ESPE Abstracts

Introduction: Familial tall stature (FTS) is defined as height taller than +2 SD in a subject growing within his/her midparental height (MPH) with no apparent dysmorphic features. FTS is routinely not an indication for genetic investigation. However, some subtle dysmorphic features of various genetic disorders might be missed justifying the need for further investigation.Aims: To elucidate the genetic cause of FTS and to...

Introduction: For diagnosis of syndrome of hypoglycemia unawareness is used Clarke and/or Gold questionnaire. Frequency of this syndrome in children with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and its association with parameters of metabolic control including the CGM data are not well characterised.Aims and methods: The aim of our study was to find the prevalence of this syndrome in children with T1D (age 8-19 years) followed at our depa...

Introduction: Primary multiple pituitary hormone deficiency (MPHD) is caused by impaired development of the pituitary gland during the intrauterine period. Pathogenic variants in numerous genes affecting pituitary morphogenesis or differentiation have been proven to cause MPHD. However, in most people, genetic examination still fails to bring a conclusive finding explaining the cause of MPHD. The aim of our study was to identify the genetic aetiology of MPHD u...

Background: Subtle phenotypic differences have previously been described among children with varied genetic subtypes of Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) – 15q11-q13 paternal microdeletion, maternal uniparental disomy (mUPD), and rare imprinting center defects. The MKRN3 gene, located on 15q11.2, is a master regulator of pubertal initiation and is a candidate gene for abnormal pubertal development in PWS.Objective and hy...

Introduction: Monogenic Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a rare disease caused by pathogenic variant in a single gene leading to dysregulation of immune system. T1D is combined with other autoimmunity like immune cytopenias, inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis, atopic eczema, autoimmune thyroid disease etc in these patients. Pathogenic variants in the AIRE, FOXP3, LRBA, IL2RA, CTLA4, STAT3 and STAT1 genes have...

Introduction: Familiar short stature (FSS) is a common variant of growth with heterogeneous etiology. Children with FSS are often excluded from further check-up and treatment. However, significant number of children with FSS comply even with the European criteria for growth hormone (GH) therapy – patients with SHOX-deficiency, growth hormone deficiency (GHD) or these born short for gestational age (SGA). The aim of the study was to identify genetic etiology of short statu...

Background: Several lines of evidence suggest that the adult pituitary contains a population of tissue-specific stem cells capable of differentiating into hormone-producing cells. Previously, we have shown that Sox2+ve cells are able to self-renew and differentiate in vitro, suggesting that this population of undifferentiated cells may contain stem cells in vivo. When targeted with oncogenic mutations adult stem cells can become cancer stem cells, able to self-renew and give r...

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...

Thyroid hormone is the only hormone for which all babies are screened at birth. This is because it has been known for decades that the consequences of thyroid hormone insufficiency during postnatal development, cretinism, are severe and irreversible. However, the last 15 years have witnessed major, and unexpected, insights how thyroid hormone acts during prenatal brain development across vertebrates. For instance, even mild maternal hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism during ear...

Embryos initially form undifferentiated gonads, reproductive tracts and external genitalia that will progressively acquire female or male characteristics. This fate decision is initiated in the undifferentiated gonads and depends on sex chromosomes and fine-tuned expression of complex networks of molecular pathways. Defects at different levels of this cascade of events can trigger a large spectrum of Disorders of sex development (DSDs), defined as “congenital conditions w...