1,721,021 research outputs found
Insulin-Like Growth Factors and Metabolic Syndrome in Obese Children.
No full textBackground/Aims: Insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I is related to cardiometabolic risk in adults, whereas the metabolic role of IGF-II is unclear. The aim of this study was to assess IGFs in obese children and correlate them with metabolic syndrome (MetS) components. Methods: This is a retrospective study including 574 obese children (11.34 +/- 3.16 years). All subjects underwent complete anthropometry and biochemical assessment. In a subgroup of 136 subjects, body composition was evaluated. IGF-I was measured in 300 obese subjects and IGF-II in 77 obese and 15 lean children. 177 subjects were divided according to the presence of 1 or more MetS criteria: group 1, subjects with 1 MetS criterion; group 2, subjects with 2 components; and group 3, subjects with MetS diagnosis. Results: IGF-I, IGF-II, and IGF-I/insulinlike growth factor-binding protein-3 ratio were not different among subjects with an increasing number of MetS criteria and were not associated with single components of MetS as well as with body composition parameters. In children younger than 10 years, IGF-I directly correlated with highdensity lipoprotein cholesterol (p < 0.005) even after controlling for confounders. IGF-II was significantly higher in obese children and correlated with parameters of insulin sensitivity (p < 0.05). Conclusion: IGFs were neither related to MetS nor to body composition parameters in obese children. Further studies are needed to clarify the mechanisms underlying the relationship between IGF-II and insulin sensitivity. (C) 2017 S. Karger AG, Base
Use of metformin in pediatric age
No full textMetformin is currently the most widely used drug worldwide for the treatment of type 2 diabetes (T2DM) in adults. Its primary action appears to be the inhibition of hepatic glucose production and the increase in peripheral insulin sensitivity (1).
Due to the worldwide increase of pediatric obesity and its related complications (2-4), the adoption of treatment with metformin has significantly increased in children and adolescents.
Whereas only short-term data are available on the benefits of metformin in obese children and adolescents with insulin resistance and normal glucose tolerance (5), metformin therapy in adolescents affected by T2DM is well established (6). Metformin is also beneficial in girls with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) (7). Moreover, the use of metformin has been recently extended to other conditions with promising results (8-10).
This review summarizes scientific evidences and practical considerations for the use of metformin in the treatment of different diseases affecting children and adolescents
Possible role of vitamin D in Covid-19 infection in pediatric population
No full textPurpose Covid-19 is a pandemic of unprecedented proportion, whose understanding and management is still under way. In the emergency setting new or available therapies to contrast the spread of COVID-19 are urgently needed. Elderly males, especially those affected by previous diseases or with comorbidities, are more prone to develop interstitial pneumonia that can deteriorate evolving to ARDS (acute respiratory distress syndrome) that require hospitalization in Intensive Care Units (ICUs). Even children and young patients are not spared by SARS-CoV 2 infection, yet they seem to develop a milder form of disease. In this setting the immunomodulatory role of Vitamin D, should be further investigated. Methods: We reviewed the literature about the immunomodulatory role of Vitamin D collecting data from the databases Medline and Embase. Results Vitamin D proved to interact both with the innate immune system, by activating Toll-like receptors (TLRs) or increasing the levels of cathelicidins and beta-defensins, and adaptive immune system, by reducing immunoglobulin secretion by plasma cells and pro-inflammatory cytokines production, thus modulating T cells function. Promising results have been extensively described as regards the supplementation of vitamin D in respiratory tract infections, autoimmune diseases and even pulmonary fibrosis. Conclusions In this review, we suggest that vitamin D supplementation might play a role in the prevention and/or treatment to SARS-CoV-2 infection disease, by modulating the immune response to the virus both in the adult and pediatric population
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Thyroid function tests in obese prepubertal children: correlations with insulin sensitivity and body fat distribution
No full textBackground/Aims: Elevated thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) concentrations in association with normal/slightly elevated free triiodothyronine (fT 3) and/or free thyroxine (fT4) have been consistently found in obese children. To examine relationships between adiposity, insulin sensitivity, and TSH, fT3 and fT4. Methods: 240 overweight/obese prepubertal children were studied. Fasting TSH, fT3, fT4, glucose, insulin, C-peptide, lipids, leptin and adiponectin were evaluated. Insulin sensitivity and resistance were estimated [quantitative insulin check index (QUICKI), insulin sensitivity index (ISI), and hepatic insulin resistance index]. Body fat was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. The central obesity index was calculated as the ratio of fat tissue in the trunk region to fat tissue in the leg region. Results: The multiple regression analysis with age, gender and measures of fatness as covariates showed that QUICKI was the only significant negative predictor of TSH and central obesity index the strongest positive predictor of fT3, in association with either age or hepatic insulin resistance index, and that the only positive determinant of fT4 was hepatic insulin resistance index. Conclusions: Reduced insulin sensitivity is associated with augmented TSH and fT4, while progressive central fat accumulation is strictly related to a parallel increase in fT3 levels, independently from total body fat. Further studies are needed to understand mechanisms linking thyroid function to insulin sensitivity and body composition in obese children
Linear growth and puberty in childhood obesity: what is new?
No full textPediatric obesity is a growing and alarming global health problem and represents an important determinant of morbidity. Since nutrition plays an important role in regulating growth and development, the excess weight gain related to overnutrition can affect growth patterns, bone maturation and pubertal development. The purpose of this review is to summarize the current knowledge about the effect of primary obesity on linear growth and pubertal development in children and adolescents. Evidences about regulatory hormones and adipokines that may be involved in the physiology of childhood growth in the context of obesity were also discussed. The most recent literature confirms previous studies indicating that linear growth is accelerated (mainly due to longer trunks rather than longer legs) and bone age is advanced in prepubertal children with obesity, while there is a reduction of pubertal height gain and attainment of normal adult height. Conflicting results are reported on the timing of puberty, specifically in boys. Indeed, previous studies suggested earlier onset of puberty in obese girls and overweight boys, and a delayed puberty in obese boys. Conversely, the most recent studies show more consistently an earlier onset and completion of pubertal development also in boys with obesity. Considering the false belief of health associated with transient taller stature in children and the adverse outcomes related to early puberty, interventions on diet and physical activity are urgently needed to tackle the epidemics of childhood obesity in public health and clinical setting
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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