ESPE Yearbook of Paediatric Endocrinology

To read the full abstract: Science 2018;361:76–81.The tuberal nucleus (TN) is a hypothalamic region which is well described in humans but remains poorly defined in rodents. In this paper, the authors demonstrated by specific and sophisticated techniques the role of somatostatin expressing TN (TNSST) neurons in the control of food intake in mice. Interestingly, their resul...

To read the full abstract: Nat Commun. 2018 19;9:2394.“Somatopause” causes the physiological decline over time in GH secretion leading to low IGF-I levels in aging subjects. GH has been proposed as an anti-aging therapy, but with no evidence of beneficial effects and with some potential risks [1,2]. Therefore, current guidelines do not recommend GH therapy as anti-aging treatme...

Abstract: Nature. 2018 Oct;562(7725):133–139.In brief: A newly discovered periosteal stem cell pool with features distinct from other skeletal mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is present in murine and human bone and reveals a pivotal function in intramembranous ossification, cortical bone architecture and fracture healing in conditional knockout mouse strains.</st...

To read the full abstract: Nat Commun. 2018 May. 17;9(1):1977.This population study reports 26 loci for ages at menarche and menopause in a Japanese population and demonstrates widespread differences in allele frequencies and effect estimates between Japanese and European variants.Over the past decade, genome-wide association study (GWAS) meta-analys...

To read the full abstract: Lancet Haematol. 2019 Jun; 6(6): e306.The St Jude Lifetime (SJLIFE) Cohort is a retrospective cohort of childhood cancer survivors (CCS), who are followed prospectively in order to evaluate long-term health outcomes. This study evaluated chronic health conditions in 980 childhood lymphoblastic leukaemia survivors of the SJLIFE cohort, compared to 272 matched co...

To read the full abstract: Nature Medicine 2019; 25(3):507-516.This paper shows that quantitative leptin expression is controlled by redundant cis elements and trans factors that interact with the proximal promoter together with a long noncoding RNA.Friedman’s research group discovered the adipocyte hormone leptin more than 20 years ago. They identified loss o...

To read the full abstract: Int J Obes (Lond). 2019;43(6):1256–1268This epigenome-wide association study in stromal/stem cells (ASCs), derived from subcutaneous adipose tissue samples of lean and obese subjects, revealed a specific DNA methylation signature in adipocyte precursors associated with obesity, which has a significant impact on the metabolic phenotype and the mitochondrial...

To read the full abstract: N Engl J Med. 2018; 378(9): 797-808Sepsis has been identified by the WHO as a global health priority, however, there has been no proven pharmacologic treatment other than the appropriate antibiotic agents, fluids and vasopressors as required. Reported death rates among hospitalized patients with sepsis range between 30-45% (22). Glucocorticoids have been used as ...

To read the full abstract: Lancet 2017;390:1664-1675Whoever could have imagined that a compound discovered as being secreted by enteroendocrine cells in the gut could have a role in treating Parkinson’s disease? GLP-1 does indeed have diverse actions on several peripheral organs (including tongue, stomach, adipose tissues, muscle, pancreas and liver) and on the brainstem to regulate...

In Brief: These authors studied liver-specific SIRT2 knockout mice to examine how loss of hepatocyte SIRT2 (Sirtuin 2) prevents bone loss in aged mice. Hepatocyte SIRT2 deficiency led to upregulation of Leucine rich α2 glycoprotein (LRG1) in hepatocyte-derived small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) which inhibited osteoclastogenesis in bone marrow.Commentary: Liver-bone communication has been implicated in bone homeostasis. P...