ESPE Abstracts

Background: The effects of GH deficiency (GHD) and GH replacement therapy (GHRT) on body composition and functional measures of physical fitness are largely unknown particularly in children.Study aim: To evaluate body composition, muscular strength and flexibility, and exercise tolerance in GHD children at baseline and after one-year GHRT.Patients and methods: We enrolled 19 children and adolescents with untreated ...

SHOX gene haploinsufficiency is a well-documented cause of short stature and skeletal abnormalities; SHOX duplications appear very rare and of uncertain clinical significance. If relatively extended, they can result in SHOX overexpression with normal or tall stature. Partial SHOX duplications seems to have a more deleterious effect on skeletal dysplasia and short stature than complete SHOX duplications. MLPA (Multiplex Ligation-dependent Probe Amplification) analysis of SHOX/P...

Purpose: Patients with growth hormone deficiency (GHD) show low fitness levels before GH treatment is started. Muscular strength, flexibility and postural stability are related to health and quality of life. Since it is widely recognized that physical activity increases GH secretion and GH could ameliorate fitness, if a high adherence to treatment is documented (1), the purpose of this study is to investigate any difference on posturographic parameters and mus...

Purpose: Needs in terms of quality of life (QoL), consisting of physical, emotional and social domains, represent a hot spot in idiopathic short stature (ISS). Between ISS, it is estimated that 12% can have SHOX deficiency. Furthermore, SHOX deficiency can affect posture and GH treatment ameliorate their QoL. Although scientific research has investigated many fields of the physical domain, very few studies highlighted how this pathological condition may af...

Homozygous mutation of Insulin receptor (INS-R) gene cause an extremely rare disease called Leprechaunism, and induce intrauterine growth restriction with poor postnatal growth, hyperinsulinemia, postprandial hyperglycaemia, pre-prandial hypoglycaemia, typical facies, lack of subcutaneous fat, thick skin, hypertrichosis, macrogenitosomia in males. The survival is severely compromised in these patients. Treatment with diazoxide could ameliorate glycaemic control, however these ...

Background: The association between primary hypoparathyroidism and celiac disease (CD) is uncommon in paediatrics, even more if they are not part of an autoimmune polyglandular syndrome (APS, almost exclusively type II). We describe a case of autoimmune hypoparathyroidism coexisting with celiac malabsorption.Objective and hypotheses: Valentina was a 7 year old female child when she was admitted in hospital because she had generalized seizures at home. Sh...

Background: Adolescents affected by chronic diseases need a specific support and care, in a contest dedicated to them and not integrated with children. They often ask a specific attention to their asks, only partially secondary to their primary disease.Objective and hypotheses: The need of a support in communication of the diagnosis, in the adherence to a long-life or to a prolonged treatment and a long follow-up, with repeated blood samples, strumental ...

Background: Cyclic treatment with bisphosphonates (BP) is now considered a ‘standard care’ for children with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI). Vitamin D is a necessary nutrient for bone health for all children but especially for those with OI. In the literature few studies have considered the relationship between bone mineral density, vitamin D and pubertal stage in children treated with BP for OI.Objective and hypotheses: The purpose of this study...

Background: Hypothyroidism has been associated with cognitive and motor impairments, the degree to which mild hypothyroidism, or subclinical hypothyroidism impacts mood and cognitive functions and whether these symptoms respond to treatment, remains controversial. Furthermore, hypothyroidism is associated with an increased susceptibility to depression and reductions in health-related quality of life.Objective and hypotheses: Recent longitudinal studies s...

Background: Isolated hypoaldosteronism is an autosomal recessive inherited disorder of terminal aldosterone synthesis, leading to selective aldosterone deficiency. Two different biochemical forms of this disease have been described, called aldosterone synthase deficiency or corticosterone methyl oxydase, types 1 and 2. In type 1, there is no aldosterone synthase activity and the 18 hydroxycorticosterone (18 OHB) level is low, whereas in type 2, a residual activity of aldostero...