X-chromosome gene dosage as a determinant of impaired pre and postnatal growth and adult height in Turner syndrome

International audienceOBJECTIVE:Short stature is a key aspect of the phenotype of patients with Turner syndrome (TS). SHOX haploinsufficiency is responsible for about two-thirds of the height deficit. The aim was to investigate the effect of X-chromosome gene dosage on anthropometric parameters at birth, spontaneous height, and adult height (AH) after growth hormone (GH) treatment.DESIGN:We conducted a national observational multicenter study.METHODS:Birth parameter SDS for gestational age, height, and AH before and after GH treatment respectively, and height deficit with respect to target height (SDS) were classified by karyotype subgroup in a cohort of 1501 patients with TS: 45,X (36%), isoXq (19%), 45,X/46,XX (15%), XrX (7%), presence of Y (6%), or other karyotypes (17%).RESULTS:Birth weight, length (P<0.0001), and head circumference (P<0.001), height and height deficit with respect to target height (SDS) before GH treatment, at a median age of 8.8 (5.3-11.8) years and after adjustment for age and correction for multiple testing (P<0.0001), and AH deficit with respect to target height at a median age of 19.3 (18.0-21.8) years and with additional adjustment for dose and duration of GH treatment (P=0.006), were significantly associated with karyotype subgroup. Growth retardation tended to be more severe in patients with XrX, isoXq, and, to a lesser extent, 45,X karyotypes than in patients with 45,X/46,XX karyotypes or a Y chromosome.CONCLUSION:These data suggest that haploinsufficiency for an unknown Xp gene increases the risk of fetal and postnatal growth deficit and short AH with respect to target height after GH therapy

Triiodothyronine-predominant Graves’ disease in childhood: detection and therapeutic implications

ObjectiveTo assess in a pediatric population, the clinical characteristics and management of triiodothyronine-predominant Graves' disease (T3-P-GD), a rare condition well known in adults, but not previously described in children.DesignWe conducted a university hospital-based observational study.MethodsAll patients with GD followed for more than 1 year between 2003 and 2013 (n=60) were included. T3-P-GD (group I) was defined as high free T3 (fT3) concentration (&gt;8.0 pmol/l) associated with a normal free thyroxine (fT4) concentration and undetectable TSH more than 1 month after the initiation of antithyroid drug (ATD) treatment. Group II contained patients with classical GD without T3-P-GD.ResultsEight (13%) of the patients were found to have T3-P-GD, a median of 6.3 (3.0–10.5) months after initial diagnosis (n=4) or 2.8 (2.0–11.9) months after the first relapse after treatment discontinuation (n=4). At GD diagnosis, group I patients were more likely to be younger (6.8 (4.3–11.0) vs 10.7 (7.2–13.7) years) and had more severe disease than group II patients, with higher serum TSH receptor autoantibodies (TRAb) levels: 40 (31–69) vs 17 (8–25) IU/l, P&lt;0.04, and with slightly higher serum fT4 (92 (64–99) vs 63 (44–83) pmol/l) and fT3 (31 (30–46) vs 25 (17–31) pmol/l) concentrations. During the 3 years following T3-P-GD diagnosis, a double dose of ATD was required and median serum fT4:fT3 ratio remained lower in group I than in group II.ConclusionSevere hyperthyroidism, with particularly high TRAb concentrations at diagnosis, may facilitate the identification of patients requiring regular serum fT3 determinations and potentially needing higher doses of ATD dosage during follow-up.</jats:sec

Steroidogenic factor-1 (SF-1) gene mutation as a frequent cause of primary amenorrhea in 46,XY female adolescents with low testosterone concentration

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Primary amenorrhea due to 46,XY disorders of sex differentiation (DSD) is a frequent reason for consultation in endocrine and gynecology clinics. Among the genetic causes of low-testosterone primary amenorrhea due to 46,XY DSD, SRY gene is reported to be frequently involved, but other genes, such as SF1 and WT1, have never been studied for their prevalence.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We directly sequenced SRY, SF1 and WT1 genes in 15 adolescent girls with primary amenorrhea, low testosterone concentration, and XY karyotype, to determine the prevalence of mutations. We also analyzed the LH receptor gene in patients with high LH and normal FSH concentrations.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Among the 15 adolescents with primary amenorrhea and low testosterone concentration, we identified two new SRY mutations, five new SF1 mutations and one new LH receptor gene mutation. Our study confirms the 10-15% prevalence of SRY mutations and shows the high prevalence (33%) of SF1 abnormalities in primary amenorrhea due to 46,XY DSD with low plasma testosterone concentration.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The genetic analysis of low-testosterone primary amenorrhea is complex as several factors may be involved. This work underlines the need to systematically analyze the SF1 sequence in girls with primary amenorrhea due to 46,XY DSD and low testosterone, as well as in newborns with 46,XY DSD.</p

Mutations in the maternally imprinted gene MKRN3 are common in familial central precocious puberty

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: Idiopathic central precocious puberty (iCPP) is defined as early activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis in the absence of identifiable central lesions. Mutations of the makorin RING finger 3 (MKRN3) gene are associated with iCPP. We aimed to assess the frequency of MKRN3 mutations in iCPP and to compare the phenotypes of patients with and without MKRN3 mutations. DESIGN: An observational study was carried out on patients recruited at pediatric hospitals in France and Italy. Forty-six index CPP cases were screened for mutations in the MKRN3 coding sequence: 28 index cases of familial cases and 18 cases did not report any familial history of CPP. The endocrine phenotype was compared between MKRN3 mutated and non-mutated patients. RESULTS: MKRN3 mutations were identified in one sporadic and 13 familial cases. We identified five new heterozygous missense mutations predicted to be deleterious for protein function and two frameshift mutations, one new and the other recurrent, predicted to result in truncated proteins. Age at puberty onset varied very little among patients with MKRN3 mutations and puberty occurred earlier in these patients than in those without MKRN3 mutations (6.0 years (5.4-6.0) vs 7.0 years (6.0-7.0), P=0.01). CONCLUSIONS: MKRN3 mutations are common in familial iCPP. MKRN3 is one of the gatekeepers of the postnatal activation of the gonadotropic axis

Spontaneous fertility and pregnancy outcomes amongst 480 women with Turner syndrome

International audienceSTUDY QUESTION: What are the prevalence and the outcomes of spontaneous pregnancies (SP) in a large cohort of French women with Turner syndrome (TS)?ăSUMMARY ANSWER: Amongst 480 women with TS, 27 women (5.6%) had a total of 52 SP, with 30 full-term deliveries for 18 women.ăWHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: Primary ovarian insufficiency is a classic feature of TS. So far, few studies have evaluated the rate of SP in these patients.ăSTUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION: The French Ministry of Health set up a National Reference Centre for Rare Growth Disorders (CRMERC), including TS. We studied a cohort of adult TS patients from seven endocrine units (Saint-Antoine, Pitié-Salpêtrière, Bicêtre, Lyon, Marseille, Brest, Reims Hospitals) belonging to this centre, between January 1999 and January 2014.ăPARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS: A total of 480 adult patients with TS were included. The patients' clinical characteristics, karyotypes and reproductive histories had been collected, after informed consent, in a web database called CEMARA. Our reference population was issued from a database belonging to the French Health Ministry, collecting pregnancy outcomes in the French general population. In order to find predictive characteristics of SP, TS with spontaneous pregnancies were compared with non-pregnant TS patients from our cohort.ăMAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE: There were 27 patients (5.6%) who had a total of 52 SP. The two predictive factors which correlated with occurrence of a SP were spontaneous menarche and mosaic karyotype. The median delay to conception was 6 months (range 0-84). Miscarriage occurred in 16 pregnancies, 30.8% versus 15% in the general French population (P \textless 0.01). The remaining pregnancy outcomes were legal abortion (n = 2), medical interruption (n = 3), intrauterine fetal death (n = 1) and delivery at term (n = 30). Caesarean section rates were higher than in the general population, respectively 46.7% versus 21% (P \textless 0.001). Pregnancy-induced hypertensive disorders (PHDs) occurred in four cases (13.3%), including two cases of mild pre-eclampsia (6.7%). Neither aortic root dilatation nor aortic dissection were observed. The median birthweight was 3030 g (range 2020-3460). Two cases of TS were identified in the 17 daughters issued from this cohort.ăLIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION: It would have been interesting to evaluate AMH levels and SP occurrence, as a predictive factor. Unfortunately, hormonal measurements were missing for some patients. Prospective studies are necessary to display prognostic values of AMH for SP and thus better target fertility preservation programmes in TS patients.ăWIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS: This study suggests that pregnancy outcomes in SPs are more favourable than those after oocyte donation in TS patients. However, the risk of fetal chromosomal abnormalities remains high. Our study will be useful in order to give patients with TS, their families, paediatricians and physicians involved in reproduction, better counselling concerning their fertility.ăSTUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTERESTS: Funding was provided by the Association pour la recherche Claude Bernard, Paris France All authors claim no competing interests.ăTRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NA

Positive impact of genetic test on the management and outcome of patients with paraganglioma and/or pheochromocytoma

International audienceOC5.1Positive impact of genetic test on the management and outcome of patients with paraganglioma and/or pheochromocytomaContextParagangliomas and pheochromocytomas (PPGL) are rare neuroendocrine tumors, characterized by a strong genetic component. Indeed, up to 40% of patients carry a germline mutation in a PPGL susceptibility gene. In accordance with the international recommendations, genotyping of PPGL susceptibility genes is therefore proposed to all patients with PPGL, but it has actually never beenshown whether the identification of a germline mutation in one PPGL susceptibility gene changes the outcome of mutation-carriers.ObjectiveOur objective was to evaluate how a positive genetic test impacts the management and outcome of propositus patients with PPGL carrying a germline mutation in one of the four major PPGL susceptibility genes (SDHB, SDHD, SDHC and VHL).DesignWe performed a multicentric retrospective study on 221 propositus carrying a SDHB, SDHD, SDHC or VHL germline mutation and followed in 24 French clinical centers of the Group of Endocrine Tumors and/or the COMETE network. Patients were divided into two groups: Genetic patients, who were informed of their genetic status within the year following the first PPGL diagnosis, and Historic patients who only benefited from the genetic test several years after initial PPGL diagnosis.ResultsCompared to Historic patients, Genetic patients had a better follow-up, with a higher number of examinations and a reduced number of patients lost to follow-up (9.6% versus 72%). During follow-up, smaller (18.7 mm versus 27.6, PZ0.0128) new PPGL and metastases as well as lower metastatic spread were observed in Genetic patients. Importantly, these differences were reversed in the Historic cohort after genetic testing. Genetic patients who developed metachronous metastases had a better 5-year survival than Historic ones (PZ0.0127).ConclusionAltogether our study clearly shows the positive impact of the identification of an SDHx or VHL mutation in the management, clinical outcome and survival of patients with PPGL. It reveals, for the first time, the clinical benefits of the practice of oncogenetics for patients with a rare cancer and strongly strengthens the recommendations of the Endocrine Society to consider PPGL genetic testingin all patients affected by PPGL.DOI: 10.1530/endoabs.63.OC5.

Consensus sur l'insuffisance surrénale de la SFE/SFEDP : introduction et guide

International audienceThe French endocrinology society (SFE) and the French pediatric endocrinology society (DFSDP) have drawn up recommendations for the management of primary and secondary adrenal insufficiency in the adult and child, based on an analysis of the literature by 19 experts in 6 work-groups. A diagnosis of adrenal insufficiency should be suspected in the presence of a number of non-specific symptoms except hyperpigmentation which is observed in primary adrenal insufficiency. Diagnosis rely on plasma cortisol and ACTH measurement at 8am and/or the cortisol increase after synacthen administration. When there is a persistant doubt of secondary adrenal insufficiency, insulin hypoglycemia test should be carried out in adults, adolescents and children older than 2 years. For determining the cause of primary adrenal insufficiency, measurement of anti-21-hydroxylase antibodies is the initial testing. An adrenal CT scan should be performed if auto-antibody tests are negative, then assay for very long (Y. Reznik). chain fatty acids is recommended in young males. In children, a genetic anomaly is generally found, most often congenital adrenal hyperplasia. In the case of isolated corticotropin (ACTH) insufficiency, it is recommended to first eliminate corticosteroid-induced adrenal insufficiency, then perform an hypothalamic-pituitary MRI. Acute adrenal insufficiency is a serious condition, a gastrointestinal infection being the most frequently reported initiating factor. After blood sampling for cortisol and ACTH assay, treatment should be commenced by parenteral hydrocortisone hemisuccinate together with the correction of hypoglycemia and hypovolemia. Prevention of acute adrenal crisis requires an education of the patient and/or parent in the case of pediatric patients and the development of educational programs. Treatment of adrenal insufficiency is based on the use of hydrocortisone given at the lowest possible dose, administered several times per day. Mineralocorticoid replacement is often necessary for primary adrenal insufficiency but not for corticotroph deficiency. Androgen replacement by DHEA may be offered in certain conditions. Monitoring is based on the detection of signs of under-and over-dosage and on the diagnosis of associated auto-immune disorders.La Société française d'endocrinologie (SFE) et la Société française d'endocrinologie pédiatrique (SFEDP) ont élaboré des recommandations sur la prise en charge de l'insuffisance surrénale primaire et secondaire de l'adulte et de l'enfant, à partir d'une analyse de la littérature réalisée par 19 experts répartis en 6 groupes de travail. Le diagnostic d'insuffisance surrénale doit être évoqué devant l'association de signes cliniques et biologiques non spé-cifiques, en dehors de la mélanodermie observée dans l'insuffisance surrénale primaire. Le diagnostic repose sur les dosages du cortisol et de l'ACTH le matin et/ou le dosage du cortisol après stimulation par l'ACTH synthétique (synacthène). En cas de doute, le test d'hypoglycémie insulinique est le test de référence chez l'adulte l'adolescent et l'enfant de plus de 2 ans. La recherche étiologique est basée sur le dosage en 1 re intention des anticorps anti 21-hydroxylase. En cas de négativité, un scanner surrénalien sera réalisé, puis le dosage des acides gras à chaînes longues sera effectué chez le garçon. Chez l'enfant, une cause génétique sera recherchée, principalement l'hyperplasie congénitale des surrénales. Devant un déficit corticotrope, après la recherche d'une prise prolongée de glucocorticoïdes sera effectuée une imagerie hypothalamo-hypophysaire. L'insuffisance surrénale aiguë est une complication grave souvent déclenchée par une infection gastro-intestinale. Elle nécessite après prélèvement pour dosage du cortisol et ACTH l'administration parentérale d'hémisuccinate d'hydrocortisone et la correction de l'hypovolémie et/ou de l'hypoglycémie. Sa prévention repose sur l'éducation thérapeutique du patient pour laquelle des programmes seront développés. Le traitement de l'insuffisance surrénale s'appuie sur la prise pluriquotidienne d'hydrocortisone à la dose la plus faible possible. La substitution minéralocorticoïde est réalisée en cas d'insuffisance surrénale primaire mais n'est pas nécessaire en cas d'insuffisance surrénale secondaire. La substitution androgénique par la DHEA peut être proposée dans cer-taines indications précises. La monitoring comportera la recherche de signes cliniques et biologiques de sous/surdosage et de maladies auto-immunes associées