ESPE Abstracts

Introduction: Longitudinal skeletal growth is achieved by enchondral ossification in epiphyseal growth plates (GP) of long bones and vertebrae. These highly organized cartilaginous tissues contain chondrocytes of all differentiational stages classified in three distinct zones named resting, proliferative and hypertrophic. Separated analysis of individual zones is essential in basic GP research thus efficiency of different zonal separation methods confers high ...

Introduction: Statural growth is regulated by multiple genetic, epigenetic and environmental mechanisms. The GH-IGF-1 axis was long believed to be the main linear growth regulator in children until more recent studies showed that the complex regulation of growth plate chondrocytes play an equal role. In order to extend our knowledge about the genes involved in short stature, we studied a unique cohort of children with short stature from consanguineous families...

Objective and hypotheses: The purpose was to get the basic data of optimum serum concentration of oestrogen in pubertal growth spurt, minimising the decrease of bone mineral density or acceleration of epiphyseal closure of long bones.Method: i). Fifteen female S.D. rats (4-week aged) were ovariectomised to inhibit their endogenous oestrogen effect and randomly divided into three groups. After 1 week, the group 1 were injected subcutaneousl...

Background: Growth Hormone (GH) plays an important role in linear growth and in bone turnover during childhood. GH deficiency (GHD) may cause secondary osteoporosis associated to low bone mineral density (BMD), impairment of bone turnover and increased fracture rate. The effects of treatment with recombinant human Growth Hormone (rhGH) on bone metabolism are controversial. We aimed to assess BMD using dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) among a cohort of children with GHD ...

Introduction: Knowledge of changes in bone-mineral metabolism in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is of particular interest, since in many patients bone metabolic disease is an epiphenomenon of the underlying pathology. Impaired bone mineralisation and diminished spinal bone mineral density (BMD) are reported in children with IBD, together with increased incidence of vertebral fracture. The short- and long-term implications of reduced BMD are especially important...

Background: However, no study has considered the effect of a supernumerary X chromosome on bone mineral status and bone metabolism.Objective and hypotheses: To evaluate bone mineral status and metabolism in a cohort of patients with nonmosaic triple X syndrome.Method: Nineteen girls (median age 10.9, range 7.7–15.9 years) with nonmosaic triple X syndrome were cross-sectionally studied and compared to an age- and body-size-matc...

Background: Despite the multiple endocrine, cardiovascular, and gastroenterologic problems of patients with Williams-Beuren Syndrome (WBS), Studies considering metabolism and bone quality in WBS are almost entirely absent from the literature.Objective and hypotheses: We evaluate bone mineral status and metabolism in a cohort of patients with WBS.Method: Thirty-one children (15 females, 16 male...

Background: Ten percent of children born small for gestational age fail to catch-up and remain short during childhood (SGA-SS). Several genes causing SGA-SS have been described, however, in most cases, the mechanisms of prenatal and postnatal growth impairment remain unknown.Aim: To decipher genetic etiologies within a large single-center cohort of SGA-SS children in order to better understand the pathophysiological mech...

Background: Children with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) need chronic glucocorticoid therapy, both to replace congenital deficit in cortisol synthesis and to suppress the overproduction of androgens by the adrenal cortex. High doses of glucocorticoid taken chronically might affect bone metabolism and lead to alterations of bone mass in this condition. In particular, they could increase bone resorption rate. Bone mineral density (BMD) by energy X-ray abso...

Background: PAPP-A2 (pregnancy-associated plasma protein A2) deficiency, caused by homozygous mutations in the PAPP-A2 gene results in a novel syndrome of significant growth failure. PAPP-A2 cleaves IGF binding proteins 3 and 5, thereby freeing IGF-I from its ternary complex and allowing it to become biologically active. We recently reported the first two families with PAPP-A2 mutations. Response to recombinant human IGF-I (rhIGF-1) in these patients is unknown.<p class="a...