Greetings,
As President, some of you have reached out with ideas, suggestions or concerns relating to an area within the world of pediatric endocrinology. I encourage you to even reach out to one of the Special Interest Groups (SIG) by searching under the Clinical Resources links on our Webpage Special Interest Groups – Pediatric Endocrine Society (pedsendo.org). We want to represent all of the interests of the Pediatric Endocrinologist, from the academician to those in private practice, as well as those with a unique type of job perhaps encompassing both. Where should we focus our resources is a question which we need all the membership to give their input.
With that background, this is an important year as we are reviewing our entire strategic plans. You have been sent a survey link, one that is specific to you so I cannot just send you a link.
Please look out and complete the strategic planning meeting preparation survey which you received from Susan Newton, our consultant with Development Strategies Plus. If you cannot find the link, you will get a reminder with that link soon. (FYI, I also completed the survey and it took me under 9 minutes).
Before I provide information from our society, I present to you just one of my cases, but in two parts
Part A
A nulliparous woman asks her primary care physician about the risk of having a future child with CAH. Her husband was diagnosed in infancy with 21-hydroxylase deficiency and mother has no health concerns. The physician smiles and correctly states that CAH is inherited in an autosomal recessive manner. (So far, so good). He then tells the mother there is no chance that her future child will have CAH, but will surely be a carrier. What is the chance that this child was born with CAH?
- 0 %
- 25%
- 50%
- Half of the chance that mom is a carrier
- 100%
The advising PCP clearly felt the answer was A, but did not consider the chance that mother was a carrier. If mom had the CAH gene, then she would pass it on half the time (and dad 100% of the time). One source concluded the carrier rate in their population was 1/55, in which case the chance would be 1/110.
(Baumgartner-Parzer SM, et al.. Carrier frequency of congenital adrenal hyperplasia (21-hydroxylase deficiency) in a middle European population. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2005 Feb;90(2):775-8; Krone N, Arlt W. Genetics of congenital adrenal hyperplasia. Best Pract Res Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2009 Apr;23(2):181-92.)
Those who answered D scientifically were correct.
Those who answered E are good detectives as why would they eventually become my patient if the child didn’t get CAH?
Well, mother would give birth to a girl with all the classic findings of virilization and CAH. Therefore, E is also being counted as correct (sorry, no MOC points for this question).
Part B
They’re back. Mother, who switched PCP after this piece of misinformation, just learned she is pregnant and asks were new PCP what the chances of CAH are with her next child. The PCP considers now that mother must be a carrier, so answers “25%”. The mother learns from endocrinology that the chances are 50% given that dad is clearly passing on the defective gene. (Mother would be treated with dexamethasone by her obstetricians, and would deliver another girl, with CAH, and no signs of virilization).
She has one more dilemma, who should she choose as her new PCP?
Sincerely,
Craig A. Alter, MD
Calling for PES 2023 Annual Meeting Abstract Reviewers
The Program Committee invites you to serve as an Abstract Reviewer for the 2023 Annual Meeting, to be held in San Diego, CA from May 5 – 8, 2023.
By volunteering to review, you get a firsthand look at the abstracts submitted for the 2023 Annual Meeting and help to develop the scientific content presented! We aim to continue building our robust cohort of abstract reviewers with diverse backgrounds and perspectives to inform programming at the 2023 Annual Meeting.
Abstract reviews will take place beginning December 15, 2022 and will conclude on January 13, 2023. Each abstract reviewer will be assigned between 10 and 15 abstracts for their review.
PES 2023 Abstract Reviewer Application (pedsendo.org)
11th International Meeting of Pediatric Endocrinology (IMPE) 2023 – 04 – 07 March 4-7, 2023.
Be part of the 11th International Meeting of Pediatric Endocrinology (IMPE) Meeting! Join us in Buenos Aires on 4-7 March 2023 to reconnect with colleagues from around the world.
Submit an abstract to make your work accessible to thousands of clinicians and researchers working in paediatric endocrinology. This will give you the opportunity to get useful feedback, helping you to progress your work, and boost your networking and presentation skills.
Deadline: Monday 7 November 2022 (23:59 BST)
Register your interest now to be the first to find out key deadlines, including early-bird registration.
Be an abstract reviewer!
The IPOC is soliciting volunteers to review abstracts for the International Meeting. There are 11 categories of abstracts, and they would like 3-4 reviewers for each category from each of the sister societies. Please see submission categories and sign up today! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E4BA4AB2CABF8C25-abstract
Deadline is October 10, 2022.
Online Education:
State of the Art: Obesity SIG: Anti-Obesity Pharmacotherapy for the Pediatric Patient with Obesity
September 28, 2022 / 4:00 – 5:00 PM EDT
Speaker: Sonali Malhotra, MD, Mass General for Children, Harvard Medical School
Brief Description: Pediatric obesity is increasing globally. Lifestyle and behavioral changes, which are frequently used interventions in clinical practice, lead to only modest improvements in children with established obesity. A huge treatment gap exists for children suffering from obesity, especially after the failure of lifestyle modifications. Anti-obesity pharmacotherapy, an established management tool in adults, is very rarely used in children. Only three medications, Phentermine, Orlistat, and Liraglutide are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in adolescent obesity. This presentation aims to provide the current landscape of the various pharmacological approaches, which can be used for the treatment of pediatric patients with obesity.
Learning Objectives:
- Identify the current Epidemiological trends in Pediatric Obesity
- Recognize the currently available therapies for the management of pediatric and adolescent obesity
- Application and use of various anti-obesity medications in clinical practice
PES Education Committee Webinar Series: Hypophosphatemic Rickets and FGF-23
October 17, 2022 / 4:00 – 5:00 PM ET
Speaker: Dr. Erik Imel
Register Here: Meeting Registration – Zoom
News from the EDI action team:
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Spotlight: National Hispanic Heritage Month September 15th to October 15th
Learn more: Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Initiative – Pediatric Endocrine Society (pedsendo.org)
New Meds and Tech updates from the PES D&T Committee:
Omnipod® 5
The Omnipod 5 (Insulet Inc) is a hybrid closed-loop system approved by the FDA on January 28, 2022, for use in children ≥ 6 years and adults with type 1 diabetes mellitus and subsequently approved in children as young as 2 years. Approval was based on a single-arm, multicenter, prospective study of three months of Omnipod 5 use in 240 children and adults. Read more: https://pedsendo.org/new-meds-and-tech/new-meds-and-tech-from-the-pes-drugs-therapeutics-committee-omnipod-5/
FreeStyle Libre 3™
The FreeStyle Libre 3 is the third generation of Abbot Laboratories’ continuous glucose monitoring system intended for day-to-day glucose monitoring in patients with diabetes mellitus. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the product for use by individuals 4 years and older with diabetes mellitus on May 31, 2022. The device has been approved since September, 2020 in Europe. Read more: https://pedsendo.org/new-meds-and-tech/new-meds-and-tech-from-the-pes-drugs-therapeutics-committee-freestyle-libre-3/
Qsymia®
In June 2022, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a supplemental indication for Qsymia (phentermine and topiramate extended-release capsules) for chronic weight management in pediatric patients ages 12 years and older with body mass index (BMI) at or above the 95th percentile for sex and age (1). Qsymia was initially approved in July, 2012 for chronic weight management in adults with a BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 or BMI ≥ 27 kg/m2 with one weight-related comorbidity. Read more: https://pedsendo.org/new-meds-and-tech/new-meds-and-tech-from-the-pes-drugs-therapeutics-committee-qsymia/
Mentor Mentee Program deadline October 3, 2022
When you ask PES members what inspired them or helped them to become successful in their career, the most common response is “I had a fantastic mentor!” Fostering these meaningful mentor/mentee relationships is a priority for PES, and so we have improved our matching system to make it better than ever! This new system is now available through our PES Connects platform.
Please visit our website for step-by-step instructions to volunteer to be a mentor or find a mentor for the upcoming academic year. All sign-ups for the program must be received by October 3, 2022.
Mentor Match Program – Pediatric Endocrine Society (pedsendo.org)
Public Policy Spotlight: Emergency treatment for CAH and adrenal insufficiency
Our patients with CAH and other disorders associated with adrenal dysfunction are at risk to develop acute adrenal insufficiency. Acute adrenal insufficiency often needs to be treated with an emergency injection (Solu-Cortef). Apparently, EMTs in many cities, counties, and states are not required to carry this essential emergency medication and are not permitted to administer medication supplied by the patient’s family. In addition, regulations governing school nurses are variable.
Regulations regarding EMTs and use of this medication vary by city, county, and state. The Pediatric Endocrine Society is starting to work on advocacy to assure emergency use of this medication for all patients – with standardized recommendations across the 50 states. This project will require extensive efforts at local, state, and national levels.
For now, please inquire regarding the policies for your local EMT and your local schools. Please assure that all individuals with CAH wear a medical alert ID and carry a Medical Alert Card.
European Society of Paediatric Endocrinology (ESPS) 60th Annual Meeting (September 2022)
At their in person (hybrid) meeting, ESPE welcomed over 3,000 delegates to Rome, signaling the return to in-person meetings for the endocrine community. The PES was represented by Dr. Sharon Oberfield, our Immediate Past-President who was impressed by the in-person meeting which should make all of us more excited for our meeting in May in San Diego (2023). Abstracts for the ESPE meeting are published in the HRP journal.
Congratulations – 2022 ESPE International Outstanding Clinician Award Recipient:
Mitchell Geffner, MD, our former PES president, and most recent PES secretary received the ESPE International Outstanding Clinician Award. Congratulations Mitch! A major honor, indeed, and well deserved.
50th Anniversary Issue of HRP coming soon!
Editors, Sharon Oberfield, Alan Rogol, and Walter Miller are pleased to share this follow up of PES’s 50th anniversary celebration. We have marked this occasion by assembling a series of manuscripts describing the histories of many biomedical areas that are central to our practice, research, and teaching. As of this week all the manuscripts have been submitted and accepted by Karger. These manuscripts will appear in a special issue of Hormone Research in Pediatrics, scheduled for December 2022. We hope that this special issue of HRP will be of interest and use to our membership and pediatric endocrinologists everywhere. Stay tuned! In the meantime, we invite you to visit the website for access to the other 50th anniversary video and Timeline projects: PES 50th Anniversary – Pediatric Endocrine Society (pedsendo.org)
Historical Tidbit: Early evidence of psychosocial effects on growth -Frederick II (13th century Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and King of Italy and Germany)
Submitted by Alan D. Rogol, MD, Ph.D
News from the NIH: Announcing the 2023 NIH Loan Repayment Program Application Cycle and a New LRP Director
By Mike Lauer
As we approach September, the next NIH Loan Repayment Program (LRP) application cycle is upon us. Each new LRP recipient can receive up to $100,000 to repay qualified educational debt in exchange for a two-year commitment to research.Announcing the 2023 NIH Loan Repayment Program Application Cycle and a New LRP Director – NIH Extramural Nexus