ESPE Abstracts

Background: Congenital hypopituitarism (CH) is a group of disorders characterized by deficiencies in one or more hypophyseal hormones and a marked variability in genotype-phenotype correlations. Central diabetes insipidus (DI) is caused by a decreased release of ADH and results in a variable degree of polyuria. Their association is normally found in congenital cerebral midline abnormalities, such as septo-optic dysplasia.Objectiv...

The obesity epidemic continues to be a dramatic problem in the developed world despite attempts to curtail its rise. Reducing energy intake and/or increasing energy expenditure can result in weight loss; however, if one returns to their poor lifestyle habits the previous weight is not only recuperated, but often surpassed.We hypothesized that although a normal body weight may be achieved, the hypothalamic circuits controlling appetite and energy expendit...

Background: IGF1R is a keystone of foetal growth regulation by mediating the effects of both IGF-I and IGF-II. Recently the first clinical cohort of patients carrying an IGF1R defect has been reported from which a clinical score was established for diagnosis. Since no external validation of this score is available we assessed it in a large cohort of patients with identified IGF1R defects. Furthermore we aim at setting-up a functional test to ...

Introduction: The main role of Vitamin D (VitD) is the regulation of calcium, which is also regulated by the parathyroid hormone (PTH), and phosphate metabolism. The main source of the more biologically active 25-hydroxy-Vitamin D3 (25OHVitD3) comes from the action of ultraviolet light on the skin.Aim: To determine if there are differences in concentrations of 25OHVitD3, calcium and PTH in school-aged children throughout...

Introduction: Previous studies have demonstrated that hypertension may begin early in the life. Under physiological conditions, the Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System (RAAS) is highly variable due to variations in salt intake and other factors, making it difficult to interpret results. We measured aldosterone and renin, and compared them with sodium and potassium excretion in a normotensive pre-pubertal population.Methods: A cross-sectional study was ...

Background: Insulin/IGF1 signaling plays a critical role in central glucose bioavailability and lipid metabolism. An increase in glucose disposal can generate reducing agents through the pentose-phosphate pathway necessary for the synthesis of free fatty acids (FFA). Disturbances in lipid synthesis are related to the appearance of insulin resistance and diabetes. The insulin receptor substrate 2 (IRS2) deficient mice (IRS2−/−) is an excellent model to st...

Background: DMRT transcription factors are highly conserved regulators of metazoan sexual development. The role of DMRT1 in human primary sex-determination is unclear. Chromosome 9p deletions that remove one copy of DMRT1 are associated with 46,XY feminization and gonadal dysgenesis. While they suggest that DMRT1 is haploinsufficient for testicular development, these deletions usually remove other genes, including DMRT2 and DMRT3. Also, most 9p deletions cause incomplete gonad...

Background: Severe deficiency of 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 (11βHSD2) triggers activation of mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) by cortisol and causing apparent mineralocorticoid excess (AME) syndrome characterized mostly by low-renin arterial hypertension and hypokalemia. In 2003, we studied a patient with AME (3 years-old) having two homozygous mutation, D223N (rs121917833) and a SNP C>T in intron 3 (rs376023420) (Carvajal et al. JCEM 2003).<p cla...

Background: 25-OH vitamin D levels in newborns depend directly on their mother’s status. In a previous study, 25-OH vitamin D levels were determined in cord blood in a cohort of women after winter months, showing deficient values in 94% of population (mean 25-OH vitamin D value 10.4±6.1 ng/ml). Correlation between low 25-OH vitamin D levels and low sun exposure, dark skin phototype and Indo-Pakistani ethnicity were observed.Objective and hypoth...

Background: Very tall people attract a lot of attention and represent a clinically and genetically heterogenous group of individuals. Identifying the genetic etiology can provide important insights into the molecular mechanisms regulating linear growth.Methods and Results: We studied a three-generation pedigree with several isolated (non-syndromic) tall members by whole exome sequencing; the tallest man had a height of 2...