siblings, two girls and one boy, diagnosed with Central Precocious Puberty (CPP) respectively at the age of 5.66, 6.67 and 8.5 years, carrying a mutation in the gene encoding the makorin RING finger protein 3 (MKRN3), usually responsible for the development of familial CPP.Methods: We diagnosed CPP in all the patients by performing a GnRH test. We also dosed basal levels of LH, F...

Background: Extra Uterine Growth Restriction (EUGR) represents a serious comorbidity in infants born very low birth weight (VLBW). In fact, failure in postnatal growth and malnutrition at vulnerable ages can interfere with growth recovery and neurodevelopment at older ages.Hypothesis: Aim of the study was to assess whether and how the postnatal early growth patterns of VLBW may affect later growth, spontaneous motility a...