ESPE Abstracts

Pediatric obesity is constantly increasing and exposes to serious cardiovascular and metabolic risks. The first treatment against obesity is lifestyle change. Actually, any intervention seems to be effective on the evolution of this condition, especially in the long term. For this reason, the interest in non-pharmaceutical compounds is growing. Several studies mentioned the use of zinc and inositol as compounds acting on weight loss and insulin resistance. The aim of this stud...

V.C. was referred to our Centre for short stature. The mid-parental target height was 153 cm (-1,6 SDS). Her mother had one spontaneous abortion and displayed mild short stature (151,5 cm). Her father had Arnold Chiari syndrome type 1 and was 165,9 cm tall. V.C. was delivered at term after in-vitro-fertilization pregnancy with intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) from gestational week 21. Birth weight was 2160 g (SGA, SDS -3,17); length was 45 cm (SDS -2,92); head circumfere...

We report rhGH-treatment results in a 14-yrs-old SGA patient with spondylo-epi-metaphyseal chondrodysplasia. The patient carries a rare de novo eterozygous variant of COLA1 (c.1510G>A, P.Gly 504Ser) associated with a rare AD spondylo-epiphyseal dysplasia. Born at term after olygohidramnios-complicated pregnancy, SGA for weight and lenght, the patient has showed a post-natal reducing growth with regular cognitive development. At the age of two height was -4 SDS, with parenta...

Short stature is a frequent disorder in the pediatric population caused by multiple possible reasons. One of them it can be the mutation of the ACAN gene, with an autosomal dominant transmission, which also correlates with accelerated bone maturation and early osteoarthritis up to bone dysplasia. A 10.8-year-old patient came to our observation for poor statural growth (125.8 cm, -2.6 SDS) with a parental target of 150.4 cm +/- 8 cm (-2 SDS), on Triptorelin braking therapy, sin...

Background: Human GH is a heterogeneous protein hormone consisting of several isoforms, the most abundant being 22 kDa- and 20 kDa-GH. The availability of analytical methods to measure these GH isoforms might represent a valuable diagnostic tool to investigate GH secretion in short stature.Objective and hypotheses: Aim of the present study was to measure circulating levels of 22 kDa- and 20 kDa-GH in children with different diagnosis of short stature suc...

Introduction: Peripubertal children with delayed puberty frequently display a poor growth rate prompting endocrine work-up. Whether priming with sex steroids should routinely be performed in these patients to improve specificity of growth hormone stimulation tests (GHST) is unclear. Treatment with sex steroids in constitutional delay of growth and puberty (CDGP) is also debated.Patients and Methods: This multicenter retr...

Background/Aims: Short stature is a common reason for presentation to paediatric endocrinology clinics. Getting to a diagnosis of short stature is a multi-step, complex process of tests that only in a few cases save a diagnosis. As genetic plays a strong role in height, we sought to identify known and novel genetic causes of short stature.Methods: We recruited 18 children with severe short stature, we conducted whole exo...

Introduction: Although there are several studies on the incidence of congenital hypothyroidism (CH), there are few data showing incidence and evolution of CH detected by the second newborn screening (NBS).Objectives: To assess the incidence of CH in Lombardia region and the percentage of patients identified by the 2ndNBS. To describe the clinical features and evolution of CH patients detected by the 2nd</...

Background: National and international guidelines recommend thyrotropin (TSH) determination as the most sensitive test for detecting primary congenital hypothyroidism (CH) in newborn screening programs. A strategy of a second screening at 2 weeks of age, or 2 weeks after the first screening was carried out, is also recommended in preterm, LBW and VLBW neonates, twins, neonates admitted in NICU, and babies with specimen collection within the first 24 hours of life [1–3]. H...

Background: α-klotho is a transmembrane protein which can be cleaved and act as a circulating hormone. Since low α-klotho levels were found in organic GH deficiency (GHD) and high levels in acromegaly, an interaction between α-klotho, GH and linear growth has been suggested.Objective and hypotheses: We investigated the role of α-klotho protein as a reliable marker of GH secretion in short children and the factors influencing its secre...