Cortisol response to adrenocorticotropin testing in non-classical congenital adrenal hyperplasia (NCCAH).

Background: The adequacy of cortisol response in non-classical congenital adrenal hyperplasia (NCCAH) has not been fully elucidated. The aim was to evaluate cortisol response to adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) stimulation test in children and adolescents with NCCAH and heterozygotes for CYP21A2 gene mutations.

Methods: One hundred and forty-six children and adolescents, mean age 7.

Haploinsufficiency of Dmxl2, encoding a synaptic protein, causes infertility associated with a loss of GnRH neurons in mouse.

Characterization of the genetic defects causing gonadotropic deficiency has made a major contribution to elucidation of the fundamental role of Kisspeptins and Neurokinin B in puberty onset and reproduction. The absence of puberty may also reveal neurodevelopmental disorders caused by molecular defects in various cellular pathways. Investigations of these neurodevelopmental disorders may provide information about the neuronal processes controlling puberty onset and reproductive capacity.

Primary pigmented nodular adrenocortical disease: a case report in a 7-year-old girl.

Primary pigmented nodular adrenocortical disease (PPNAD) is a rare cause of Cushing syndrome in children, often occurring in association with Carney complex. We report a case of Cushing syndrome due to isolated non-familial PPNAD. The child presented with typical clinical characteristics, growth retardation and obesity.

Resistance to leptin-replacement therapy in Berardinelli-Seip congenital lipodystrophy: an immunological origin.

Context: Recently, in a 4-month proof-of-concept trial, beneficial metabolic effects were reported in non-diabetic children with Berardinelli-Seip congenital lipodystrophy (BSCL); this information prompted us to hypothesize that long-term leptin-replacement therapy might improve or reverse the early complications of the disease in these patients.

Patients And Methods: A 28-month trial was implemented in eight patients. Efficacy assessment was based on a decrease in serum triglyceride concentrations, and/or a decrease in liver volume and/or an increase in insulin sensitivity of at least 30% respectively.

Short stature and dysmorphology associated with defects in the SHOX gene.

Since its discovery in 1997, knowledge about the SHOX gene ( Short stature HOmeoboX-containing gene) has rapidly advanced. Although originally described as causing idiopathic short stature, SHOX mutations are also responsible for growth retardation in Léri-Weill dyschondrosteosis, Langer mesomelic dysplasia and Turner syndrome. Furthermore, SHOX has a broad functional scope and leads to a variety of different morphological-skeletal stigmata associated with these syndromes.