ESPE Abstracts

Background: Disorders of sex development (DSD) are often due to disruption of the genetic programs that regulate gonad development. Some genes have been identified in these developmental pathways such as DAX-1, SOX-9, GATA-4 and others. The GATA-4 gene, located on chromosome 8p23.1, encodes GATA-binding protein 4 (GATA-4), a transcription factor that is essential for cardiac and gonadal development and sexual differentiation. Congenital heart disease (CHD) and...

Context: The response to lifestyle modification (LSM) in children with obesity is variable and difficult to predict.Aim: A systematic search for molecular markers to predict outcomes of LSM in pediatric obesity management.Patients/Methods: Out of 240 children with obesity (BMI>97%) recruited to a prospective ‘multi-OMICS’ study granted by ESPE Research Unit, 159 subj...

Context: The response to lifestyle modification (LSM) in children with obesity is variable and difficult to predict.Aim: A systematic search for identifying common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to predict positive outcomes of LSM in pediatric obesity management, defined as decrease in BMI z-score (based on IOTF).Patients/Methods: Out of 240 children with obesity (BMI>97...

Aim: To develop a low cost formula as screening tool for identifying youths with overweight/obesity (OW/OB) at risk for impaired glucose tolerance (IGT).Methods and results: A retrospective observational study was performed in 1189 Caucasian youths with OW/OB aged 5-17 years, in whom information about family history for diabetes (FD), fasting glucose (FG), 2-hour glucose levels post-oral glucose tolerance test, alanine a...

Context: The unified approach for obese children can result in therapeutic failure as obesity is a symptom of several conditions. It was previously suggested that only children with obesity onset beyond age 6 years will develop the metabolic syndrome and T2D. In turn, early childhood obesity carries a few times less risk of adult obesity comparing to that with the onset during juvenility.Aim: We determine the clinical an...

Objectives: Subclinical hypothyroidism (SH) is the most common thyroid abnormality in Down Syndrome (DS) children (25-60%); its etiology remains still not completely clarified. Aim of this prospective multicenter study was to evaluate prevalence and natural course of autoimmune and non-autoimmune SH in a large cohort of DS children and adolescents.Methods: The study population included 101 DS patients with SH (TSH 5-...

Objectives: To evaluate the potential diagnostic role and sensitivity of T2-weighted DRIVE sequence in pituitary stalk (PS) identification and measurements in patients with hypothalamic-pituitary disorders. The degree of agreement and reliability between standard pre- and post-contrast T1-weighted images and T2-DRIVE will be tested in a large group of patients with pituitary dysfunction.Design: We searched for pituitary MRI reports using ‘T2-DRIVE&#...

Context: The traditional approach to childhood obesity management is lifestyle modification/LSM. Nevertheless, the response rate is variable and difficult to predict.Aim: A systematic search for markers to predict outcomes of simple LSM in pediatric obesity management.Patients/Methods: Out of 240 children with obesity (BMI>97%), recruited to a prospective ‘multi-OMICS’ study granted b...

Introduction: Type 1 Arnold Chiari syndrome (extension of cerebellar tonsils into the foramen magnum without involving the brain stem) causes ataxia, dysphagia, headache, breathing problems… So far, an association between Arnold Chiari and autoimmune diseases has not yet been described in literature.Case 1 description: M.V., on term third born, spontaneous delivery, non complicated pregnancy, normal physical and psychological development stages. He...

Background: The ‘External Masculinization Score’ (EMS) is an objective method of scoring undervirilized genitalia in infants but may require further adaptation to capture the appearance of the genitalia more comprehensively across the phenotypic spectrum.Objective: To develop and validate a non-binary, standardized score that describes the range of appearance of external genitalia.Method: The external genitalia score (EGS...