ESPE Abstracts

Background: We are not aware of other longitudinal cohort studies of boys with prepubertal assessment of exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and annual long term follow-up of growth and puberty to evaluate semen quality.Objective: To describe semen quality and explore associations of prepubertal serum concentrations of organochlorine compounds and pubertal measures with semen parameters in an ongoing longitudinal cohort study of Russian boy...

Background: DICER1, a ribonuclease, cleaves non-coding small RNA precursors to generate mature microRNAs (miRNAs), of ~21 nucleotides in length. MiRNAs alter gene expression post-transcriptionally by directly binding to mRNA transcripts and subsequently down-regulating gene expression. It is estimated that expression of ~30–70% of all mammalian protein-coding genes are regulated in this manner.Method: Sequencing of DICER1 in various tumors, accompan...

The human adrenal cortex produces a wide range of steroids that includes aldosterone, cortisol and a variety of 19 carbon (C19) steroids; the most studied being DHEA. In humans, adrenarche is the endocrine developmental process manifested by an increased adrenal output of DHEA. This phenomenon corresponds with the expansion of the zona reticularis of the adrenal gland. However, the physiological mechanisms that trigger adrenarche remain elusive. Our research focuses...

Metformin was the first and only drug approved in 1999 for use in youth with type 2 diabetes (T2D) based on a small, randomized clinical trial. Insulin was also approved but this was based only on the effective use of insulin in children with T1D. For more than 20 years, no new drugs had been approved for use in pediatric T2D based on a randomized study. A major reason why many of the new drugs have not been approved in pediatrics is that adolescents with T2D are difficult to ...

Background: Birth weight (BW) is often used as a proxy for gestational age (GA) by studies on preterm birth. Recent data indicate that the terms very-low-birth-weight (VLBW; BW <1500 g) and very preterm (VP; GA <32 weeks) birth are not equivalent with regard to perinatal outcomes and postnatal growth up until final height. It is unknown whether the differences between these terms could be extended to long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes.Objectiv...

Background: Preterm newborns are at risk of becoming transiently hypothyroxinaemic, which has been associated with neurodevelopmental impairments in childhood. It is not known whether these associations persist into adulthood.Objective and hypotheses: We studied the relation between transient hypothyroxinaemia of prematurity and IQ, neuromotor functioning and problem behaviour at young adult age.Method: This was a prospective study...

Context: Severe forms of growth hormone insensitivity (GHI) are characterised by extreme short stature, dysmorphism and metabolic anomalies. They are classically caused by homozygous or compound heterozygous mutations of the growth hormone receptor gene (GHR). Genetic analysis traditionally focuses on the exonic regions of genes that encode proteins rather than the intervening non-coding sequences. These seldom explored non-coding regions may harbour ...

Introduction: Hypoferraemia is the most common nutritional deficiency worldwide and a leading cause of potential developmental disorders in children. Obesity seems to be associated with this condition, but it is still unclear if it is caused either by depleted iron stores, diminished availability, or both.Aim: To analyse the relationships between childhood obesity, iron metabolism and inflammation....

Congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI) is rare disease which prevalence is estimated as 1:2500 to 1:50000 born newborns. Main reason of the disease are genetic mutations in genes responsible for regulation of insulin secretion. First line treatment is diazoxide therapy.Our patient was diagnosed with CHI at the age of 2 months. Biochemical tests prooved diagnosis of CHI. He presented lack of negative feedback and secreted pathologic amount of insulin – dur...

Background: AHDS is a devastating disease caused by defects in the thyroid hormone (TH) transporter MCT8. Endocrine expression is heralded by systemic hyperthyroidism with elevated serum T3, mildly increased TSH and decreased T4. However, the brain is hypothyroid, causing severe psychomotor retardation. Therapeutic attempts with PTU+levothyroxine or the T3-analogue DITPA could normalize TH derangements but without any neurological improvement. ...