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Welcome to issue 26 Dear FrIeNDs aND COlleagues, Following the very successful espe annual Meeting in Dublin in september, the president of the Meeting, Hilary Hoey, shares news from the event in this issue. we thank her for the great hospitality we enjoyed, and also the programme Organising Committee and its Chair, Mehul Dattani, for the excellent scientific programme. You will find details and photographs of the recipients of the many awards that were presented during espe 2014 on pages 3–4. we congratulate all our colleagues! we also congratulate peter Clayton upon his election as the new secretary general for 2015–2018. He is secretary general elect for 2014–2015, while lars sävendahl remains in office for an additional year to allow professor Clayton to complete his 3-year term as Chair of the Corporate liaison Board, and to facilitate handover of the secretary general’s duties. we welcome Faisal ahmed as Chair of the scientific Committee, and are delighted to Welcome continued from page 1 announce the re-election of anita Hokken-Koelega as Chair of the strategic and Finance Committee. You can read about the thriving espe summer school and the next espe science school on page 6. Meanwhile, page 5 features updates from the very productive espe working groups for paediatric and adolescent gynaecology (pag), Bone and growth plate, paediatric endocrine Nurse specialists and allied Health professionals (peNs), and Diabetes technology, following their sessions at espe 2014. anne-Marie Kappelgaard, an enthusiatic supporter of espe, has announced her retirement after working for Novo Nordisk for many years. On page 7 you can read a tribute to her career-long contribution to our discipline. last but not least, the scientific programme for the 54th espe Meeting in Barcelona in 2015 is already taking shape. You can find out more below from the Meeting’s president, laura audí. the preliminary programme can be downloaded at www.espe2015.org, and abstract submission and registration open on 1 December. I thank lars sävendahl for his continued support, as well as my colleagues in the Newsletter team and Caroline Brewser at Bioscientifica, for their enthusiasm and collaboration. Yours sincerely, Professor Feyza Darendeliler
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ONCe agaIN we HaVe another brilliant meeting to remember and one which provided us with an opportunity to meet so many members in person. It was great to see you at espe 2014 in Dublin and to hear your feedback regarding your society. we hope that you enjoyed the meeting not only scientifically but also for the fantastic social events which were so memorable. as you may know, espe offers a wide range of excellent programmes and activities for members and non-members alike. to continue to support the ongoing development of these programmes and the future development of the society, a new post of espe senior Operating Officer (sOO) has been put in place. espe team member Hannah Bonnell is taking up the role of sOO, and will provide strategic support across all espe activities. If you have any queries regarding this role or your society then please do contact Hannah at [email protected]. we would like to remind you of the approaching deadline for nominations for the 2015 espe awards. every year espe is proud to present important and prestigious awards to its members (kindly supported by pfizer), in recognition of their teaching, research and contribution to paediatric endocrinology. this year sees the inauguration of the espe International Outstanding Clinician award. this brand new international award will recognise outstanding clinical contributions to the practice of clinical paediatric endocrinology from a country outside europe and the Mediterranean basin. please submit your nominations by 10 December 2014. You can find out more at www.eurospe.org/awards. last but not least, we would like to welcome all members who have recently joined espe! we always want to hear from you so please do get in touch via [email protected] if you have any queries, or find us on Facebook and twitter. we look forward to hearing from you!
Dear FrIeNDs aND COlleagues, the 54th espe Meeting will take place at Fira gran Via in Barcelona, spain, on 1–3 October 2015. the theme of the meeting will be ‘Improving patient care: a pluridisciplinary dialogue’. You will be able to enjoy a scientific programme including 6 plenary lectures, 10 symposia, 8 ‘Meet the expert’ sessions, 2 ‘New perspective’ sessions and a ‘Controversy’ session, as well as the regular Yearbook and free communication events, satellite symposia, and espe working group meetings. the venue will allow enhanced interaction among participants, with a single area for all poster presentations, enabling you to easily enjoy all the latest research by colleagues. participants are also warmly invited to a welcome reception at the meeting venue, and the traditional espe evening, on saturday, at the sala Oval in the Montjuïc National Museum, where you can admire a magnificent view over the city and the colourful musical fountains. I look forward to welcoming you to espe 2015 in Barcelona
ESPE Young Investigator Awards these awards for young paediatricians, in recognition of their scientific publications, were presented by espe 2014 president Hilary Hoey to: • Joerg Oliver Semler (Cologne, germany), whose award lecture was entitled ‘Osteogenesis imperfecta – new genes, new therapies’ • Pauliina Utriainen (Helsinki, Finland), whose award lecture was entitled ‘the mystery of premature adrenarche’ ESPE Hormone Research in Paediatrics Prizes these prizes for the best original papers published in Hormone Research in Paediatrics were presented by the editor of the journal, stefano Cianfarani, to: • Alexandra E Kulle (Kiel, germany) for ‘Implementation of a liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry assay for eight adrenal c-21 steroids and paediatric reference data’ • Julia von Schnurbein (ulm, germany) for ‘rapid improvement of hepatic steatosis after initiation of leptin substitution in a leptin-deficient girl’ Henning Andersen Prizes these awards for the most highly rated abstracts submitted to the espe meeting were presented by the Chair of the espe education and training Committee, Jan lebl, to: • Ana Paula Abreu (são paulo, Brazil) for the Best abstract in Basic science, ‘Deciphering the functional mechanisms by which MKrN3 regulates puberty initiation’ • Casper Hagen (Copenhagen, Denmark) for the Best abstract in Clinical science, ‘pubertal onset in girls is strongly influenced by genetic variation in promoters affecting FsH action’
IFCAH-ESPE Grants these awards, for research into congenital adrenal hyperplasia, were presented to Perdomini Morgane (le Kremlin-Bicêtre, France) and Svetlana Lajic (stockholm, sweden). ESPE Research Unit Grants these grants, designed to facilitate collaborative research in paediatric endocrinology, were awarded to Anu Bashamboo (paris, France) for ‘Cellular modelling of human gonad sex determination’, Elisabeth Crowne (Bristol, uK) for ‘Managing clitoromegaly in childhood in girls with CaH: an investigation of the psychological impact of current treatment strategies’ and Susan O’Connell (Cork, Ireland) for ‘what is the dose response of varying meal content of fat on postprandial glycaemia in children with t1DM?’
Bringing you recent highlights from the world of research
tHIs lIVelY sYMpOsIuM hosted more than 800 delegates. It was entitled ‘Ovarian function in adolescence: from physiology to pathology’, and was chaired by Feyza Darendeliler (Istanbul, turkey), Marco Cappa (rome, Italy), Jean-pierre Bourguignon (liège, Belgium) and lourdes Ibáñez (Barcelona, spain). anders Juul (Copenhagen, Denmark) presented data on markers of ovarian function in girls, with a focus on anti-Müllerian hormone (aMH), inhibin B and liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry techniques to improve the sensitivity of oestradiol assessment. aMH in particular seems to be a sensitive marker for ovarian function, and normative data are emerging. Nelly pitteloud (lausanne, switzerland) discussed the approach to hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism (HH) departing from a clinical case. she pointed out that differentiating HH from functional amenorrhoea may be difficult in some cases, and that reversible cases may also pose a difficulty. pierre Michaud (lausanne, switzerland) provided an update on the current strategies for contraception in adolescence from a public health perspective. Catherine gordon (Boston, Ma, usa) presented a comprehensive overview of available contraceptive methods in adolescence, focusing on oral contraceptive pills, transdermal patches, and the vaginal ring, together with the contraindications for each method. Finally, Michel polak (paris, France) discussed ovarian function in patients with rare chronic diseases, including galactosaemia and congenital disorders of glycosylation. the conclusion of this interesting presentation was that these patients should be followed closely into adulthood for fertility and replacement therapies. In 2015, the pag working group symposium is likely to focus on the short and long term challenges for the reproductive system in malignancies, and the influence of nutrition on ovarian function. You are cordially invited to attend! You are also invited to suggest topics that you would like to see covered in future symposia.
FOllOwINg a suCCessFul Nurses’ sessION in Milan, we were excited to host our inaugural peNs working group meeting in Dublin. we had three excellent and highly informative talks by clinical nurse specialist colleagues from Canada, Israel and the uK, which were very well received by over 60 delegates from 14 different countries. the topics discussed included: • Quality of life and anxiety in adolescents with differentiated thyroid cancer • a digital approach to growth hormone therapy training • an international study on endocrine nursing, social media and research plans are underway for our session in Barcelona, which will include some short case presentations and a patient information sharing session on thyroid disorders. please get in touch if you would like to be added to our mailing list or to give a presentation next year
we welCOMeD 311 partICIpaNts to the inaugural meeting of this
new working group, to discuss the use of the latest technology in the
treatment of children with diabetes. the forum debated issues such as
the best time to introduce pumps and sensors into the care of children,
the optimal length of hospitalisation of newly diagnosed patients and
the best insulin preparation to use. we also considered the horizon for
use of technology in caring for children with diabetes.
Future meetings will discuss new insulins for use in the paediatric
age group and updates on pumps, sensors and closed-loop systems.
For more information, please get in touch.
Our well-atteNDeD wOrKsHOp focused on new advances in growth plate biology and emerging therapies in metabolic bone diseases. Colin Farquharson (edinburgh, uK) detailed recent progress in the understanding of growth hormone action at the growth plate. Murat Bastepe (Boston, Ma, usa) followed, clarifying the role of individual g proteins in parathyroid hormone-related protein-mediated control of growth plate chondrocyte differentiation, and thereby prevention of premature epiphyseal fusion. In the emerging therapy session, Michael Collins (Bethesda, MD, usa) reported on the experimental treatment of fibrous dysplasia using a monoclonal antibody against raNK ligand (Denosumab®), which specifically and potently blocks recruitment and differentiation of preosteoclasts into osteoclasts (see Figure), and thereby act as an antiresorptive agent. agnès linglart (paris, France) shared her insight and experience of parathyroid hormone therapy in hypoparathyroidism. the workshop concluded with a lively discussion on the use of drug holidays in bisphosphonate treatment of children, moderated by Ciara McDonnell and Malachi McKenna (both from Dublin, Ireland). Ola Nilsson Co-ordinator [email protected]
ESPE is now more than 50 years old. Your Society has been uniting paediatric endocrinologists ever since its formation,
aiding communication and education and improving patient care. In this article, we look back at the Society's formative
tHIs Year’s NOBel prIZe in physiology or Medicine was awarded
to three scientists: John O’Keefe (london, uK) and May-Britt and
Edvard Moser (trondheim, Norway), for their discoveries of cells
that constitute a positioning system in the brain.
we are all familiar with the use of gps technology to orientate
ourselves in space; it appears that the brain has similar capability.
O’Keefe, working at university College london, found that nerve
cells in the hippocampus were activated when a rat was at a certain
place in a room. He called them ‘place cells’, implying that these cell
groups had recognition of position. three decades later, at the
Norwegian university of science and technology, the Mosers
identified another key aspect of the positioning system, namely ‘grid
cells’ in the entorhinal cortex. these work like co-ordinates on a
map,1 enabling the rat to find its way. recent imaging investigations
in humans have supported the existence of ‘place’ and ‘grid’ cells,
and these discoveries represent a major step in our understanding of
how humans navigate.
the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex are affected early in
alzheimer’s disease. patients often lose their sense of direction an do not understand where they are. the tools that brain cell ensembles use to position and navigate are similar to those required for memory retention. so, the discovery of the brain’s navigational apparatus is vital to our understanding of alzheimer’s disease. Future work promises to shed more light on the exact mechanisms by which such cells ‘listen’ and ‘talk’ to one another, how they perceive transformations in velocity and how organisms make decisions in different situations. Brain cell ensembles may not be as esoteric to endocrinologists as they sound. we are aware that glucocorticoids modulate consolidation of spatial memory through networks in the dorsomedial striatum2 and that oestrogens play a part in neurogenesis in mouse models of alzheimer’s disease.3 perhaps future work will shed more light on connectivity of endocrine neural inputs and how they influence endocrine disease and well-being
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