ESPE Abstracts

Background: Li-Fraumeni Syndrome (LFS) is an autosomal dominant hereditary cancer syndrome associated with germline pathogenic variants in in the TP53 gene and high risk of a broad range of early-onset malignancies. The 70-77% of LFS associated tumors are: breast cancer, soft-tissue sarcoma, brain tumor, osteosarcoma and adrenocortical carcinoma. However, ovarian, pancreatic and gastrointestinal track tumors are also LFS-related. The patients with LFS are at risk for a second ...

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory disease affecting children and adolescence. The traditional therapeutic options for AD, including emollients topically and immune modulatory agents systemically focusing on reducing skin inflammation and restoring the function of the epidermal barrier, are proven ineffective in many cases. Several studies have linked vitamin D supplementation with either a decreased risk to develop AD or a clinical improvement of the symptoms of...

Background: Third generation aromatase inhibitors (AI) have never been used as monotherapy, except for Mc Cune-Albright syndrome and autonomous ovarian cysts, to increase predicted adult height (PAH) in girls, mainly due to the theoretical concern of hyperandrogenism. Our previously published GAIL study [J Endocrinol Invest. 2016 Apr;39(4):439–46] has shown that the combination of anastrozole to an LHRH analogue for 24 months is safe and effective in ameliorating PAH in g...

Backgound: Alopecia areata (AA) or Alopecia Totalis (AT) is an autoimmune disease directed at the hair follicle, either limited to patchy hair loss over the scalp (focalis), or as total loss of scalp hair (totalis) or as total loss of both scalp and body hair (universalis). Management can be challenging, and despite multiple treatment modalities, no therapy still stands. While localized AA may respond well to topical corticosteroids, many patients require more aggressive secon...

Background: The nuclear receptor (NR) family comprises three main subfamilies: the steroid hormones receptors, the thyroid/retinoid hormone receptors and the orphan receptors. Proteins within the NR family share common domain architecture. These closely related receptors and their cognate ligand compounds play a key role in homeostasis, reproduction, growth and development. Despite their biological significance, their evolution and diversification remains to be elucidated....

Background: Hormonal replacement in boys with congenital HH remains a challenge. Micropenis has been traditionally successfully treated with 3 monthly injections of testosterone enanthate before the age of 2, but when bilateral cryptorchidism coincides, surgery is required. But even after a successful surgery, the hypoplastic testes with the deficient proliferation of immature Sertoli cells, due mainly to the lack of the male mini-puberty in the neonatal period as well as the ...

Background: Cytochrome P450 side-chain cleavage enzyme (CYP11A1 gene) catalyses the conversion of cholesterol to pregnenolone in steroidogenic cells, the first step in the biosynthesis of all steroid hormones. SCC deficiency has been established as an autosomal recessive disorder caused by inactivating homozygous or compound heterozygous mutations in the CYP11A1 gene, with a wide phenotypic spectrum ranging from prematurity, complete underandrogenization and severe early-onset...

Background: In premature adrenarche (PA) children bone age (BA) may be greater than chronological age (CA), however final height is usually within target height (TH).Objective and hypotheses: Aim of the study was to evaluate the evolution of BA in girls with PA.Method: We studied retrospectively the files of 60 girls with PA followed in our unit. Anthropometric data and Tanner pubertal status were determined in each visit and BA wa...

Background: Cataract as a chronic complication of diabetes is well established in the literature and the risk factors are also well known. However, rare cases of acute bilateral cataract have been reported, all of them happening relatively shortly after diagnosis in T1DM. While the pathophysiology of this phenomenon remains unclear – as a lot of different theories proposed so far with the most accepted being the osmotic stress induced oxidative damage – fail to expla...

Background: Studies have shown that PAI-1 4G polymorphism is related to increased plasma PAI-1 levels, obesity, dyslipidaemia and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in adults. Few studies have explored that relationship in overweight/obese (Ow/Ob) children/adolescents.Objective and hypotheses: We investigated the relation between plasma PAI-1 levels, PAI-1 4g polymorphisms and lipid profiles in Ow/Ob children/ adolescents compared with healthy normal ...