ESPE Abstracts

Background: Hypothalamic obesity (HyOb) is a disease characterized by weight gain resistant to lifestyle changes and dietary restriction. The main clinical findings are hyperfagia and decline of satiety, high levels of insulin and an increase of adipogenesis. The major problem for these patients is that conventional treatments, either medical or surgical are not succesful and have variable results.Objective and hypotheses: We aim to describe the natural ...

Introduction: Obesity is the most common nutritional disorder in the paediatric age. Decreased physical activity and increased inactivity are important factors that are involved in this pandemic. The highest prevalence of obesity in Europe is in the South.Objective: To study the relationship between the practice of a regulated sport and lipid profile in overweight children and adolescents.Material and methods: 318 overweight childr...

Background: Obesity in adulthood is associated with shorter leukocyte telomere length, a marker of biological age that is also associated with age-related disorders, including cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus.Objective and Hypotheses: To investigate the relation between BMI in childhood and adolescence and telomere length, by determining the mean telomere length of leukocytes.Patients and Method: Seven hundred fo...

Background: Based on growth screening rules, severe short stature (i.e. height SDS less than -3), at the age of more than 3 years, warrants diagnostic evaluation in specialized health care. In the absence of apparent underlying cause, targeted and eventually untargeted genetic studies have been proposed. However, the etiology of short stature at the severe end of the spectrum is poorly characterized.Methods: We ...

Background: Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) related to genes encoding the FSHβ subunit and FSH receptor (FSHB/FSHR) affect FSH production (FSHB c.-211G>T) and receptor sensitivity/expression in vitro (FSHR c.2039A>G & FSHR c.-29G>A). FSHR c.2039A>G, but not FSHR c.-29G>A, is associated with increased FSH levels in adult women, while there are conflicting results on F...

Background: The anogenital distance (AGD) is defined as the distance from the anus to genital tubercle. AGD is an established method for sex determination of pups in rodents, and in animal studies, AGD is strongly affected by androgen exposure during fetal life. In accordance, human studies have reported reduced postnatal AGD following prenatal exposure to anti-androgenic agents, suggesting AGD to be a sensitive postnatal read out of in utero exposure...

Background: Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF-21) is a complex molecule involved in lipid and glucose metabolism. FGF-21 shares biochemical pathways and sites of action with thyroid hormones. Current data correlate FGF-21 levels to thyroid function. The aim of the present study was to investigate possible associations among FGF-21 levels, resting metabolic rate (RMR), lipidemic profile and L-thyroxin replacement therapy treatment in children and adolescents wit...

Introduction: Adolescent obesity is often characterized by comorbidities with cardiovascular effects in adulthood. Treatment options for these conditions are limited during adolescence. Basic research in animals and clinical data in adults have shown that Crocus Sativus (Krokos Kozanis) has a beneficial effect on dyslipidemia, obesity and type 2 diabetes.Aim: The study of the lipidemic profile in fasting state, in adoles...

Background: In vitro studies suggest a broader role for aldosterone, beyond elevating blood pressure. Clinical data support the notion that aldosterone can directly alter the function of the immune system and can participate in low-grade inflammation which leads to blood pressure elevation and end organ damage.Objective and hypothesis: To assess in humans, whether aldosterone plasma levels and mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) expression associate...

Background: Hypophosphatasia (HPP) is the rare inherited metabolic disorder resulting from loss-of-function mutation(s) in the tissue-nonspecific alkaline phosphatase (TNSALP) gene. TNSALP deficiency can cause a spectrum of complications in children including premature deciduous tooth loss, rickets, poor growth, and compromised physical function. We previously reported that children, 5–12 years old, with HPP and treated with asfotase alfa, a recombinant bone-targeted huma...