ESPE Abstracts

Background: Since December 2019, the world has witnessed a global pandemic due to SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus (COVID-19), which has led to lifestyle changes as a result of Public Health Regulations and Guidelines introduced by governments worldwide.Objective: To determine the body mass index (BMI) trajectory in children and adolescents with overweight and obesity with respect to the COVID-19 outbreak in Greece.<p class="a...

Introduction: Paediatric morbid obesity (BMI >99.6th centile for age) causes severe obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) requiring respiratory support. Patient prognosis is poor and requires urgent intervention. Four patients with morbid obesity and severe OSA were admitted for multidisciplinary team (MDT) intensive weight management and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) initiation.Methods: The patients...

Introduction: Congenital Hyperinsulinism (CHI) is the most frequent cause of severe, persistent hypoglycemia in children. Despite current treatments, patients/caregivers report continued hypoglycemia according to the HI Global Registry 2020 Annual Report. Published literature characterizing hypoglycemia in CHI patients on standard of care (SOC) therapies is lacking.Objective: To quantify the extent of hypoglycemia in CHI...

Background: Recurrent miscarriage (RM) is traditionally described as three or more consecutive pregnancy losses and remains a challenging condition, affecting 1-3% of couples trying to conceive. Although factors such as uterine abnormalities, maternal hypothyroidism and parental balanced translocations are associated with RM, in most situations the aetiology is unknown. The coexistence of RM and live births in many families suggests a potential association wit...

Background: Over the last decade, and in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a substantial increase in the use of digital health tools to track growth and manage growth disorders in children. Paediatric endocrinologists acknowledge the usefulness of these tools in clinical decision making but lack confidence and skills to use them. Atique et al. designed a Massive Open Online Learning Course (MOOC) to increase digital health literacy, and identified...

Background/aim: Hyperparathyroidism (HPHT) is a common feature in patients with X-linked hypophosphatemia (XLH) especially when treated with vitamin D analogues and phosphate supplements. Although the exact mechanism is not clear, it is assumed that phosphate supplements taken chronically stimulate parathyroid hormone (PTH) secretion. We prospectively assessed the effect of a novel pathogenetic treatment anti-FGF23 (burosumab) on PTH levels in children with XL...

Background: Hypoglycaemia in patients with a high concentration of insulin and low concentration of C-peptide can be secondary to administration of exogenous insulin. This often results in safeguarding measures, with significant consequences for the patient and family. We report a novel case of a patient with symptomatic hypoglycaemia. Initial results suggested high insulin and low C-peptide levels, but subsequent testing revealed a pro-insulin processing diso...

Background: Hypogonadotropic hypogonadism is characterised by inadequate secretion of gonadotropins (luteinising hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH)) leading to absent, partial or arrested puberty. In males, classical treatment with testosterone promotes virilisation but does not facilitate testicular growth and spermatogenesis. Conversely, treatment with gonadotropins or gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) stimulates Sertoli and Leydig cells...

Introduction: Childhood obesity shows increasing numbers worldwide and presents as a global health issue due to multiple metabolic comorbidities. About 1 % of adolescents with obesity develop type 2 diabetes (T2D), however little is known about the genetic and pathophysiological background in young age. Genome-wide association studies in adults revealed genes with increased diabetes risk, most of them regulating insulin secretion. The objective of this study w...

Background: Monocarboxylate transporter 8 (MCT8) deficiency is a rare genetic disease that leads to severe global developmental delay. Thyroid hormone (TH) profile is characterized by high T3 and low T4 levels, with normal or elevated TSH. Recent studies have shown that the chemical chaperone phenylbutyrate (PB) restored mutant MCT8 function and increased TH content in a patient-derived cell model, making it a potential treatment for MCT8 deficiency.<p cla...