ESPE Abstracts

Background: Precocious puberty (PP) in girls is most frequently an idiopathic gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH)-dependent PP, being thelarche the typical first sign. It is well established that increased dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS) levels are associated with premature adrenarche and may characterize PP too. However, its relationship with signs of hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis activation and estrogen exposure is still to be elucidate...

Background: Childhood NT1 has been associated with endocrine disorders like obesity and precocious puberty. These comorbidities may challenge the diagnosis, require tailored treatments and call for a multidisciplinary approach.Objective and hypotheses: To evaluate the impact of type 1 narcolepsy (NT1) on anthropometric and endocrine features in childhood/adolescence, focusing on weight, pubertal development and growth, and their follow up in treated and ...

Background: T3-P-GD, a severe, rare disorder well known in adults, has not previously been described in children. It is characterized by persistently high serum fT3 concentration and normal, or even low, fT4 concentration during drug treatment. This condition is associated with very high titers of TRAb and large goiters, but its pathogenesis remains unclear. The recognition of this form of GD in children is of particular importance, as higher antithyroid ...

Background: Rathke’s cleft cysts (RCC) are benign lesions of the pituitary gland, remnants of Rathke’s pouch. RCC have rarely been reported in children and adolescents and are usually known as asymptomatic but some cases may be associated with hormonal disturbances.Objective and hypotheses: The aim of the study was to assess the characteristics and frequency of endocrine disturbances in children with RCC.Method: We retros...

Pituitary gigantism is a rare disorder caused by excess of GH/IGF-1 due to GH-secreting lesions, that occurs before epiphyseal closure leading to increased linear growth. These cases have more aggressive features of pituitary disease than sporadic acromegaly, including a younger age at disease onset and larger tumor size, and they can be challenging to treat. Over the past two decades several molecular defects that cause GH-secreting pituitary adenomas have been identified, in...

Background: SHOX encodes a transcription factor implicated in skeletal development. Approximately 70% and ~2.5% of Leri-Weill dyschondrosteosis (LWD) and idiopathic short stature (ISS) patients, respectively, have a defect in SHOX or its regulatory regions.Objective and hypotheses: i) To perform SHOX mutation screening in a cohort of 585 patients referred with a clinical suspicion of LWD or ISS. ii) To determine which is the <e...

Background: Short stature is one of the most common presentations to paediatric endocrinologists. It is estimated that despite all the exams, in 50–90% of cases, children are labeled as having idiopathic short stature. It has been recently reported that genetic ACE2 deficiency is associated with reduced body weight as well as with impaired gestational weight gain and fetal growth restriction in pregnancy. It has been argued that ACE2 deficiency, which...

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...

Introduction: The European Registries for Rare Endocrine Conditions (EuRRECa) was created in collaboration with the European Reference Network on Rare Endocrine Conditions (Endo-ERN), the European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology and the European Society of Endocrinology to support the needs of the endocrine community.Aim: To describe the patient population and data entered in the EuRRECa Core Registry between June 2...