ESPE Yearbook of Paediatric Endocrinology

Brief summary: This randomized, controlled study in healthy-weight individuals examined the effect of a daily high-fat/high-sugar (HF/HS) intervention over 8 weeks on fat and sugar preference, alterations of brain response to food and sensory associative learning. It addressed the question, whether the association between obesity and altered brain function is pre-existing, is secondary to obesity or is attributed to western diet.Current models of obesity...

Brief summary: This study aimed to decipher the pathophysiology of the lower prevalence of diabetic retinopathy observed among youth with T2D who also have severe obesity. None of the several biomarkers assessed was found to be associated with the obesity paradox. The biomarkers included: inflammatory factors, acute phase reactants or cytokines (VEGF, hsCRP, ICAM-1, VCAM-1, homocysteine, adiponectin, E-selectin, MCP-1, TNF-α, IL-6, fibrinogen, and ApoB).<p class="abst...

Brief Summary: This study describes the clinical characteristics of pathogenic variants in the ACAN gene and the response to rhGH treatment over three years in children with a heterozygous ACAN variant. The results indicate that rhGH therapy may be considered to reduce the height deficit in these patients, particularly in prepubertal children with ACAN deficiency.Aggrecan is the major proteoglycan of the cartilage growth plate. Homozygo...

In brief: This article reviews the evidence and provides expert opinion on the safe and appropriate use of denosumab in children and adolescents with RANKL-mediated disorders such as giant cell bone tumours, fibrous dysplasia and juvenile Paget’s disease.Commentary: Receptor activator of nuclear factor κB ligand (RANKL) is expressed by osteogenic cells and induces osteoclast differentiation by binding to RANK on osteoclast precursors. Excessive...

Brief Summary: This multicenter, observational study compared the treatment of diabetes and outcomes between 2 distinct refugee communities in German-speaking countries and among native children in the same countries. The use of advanced diabetes technologies, such as insulin pumps or automated insulin delivery (AID) systems, is restricted by the refugee status. Additionally, parameters such as HbA1c and body mass index (BMI) have been identified to differ by country of origin...

Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2021 Feb;94(2):269–276. doi: 10.1111/cen.14353. PMID: 33098093.Every clinician encounters sometimes tricky incidentalomas, i.e., non-symptom-related imaging findings that are a consequence of increased availability and resolution of radiologic imaging.This study evaluated pediatric pituitary incidentalomas (PIs). Pituitary microadenomas...

BMJ Open. 2020 Dec 24;10(12):e045335. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-045335. PMID: 33361084This BMJ review aimed to assess the accuracy of CGM devices to detect hypoglycaemia and hyperglycaemia in preterm infants. The key take home messages from the BMJ review were that the sensitivity for CGM devices to diagnose and detect hypoglycaemia in preterm infants was poor but the specificity was h...

Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed. 2021 Apr 16. Epub ahead of print. doi: 10.1136/archdischild-2020-319926. PMID: 33863775.This observational study highlights the potential detrimental long-term effects of neonatal hyperglycaemia on neurodevelopmental outcomes in extremely preterm infants, while the benefit of insulin treatment remains unclear.Hyperglycaemia ...

Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2021 Apr 19;4:CD009951. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD009951.pub3. PMID: 33870484.In summary, this review did not find certain evidence to support the use of probiotics to reduce the risk of GDM. Only 2 studies suggested a possible reduction in the risk of GDM with probiotics. More importantly, and of concern, the review found a high degree of certainty that th...

Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2021 May 1;527:111218. doi: 10.1016/j.mce.2021.111218. PMID: 33636254This study used a high fat and high sucrose diet to generate obese mice. The offspring of these mice showed activation of the unfolding protein response and the heat-shock response in the hypothalamus as early as weaning. This was associated with malformed paraventricular nucleus axonal projections ...