ESPE Yearbook of Paediatric Endocrinology

The chapter on bone, growth plate and mineral metabolism has some themes that tend to recur year after year. Vitamin D is one such topic. Yet, every year brings new essential information on this vitamin, which has often been suggested to be a miracle cure for several disorders. Links to many outcomes exist, but solid data on actual benefits beyond prevention and treatment of rickets are scarce. This year the selected vitamin D papers suggest that once vitamin D sufficiency is ...

The current chapter on gender dysphoria (GD) in children and adolescents and disorders/differences of sex development (DSD) is a novel addition to the Yearbook and presented here for the first time. The reason for adding the chapter is obvious for all pediatric endocrinologists as the knowledge and numbers of patients in these areas have increased heavily during the past few decades. This situation has created clinical and ethical challenges for pediatric endocrinologists look...

To read the full abstract: J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2018 Jan 1;103(1):228-234[Comments on 7.5 and 7.6] Remarkably, the timing of puberty shows important differences between individuals1. Based on twin studies, differences in pubertal timing are considered to depend on genetic factors which account for up to 60-70% of the varianc...

To read the full abstract: Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2017; 87(6): 651-659Patients with CAH are treated with lifelong glucocorticoid (GC) replacement therapy and, for the classic form of the disease, treatment with fludrocortisone is also necessary. During different periods throughout life, it may be difficult to achieve optimal dosing of GC replacement therapy, leading to over- or under-treatment and, t...

To read the full abstract: J Biol Chem. 2018; 293(6): 1865-1874MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short RNA species, generally 19–22 nucleotides in length, which mediate post-transcriptional down-regulation of protein expression (28). Given that miRNAs exert such pervasive effects on biological processes, it is not surprising that they have an effect on GC action at several points. Their touch...

Brief summary: This longitudinal observational multicentre retrospective study, collected data on 95 young prepubertal or early pubertal girls (age >10.9 years, Tanner stage ≤2) with premature ovarian failure (POI) or hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (HH). Their hypogonadism was due to different causes and was treated with transdermal 17β-oestradiol, with a follow-up of at least 1 year. The study aimed to identify the most physiological and effective therapeutic sc...

Brief summary: This study investigated adipose tissue cellularity and functionality in more than 400 individuals with early-onset obesity (before the age of 18 years) versus late-onset of obesity (after the age of 18 years) compared to never-obese subjects. Individuals with obesity had increased subcutaneous white adipose tissue amounts resulting from a combination of increased size and numbers of fat cells.Interestingly, individuals with early-onset obe...

Brief summary: This article develops a framework to assess the effect of adoption of new health interventions on rates of healthcare expenditure using a cost-effectiveness threshold. This detailed economic analysis is applied to 174 countries and would allow decision-makers to evaluate the effects of increased expenditure on overall population health.Health systems face strong pressure to meet the needs of populations, but to do so with scarce resources....

Brief summary: This cross-sectional study found high prevalences of high dietary intakes of fat and sugar and inadequate intakes of fiber among obese Indonesian adolescents, and a statistically significant correlation between fiber intake and HDL cholesterol levels.Low and middle-income countries are experiencing nutritional transitions with increasing prevalence of obesity and cardiovascular disease risks. This cross-sectional study performed in Indones...

Prof Hochberg was an exceptional paediatrician, endocrinologist and paediatric endocrinologist. He had an inquisitive mind, interest in various and wide fields, love for music, operas, books and people. Even in the field of endocrinology, he always researched beyond the visible. His groundbreaking contributions to the field of paediatric endocrinology have left an indelible mark on the medical community.Comment: To distinguish among chil...