ESPE Abstracts

Background: In 2003 recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) was approved by European Medicines Agency to treat short children born small for gestational age (SGA), but so far no study evaluated the prevalence of SGA children with short stature who qualify for rhGH treatment in Europe.Objectives: To investigate the prevalence of SGA and short stature in children born SGA and of SGA children who qualify for rhGH treatment ...

PCOS treatment in adolescence should aim at improving ovarian function, based on the pathophysiology of this condition. We previously described in cystic fibrosis and then in the PCOS an increase in HMGB1, secondary to reduced cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) expression in the ovary, associated with insulin resistance and inflammation that both characterize PCOS. Inositols and ALA derivatives are considered a good therapeutic option for their possible...

Aim of the study: In type 1 diabetes, it is well recognized that collecting additional information about diet, physical activity, health status, stress and any patients’ everyday behavior, is crucial to evaluate accurately metabolic control and therapeutic prescription adherence. The aim of this study is to test AID-GM (Advanced Intelligent Distant – Glucose Monitoring) a web-based platform, able of collecting automatically patient generated health data (PHGD) coming...

Aim: Circulating levels of calprotectin have been reported in obesity-related chronic low-grade inflammation in adults, but has not been evaluated in pediatric population. We investigated serum calprotectin in overweight and obese children and its association with metabolic comorbidities.Methods: We enrolled 131 children (11.7±4.1 years). According to BMI, the subjects were divided into three groups: obese >95th percentile; overweight BMI 75th&#...

Introduction: The diagnosis of growth hormone deficiency (GHD) is currently based on clinical, auxological, biochemical, and neuro-radiological investigation. Provocative tests of GH secretion using physiological/pharmacological stimuli are required to confirm GHD. The clonidine test (CT) is widely used to assess GH secretory status. In this retrospective study we analyzed the reliability of CT and the effect of puberty in a large number of children with short stature who had ...

HMGB1 is a small-protein which reflects both inflammation and insulin-sensitivity. Inflammation and insulin-resistance are features of PCOS. IL-6 is important for ovarian function and can contribute to insulin-resistance. IGFBP-2 behaves like an acute-phase protein and is increased in chronic inflammation. It is also involved in the glucose-metabolism regulation and IGFBP-2 overexpression plays a protective role against insulin-resistance. Insulin functions as a co-gonadotropi...

Background: Craniopharyngiomas are the commonest pituitary tumours of childhood. Though benign histologically, their localisation and invasive tendency can cause significant neuroendocrine morbidity and late mortality.Objective and hypotheses: To prospectively determine risk factors for neuroendocrine morbidity by longitudinal survival analysis.Method: All children with craniopharyngioma newly presenting to our quaternary centre be...

Background: Children born small for gestational age (SGA) are at increased risk of coronary heart disease and type 2 diabetes in adulthood, due to reprogramming of endocrine and metabolic functions. Dysregulation of specific miRNAs in response to genetic and environmental factors contribute to aberrant gene expression patterns underlying metabolic dysfunction.Objective and hypotheses: We aimed to identify miRNAs associated with increased risk of obesity ...

Background: The diagnosis of GH deficiency (GHD) in children and adolescents is classically established when GH concentrations fail to reach an arbitrary cut-off level (usually 7–10 μg/l) after at least two provocative tests (PT).Objective and hypotheses: Aim of the study was to define optimal GH cut-offs to different PT in children and adolescent with short stature.Method: This was a retrospective study in 437 subjects w...

Background: Many studies have shown that GH therapy can increase final height in children born SGA. Adult height and growth velocity can be improved in these subjects even if there is not a deficiency of endogenous GH (GHD).Objective and hypotheses: We aimed to analyze growth response after 1 year of GH treatment in children born SGA without GH deficiency.Method: Ten patients (six M, four F) born SGA (according to Gagliardi et ...