ESPE Abstracts

Background: Adrenal insufficiency (AI) is a rare condition caused by an inadequate production of glucocorticoids. Preliminary data in adults suggest that AI could be associated with an increased susceptibility to infections; moreover, AI patients are at risk to develop a severe course of infectious diseases and to experience a life-threatening adrenal crisis. The aim of our study is to evaluate the severity and the outcome of COVID-19 in pediatric AI patients ...

Background: Severe congenital growth hormone deficiency (cGHD) is a rare but potentially life-threatening condition. Even though random growth hormone (GH) can confirm cGHD during the first week of life, the diagnosis remains extremely challenging in the absence of reliable reference values in healthy neonates and thus of a best diagnostic cut-off.Aims: First, to provide solid reference values for GH concentrations in te...

Background: Reaching a definitive diagnosis in individuals with XY DSD is challenging and the time taken to reach a diagnosis is an important clinical benchmark that has not been sufficiently explored in this group of conditions.Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic process with a focus on the time to diagnosis in children with XY DSD reported via the e-reporting platform (e-REC) of the European Registries for Rare Endoc...

Background/Aim: X-linked hypophosphatemia (XLH) is a rare disease caused by mutations in PHEX, leading to elevated FGF23 levels, hypophosphatemia and chronic renal phosphate wasting. Burosumab is a monoclonal antibody against anti-FGF23, which has been recently approved for treatment of XLH. Beyond clinical trials, little is known about its efficacy/safety in clinical practice which is the aim of study.Patients/Methods: ...

Diagnosis of craniopharyngiomas in childhood is often delayed due to nonspecific symptoms. In Italy all children are followed-up by paediatricians of the NHS and paediatric endocrinologists are present throughout the country. This would theoretically lead to an early diagnosis. We aimed to examine the clinical picture at diagnosis and duration of history before diagnosis in 117 patients (pts) followed-up at Endocrinology Centres belonging to the I.S.P.E.D..<p class="abstex...

Background: Primary adrenal insufficiency (PAI) is a rare life-threatening disorder. Data on PAI in children are scanty, with the exception of Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH) due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency (21OHD).Objective and hypotheses: Evaluate etiology of PAI in a large cohort of children and characterize clinical presentation in subjects with PAI not due to 21-OHD.Method: Children followed in eight tertiary centers wer...

Adeno-associated virus (AAV) gene therapy reached the maturity and a liver-targeting approach is currently used as a replacement treatment for rare hepatic and muscular diseases. X-linked hypophosphatemia (XLH) is a rare disease associated with hyperfunction of fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) in bone and characterized by severe skeletal deformities and short stature. The current medical therapies for XLH requires life-long repeated treatment presenting major limitatio...

Background: patients with childhood-onset craniopharyngioma (CO-CP) present long-term outcomes, including growth hormone (GH) deficiency and obesity. Currently, data on the effects of GH therapy (GHT) on the body mass index (BMI) in CP are inconclusive. Aims of the study were to evaluate BMI over time and its determinants in a large cohort of CO-CP patients treated with GH therapy (GHT).Methods: a multicenter retrospecti...

Background and Aims: HNF4A-MODY clinical expression is broad, ranging from hypoglycemic hyperinsulinism in the neonatal period and early childhood to hyperglycemia and diabetes, as insulin secretion progressively decreases in adult patients. The main objective was to clinically and molecularly characterize patients with glycemic alterations, negative autoimmunity and confirmed molecular diagnosis of HNF4A-MODY.Materials and Metho...

Introduction: Primary Pseudotumor cerebri (PPTC), also known as idiopathic intracranial hypertension, is clinically characterized by increased intracranial pressure in an alert and oriented patient, with no evidence of deformity or obstruction of the ventricular system on neuroimaging. Cerebrospinal fluid analysis is normal except for increased intracranial pressure at lumbar puncture, greater than the 90th percentile (28 cm of H2O) in the pediatric population. Papilledema may...