ESPE Abstracts

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) represents one of the most common obesity complications and can progress to non-alcoholic stetohepatitis (NASH). NASH is associated with lower insulin like growth factor I (IGF-1) and IGFBP-3, however no data are available regarding the growth hormone (GH)-IGF-I axis in early stage of NAFLD, characterised by hepatic steatosis.Objective and hypotheses: We aimed to investigate the GH-IGF-1 pathway in a ...

Background: Childhood obesity is commonly associated with signs of endothelial dysfunction, characterized by impairment of insulin signaling and vascular NO availability. Recently both these features have been associated with endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, however the role of ER stress in the mechanism/s leading to vascular dysfunction in childhood obesity remains still to be established.Objective and Hypotheses: To evaluate ER stress and insulin-sti...

Background: Prolonged severe hypothyroidism due to Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) is a rare cause of pituitary hyperplasia (PH) in children. Loss of thyroxine negative feedback causes a TRH-dependent hyperplasia of pituitary thyrotroph cells resulting in adenohypophysis enlargement. A transdifferentiation of pituitary somatotroph cells into thyrotroph cells could explain growth failure in those patients. We report a case series of patients with growth impairment diagnosed...

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: Hypergonadotropic hypogonadism (HH) is an hallmark of Turner Syndrome (TS) and hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is often required for pubertal induction; this retrospective study highlights the pituitary-gonadal axis during infancy (<5 years), childhood (5–10.9 years) and adolescence (> 11 years) in a cohort of TS patients enrolled between February 1999 to March 2023. Our aim is to underline the diagnostic role of Gonadotropins as a ma...

Background: Leydig Cell Hypoplasia (LCH) is a very rare autosomal recessive condition that is manifested by a wide spectrum of phenotypes, ranging from completely female external genitalia to male genitalia. Long-term outcome in these patients is unclear.Objectives: To assess sex assignment, clinical characteristics and long-term outcome of 46,XY LCH cases.Patients and Methods: Thr...

Background: Following the 2010 CAH consensus, the need for genetic confirmation of diagnosis remains uncertain and variation in practice is unclear.Methods: This variation was assessed by using the International CAH(I-CAH) Registry which was developed using the same platform as the I-DSD Registry.Results: After the development of the I-CAH Registry in October 2014, the rate of addition of CAH cases increased from 2/month to 14/mont...

Background: Partial Androgen insensitivity syndrome (PAIS) is a rare condition which is associated with a variable phenotype. To date, there are limited data reporting long-term endocrine outcome for this condition.Aims: To determine the outcomes and clinical characteristics for 46, XY males with PAIS, using information from the International DSD (I-DSD) Registry and its clinical users.Methods: The I-DSD Registry and its users were...

Background: It is well known that boys are heavier than girls at birth. Causes of this difference are thought to originate from the Y chromosome and as a result of androgen action. Although some studies showed that sex dimorphism in size at birth is dependent of fetal androgens, one study reported that it is not generated by action of androgens.Objective and hypotheses: To determine birth weight (BW) of children in different aetiologies of disorder of se...

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...