ESPE Abstracts

McCune Albright Syndrome (MAS, OMIM # 174800) is a rare congenital sporadic disorder with an estimated prevalence ranging from 1 in 1,00,000 to 1 in 100,000. MAS is caused by a post-zygotic somatic activating mutation of the GNAS1 gene resulting in an increased GSα protein signaling leading to hyperfunction of glycoprotein hormone receptors, autonomous cell proliferation, and hormonal hypersecretion. The mosaic constitutive activation of this signal transducer is clinical...

Summary Answer: Most primordial/primary oocytes were found to have a 46,XX karyotype. Chromosome patterns of the ovarian cells were different from that observed in other tissues.Background: TS is a chromosomal condition associated with partial or complete absence of one of the two X-chromosomes. Females with TS have a limited reproductive lifespan due to an accelerated loss of germ cells. It has been hypothesized that vi...

Disorders or Differences of sex development (DSD) are a heterogeneous group of congenital conditions, involving variations of chromosomal, gonadal, or anatomical development. Diagnosis is based on clinical, biochemical, imaging and genetic evaluation. In recent years knowledge about genetic causes has increased, mainly due to improved genetic techniques. In this study we investigated the yield of exome sequencing in our patients with DSD. Patients and methods: Genetic i...

Background: A reduced reproductive lifespan is one of the most significant implications for girls with Turner syndrome (TS) and is due to an accelerated loss of ovarian insufficiency. Lately, there has been a surge in scientific research aimed at whether ovarian tissue cryopreservation (OTC) is a viable option for fertility preservation in girls with TS. This required a unilateral ovariectomy for girls with TS who may already have a poor ovarian reserve.<p...

A 15-year-old boy, an active sportsperson, presented to an orthopaedic surgeon with a painful left elbow. He had no history of preceding trauma, had full range of motion of his elbow and was systemically well. Imaging demonstrated extra articular calcification at the distal humerus. Serum phosphate was elevated at 2.53mmol/l [1.10-1.80] with calcium 2.48mmol/l [2.10-2.60] and tubular reabsorption of phosphate of 94.6% [82-100%]. He was then referred for endocrine assessment, w...

An 11 year 8-month-old girl presented to her oncologist with recent voice change and increased leg hair growth. She had a past history of pelvic rhabdomyosarcoma in 2012, at age 2, with relapse and local metastasis at age 4. Prior to original tumour treatment, oophoropexy had been performed, aiming to prevent ovarian radiation exposure. At time of the new complaint, she was receiving a trial treatment. Puberty was reported to have commenced at age 10, with 6-months of increase...

Three patients from two unrelated families in Malta; one consanguineous (siblings: Patient 1, male and Patient 2, female) and one non-consanguineous (Patient 3, male), manifested hypogonadotropic hypogonadism with delayed puberty, intellectual disability, scoliosis, and ataxia with cerebellar hypoplasia on MRI. GnRH tests revealed low peak LH and FSH concentrations in the patients: Patient 1; LH 2.3 IU/L, FSH 4.4 IU/L (14.3y), Patient 2; LH 3.6 IU/L, FSH 6.4 IU/L (12.5y), Pati...

Introduction: Ghrelin binds to its receptor GHSR1A, encoded by GHSR, on somatotrophs of the pituitary. Growth hormone (GH) secretion is enhanced by ghrelin binding as well as the receptor’s constitutive activity. Results from in vitro experiments, knock-out mice, and GWAS suggest that heterozygous loss-of-function of GHSR may be associated with short stature, but observations in case studies are equivocal. We aimed to better ch...

Introduction: Among children with short stature, some show persistent IGF-I levels <-2.0 SDS despite a normal growth hormone (GH) response in a stimulation test. This may be caused by conditions that could benefit from recombinant human GH (rhGH) therapy (e.g. GH neurosecretory dysfunction, bioinactive GH, partial GH insensitivity). Therefore, the IGF-I generation test (IGFIGT) was implemented in 2006 using a national, standardized protocol. Children with a...

Background: Silver Russell syndrome (SRS) is a heterogeneous disorder characterised by intrauterine and post-natal growth retardation, relative macrocephaly, protruding forehead, feeding difficulties and body asymmetry. Variants in HMGA2 are a rare cause of SRS and despite strong evidence for the crucial role of HMGA2 in growth regulation, its functional role in human linear growth is unclear.Methods: Patients w...