ESPE Abstracts

Introduction: Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (AIS) is the most common cause of Differences of Sexual Development (DSD) in 46, XY individuals. It is an X-linked genetic disease caused by allelic variants in the Androgen Receptor Gene (Xq11-12). Methods: Patients with clinical suspicion of AIS performed hormonal serum measurements (LH, FSH, estradiol, testosterone) and molecular sequencing of the AR gene, including exons and the 5’UTR region. Psychosexual variab...

Background and Aims: Long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA) are essential nutrients for the development of the fetus and are supplied by the mother through the placenta. Omega-6 arachidonic acid (AA) and both omega-3 eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docoshexaenoic acid (DHA) stand out for their functional roles. Recent studies show that the concentrations of these fatty acids in maternal blood and umbilical cord are associated with adiposity in the of...

Introduction: Aromatase excess syndrome (AEXS) is a rare, autosomal dominant disorder, characterized by enhanced extraglandular aromatization of androgens and estrogen excess. Genomic rearrangements in chromosome 15q21 are found to result in overexpression of the aromatase gene CYP19A1. In males it is characterized by pre- or peripubertal gynecomastia, hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, advanced bone age and short adult height. Only a few female patients have been...

Progeria syndromes are rare in children and include several diseases which lead to premature ageing already in children. Therefore, the pediatrician may be confronted with diseases which are normally seen only in persons with advanced age. We report about two children with progeria, in whom diabetes type 2 become manifest early and with a fulminant course in one patient. The first boy was known with Cockayne syndrome, which belongs to the progeria syndromes. He suffered from l...

Background: The BoneXpert method for automated determination of bone age from hand X-rays has always included a determination of the Bone Health Index (BHI) from the cortical thicknesses in the metacarpals.Objective and hypotheses: The aim was to extend this so-called digital X-ray radiogrammetry method into adults, and present reference curves for BHI and three other indices: the metacarpal index, the Exton-Smith index and the volume-per-area (proportio...

Background: The BoneXpert method for automated determination of bone age (BA) from hand X-rays was introduced in 2009, covering the Greulich-Pyle BA range up to 17 years for boys and 15 years for girls.Objective and hypotheses: To present an extension of the BA range of the automated method up to 19 years for boys and 18 years for girls and to validate it against manual rating.Method: The extension was developed based on images fro...

Background: In adults, autonomously functioning thyroid nodule (AFTN) rarely require cytologic evaluation and hyperthyroidism is often treated with radiojod (131J). In children and adolescents with AFTNs thyroid carcinoma was identified in about 10%.Results: An 17-year-old adolescent presented with symptoms of hyperthyroidsm. She suffered from agitation and headache. Thyroid function tests revaled a suppressed TSH (0.10 mIU/ml (reference range 0.51–...

Background: In vitro studies suggest a broader role for aldosterone, beyond elevating blood pressure. Clinical data support the notion that aldosterone can directly alter the function of the immune system and can participate in low-grade inflammation which leads to blood pressure elevation and end organ damage.Objective and hypothesis: To assess in humans, whether aldosterone plasma levels and mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) expression associate...

Objectives: Data on the role of gluten in type 1 diabetes (T1D) pathogenesis are scarce. We aimed to test whether gluten-free diet (GFD) can decelerate the decline in beta-cell capacity in newly diagnosed non-coeliac T1D children.Methods: Forty six children (aged 10.2±3.3 years) were recruited into this non-randomized self-selected intervention trial: 26 started with GFD, whereas 20 remained on standard diet. Main o...

Introduction: Thyroid hormones regulate body composition and metabolism, and are among the key drivers of body growth and maturation. In children, associations of cardio-metabolic measures with the circulating prohormone thyroxine (T4) have been extensively studied, but not with active triiodothyronine (T3). In apparently healthy children, we studied whether circulating free T3 (fT3) [and its ratio with free T4 (fT3/fT4)] associates with cardio-metabolic measu...