ESPE Abstracts

Background: rhGH therapy may improve linear growth in children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Poor bone health and abnormal body composition are recognised complications in paediatric IBD.Objective and hypotheses: To investigate the effects of rhGH on bone health and body composition.Method: Sub-analysis of 13 children with IBD (12CD; 1UC) in a randomized controlled trial. Either rhGH (0.067 mg/kg per day) as daily s.c. inj...

Background: GH is fundamental in skeletal growth during puberty, however detailed studies of body composition analyses in adolescents with GH deficiency on GH therapy are scarce. Moreover, there are few studies on the psychologic aspects of hrGH therapy in this population.Objective and hypotheses: In this case-control study, we investigated differences in body composition based on bio-impedance measurements between adolescents with idiopathic GH deficien...

Background: There is currently no published study evaluating the role of the IGF axis on bone development following anti-tumour necrosis factor (TNF) therapy in Crohn’s disease (CD).Method: Prospective, 12-month study in 19CD(12M) who were clinical responders to antiTNF therapy, median age 14.9 years (range 11.2–17.2). IGF1, insulin growth factor binding protein 3(IGFBP3), acid labile subunit (ALS), bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BALP) and...

Background: Decreased bone density using DXA is reported in mixed cohorts of testosterone treated and testosterone naïve men with Klinefelter syndrome (KS). Bone mass and body composition in men with congenital anorchia (CA) have never been previously reported.Objective and hypotheses: Men with KS and CA treated with testosterone from adolescence have normal bone mass and body composition.Method: Whole-body DXA and tibial (66%...

Background: Obesity in adulthood is associated with shorter leukocyte telomere length, a marker of biological age that is also associated with age-related disorders, including cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus.Objective and Hypotheses: To investigate the relation between BMI in childhood and adolescence and telomere length, by determining the mean telomere length of leukocytes.Patients and Method: Seven hundred fo...

Background: Based on growth screening rules, severe short stature (i.e. height SDS less than -3), at the age of more than 3 years, warrants diagnostic evaluation in specialized health care. In the absence of apparent underlying cause, targeted and eventually untargeted genetic studies have been proposed. However, the etiology of short stature at the severe end of the spectrum is poorly characterized.Methods: We ...

Background: Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) related to genes encoding the FSHβ subunit and FSH receptor (FSHB/FSHR) affect FSH production (FSHB c.-211G>T) and receptor sensitivity/expression in vitro (FSHR c.2039A>G & FSHR c.-29G>A). FSHR c.2039A>G, but not FSHR c.-29G>A, is associated with increased FSH levels in adult women, while there are conflicting results on F...

Background: The anogenital distance (AGD) is defined as the distance from the anus to genital tubercle. AGD is an established method for sex determination of pups in rodents, and in animal studies, AGD is strongly affected by androgen exposure during fetal life. In accordance, human studies have reported reduced postnatal AGD following prenatal exposure to anti-androgenic agents, suggesting AGD to be a sensitive postnatal read out of in utero exposure...

Background: Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF-21) is a complex molecule involved in lipid and glucose metabolism. FGF-21 shares biochemical pathways and sites of action with thyroid hormones. Current data correlate FGF-21 levels to thyroid function. The aim of the present study was to investigate possible associations among FGF-21 levels, resting metabolic rate (RMR), lipidemic profile and L-thyroxin replacement therapy treatment in children and adolescents wit...

Introduction: Adolescent obesity is often characterized by comorbidities with cardiovascular effects in adulthood. Treatment options for these conditions are limited during adolescence. Basic research in animals and clinical data in adults have shown that Crocus Sativus (Krokos Kozanis) has a beneficial effect on dyslipidemia, obesity and type 2 diabetes.Aim: The study of the lipidemic profile in fasting state, in adoles...