ESPE Abstracts

ERF protein is a major binding target of ERK1/2 kinases, key effectors of the RAS–MEK–ERK signaling cascade. ERF has a role as a negative transcriptional regulator of RAS/MAPK mitogenic pathway (1) and, in theory, a loss-of-function mutation (LOF) in ERF could cause a Rasopathy phenotype. To date, LOF variants of ERF have been reported in 45 individuals with craniosynostosis but without a Noonan-like phenotype. There is only one case report describing a patient wit...

Background: Patients with Turner Syndrome (TS) are at high risk for congenital heart disease (CHD), aortic dilatation and dissection with increased mortality and morbidity. Thoracic gadolinium-enhanced MRI angiography allows clear imaging of all great vessels and revealed a spectrum of silent vascular anomalies (VA), both venous and arterial, undetected at Echocardiography.The aim of this study is to retrospectively evaluate the prevalen...

Background: A high risk of congenital hypothyroidism (CH) has been documented in multiple pregnancies. Over the years special screening procedures for preterm and twin babies (re-screening at 2–4 weeks of life) have been adopted by many screening laboratories worldwide. However, no extensive studies have been performed to verify how many co-twins with negative test at first screening (3–5 days of life) become positive at re-screening, and the utility of a long-term f...

Background: The isodicentric Y (idic Y) is one of the most common aberrations of the Y chromosome. Most patients (pts) are chromosomal mosaics, including 45,X cell line.Objective and hypotheses: Our aim is to describe clinical and molecular features of our 45,X/46,Xidic(Y) cases.Method: We retrospectively evaluate the clinical description of nine cases (six females, one male, two with ambiguous genitalia) with mosaic karyotype 45,X...

Background: Prader–willi syndrome (PWS) is characterized by decreased fetal activity, obesity, muscular hypotonia, MR, short stature, hypogonadism and small hands and feet. Little information is available concerning PWS and kidney involvement.Objective and hypotheses: We report two patients with PWS and congenital abnormalities of kidney and urinary tract (CAKUT).Method: First case: male, born at 35 weeks with caesarian sectio...

Background: Skeletal dysplasias are characterised by bone-cartilage involvement and impairment of growth and body proportions. Reports of the benefits of GH treatment are difficult to evaluate for the small number of subjects, short period of treatment, few final height (FH) data in groups with and without GH deficiency (GHD).Objective and hypotheses: The aim of our study was to assess FH and body proportions in pts with skeletal dysplasia and GHD.<p...

CHOPS syndrome is a rare monogenic disorder caused by heterozygous gain-of-function variants in AFF4. The 13 patients reported to date share a highly recognizable phenotype: Coarse face, Cognitive impairment, Heart defects, Obesity, Pulmonary involvement, Short stature and Skeletal dysplasia. AFF4 encodes a scaffold protein involved in transcriptional elongation and critical for gene expression regulation during embryogenesis. Notably, it appears to regulate adipogenic differe...

Puberty is under the precise control of sophisticated regulatory networks, which integrate a large number of endogenous and environmental signals, including metabolic and nutritional cues. Thus, puberty onset is tightly bound to the state of body energy reserves, and deregulation of energy/metabolic homeostasis is often associated with alterations in the timing of puberty. However, despite recent progress in the field, our knowledge of the specific signals and central molecula...

Puberty, as the developmental continuum between infancy and adulthood, is a complex maturational transition, affecting different body systems, which is under the control of sophisticated regulatory networks. Concerning the pubertal awakening of the reproductive axis, much has been learnt in the last decades on the central mechanisms whereby puberty onset is driven. However, most of the information so far available is limited to the roles of specific neurotransmitters and their...

Objectives: To describe the auditory phenotype and dynamics of hearing thresholds in patients with Turner Syndrome (TS).Patients and Methods: Cross-section study evaluating the hearing thresholds in 246 TS patients (age range 4-44 yrs). Patients were divided into three age groups: Group 1 (79 TS, age range 4.0-12.9 yrs); Group 2 (109 TS, age range 13.0-25.9 yrs,) and Group 3 (66 TS, age range 26.0-44.9 yrs,). Pure tone a...