ESPE Abstracts

This talk will discuss general issues about Copeptin, (e.g. physiology, normal values in children and adults), and the value of Copeptin in vasopressin-dependent fluid disorders, i.e. in patients with diabetes insipidus on the one hand and in patients with the syndrome of inappropriate antidiuresis (SIAD) on the other side. Arginine Vasopressin (AVP) is a peptide composed of 9 amino acids that is synthesized in the hypothalamus. The physiological function of AVP is homeostasis...

Introduction: Sulfation is required for the metabolism of numerous compounds, including proteoglycans, steroid hormones, neurotransmitters, toxic chemicals, and drugs like acetaminophen. The sulfate transporter SLC13A1 is responsible for the intestinal absorption and the renal reabsorption of inorganic sulfate, but loss-of-function mutations in this gene have never been described in man. Here, we describe a male with a biallelic loss-of-function variant, i.e.,...

Background: Human scalp hair is a valuable matrix for determining long-term cortisol concentrations, with wide-spread applicability in clinical care as well as research. However, pediatric reference intervals are lacking.The aim of this study is to establish age-adjusted reference intervals for hair cortisol in children aged 0-18 years and to gain insight into hair-growth velocity in children up to 2 years old.Methods: A...

Background: Patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) are treated with life-long glucocorticoid (GC) replacement therapy. Negative effects on cognition, brain structure and function during working memory tasks have been identified. To date, no studies on functional connectivity during rest have been performed in patients with CAH. One study conducted on patients with Cushing’s syndrome, another disorder of cortisol imbalance, suggests that long-t...

Title: The making of the EndoWatch: A new device for Early Monitoring of Hypothalamic imbalances. Hulsmann S, Petras S, Fraboulet P, Yuan Lu, van Santen HM (on behalf of the EndoWatch team) Keywords: Paediatric and adolescent cancer survivors, Brain tumour, Quality of Life, Wearable, Hypothalamic Obesity Main goals: Aim for better quality of lifeIntroduction: Children and adults with a suprasellar (hypothalamic)...

Introduction: Monogenic diabetes (MD) accounts for at least 3% of all pediatric diabetes cases. MD is often misdiagnosed as type 1 or type 2 diabetes, because of its wide phenotypic spectrum. While clinical and biochemical parameters can suggest MD, a definitive diagnosis requires genetic analysis. We conducted a broad study to diagnose MD cases. Then, with the gained knowledge, we designed a new diagnostic to...

Background: Growth hormone therapy can be indicated for children who are born small for gestation age (SGA) (either birth weight or birth height < -2 SDS) without catch-up growth (height < -2.5 SDS) at age 4 years. Growth hormone therapy is considered a safe treatment.Case presentation: A 12-year-old girl was referred to the pediatric endocrinologist for short stature. She was born small for gestational age (birth ...

Background: ROHHADNET syndrome is characterised by rapid onset childhood obesity, hypoventilation, variable hypothalamic-pituitary and autonomic dysfunction, and neuroendocrine tumors in 30–40%. Autoimmunity and paraneoplastic syndrome have been proposed as possible pathophysiological mechanisms, but the exact aetiology remains unclear.Objective and hypotheses: We present the clinical course of ROHHADNET syndrome in a 17-year-old girl, with consecut...

Differences of sex development (DSD) occur in about 1 in 3000 newborns in Switzerland. The indication and timing of genitoplasty in children with DSDs is a complex issue. In 2012 the Swiss National Advisory Commission on Biomedical Ethics published its position against early irreversible interventions in order to "normalize" the aspect of the external genitalia.We report the case of a child with a 46,XX DSD due to a classical form of congenital a...

Background: Monogenic diabetes (MD) remains undiagnosed in more than 90% of the cases. However, precise, quick and cost-effective diagnosis is important to choose an adequate treatment and to avoid long-term complications.Objective and hypotheses: To develop and validate a diagnostic tool to improve diagnosis rate of MD in Switzerland, as well as to open new research directions.Method: Targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) of 3...