ESPE Abstracts

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 ...

Background: Sclerostin is an inhibitor of the Wnt/b-catenin bone metabolic pathway. Increased sclerostin levels and reduced bone mineral density (BMD) have been documented in adult patients with diabetes mellitus (DM), predominantly in those with T2DM. No relevant data exist on childhood T1DM.Objective and hypotheses: Our aim was to study plasma sclerostin concentration in children and adolescents with T1DM and controls and to correlate sclerostin levels...

Background: Several bone metabolic pathways seem to be disrupted in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), leading to reduced bone mass.Objective and hypotheses: Our aim was to study bone metabolism markers in children and adolescents with T1DM and their correlation with bone mineral density (BMD).Method: We evaluated 40 patients (mean±S.D. age 13.04±3.53 years, mean±S.D. T1DM du...

Background: GH replacement therapy in children with GH deficiency (GHD) mainly promotes linear growth. There are few studies fully analyzed the metabolic consequences of GH therapy.Objective and hypotheses: To study the effects of GH replacement therapy on glucose metabolism in patients with GHD.Method: Sixty two children {mean age (S.D. 8.6 (3.3,) years; 35 boys, 10 SGA, 50 prepubertal who were under treatment with ...