ESPE Abstracts

I review the mental health difficulties that transgender and gender diverse children and adolescents may present with, specifically emotional difficulties. Many studies reveal depression scores and parent and self-reported measures of emotional and behavioral problems that are comparable to mental health clinic referred populations. Children and adolescents who feel that they are acknowledged and supported in their gender diverse feelings, e.g. by receiving gender affirming me...

The phenotype of 45,X/46,XY mosaicism is heterogeneous ranging from females with Turner syndrome (TS) to apparently normal males. Cardinal features of TS include reduced final height and infertility. Apart from endocrine, renal and neurocognitive disorders, structural heart defects are frequently present (in 25% to 50%), also in TS patients with mosaicism 45,X/46,XY. Males with 45,X/46,XY frequently show stigmata typically associated with TS but data on cardiovascular patholog...

Central precocious puberty (CPP) may have endocrine and metabolic implications in adulthood. Long-term effects may be associated with the underlying neuroendocrine dysfunction leading to CPP, the GnRH analogue (GnRHa) therapy, or both. Data are conflicting on the long-term risk of polycystic ovarian syndrome in both treated and untreated women. Clinical hyperandrogenism has been more frequently reported in CPP women than in controls, with no significant difference between GnRH...

Anthropometrics is an important part of pediatrics and public health. Its non-invasiveness, simplicity and low cost makes anthropometry attractive for several purposes. It is a valuable method for the screening or assessment of growth disorders, as well as under- and over-nutrition. Furthermore, specific anthropometric measures can be used as indicators of general fitness or cardiovascular risk factors (insulin resistance and dyslipidemia) in (obese) children, as well as marke...

Puberty is defined by the appearance of secondary sexual characteristics and the maturation of reproductive function. It is driven by an increase in sexual steroid hormone synthesis under the control of the gonadotropic axis. The key event in puberty initiation is an increase in the pulsatile release of the GnRH by hypothalamic neurons, triggering the release of LH and FSH. This pubertal increase in GnRH secretion is associated with increases in glutamatergic inputs and decrea...

Patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and their caregivers continue to face the challenge of maintaining blood glucose levels in the near-normal range, preventing sustained hyperglycemia associated with long-term microvascular and macrovascular complications, and avoiding recurrent episodes of hypoglycemia, especially at young ages when they can adversely affect cognitive function. In a follow-up to the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial, the Epidemiology of Diabetes Inter...

Current treatment in type 1 diabetes focuses on the development of physiological insulin replacement. Although this has led to the increased progress in the development of semi closed loop systems and different algorithms allowing this, the majority of youth still has to cope with insulin injections. Improving metabolic outcome with injection therapy has become more demanding, imposing an increased number of injections and improved knowledge of food composition. For those able...

Background: During the 1980s there were no officially accredited training programmes for subspecialty training in South Africa. Accordingly, doctors with accreditation from other countries, or with extensive experience in the subspecialty, were recognised as subspecialists, based on peer review.Objective and hypotheses: The objective of this poster was to document the development of a new Paediatric Endocrinology programme in a previously disadvantaged m...

It is known that almost 180 million children in the world have stunted growth. Most of these children live in eastern and central Africa and in South-central Asia. Among multiple factors causing stunted growth in the developing world, malnutrition is the most important one. On the other hand, reduced caloric intake is also a cause of poor statural growth in developed countries.Mammals, including humans, exposed to malnutrition experience poor bone growth...

Nuclear Factor kappa B (NF-κB) is a group of seven transcription factors, including p65 (RelA), c-Rel, RelB, p50/p105 (NF-κB1), and p52/p100 (NF-κB2). Upon activation by a wide variety of stimuli, NF-κB translocates to the nucleus, where it modulates the expression of target genes involved in cell growth, survival, and death.Previous evidence indicates that NF-κB regulates bone growth and development. Mice deficient in both the N...