ESPE Abstracts

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain in disorders of sexual development (DSD) is still relatively scarce despite the opportunities it offers for understanding the influence of sex hormones on emotion and cognition. In this talk I will give an update on current structural and functional MRI research in different DSDs such as Klinefelter syndrome, Turner syndrome, Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia, or Familial Male Precocious Puberty. Finally, parallels will be drawn to cu...

Increased glycemic variability is an important risk factor in terms of complications independent of HbA1c. The aim of this study was; to investigate the relationship between continuous glucose monitoring system (CGMS) indices and clinical data, to investigate DNA damage in patients with diabetes and to evaluate the effect of glycemic variability on DNA damage. Fifty patients with T1DM, aged under 18 years old, who were followed up at least one year in Pediatric Endocrinology D...

Background: Fatty liver disease in children and adolescents is the most common cause of chronic liver disease in many countries. Criteria for a diagnosis of pediatric metabolic associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) are based on hepatic steatosis in ultrasound, blood biomarkers or liver biopsy in association with one of the three criteria: excess adiposity (overweight, obesity or abdominal obesity), prediabetes or type 2 diabetes, or evidence of metabolic dysr...

Introduction: Insulin (INS) gene is reported to be the most important gene involved in Type 1 Diabetes (T1D); its expression is inversely correlated with methylation at CpG sites. Hypermethylated primers are associated with decreased expression.Aim: The present study aims to investigate possible differences in DNA methylation pattern between T1D youngsters and healthy controls.Patients and Methods: Twenty T1D parti...

Puberty is a physical, hormonal and psychosocial transition from childhood to adolescence. Precocious puberty (PP) is the beginning of secondary sexual characteristics before eight years of age in girls. The most common type is known as “central precocious puberty (CPP)”. CPP occurs due to early activation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonad (HPG) axis. Although the real trigger for idiopathic CPP is unknown, it has been proposed that it may be caused by the interact...

The melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) pathway is critical for the regulation of hunger, energy balance, and weight regulation. Individuals who carry variants in MC4R pathway genes may present with early-onset severe obesity and hyperphagia. Historically, genetic testing in individuals with severe obesity has been limited. The Rare Obesity Advanced Diagnosis™ genetic testing program aims to enhance access to genetic testing for European individuals with suspected rare geneti...

Purpose: We aimed to determine the frequency and distribution of intracranial pathologies in patients over 8 years of age by evaluating MRI images of patients diagnosed with early puberty-rapidly progressive.Materials and Methods: The study comprised 118 female patients diagnosed with precocious puberty (PP) and rapidly progressive early puberty (RPEP). The onset of puberty in girls before the age of 8 years is defined a...

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: Anogenital distance (AGD) is an indicator of androgen action in utero. Reduced AGD has been found in males with hypospadias, cryptorchidism, low semen quality and infertility. Its usefulness as a clinical marker in patients with Disorders of Sex Development (DSD) is currently being investigated. However, detailed age, sex and method related reference ranges do not exist. Whether individual (body-size-adjusted) AGD is stable postnatally also remains to be e...

Triple A syndrome (AAAS) is a rare, incurable, recessive disorder, characterised by achalasia, alacrima, adrenal failure and a neurodegenerative phenotype. The AAAS gene encodes ALADIN, is a nuclear pore complex (NPC) protein necessary for nuclear import of DNA protective molecules, important for redox homeostasis. ALADIN’s role is not fully characterised: its discovery at the centrosome and the endoplasmic reticulum suggests a role outside the NPC. To date, the ...