ESPE Abstracts

Introduction: Primordial short stature can have many different causes. In addition to maternal factors (e.g. placental insufficiency), genetic or skeletal disorders may be found in the child. It is important to identify the underlying aetiology in time, since not only the risk of diabetes is increased, but also the prevalence of insufficient gonadal function and malignancy, e.g. in mixed gonadal dysgenesis (MGD).Case report: A 19 year old adolescent pres...

Background: Cannabis use has been legalised in four states in USA. However, endocrine effects of marijuana use are largely unknown. Published experiments on animals have suggested that acute cannabis exposure may lead to suppressed thyroid function, but human studies are limited. Of interest, some studies have shown that cannabis has immunomodulatory effects.Objective and hypotheses: We carried out a cross sectional analysis of data by National Health an...

Background: Both CYP24A1 and SLC34A1 gene mutations are responsible for idiopathic infantile hypercalcemia (IIH). Whereas loss-of-function mutations in CYP24A1 (25-OH-vitamin D-24-hydroxylase) lead to a defect in the inactivation of active 1,25(OH)2-vitamin D3, mutations in SLC34A1 encoding renal sodium-phosphate co-transporter NaPi-IIa lead to primary renal phosphate wasting combined with an inappropri...

Background: Bisphosphonates have been used for treatment of bone fragility disorders for over 25 years to increase bone mineral density (BMD). Anecdotally, bisphosphonate-treated Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) has a different trajectory to the natural history of untreated OI, with minimal published evidence to support this clinical observation.Aims: To describe functional outcomes of a cohort of adults with OI, stratified according to severity and treated ...

Introduction: Hyperinsulinemic hypoglycaemia (HH) is the most frequent cause of persistent hypoglycaemia in neonates and infants. The most severe forms of HH are inherited and referred to as Congenital Hyperinsulinism (CHI). Hypoglycaemia is the main feature of CHI, and early diagnosis and immediate management are essential to reduce the high risk of neurological damage. Diazoxide is the mainstay of medical treatment, with surgery being an option in appropriate cases.<p cl...

Introduction: Of any pituitary dysfunction following brain injury, growth hormone (GH) deficiency (GHD) is the most prevalent. The cut-point for defining GHD has been placed at 7 ng/mL representing optimum test performance. We hypothesised this cut-off may be set too low for genetically taller children with acquired brain injury, notably brain tumours, who demonstrate severe growth failure but repeatedly fail to meet diagnostic thresholds for GH replacement until several centi...

Backround: Menstrual disorders are common among the adolescent girls. We examined the initial investigations performed in adolescents, presenting with frequent, heavy or painful periods. Although, usually abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB) in adolescent women is attributable to immaturity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis, underlying conditions such as coagulation disorders and anemia should always kept in mind. However, neither the laboratory nor the ultrasound investig...

Background: The diagnosis of Growth Hormone Deficiency (GHD) involves the use of GH stimulation tests that require day case admission, multiple blood sampling and are associated with significant adverse effects.Aim: To assess the utility of gene expression (GE) profiling and candidate SNP analysis for the diagnosis of and classification of GHD.Method: Pre-pubertal treatment-naïve children with GHD (n=98) were enrolled from the...

Background: EPIGROW was a prospective European epidemio-genetic study in children with idiopathic short stature (ISS).Objectives: To identify (1) differences in frequencies of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in growth related genes between ISS children and controls, and (2) associations between growth characteristics, IGF status and SNPs in these genes.Methods: Sequence data from EPIGROW was used to determine the difference ...

Background: Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the promotor and 5’UTR of the transcriptional factor, ZBTB38, are associated with adult height and idiopathic short stature although their precise auxological effects have not previously been described. In addition, the molecular mechanisms through which ZBTB38 affects growth have not been fully elucidated but potential downstream mediators are suggested to include MCM10 or IGF2.Objectives: <...