ESPE Abstracts

Background: Severe hypertriglyceridemia, defined as triglyceride concentration greater than 11.2 mmol/L, predisposes to acute pancreatitis, a serious complication with mortality rate as high as 6.5% in children (1).Our case highlights the use of insulin infusion to rapidly lower the triglyceride level and the long term management in a young infant with familial chylomicronemia syndrome (FCS) due to lipoprotein lipase deficiency.<stro...

Acanthosis nigricans is a common skin presentation of insulin resistance. We may observe different forms of its sevirity. Pathogenesis of this disorder is correlated with an action of insulin to keratinocyte and dermal fibroblasts via interaction with IGFR1.We'd like to present a medical history of two patients admitted to our clinic because of severe acanthosis nigricans. Boys were at the age of 13 and 14 years. We diagnosed carbohydrate metabolism ...

Background: There are currently no specific growth charts for use in Nigerian children over the age of 5 years. Health workers rely on charts developed by the Center for Disease Control for children in USA (2000CDC US) or the UK 1990 growth charts for British children. It is unknown whether Nigerian children grow to the same height or at the same tempo as American or British children.Objective and hypotheses: To compare the growth of the Nigerian child t...

Background: Steroidogenic factor 1 (SF-1/NR5A1) plays a crucial role in regulating adrenal development, gonad determination and differentiation, and in the hypothalamic-pituitary control of reproduction and metabolism. In men (46, XY) mutations in SF-1/NR5A1 gene cause a wide phenotypic spectrum that ranges from complete testicular dysgenesis with Müllerian structures and amenorrhea, through individuals with mild clitoromegaly or genital ambiguity, to severe penoscrotal h...

Background: Individuals with androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS) have an increased risk for developing a germ cell cancer (GCC). The risk is low during childhood; therefore, gonads are commonly preserved until after puberty. Little is known about GCC development in AIS during adulthood. This question is particularly relevant as many adult AIS women decline gonadectomy.Objective and hypotheses: To gain insight in attitudes towards gonadectomy in various...

Background: The incidence of perinatal stress hyperinsulinism (PSHI) requiring diazoxide treatment is estimated to be 1:12,000 (Hoe et al., 2006). Diazoxide is used to treat PSHI, but it has been shown to have adverse effects including pulmonary hypertension. Gray et al, reported that of 1.25 million infants admitted to NICUs for hypoglycemia over a period of 18 years, only 1066 received diazoxide suggesting 1:1172 babies had HI however 92% o...

Background: Craniopharyngioma is a non-malignant embryonic tumour in the pituitary-hypothalamic area, associated with hypothalamic obesity. Dysfunctional parasympathetic nervous system activity has been proposed as one mechanism underlying alterations in energy metabolism. Arterial spin labelling (ASL) is a non-invasive MRI technique that quantifies brain tissue perfusion as a proxy for functional activity. Here, we measure cerebral perfusion in patients with ...

Background: The need to understand the relationship between bone, muscle, and fat within the bone-muscle unit has recently gained great prominence. Although high resolution (HR) MRI is a non-invasive imaging modality that can provide this information, there is limited expertise in children and young people.Objectives: To establish MRI-based normative data for bone, bone marrow adiposity and muscle adiposity in children a...

Background: Cis-gender females are known to mount stronger immune responses to invading pathogens or vaccines than cis-gender males. However, this is also associated with increased risk of autoimmunity. Little is known about the immunophenotypes of transgender individuals on gender-affirming hormonal treatment, despite growing evidence that hormones influence the immune system. Via the process of class-switch recombination (CSR), B-cell immunoglobulin isotype ...

Background: Spatial navigation is an essential human skill that helps individuals track their changes in position and orientation by integrating self-motion cues. Meta-analyses indicate that males, on average, perform better than females on a number of spatial tasks. Sex steroids, mainly androgens, modulate the remodeling of synapses in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus, a limbic brain area with critical influence on spatial and contextual memory. Androgen...