ESPE Abstracts

Background: Currently, data on the diagnostic yield of targeted gene panels using next generation sequencing (NGS) in children with short stature of undefined aetiology (SSUA) are limited. EPIGROW (ClinicalTrials.gov ID NCT00710307) was a prospective European epidemio-genetic study in which a targeted NGS panel including 69 genes associated with short stature (e.g. primordial growth disorders and skeletal dysplasias) was performed in 263 patients and 263 controls. In these pat...

Background: Congenital hyperinsulinism possesses considerable clinical heterogeneity attributed partly to its diverse genetic causes.Objective: To present a boy with diazoxide unresponsive hyperinsulinaemic hypoglycaemia due to a homozygous recessive ABCC8 missense mutation, previously reported to be dominant acting and being inherited by his unaffected heterozygous parents.Material and results: The boy was a third preterm child of...

Background: Androgens are steroid hormones necessary for human sex development. Testosterone (T) and the more potent dihydrotestosterone (DHT) are maybe the best known androgens, which exert their effect by binding and activating the androgen receptor. Steroid reductases 5α (SRD5As) catalyse the conversion of T to DHT in the classic androgen production pathway, or from 17-hydroxyprogesterone to 17OH-dihydroprogesterone, and androstenedione to androstanedione in alternate ...

Background: Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) continues to pose serious health risks with devastating long-term complications. UK management and control of T1DM in children and young people (CYP) remains amongst the poorest in Europe and significant variations in diabetes health outcomes are evident. In 2012–13 a Best Practice Tariff (BPT) for paediatric diabetes care was introduced and a National Peer Review Quality Assurance programme (DQuINS) developed. Both were develop...

Background: Exercise programs are related to the anabolic function of GH/IGF-I axis.Objective and hypotheses: To analyse IGF-I, IGFBP-3 and ALS serum concentrations in adolescent swimmers at different stages of training season, and compare them with physical performance and body composition.Method: Nine male athletes, aged 16–19 years, who trained regularly throughout the season, were studied. IGF-I, IGFBP-3 and ALS were recor...

Background: Non alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease in childhood, in obese subjects and associated with insulin resistance.FOXO1 is a key regulator in insulin signalling and in intracellular adipogenesis, and is implicated in liver steatosis. We have previously identified that a group of miRNAs are involved in its epigenetic regulation.Objective and hypotheses: We aimed to assess in liver tissue and in serum whe...

Background: Alterations in the timing or expression level of players involved in sex determination and differentiation can cause disorders of sex development, gonadal dysgenesis and germ cell neoplasms later in life. The mitosis–meiosis switch is one of the first manifestations of female sex differentiation and we hypothesise that a conflict between meiosis-inhibiting (male pathway) and meiosis-inducing signals (female pathway) is one of the possible mechanisms for disrup...

Background: Childhood obesity and related co-morbidities are increasing world wide and consequently effective treatment interventions are much needed.Objective and hypotheses: The aim was to investigate concomitant changes in body composition in relation to changes in BMI–SDS during The Children’s Obesity Clinics Treatment (TCOCT) program. Hypothesis: reductions in body fat percentage may not be revealed by reductions in BMI–SDS.<p cla...

Background: Treating central precocious puberty with GnRH agonist (GnRHa) to increase height gain is well-established. Although not recommended, GnRHa have also been used in patients with IGHD at onset of puberty yet there are few data on its efficacy.Objective and hypotheses: Growth prediction models derived from KIGS (Pfizer International Growth Database) may provide an opportunity to estimate additional height gain produced by pubertal blockade.<p...

Pseudohypoparathyroidism (PHP) is a disease of rare frequency. There are five subtypes with each having different phenotypes and blood laboratory test results, which depend on gene mutation and hereditary styles. Among them, the most common type is PHP Ia which inherits maternal gene mutation and expresses Albright’s hereditary osteodystrophy (AHO) appearance, hypocalcemia, hyperphosphatemia and serum parathyroid hormone elevation. Another type, pseudo-pseudohypoparathyro...