ESPE Abstracts

Background: Pycnodysostosis is a very rare autosomal recessive skeletal dysplasia caused by cathepsin K deficiency. It is characterized by extreme short stature resulting in an adult height in males typically <150 cm and in females <134 cm. Bone-fragility and frequent fractures are present. There are few case-reports on the effects of GH treatment.Objective: To evaluate the effect and safety of GH in 6 patients wit...

Background: Hypoparathyroidism (HP) is the most common first endocrinopathy in patients with autoimmune polyendocrinopathy-candidiasis-ectodermal dystrophy syndrome (APECED or APS1), an autosomal recessive condition caused by mutations in the AIRE gene. Treatment of HP has not changed over the decades and parathyroid hormone is used only rarely.Aim: To describe clinical characteristics and course of HP in a cohort of patients with APECED and eva...

KBG syndrome (OMIM 148050) is a an emerging autosomal dominant disorder caused by heterozygous mutations in the ANKRD11 gene or deletions of 16q24.3, characterized by developmental delay, short stature, dysmorphic facial features and skeletal anomalies. Patients and methods: We report 22 patients with dysmorphic features, learning disabilities, behavior problems and macrodontia, where a clinical diagnosis of KBG was suspected. An ANKRD11 defect was confirmed in 12 patients. In...

Background: Sitosterolemia is a rare autosomal recessive disorder characterized by intestinal hyperabsorption and decreased biliary excretion of dietary plant sterol, due to mutations in adenosine-triphosphate (ATP)-binding-cassette (ABC) transporter family (ABCG8 and ABCG5).Case report: A 7.86 years old boy was referred to the Childhood Lipid Clinic due to incidental finding of hypercholesterolemia: total cholesterol 524 mg/dl (13.54 mmol/l), LDL-choles...

Background: With improvements in assays and an increasing need for non-invasive out-patient based investigations, there is a renewed interest in the use of urinary gonadotrophins (uGn) for assessing pubertal progress.Objective and hypotheses: This study aims to establish the correlation between serum and urinary LH and FSH in patients with pubertal concerns.Method: 36 boys and girls aged 14.9 years (range 7.8–17.3) and 9.5 yea...

Background: Growth is a complex process influenced by several genetic factors both pre and postnatal, in which 80% of the height variation is explained by genetic factors. Nevertheless, the standard medical evaluation of short stature (SS) relies upon physical examination and laboratory parameters and identifies a pathological cause of SS in 1–40% of individuals. Recent advances in genetic diagnosis are revolutionizing the clinician’s ability to obtain a molecular di...

Introduction: About 15% of children born small for gestational age (SGA) do not reach final height within normal range. Recombinant human growth Hormone (rhGH) has shown to be effective in catching up growth velocity and height in children born SGA.The objective of our study is to identify the predictive factors of final height in children born SGA treated with rhGH.Materials and Methods: Monocentric, retrospective s...

Background: Heterozygous pathogenic variants in the ACAN gene underlie disproportionate short stature with characteristically accelerated bone age (BA) maturation and/or osteochondritis dissecans (OD)/early-onset osteoarthritis (OA).Objective: To describe the phenotypic spectrum and assess the response and safety of growth hormone (GH) treatment in children with a heterozygous pathogenic ACAN variant.</...

Introduction: Patients carrying homozygous IGF1 loss-of-function mutations are extremely rare and show severe pre- and postnatal growth failure, microcephaly, developmental delay, retrognathia and sensorineural deafness. Heterozygous variants in IGF1 appear to be more common in short stature, but only few cases have been reported in detail. Therefore, clinical features and growth response to recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) therapy are...

Introduction: Pseudo-precocious puberty may be triggered by either endogenous or exogenous sex steroids. Accidental ingestion of contraceptives, anabolic steroids or life style products containing sex steroids as well as transdermal transmission of topical sex steroids may cause early onset of secondary sexual development.Objective: To report the clinical course of incidental contamination with topical sex steroids in ch...