ESPE Abstracts

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...

Introduction: The main purpose of the study was to determine whether anthropometric measurements at preschool (PS)-age, in which physiological adiposity rebound is detected, and LT4 dose have an effect on the age of onset of puberty in children with hypothyroidism.Methods: This is an observational and retrospective study.Results: Puberty had begun in 44 girls and 25 boys out of 115...

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is a key component of the body's defence against cold challenge and possesses the ability to convert large amounts of chemical energy to heat, conferred by a unique protein, uncoupling protein (UCP)-1, diverting mitochondrial respiration from the production of adenosine triphosphate. In humans, the largest BAT depot is in the supraclavicular region. Sympathetic nervous system stimulation induces glucose uptake into brown adipose tissue, as does i...

Background: Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS), due to loss of paternal gene expression on chromosome 15q11.2-13, is characterized by hypotonia, hypothalamic-pituitary dysregulation, abnormal respiratory drive, and hyperphagia. GH, often started in infancy, improves tone, body composition, and height. Concerns about sudden death in children with PWS started on GH, hypothesized secondary to worsening obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) from adenotonsillar hypertrophy, resulted in guidelines...

Background: Butyrate is a short-chain fatty acid closely related to the ketone body β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) considered as the major source of energy during prolonged exercise. During fasting, when the liver switches to fatty acid oxidation, a rise in serum GH occurs concomitantly with the accumulation of BHB and short chain fatty acids (SCFA) acetate, propionate and butyrate. Interactions between GH, ketone body and SCFA during the metabolic adaptation to fasting are poor...

Background: Heterozygous mutations in the Aggrecan gene (ACAN) cause autosomal dominant short stature with bone age (BA) acceleration, and premature growth cessation.Objective and methods: To characterize the phenotypic spectrum, associated conditions and describe response to growth-promoting therapies, detailed clinical evaluation of 73 mutation positive individuals from 16 families different families with heterozygous ACAN mutations was perfor...

Introduction: Ghrelin binds to its receptor GHSR1A, encoded by GHSR, on somatotrophs of the pituitary. Growth hormone (GH) secretion is enhanced by ghrelin binding as well as the receptor’s constitutive activity. Results from in vitro experiments, knock-out mice, and GWAS suggest that heterozygous loss-of-function of GHSR may be associated with short stature, but observations in case studies are equivocal. We aimed to better ch...

Gender dysphoria indicates a psychological distress due to any incongruence between biological sex and gender identity, while transgender identity refers to an individual, whose gender identity is the opposite of the biological sex. The number of gender dysphoric youth seeking hormonal care seems to rise worldwide. Therefore, numerous bioethical and medical controversies are raising about possible side effects of hormonal therapies, including interference with brain developmen...

Background: The peptide hormone adrenocorticotropin (ACTH or Corticotropin) is a major component of the stress response system in the Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis. Under stress, it is secreted from the anterior pituitary and stimulates cortisol production from the adrenal cortex. Changes in ACTH production or action are associated with multiple disease conditions. In clinical situations like Cushing's disease, ectopic ACTH syndrome and congeni...