ESPE Abstracts

Background: Central precocious puberty (CPP) results from premature activation of hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, which leads to an increased release of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). GnRH stimulates the development of secondary sexual features, rapid bone maturation and growth. GnRH agonists (GnRHa) represent the gold-standard therapy in CPP children and their use is responsible for pituitary GnRH receptors down-regulation, luteinizing hormone (L...

Background: Thyroid hormones (TH) play multiple effects on glucose metabolism. Some recent studies carried out in adult patients suggested an association between altered sensitivity to TH and type 2 diabetes, obesity, and metabolic syndrome. No studies are currently available on the presence of altered sensitivity to the action of TH in youths with prediabetes.Objective: To evaluate the relationship between sensitivity t...

Hypercalcemia and nephrocalcinosis (NC) are rare findings associated with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), whose pathogenetic mechanisms are still unclear. In this study we aimed to investigate the prevalence of NC in a cohort of Italian children affected with classical form of CAH, and to correlate its association with metabolic control of the disease.Subjects and Methods: This is a multicenter one year-perspective study involving ...

Objectives: 1. To describe the clinical, biochemical and testicular ultrasonographic features in a population of males with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) and Testicular Adrenal Rest Tumor (TART). 2. To identify factors related to the onset of TART. 3. To evaluate the therapeutic management and outcome of TART.Methods: Males with classic and non-classic 21β-hydroxylase-deficient CAH, diagnosed with TART, follo...

Background: Disorders of sex development (DSD) are often due to disruption of the genetic programs that regulate gonad development. Some genes have been identified in these developmental pathways such as DAX-1, SOX-9, GATA-4 and others. The GATA-4 gene, located on chromosome 8p23.1, encodes GATA-binding protein 4 (GATA-4), a transcription factor that is essential for cardiac and gonadal development and sexual differentiation. Congenital heart disease (CHD) and...

Background/Aims: 46,XY gonadal dysgenesis (GD) is classified as complete (CGD) or partial (PGD) depending on gonadal morphology and function. In contrast to the typical female external genitalia in CGD, the phenotype of PGD is variable depending on androgen production. A diagnosis of PGD is based on clinical/biochemical features, gonadal histology and genetic findings. The aim of this study is to characterise these features, particularly histological, in a lar...

Background: Among children with idiopathic short stature, Italian data reported a prevalence of short stature homeobox-containing gene (SHOX) deficiency disorders (SHOX-D) near to 1/1.000-2.000 (1.1-15%) with a wide phenotypic spectrum. Current guidelines support recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) therapy in SHOX-D children, but long-term data are still lacking. This national survey aims to evaluate long-term efficacy and safety of rhGH therapy in Italian...

Context: The response to lifestyle modification (LSM) in children with obesity is variable and difficult to predict.Aim: A systematic search for molecular markers to predict outcomes of LSM in pediatric obesity management.Patients/Methods: Out of 240 children with obesity (BMI>97%) recruited to a prospective ‘multi-OMICS’ study granted by ESPE Research Unit, 159 subj...

Context: The response to lifestyle modification (LSM) in children with obesity is variable and difficult to predict.Aim: A systematic search for identifying common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to predict positive outcomes of LSM in pediatric obesity management, defined as decrease in BMI z-score (based on IOTF).Patients/Methods: Out of 240 children with obesity (BMI>97...

Introduction: Central precocious puberty (CPP) is due to premature activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis. Mutations in the imprinted gene MKRN3 are the most common monogenic form of CPP. Recently, attention was directed to DLK1, another imprinted gene. Defects in this gene resulted to be a rare cause of CPP in girls and adult women with precocious menarche, obesity and metabolic derangement. We aimed to investigate a cohort of female and male p...