ESPE Abstracts

Background and Aims: Gestational obesity can cause metabolic programming in the offspring. Epigenetic modifications of DNA have been suggested as potential mechanisms underlying this programming. FRAT-1 is a gene involved in the WNT signaling pathway, which is an important regulator of adipose tissue development. The objective of this work was to study the methylation status of FRAT-1 in placentas of women with either normal weight or gestati...

Background and Aims: Long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA) are essential nutrients for the development of the fetus and are supplied by the mother through the placenta. Omega-6 arachidonic acid (AA) and both omega-3 eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docoshexaenoic acid (DHA) stand out for their functional roles. Recent studies show that the concentrations of these fatty acids in maternal blood and umbilical cord are associated with adiposity in the of...

Introduction: Congenital hypopituitarism is a heterogeneous disorder with isolated hormone deficiency(IPHD) or combined(CPHD). Main risk factors for CPHD include H-P abnormalities such agenesis corpus callosum(ACC), anterior pituitary hypoplasia(APH), ectopic posterior pituitary(EPP), pituitary stalk interruption(PSI), septo-optic dysplasia(SOD), and holoprosencephaly(HPE).Patients and Methods: Prospective and longitudin...

Introduction: Differential diagnosis of partial arginine vasopressin deficiency (P-AVPD) and primary polydipsia (PP) can be challenging. Arginine-stimulated copeptin concentrations have been used to differentiate between arginine vasopressin deficiency (AVPD) and PP, setting a copeptin value of 3.8pmol/L at 60 min as a cut-off point in adults.Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of the arginine-stimulated test ...

Introduction: Thyroid hormones regulate body composition and metabolism, and are among the key drivers of body growth and maturation. In children, associations of cardio-metabolic measures with the circulating prohormone thyroxine (T4) have been extensively studied, but not with active triiodothyronine (T3). In apparently healthy children, we studied whether circulating free T3 (fT3) [and its ratio with free T4 (fT3/fT4)] associates with cardio-metabolic measu...

Background and aims: Studies in adults and experimental animals suggest an inverse and bidirectional relationship between cognitive abilities and obesity. Clinical studies on cognition and obesity in children are scarce and methodologically heterogeneous. Indeed, various factors related to obesity including diet, physical activity, socioeconomic status and maternal obesity can affect neuropsychological development. We aimed to study the cognitive function in s...

Introduction and objectives: Imprinted genes have been broadly related to prenatal growth regulation. PEG10 is a maternally imprinted gene involved in cellular proliferation that is mainly expressed in the placenta and in some adult tissues. In mice, mutations in this gene have been related to growth restriction of both the embryo and the placenta. Nevertheless, its role in postnatal growth has not yet been established. We aimed to study prospectively the rela...

Introduction: Thyroid dyshormonogenesis (TD) is a heterogeneous group of genetic diseases caused by the total or partial defect in the synthesis or secretion of thyroid hormones. It presents clinical heterogeneity, from subclinical hypothyroidism (SH) to goitre. The clearer understanding of the pathways and enzymatic activities involved in the synthesis of thyroid hormones has allowed us to identify an important number of causal genes. Defective organification...

Introduction: The thyrotropin receptor (TSHR) has a key role in the thyroid gland. It is involved in folliculogenesis, differentiation, organogenesis, and thyroid hormone synthesis and production. Its genetic defects can cause poor differentiation (thyroid dysgenesis) and/or thyroid malfunction (thyroid dyshormonogenesis, TD). Therefore, its phenotype spectrum is wide, ranging from severe congenital hypothyroidism (CH) to mild hyperthyrotropinemia. Some hetero...

Introduction: Inactivity in children is associated with cardiometabolic risk, while physical activity improves cardiometabolic health. We aimed to determine the association between epicardial fat (Efat), interventricular septal and left ventricular posterior wall thicknesses (IVSthickness and LVPWthickness) with physical activity/inactivity, non-sedentary/sedentary behavior, body composition, and cardio-metabolic parameters in children classified as being: ina...