ESPE Abstracts

Background: DICER1 is an endoribonuclease that acts post-transcriptionally by processing mRNA into siRNA and microRNA, thus leading to mRNA downregulation. DICER1 syndrome is usually caused by germline variants and is characterized by a variety of benign or malignant tumors: pleuropulmonary blastoma, ovarian Sertoli-Leydig cell tumor, cystic nephroma, pituitary blastoma and multinodular goitre. Patients with germline aberrations in the DICER1 gene may carry additional...

Background: Nutrient deprivation during early development has been associated with the predisposition to metabolic disorders in numerous epidemiological studies. Experiments with rodents also indicate a developmental plasticity of neuropsychological characteristics following alterations of early postnatal nutrition.Objective: Considering its interaction with metabolism and regulation of appetite and behavior, the endocannabinoid system (ECS) may represen...

Background: Endocrine deficiencies, including impairment of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis (HPGA), are found in the majority of survivors of medulloblastoma, due to high-dose craniospinal irradiation and gonadotoxic chemotherapy. Data regarding HPGA function in survivors of medulloblastoma is limited to small groups of patients and focusses mainly on female survivors. Furthermore, few studies investigated specific risk factors such as treatment protoc...

Background: Molecular defects are rarely detected in Premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) patients.Objective and Hypotheses: We hypothesized that the frequency of causative molecular defects could be higher in cases with early onset of POI. Moreover, the analysis of multiple genes in the same POI group could disclose co-existence of more than one molecular aberration.Method: In 25 subjects, aged 17.1±7 years at POI onset, bid...

Rationale: Adequate nutrition is essential for normal growth in childhood and adolescence. The high growth rate during adolescence demands high amounts of energy and various nutrients. During puberty, unlike infancy and early childhood, boys and girls of the same age have gender-specific nutritional needs. Our aim was to examine the associations between the dietary intake of male and female adolescents and their anthropometric measures.<...

Objectives: To determine who spends more energy over a lifetime on maintaining their reproductive potential: men or women?Design: As a model and energetic equivalent, we set the mass of gametes supported over time from birth until exhaustion of fertility. We calculated gender-specific dynamics of gamete pool mass over time. To this purpose we collated data from existing literature, accounting for gamete volume over stage...

Background: Iodine deficiency is the most common cause of acquired hypothyroidism worldwide but rare in developed countries. Incidence of iodine deficiency may be rising due to increased popularity of vegan diets. There is minimal information on official health promotional webpages alerting to this risk.Case presentation: We present a 2.5yr old boy and his 6yr old sister from a family who adhere to a strict vegan diet and additional dietary restriction i...

Background: CTP-modified hGH (MOD-4023) has been developed for once weekly administration in GH deficient (GHD) adults and children. Immunogenicity samples of once-weekly s.c. administration of MOD-4023 were detected for the presence of binding and neutralizing anti-MOD-4023 Ab’s in pediatric Phase 2 study.Objective and hypotheses: During the first year of the study, 53 pre-pubertal GHD children were treated with once-weekly s.c. injections of one o...

Background: Atrioventricular (AV) conduction defects are rare but significant complications of hyperthyroidism. Beta-blockers and co-existent infection further increase the risk of such conduction abnormalities.Objective and hypotheses: We report the case of a 10-year old girl treated for tachycardia and hypertension associated with hyperthyroidism who developed symptomatic 2:1 heart block.Method: Our patient presented with a histo...

Background: Hypersexualized behaviour in the paediatric population is a rare phenomenon. The aetiology of paraphilia is not completely understood, but some studies suggest imbalance of the dopamine serotonin system. Paraphilia has also been described as a side-effect of treatment with monoaminooxidase inhibitors (MAOI) and dopamine agonists. Most of the currently used pharmacologic treatments of the paraphilias have serotonin and testosterone/dihydrotestosterone as their targe...