Endocrinology, Healthcare

CHOC Hosting Thyroid, Puberty and Transgender Care Conference, April 14

Common thyroid conditions, pubertal disorders and screening guidelines for diabetes are among the topics featured at an endocrinology conference hosted by CHOC on April 14. We spoke with Dr. Amrit Bhangoo, pediatric endocrinologist at CHOC, about the anticipated event.

Dr. Amrit Bhangoo, pediatric endocrinologist at CHOC

Q: What can attendees expect at “Navigating the Endocrine Essentials: What the General Practitioner Needs to Know About Prediabetes, Thyroid, Puberty, and Transgender Care”?

A: We’re so excited about the upcoming conference. The last one, held about two years ago, drew a large attendance including community primary care providers, medical students, registered nurses and patient advocacy groups. This year, attendees should look forward to enhancing their knowledge in endocrine scenarios they commonly encounter in everyday practice. The speakers will cover the latest in the obesity epidemic, interventions that work with children, as well as diabetes screening guidelines. We will also discuss common thyroid conditions such as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and the follow up needed in such cases.

Further, we will discuss what’s changing with the prevalence and diagnosis of thyroid nodules and cancer in children. Additionally, we will talk about pubertal disorders and how to tease apart the different variants of early puberty such as premature adrenarche from precocious puberty.

Q: What can attendees expect to learn tied to obesity/prediabetes?

A: The good news is that the obesity prevalence rates in children and adolescents are not rising, and are holding fairly stable at about 17 percent. The prevalence of obesity for minority children is higher and more than 20 percent. We continue to see children develop complications from obesity, which can be detected early and most of which could have been prevented.

At the conference, we will discuss some of the screening tools and how to use them in the primary care setting. In addition, participants can expect to learn the various screening criteria for Type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Q: What other topic are you looking forward to at this year’s conference?

A: We are going to dedicate the afternoon to transgender care and will have expert speakers from CHOC and UC Irvine discuss the medical management of this patient population. This will be followed by in depth conversation about the psychosocial aspects of being a transgender and gender non-conforming youth in today’s society and discuss what tools are available in the community to support them.

 “Navigating the Endocrine Essentials: What the General Practitioner Needs to Know About Prediabetes, Thyroid, Puberty, and Transgender Care,” will be held Saturday, April 14, 8 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. at CHOC Hospital, Harold Wade Education Center. Register and learn more here.

Endocrinology, Healthcare

CHOC to Host Conference on Growth and Growth Disorders

Criteria for evaluating and treating a short statured child, and theDr. Amrit Bhangoo
ability to understand growth hormone resistance and treatment with insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) are among the topics featured at an upcoming CHOC conference. We spoke with Dr. Amrit Bhangoo, pediatric endocrinologist, about what guests can expect on March 19.

Q: What is the importance of the “Growth and Growth Disorders in Children” conference?

A: This conference will give pediatricians, family medicine physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and other pediatric health care providers a unique opportunity to learn about short stature. CHOC’s endocrine team will share our experiences working with pediatric patients with short stature, both from the primary care providers’ role and the endocrine specialists’ role.  In addition, we will discuss treatment of patients with growth hormone (GH) therapy.

 Q: What excites you most about the conference?

A: It is exciting to be able to bring together such a diverse group of specialists with a focus to educate and share their expertise with the community. Most of the speakers at the conference are faculty members at CHOC and UC Irvine. Further, this forum provides an opportunity for community providers to interact with the endocrinologists on a more intimate level. They will be able to ask members of the endocrine team questions and learn from the clinical scenarios presented during panel discussions.

Q: What is growth hormone deficiency (GHD) and what would you like attendees to take away from your presentation?

A: Growth hormone deficiency causes severe short stature in children. It is due to deficiency of growth hormone production or secretion from the pituitary gland. Prevalence is about 1 in 1,000, and it can present with multiple pituitary hormonal deficiencies and mid-line facial defects. The presentations in the conference will extensively review this condition. Additionally, we will discuss a diagnosis of precocious puberty.

Q: What is the latest technology tied to GHD?

A: Technology is rapidly evolving in the treatment of GHD.  Currently the only way to treat a child with GHD is to give GH injections on a daily basis, which has limitations for long-term compliance and successful outcomes.  Most of the newer therapies are centered on the development of long acting GH analogs that may act to eliminate the need for daily dosing. New therapies are currently being developed and are under the FDA review process.

 Q: Is CHOC endocrinology involved in other upcoming GHD-related presentations, research or special projects?

A: We are involved in several studies at CHOC that are evaluating the use of growth hormone in the pediatric population. Specifically we are involved in the Novo Nordisk registry to follow up and monitor the acute and long-term side effects of GH therapy.  We are also just beginning a new study with Genentech/Roche, a Phase 4 open label study on the use of GH therapy in pediatric patients with GH deficiency.

In addition to our research endeavors, we also provide monthly community education at our Orange campus through a growth lecture for those families who have been referred to us.  This lecture provides a basic overview on topics surrounding normal growth from birth to adult, the evaluation of a child with short stature, and treatment options for pediatric patients.

 Q: When should a pediatrician refer a patient to an endocrinologist regarding a growth disorder?

A: Referral guidelines are available to our community physicians (pages 11-14) at:  http://www.choc.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/referrals/Endocrinology-Referral-Guidelines.pdf

The “Growth and Growth Disorders in Children” conference will be held on March 19, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at CHOC Hospital, in the Harold Wade Education Center.

Learn more and register here.