ESPE Abstracts

Background: T1DM may influence growth and pubertal development and vice versa. Delayed pubertal development and reduced final height are known to be associated with inadequate metabolic control. Many factors including insulin resistance during puberty and insufficient adherence may be responsible for increasing HbA1c.Objective: Is pubertal growth spurt associated with an increase of HbA1c? Are there gender differences in metabolic control during...

Background: The androgen receptor (AR) is essential for the development of primary and secondary male characteristics and is activated by its ligand dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Reduced AR activity can cause undervirilization and infertility. We recently developed an assay to test AR function as a ligand-dependent transcriptional activator in human genital skin fibroblasts (GF). So far it is unclear, if AR expression levels correlate with AR function in the male external genital...

Background: Triple A syndrome is a rare autosomal recessive disorder characterized by adrenal failure, alacrima, achalasia, and a variety of neurological features. In 70% of the families it is caused by mutations in the AAAS gene. Linkage analyses indicated genetic heterogeneity and exome sequencing revealed two further genes causing triple A-like syndromes.Objective and hypotheses: To summarise the genotypes and phenotypes of classic triple A s...

Background: Congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI) is a disorder characterised by dysregulation of insulin secretion that leads to severe hypoglycaemia in neonates and infants. The focal form of CHI is caused by an autosomal recessive mutation in the genes ABCC8 or KCNJ11 inherited from the father and a second somatic event in the affected islet of Langerhans.Objective: We report molecular genetic examination of focal pancreatic lesions of patients receiving t...

Background: Mammalian puberty is initiated by the pulsatile release of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) from hypothalamic neurons. Enhanced at puberty (Eap) 1 is a transcription factor within this regulatory network integrating exogenous and endogenous informations, e.g. weight. Recent studies indicate an epigenetic regulation of the pubertal process.Objective and hypotheses: This study investigates if overweight modifies epigenetic marks i...

Background: Steroids are found in human blood predominantly as sulfated steroids. Conjugation of steroids increases their solubility in blood, facilitating their physiological regulation and excretion. Chromatographic separation and quantification of an extensive number of sulfated steroids is challenging. For instance, androgen sulfates are structurally related and their signals are very similar in mass spectrometry.Objective and hypotheses: Some of the...

Background: Childhood adrenocortical tumours (ACT) are rare and have well been described as part of familial cancer susceptibility syndromes which are caused by single gene mutations including P53, MEN1, PRKAR1A, CTNNB1 and APC. Adenomas are the most common ACT, but adrenocortical carcinomas (ACC) occur as well. Childhood ACC can be part of the Li-Fraumeni Syndrome and Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome. ACC can also occur in familial adenomatous polyposis coli (FAP). FAP is a colon ...

Background: Most organs including bone are affected in type 2 Diabetes (T1D) mechanisms. The exact mechanism of bone derangement is still unknown.Aim of work: i) Assessment of Pyridinoline crosslinks as a bone resorption marker and alkaline phosphatase as a bone formation marker in T1D in children & adolescents. ii) To determine the effect of glycemic control and disease duration on bone turnover.Subjects and methods: 39 T1D pa...

Background: Obesity is a potential late-effect of therapies for childhood cancer. Reported prevalence rates of obesity in childhood cancer survivors are heterogenous and currently unavailable for children treated according to protocols of the German Society for Paediatric Oncology. Furthermore, risk factors for the development of obesity following childhood cancer remain largely unknown.Methods: From a cohort of n=149 patients followed in a late...

Background: The melanocortin-4-receptor (MC4R) plays a key role in body weight regulation. Hypothalamic activation of MC4R reduces food intake and increases energy expenditure. Mutations in the MC4R gene lead to the most common cause of monogenetic obesity. More than 150 different mutations are currently known. Their prevalence in obese subjects differs between 0.2 and 5.8%, depending on ethnicity, age and grade of obesity of the analysed cohort. Impact on phenotype a...