Factors Influencing the Timing of Ovarian Tissue Cryopreservation in Young Girls.

The aim of this study was to identify pitfalls in ovarian tissue cryopreservation protocol from referral to surgical procedure and to analyze factors associated with chemotherapy exposure of the cryopreserved tissue and decreased ovarian function in a cohort of young girls at high risk of infertility. The study population comprised 200 girls eligible for ovarian tissue cryopreservation between 2002 and 2020 at the Children's Hospital of the University Central Hospital of Helsinki (Finland). Analyses included evaluation of the proportion of patients who underwent ovarian tissue cryopreservation, factors associated with patient selection and timing of ovarian tissue cryopreservation, and ovarian function during long-term follow-up in relation to oncological treatments.

Efficacy and safety of advanced hybrid closed loop systems in children with type 1 diabetes younger than 6 years.

Background: Tight glycemic control is essential for the normal growth and development of preschool children. The aim of our study was to evaluate the impact of advanced hybrid closed loop (AHCL) systems in a real-life setting in children younger than 6 years.

Methods: We conducted a two-center prospective study.

Diabetes and prediabetes in children with cystic fibrosis.

Purpose Of Review: Glucose metabolism alterations in cystic fibrosis range from the classic cystic fibrosis-related diabetes (CFRD) to forms of glucose intolerance and prediabetes. The aim of the present work is to review the most up-to-date novelties in terms of CFRD diagnosis and therapy. This review is timely and relevant because it allows an update for the early and correct classification of glucose abnormalities in cystic fibrosis and because it favours an appropriate therapeutic approach.

Medium- and time-related effects on hypothermic storage of rat testicular cells.

Objective: Testicular samples obtained for fertility preservation often need to be transported between clinics. This study aimed to mimic this short-term hypothermic storage (4-8 °C) and explore the impact of these conditions and the transport medium composition on prepubertal rat testicular tissue samples.

Methods: Testicular tissue samples obtained from seven days post-partum rats were transferred to six compositionally different basal culture media and a balanced salt solution, which had been kept at 4-8 °C prior to transfer.

Monogenic diabetes clinic (MDC): 3-year experience.

Aim: In the pediatric diabetes clinic, patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D) account for more than 90% of cases, while monogenic forms represent about 6%. Many monogenic diabetes subtypes may respond to therapies other than insulin and have chronic diabetes complication prognosis that is different from T1D. With the aim of providing a better diagnostic pipeline and a tailored care for patients with monogenic diabetes, we set up a monogenic diabetes clinic (MDC).

Increased incidence of childhood type 1 diabetes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Figures from an Italian tertiary care center.

In 2021 as a whole we report an increase (22% to 35%) in incidence of type 1 diabetes compared to the years 2017 to 2020. A peak of incidence in the last 4 months of 2021, when the “fourth wave” of COVID‐19 peaked in Italy, has been observed. In the last quarter of 2021 there was a significant increased type 1 diabetes incidence in the age group under 12 years.

The Silent Epidemic of Diabetic Ketoacidosis at Diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes in Children and Adolescents in Italy During the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020.

Aim/hypothesis: To compare the frequency of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) at diagnosis of type 1 diabetes in Italy during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 with the frequency of DKA during 2017-2019.

Methods: Forty-seven pediatric diabetes centers caring for >90% of young people with diabetes in Italy recruited 4,237 newly diagnosed children with type 1 diabetes between 2017 and 2020 in a longitudinal study. Four subperiods in 2020 were defined based on government-imposed containment measures for COVID-19, and the frequencies of DKA and severe DKA compared with the same periods in 2017-2019.

The Effects of Nutrition on Linear Growth.

Linear growth is a complex process and is considered one of the best indicators of children's well-being and health. Genetics, epigenetics and environment (mainly stress and availability of nutrients) are the main regulators of growth. Nutrition exerts its effects on growth throughout the course of life with different, not completely understood mechanisms.

Comparison of two advanced hybrid closed loop in a pediatric population with type 1 diabetes: a real-life observational study.

Objective: The Advanced Hybrid Closed Loop (AHCL) systems have provided the potential to ameliorate glucose control in children with Type 1 Diabetes. The aim of the present work was to compare metabolic control obtained with 2 AHCL systems (Medtronic 780G system and Tandem Control IQ system) in a pediatric real-life clinical context.

Research Design And Methods: It is an observational, real-life, monocentric study; thirty one children and adolescents (M:F = 15:16, age range 7.

Long-Acting Growth Hormone Preparations and Their Use in Children with Growth Hormone Deficiency.

Background: Daily recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) is approved and marketed worldwide to treat children and adults with GH deficiency and other conditions. Efficacy of rhGH therapy is influenced by several variables. Drop of treatment adherence over time has been recognized as a cause of reduced rhGH efficacy and has driven considerable efforts from pharmaceutical companies and scientists to develop long-acting rhGH (LAGH) formulations in order to relieve patients and their families from the burden of daily injections.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in parents of children with type 1 diabetes during Covid-19 pandemic.

Introduction: The Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a group of persistent psychological and physiological symptoms due to a traumatic, severe, event. Only few studies focused on the effects of Covid-19 on psychosocial outcomes in children with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) and their parents.

Aim Of The Study: The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence PTSD in parents of children with T1D during COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.

The Impact of Stress on Health in Childhood and Adolescence in the Era of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: The ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is posing many challenges to global health. Efforts from the whole scientific community have shed light on the pathogenetic mechanisms and the clinical features of SARS-CoV-2 infection as well as on potential therapeutic strategies.

Summary: The consequences of stress related to social isolation and anxiety generated by the pandemic on mental and physical health are collateral effects that are yet poorly investigated.

Fertility Preservation for Prepubertal Patients at Risk of Infertility: Present Status and Future Perspectives.

The increasing cure rate of cancer has led to a vast population of survivors having to face the late adverse effects of oncological treatments, with fertility impairment being one of the most sensitive issues for patients. Different options to preserve the fertility of adult patients are routinely used in clinical practice. However, fertility preservation strategies for prepubertal patients at risk of infertility are limited to the cryopreservation of immature gonadal tissue.

Impact of first-line cancer treatment on the follicle quality in cryopreserved ovarian samples from girls and young women.

Study Question: Does first-line chemotherapy affect the quality of ovarian pre-antral follicles and stromal tissue in a population of young patients?

Summary Answer: Exposure to first-line chemotherapy significantly impacts follicle viability, size of residual intact follicles, steroid secretion in culture and quality of the stromal compartment.

What Is Known Already: First-line chemotherapy is considered to have a low gonadotoxic potential, and as such, does not represent an indication for fertility preservation. Studies investigating the effects of chemotherapy on the quality of ovarian tissue stored for fertility preservation in young patients are limited and the results sometimes contradictory.

Impact of uteroplacental insufficiency on ovarian follicular pool in the rat.

Background: A low oxygen supply to the fetus causes intrauterine growth restriction and can affect gonadal development of the offspring, having a potential impact on fertility. We investigated histology and gene expression in the postnatal rat ovary after fetal hypoxia induced by uterine artery ligation.

Methods: Sprague-Dawley rats underwent uterine artery ligation at day 19 of gestation.

Expression of insulin-like growth factor I and its receptor in the liver of children with biopsy-proven NAFLD.

Background And Aims: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is one of the major complications of obesity, occurring already in pediatric age. Insulin like growth factor-I has been proposed as a potential therapeutic agent for its beneficial effect in experimental liver fibrosis. The aim of this work was to investigate the expression of insulin-like growth factor-I and its receptor in the liver of children with biopsy-proven nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and relate it to liver histological features.

Serum Fetuin-A levels in obese children with biopsy proven nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Background And Aims: Fetuin-A has been proposed as a marker of liver damage in adults with obesity-related NAFLD. The aim of this study was to test serum fetuin-A concentrations in obese children with NAFLD diagnosed either by ultrasonography or by liver biopsy and to determine its applicability as predictive tool in pediatric NAFLD.

Methods And Results: Metabolic parameters and fetuin-A levels were investigated in 81 obese children with NAFLD diagnosed by biopsy, 79 obese children with NAFLD defined by liver ultrasonography and 23 lean subjects.

Impact of uteroplacental insufficiency on postnatal rat male gonad.

Prenatal events such as intrauterine growth restriction can affect gonadal development of the offspring and have an impact on reproductive health. To investigate the effects of intrauterine growth restriction induced by uterine artery ligation on the postnatal rat testis. Pregnant rats underwent uterine artery ligation at day 19 of gestation.

Brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging as First-Line Investigation for Growth Hormone Deficiency Diagnosis in Early Childhood.

Background/aims: The diagnosis of growth hormone (GH) deficiency (GHD) in infancy and early childhood is not straightforward. GH stimulation tests are unsafe and unreliable in infants, and normative data are lacking. This study aims to investigate whether brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may replace GH stimulation tests in the diagnosis of GHD in children younger than 4 years.