Endocrine Abstracts

Bone has three main components: matrix, mostly made up of type 1 collagen, mineral, which is laid down on the matrix by osteoblasts, and bone cells: osteoclasts, which are derived from haemopoietic precursors, osteoclasts, which are of fibroblast precursor origin, and osteocytes, the most numerous, which are derived from osteoblasts.Osteoblasts operate under the influence of several humoral factors including PTH, 1,25(OH)2D and cytokines which...

Rickets is a condition only seen in growing children due to disorders that result in impaired apoptosis of hypertrophic cells and mineralisation of the growth plate and osteoid. Although there are a variety of causes of rickets vitamin D deficiency remains the commonest cause worldwide with evidence of a resurgence in some developed countries.There are several modes of presentation of vitamin D deficiency dependent on the age and growth rate of the child...

What do we mean by ‘osteoporosis’? Essentially, bone of reduced mass that is abnormal at a micro-architectural level, with an increased propensity to fracture. The detection of such abnormality is not straight-forward. Any bone will fracture given sufficient force, and it might be thought that restricting further investigation to those who fracture following mild or trivial trauma would be the way forward. Defining what level of trauma should be regarded as ‘mil...

Growth through the pubertal progress is notoriously difficult to track and interpreting abnormal patterns is tricky. Current growth charts are unhelpful. I will present new analyses of understanding of growth patterns and the tempo of pubertal changes and how they all link together. The RCPCH has launched a specialist growth chart in June to help identify and diagnose abnormal growth patterns during puberty. These include growth centiles for extremes of stature and weight, and...

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