ESPE Abstracts

Introduction: Neonatal diabetes mellitus (NDM) is a rare form of insulin-dependent monogenic diabetes mellitus (1/400,000 live births) diagnosed in the first six months of life. It can be either transient or permanent, with abnormalities in the parental chromosome 6q24 and with mutations in genes related to the ATP-sensitive potassium pump in the β-cell membrane respectively.Aim: We describe a male infant, 2.5 months old, diagnosed with NDM and panc...

The physiology of adrenarche, i.e. the development of the zona reticularis of the adrenal cortex, is mostly unknow. Some genes of steroidogenic enzymes need to be down- (HSD3B2) while others upregulated (e.g. CYB5) to enhance androgen production in zona reticularis, but it is not known how this is regulated. Micro RNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that can affect gene expression at posttranscriptional level. We hypothesized that miRNAs might be involved in regulating adr...

Pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) and the melanocortin-4-receptor (MC4R) are playing a key role within the leptin-melanocortin-pathway and thereby for satiety regulation. Mutations within these genes are leading to hyperphagia and early-onset obesity. However, observations of cardiac abnormalities including left ventricular dilatation and reduced contractibility in the MC4R knockout mouse model and reports about a reduced blood pressure in human MC4R variant carriers, led us to inve...

Background: Lipid profiles of type 1 diabetic children are influenced by age, sex, BMI- and HbA1c-values. There is a discrepancy between increased cholesterol levels and the management required. Thus, 26% of patients have dyslipidemia but only 0.4% of them receive lipid lowering medication.Objective and hypothesis: To facilitate child-specific and diabetes-related cholesterol control, we developed a monitoring algorithm derived from population-based refe...

Introduction: Cortisol homeostasis dysregulation has been associated to essential hypertension in adults. Higher levels of cortisol have been described in preterm-born individuals, who have also a higher risk of hypertension at younger ages. Several enzymes modulate peripheric cortisol metabolism. The 11b-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11b-HSD) type 2 metabolizes cortisol into cortisone, preventing mineralocorticoid receptors’ activation by cortisol. The i...

Background: Vitamin D Dependent Rickets Type IA(VDDR1a) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by defects in the biosynthesis of its active form 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D due to the mutations in the CYP27B1 gene encoding for the enzyme 1α-hydroxylase.Objective and hypotheses: To evaluatethe clinical characteristics, molecular genetics aetiology and long-term outcome of a large nationwide cohort of VDDR-Ia f...

The calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) is a member of the G protein coupled receptor family. It is mostly found in the parathyroid gland and renal tubule. CaSR disorders occur with inherited or acquired mutations. Familial hypocalciuric hypercalcemia syndromes are associated with inactivating mutations in CaSR. The heterozygous form is “benign familial hypercalcemia” and the homozygous form is “neonatal hyperparathyroidism”. In this article, “benign ...

Background: Despite advances in genetic diagnosis and surgical technique, and guidance from the Consensus Statement on Intersex Disorders, aspects of clinical management in disorders/differences of sex development (DSD) remain unsettled. Actively debated decision points include gender of rearing in specific syndromes, genital surgery prior to the patient developing the capacity to provide assent, and uncertainty over how and when to best educate young patients about diagnostic...

Background: The prevalence of childhood obesity is high worldwide and predisposes to adult obesity and metabolic disorders. Many dietary approaches have been proposed to reduce this prevalence, but no single diet has proven to be superior to others in terms of long-term weight loss maintenance in children.Objective and hypotheses: To evaluate and compare long-term body weight changes among obese children and adolescents who had lost at least 10% of their...

Children with Type 1 diabetes are experiencing higher levels of overweight and obesity as a consequence of intensive insulin therapy as well as background socioeconomic and environmental factors that are contributing to excess adiposity in the general population. The consequences of obesity in people with type 1 diabetes are of particular concern, as obesity in adults increases the risk of both diabetes-related and obesity-related complications, including cardiovascular diseas...