ESPE Abstracts

In this study, we conducted a clinical, genetic, and molecular profiling of a Han Chinese family with evident of matrilineally-inherited obesity. Obesity was evident in 2/6 matrilineal relatives in a single generation of this family (of 3 available generations). When the mitochondrial DNA of these individuals was sequences and a pedigree analysis was performed, we were able to identify a novel homoplasmic mutation of the mitochondrial tRNAGly gene (10029A>G) in t...

Background: Alterations in DNA methylation status of specific genetic loci may affect gene expression, thus leading to autoimmunopathies.Objective and hypotheses: This study aimed to investigate possible differences in DNA methylation pattern between type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) youngsters and healthy controls.Method: Ten T1DM participants and 10 age-/gender-matched controls were enrolled. DNA was extracted from white blood cell...

Objective: Low birth weight and prematurity are linked to various behavioural outcomes. In addition, preterm (PT) infants show altered maturation of pituitary–gonadal axis, as demonstrated by its pronounced transient activation during the first postnatal months. Given that gonadal steroid hormones shape the basic processes of neural and behavioural sexual differentiation these elevated sex steroids in premature infants might affect the developing brain and alter subsequen...

Introduction: Complex and ordered intracellular signal pathways play a significant role in sex determination in mammals, mediating the balance of gonadal development. A major pathway involved in the regulation of the male development is mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway. To date, mutations of MAP3K1 gene have been found to account for approximately 15%-20% of 46, XY gonadal dysgenesis (46, XY GD)....

Background: The predictive value of a random cortisol measurement in the neonatal population with suspected adrenal insufficiency is unknown.Objective and hypotheses: i) determine the indications for measuring cortisol; ii) review subsequent management; and iii) establish predictors for adrenal insufficiency.Method: A laboratory database search identified cortisol results in babies <1 year from three neonatal units between Sept...

Background: Butyrate is a short-chain fatty acid closely related to the ketone body β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) considered as the major source of energy during prolonged exercise. During fasting, when the liver switches to fatty acid oxidation, a rise in serum GH occurs concomitantly with the accumulation of BHB and short chain fatty acids (SCFA) acetate, propionate and butyrate. Interactions between GH, ketone body and SCFA during the metabolic adaptation to fasting are poor...

Background: Thyroglobulin (Tg), a protein synthesized uniquely in the thyroid gland, may be elevated in primary congenital hypothyroidism (CH) due to increased TSH drive, absent in true athyreosis and Tg deficiency, and very elevated in some types of dyshormonogenesis.Hypothesis: Serum Tg at the time of newborn screening may reflect the amount of thyroid tissue present in apparent athyreosis and thyroid ectopia, and henc...

Introduction: Congenital nasal pyriform aperture stenosis (CNPAS) is an increasingly recognised cause of upper airway obstruction associated with holoprosencephaly, of which solitary median maxillary central incisor (SMMCI) is the least severe form. Studies have described pituitary abnormalities in up to 40%. We aimed to determine the use of baseline endocrine investigations and MRI brain in assessing endocrine dysfunction.Method: Retrospective casenote ...

Background: Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) comprises a group of autosomal recessive disorders caused by defects in one of the several adrenal steroidogenic enzymes. 80–95% of CAH are due to mutations in CYP21A2 gene encoding 21 hydroxylase. Its residual activity defines the clinical form. Except deletions and large gene conversions, nine pseudogene-derived mutations are responsible for 95% of all CAH alleles. The mutational distribution varies between diffe...

Gonadotrophin Releasing Hormone agonists (GnRHa) are used in the management of true precocious and early onset puberty. They have been associated rarely with severe adverse effects such as slipped capital femoral epiphysis, sterile abscess formationand anaphylaxis. Anaphylactic reactions had been reported at a low incidence rate. They can occur early or late after starting treatment or be recurrent after an injection due to the analogue's long half-life.The allergic reacti...