ESPE Abstracts

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in obese children is a diagnostic challenge. Presently recommended markers of liver steatosis and risk of progression to fibrosis are: ultrasound imaging (US) and liver aminotransferases (ALT and AST). Owing to the poor sensitivity of these tests, there is a need to search for biomarkers which could indicate early stages of NAFLD. The enhanced liver fibrosis test (ELF) based on the combination of serum concentration of hyal...

Background: The contribution of mutations in paired box domain (PAX8) gene in children with congenital hypothyroidism (CH) and thyroid dysgenesis (TD) still remains a subject of interest of researchers. While quantitative PCR and direct sequencing concentrate on single gene fragment analysis and identification of point mutations, multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) analysis might improve the detection rate of PAX8 mutations in patients wit...

Background: An abnormal blood pressure (BP) circadian rhythm, and in particular a non- dipping phenomenon is associated with increased cardiovascular and cerebrovascular health risks. In patients on steroid replacement therapy non physiological substitution may affect the BP profile.Objective and hypotheses: i) to evaluate the circadian BP profiles of patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) on steroid replacement therapy, ii) to compare BP pro...

Background: Prolonged severe hypothyroidism due to Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) is a rare cause of pituitary hyperplasia (PH) in children. Loss of thyroxine negative feedback causes a TRH-dependent hyperplasia of pituitary thyrotroph cells resulting in adenohypophysis enlargement. A transdifferentiation of pituitary somatotroph cells into thyrotroph cells could explain growth failure in those patients. We report a case series of patients with growth impairment diagnosed...

Introduction: The Covid-19 pandemic drastically modified social life and lifestyle in particular among children and adolescents, promoting sedentary behaviors and unhealthy eating habits. In this scenario, the effectiveness of the outpatient approach for pediatric obesity may decrease.Objectives: Aims of this study were to assess the rate and the factors associated with outpatient drop-out by comparing two groups of chil...

Background: systematic data about endocrinopathies in Rett syndrome (RTT) patients are still scarce and not univocal.Objective: to assess the prevalence of endocrinopathies in a pediatric population of RTT patients.Design: retrospective observational single center study.Methods: 29 caucasian patients (28 girls,1 boy) with genetically confirme...

Background: in general population Hurthle cell cancer (HCC) accounts for 3-7% of all differentiated thyroid cancers (TC) with a more aggressive course, while its relative prevalence and behavior in childhood is uncertain due to the lack of specific literature reviews.Objective: to describe the largest pediatric HCC cohort to date reported and to estimate its relative prevalence among TC variants in childhood.<p c...

Introduction: Growth depends on growth hormone (GH) secretion and on individual sensitivity to its action. The effects of birth parameters on growth and metabolic status are well documented in small-for-gestational-age children, but in children with GH deficiency those associations are not clear. Taking into account that GH-deficient children are not a homogenic group of patients, the importance of an individual approach to GH doses and the assessment of the e...

Introduction: It is well known that low birth weight in children (born small for gestational age, SGA) predisposes them to the occurrence of obesity, insulin resistance (IR) and lipid disorders, observed even through the whole first decade of life. Thus, early diagnostics and prevention are very important. The HOMA index is used to assess insulin resistance (IRIHOMA). However, in some cases, high, prolonged postprandial insulin secretion is observed...

Insulinoma is a rare neuroendocrine tumor, usually benign, but can be life-threatening in causing hypoglycemic accidents. It presents in individuals aged between 8 and 82 years and can occur sporadically or constitute a part of multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN-1).The nonspecific-symptoms and small size of these tumors led to difficulties of diagnosis and localization.Here we describe the case of a 11-year-old boy, who came to our attention for a ...