ESPE Abstracts

Background: Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine disease among women of reproductive age with a prevalence of about 8% according to the Androgen Excess Society (AES) criteria. The pathophysiology of PCOS is not well understood and it is associated with a high prevalence of metabolic disorders. During puberty, irregular menses and acne are common, thus making the diagnosis of PCOS in adolescence challenging.Objective and hypothe...

Background: The hepatokine FGF21 signals through a dual receptor complex consisting of FGFR1c and the obligatory co-receptor β-Klotho to regulate glucose and lipid metabolism. Interestingly, female mice with Fgf21 transgenic overexpression are not only resistant to high-fat diet induced obesity but also present with hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (HH) and infertility. Loss-of-function (LOF) mutations in FGFR1 are a frequent cause of congenital HH (CHH). W...

Background: Despite the fact that pituitary stalk interruption syndrome (PSIS) is a frequent finding in children with combined GH deficiency (CGHD), clinical data are still limited and the growth response to GH treatment has not been evaluated in comparison with CGDH with a normal stalk.Objective and hypotheses: To report the clinical and hormonal findings and evaluate the short term growth response to GH in Belgian children with congenital non-syndromat...

Introduction: Differentiation between constitutional delay of growth and puberty (CDGP) and congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (CHH) during early adolescence is challenging, as patients exhibit a similar clinical picture and there are no definite clinical or biochemical markers that distinguish these 2 pathologies. A delay in diagnosis, especially for CHH, may have short and long-term health consequences. The aims of this study were: 1) To evaluate the u...

Background: For young adults with type 1 diabetes, transition from a paediatric setting to an adult care setting is a vulnerable period with risks for gaps in care. These emerging adults need to develop skills for managing their diabetes yet it is often challenging to cover all anticipatory guidance topics related to type 1 diabetes. In the context of a structured transition clinic, we hypothesized that by leveraging teens’ facility with technology and marketing/design we...

Background: Congenital Hypopituitarism (CH) is a rare heterogeneous genetic disorder characterized by the deficiency of pituitary hormones. CH can be associated with extra pituitary phenotypes such as midline craniofacial malformations. To date, a minority of patients carry pathogenic variants in more than 30 genes, and thus more than 80% of cases remain unresolved.Objective: To identify de novo pathogenic variants in no...

Introduction: Leri-Weill dyschondrosteosis (LWD) is caused by haploinsufficiency of the SHOX gene, located in the pseudoautosomal region (PAR 1) of the short arm of the X and Y chromosomes. The gene is expressed in highest levels in bone tissue and its product likely controls the chondrocyte apoptosis. Deletions and duplications are most frequent, point mutations are responsible for minority of the cases. The main clinical symptoms of LWD include disproportionate short stature...

Introduction: Premature ovarian failure (POF) is defined as a heterogeneous disease leading to amenorrhea and ovarian failure before the age of 40 years. It is found in 1-3% of women of reproductive age, with some negative consequences such as cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis and sexual dysfunction. Triple X syndrome is characterized by POF with primary or secondary amenorrhea, tall stature, large feet. Girls with triple X syndrome show accelerated growth ...

Background: The potential benefit of growth hormone (GH) therapy on health-related QOL (HQoL) of children with short stature related to GH deficiency (GHD) or smallness for gestational age (SGA) has not been well documented.Objective and hypotheses: Our objective was to assess potential disease and treatment related predictors for a poor HQoL in GH treated children. Children with male gender, SGA disorder, greater height deficit at start of GH and poor h...

Background: Precocious pubarche (PP), defined as the development of pubic hair before 8 years of age in females could be the first sign of a hyperandrogenic condition.Aim: The purpose of the study was to analyze the etiology of premature androgenization of girls with a history for PP and to evaluate their clinical, laboratory and ovarian ultrasound profile.Material and methods: A t...