ESPE Yearbook of Paediatric Endocrinology

Brief summary: This paper reviews the associations between cellular iron, ferroptosis and diabetes. It also explores the therapeutic potential of ferroptosis inhibitors in the treatment of diabetic complications.Comment: Ferroptosis is a form of regulated cell death that is characterized by the decreased capacity of antioxidants and the accumulation of lipid reactive oxygen species (ROS).1 This, in turn, causes oxidative damage to cell membran...

Brief summary: In this meta-analysis, data of 2030 patients with idiopathic growth hormone deficiency (IGHD) extracted from 25 studies were reanalyzed for reversal of GHD on GH retesting. The reversibility of IGHD varied depending on GH retest cut-offs and testing time-point/age. Higher GH cut-offs and earlier testing resulted in lower GHD reversal rate, but even with a cut-off of 7.7–10 ng/mL the reversal rate was 55%, and retesting before final height revealed also a re...

Brief Summary: This research identifies a role for SEMA6A in puberty onset by regulating median eminence vascular permeability.The authors elegantly use murine transgenics of Sema6a -/- combined with cell biology, biochemical assays and human genetics to identify a previously unknown role for Sema6a in regulating vascular permeability of endothelial cells within the median eminence (ME) to maintain neuroendocrine homeostasis. The role of SEMA6A ...

Brief Summary: This study examined the regulation of thyroid hormone (TH) levels by thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) neurons located in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus in fed and fasted mice. It focused on the role of agouti-related peptide (AgRP)/neuropeptide Y (NPY) neurons in the arcuate nucleus.Using chemogenetic activation in mice, the authors demonstrated that TRH neurons play a direct role in regulating the hypothalamic-pi...

Brief Summary: This retrospective study evaluated fracture risk among 2372 children and adolescents (59% females, aged 1-16) with biopsy-proven celiac disease (CD) compared to 11,860 children without CD matched by age, sex, socioeconomic status, and population sector (general Jewish population, ultra-orthodox Jews and Arabs). The overall fracture incidence rate was higher in the CD group (256 vs 165 per 10,000 patient-years).Median age at the end of the ...

Brief Summary: This register-based cohort study compared the familial aggregation and heritability of childhood-onset (≤18 years) vs. adult-onset (19-30 years) type 1 diabetes (T1D), using data collected from over 2.9 million individuals born in Sweden between 1982-2010, and from their relatives. Adult-onset T1D showed weaker familial aggregation and lower heritability than childhood-onset T1D.Although T1D is considered a typical childhood...

Brief Summary: This longitudinal cohort study of 885 infants with high genetic risk of type 1 diabetes (T1D) explored the temporal association between SARS-CoV-2 infection and development of T1D–associated autoimmunity. The incidence rate of islet autoantibodies was higher in children with vs. without SARS-CoV-2 antibodies (7.8 vs. 3.5 per 100 person-years). Hence, SARS-CoV-2 infection appears temporally associated with the development of islet autoantibodies.<p class...

Brief Summary: This study compared 2 groups of adults defined by their leptin concentrations relative to fat mass. Adults with ‘relatively high leptin’ (RHL, n=646) or ‘relatively low leptin’ (RLL, n=644) concentrations were compared in insulin concentration, insulin secretion, and insulin sensitivity, at both the whole-body level and within adipose tissue. Individuals with RHL showed a distinct metabolic phenotype, characterized by insulin resistance in bo...

Brief Summary: This pilot study assessed the feasibility and impact of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) in 9 adolescents with T2D. CGM use lowered HbA1c by up to 3.8% in participants who consistently used the device.Comment: Large cohort studies investigating complications in children and adolescents with T2D have clearly shown a higher incidence of complications compared to both adults with T2D and children with type 1 diabetes (T1D). These complicat...

Thyroid. 2020;30:1732–1744. doi: 10.1089/thy.2019.0825.This study is of importance, revealing a relevant clinical problem in patients under long-term levothyroxine (LT4) substitution and challenging the concept that all hypothyroid patients can be well controlled with LT4 monotherapy.Lacámara et al. present a small but elegant clinical study describi...