ESPE Abstracts

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...

Introduction: The human fetal adrenals (HFA) produce high levels of steroids. The gland is distinguishable from the 7th gestational week and can be separated in two zones: the fetal zone in the center which correspond of 80 % of the gland and the definitive zone in the periphery. At this time of the development, neural crest cells are reaching the adrenal primordium, producing catecholamines. A third zone, the transitional zone appears later in the early 2nd t...

Male reproductive disorders are common and there is evidence for increasing incidence over recent decades. These disorders may present at birth (hypospadias and cryptorchidism) or in adulthood (infertility, testicular cancer) and can arise as a result of underlying genetic abnormalities or following environmental (e.g. phthalates) and pharmaceutical (e.g. analgesics, chemotherapy) exposures that impact fetal, neonatal of prepubertal testicular development. Understanding the re...

Background: Hypothalamic hamartomas (HH) are congenital morphogenetic defects frequently associated with central precocious puberty (CPP).Objective and hypotheses: Data on the outcome of girls with CPP due to HH are limited.Method: We report two patients with CPP caused by HH, one with normal fertility.Results: Patient 1, now aged 33 years, was examined at age 15 months (vaginal bleeding, breast and pubic hai...