ESPE Abstracts

Background: A multidisciplinary team (MDT) intervention may improve severe obesity in children through education and life-style change.Objective and hypotheses: MDT intervention leads to improvements in clinical measures of obesity.Method: Participants were selected by criteria: <16 years old; BMI >3.5SDS or BMI >2.5 SDS with obesity-related co-morbidity. Children and their families, attended intervention sessions over ...

Background: Prolonged poor dietary habits can result in hypothalamic inflammation and gliosis with more recent studies suggest that other brain areas may also be affected. Western or high fat diet intake has been associated with increased cognitive impairment and aberrant feeding behavior, with males and females being differentially affected. The hippocampus participates in both of these functions. Saturated free fatty acids can induce astrocyte inflammation and this could pot...

Despite the fact that patients with diabetes and medical staff are doing their best to achieve tight glycemic control, most patients all over the world do not achieve the goal. Good glycemic control is crucial to prevent diabetes related complications as well as hypoglycemic episodes, seizure, coma and death. The Diabetes wiREless Artificial Pancreas ConsortiuM (DREAM) was established by three diabetes centers in Slovenia, Germany and Israel, with a goal to reduce the risk of ...

The McCune–Albright syndrome can be a disease of striking complexity, the management of which can be challenging. However, an understanding of the physiologic consequences of the underlying molecular and developmental biology makes the evaluation and treatment of this disease relatively straightforward. MAS arises from activating mutations in the ubiquitously expressed cAMP-signaling protein, Gsα. The mutations occur very early in development, prior to gas...

Osteoclasts are bone-resorbing cells important in normal growth plate development and bone remodeling. The development of osteoclasts is potently driven by mononuclear RANK and osteogenic cell RANKL interaction. Denosumab is a monoclonal antibody drug that targets RANKL and inhibits osteoclastogenesis. It is a potent and effective treatment for pathologic processes that involve bone resorption, such as osteoporosis and bone metastases, conditions for which it is approved. Deno...

Background: Timing of puberty is associated with height, cardiovascular health and cancer risk, with a significant public health impact. Previous studies estimate that 60–80% of variation in the timing of pubertal onset is genetically determined. Self-limited delayed puberty (DP) often segregates in an autosomal dominant pattern, but the underlying genetic background is unknown.Methods: We performed whole exome sequencing in 52 members of 7 families...

Innervation of the hypothalamic median eminence by Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone (GnRH) neurons is vital to ensure puberty onset and successful reproduction. However, the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying median eminence development and pubertal timing are incompletely understood. Here we show that Semaphorin-6A is strongly expressed by median eminence-resident oligodendrocytes positioned adjacent to GnRH neuron projections and fenestrated capillaries, and that Sem...

Background: The need to understand the relationship between bone, muscle, and fat within the bone-muscle unit has recently gained great prominence. Although high resolution (HR) MRI is a non-invasive imaging modality that can provide this information, there is limited expertise in children and young people.Objectives: To establish MRI-based normative data for bone, bone marrow adiposity and muscle adiposity in children a...

Abnormal DNA methylation contributes to tumor progression and is emerging as a prognostic marker in several types of cancers. To investigate whether DNA methylation is associated with pediatric adrenocortical tumor (pACT) presentation and patient prognosis, we analyzed the methylation profile of 57 tumors (MethylationEPIC BeadChip Array-Illumina) and patients’ clinicopathological features and outcome. The study comprehended 40 girls and 17 boys, with median age at diagnos...

Background: It is well known that growth hormone (GH) brings about several effects, involving bone, body composition, lipids and glucose homeostasis. However, the complex interplay between these parameters is rather poorly studied in children with childhood-onset-GH deficiency (CO-GHD).Objective and hypotheses: To investigate lipids, adipokines (leptin- adiponectin- resistin) and glucose homeostasis and their relationship with bone and body composition i...