Association of the I148M/PNPLA3 variant with elevated alanine transaminase levels in normal-weight and overweight/obese Mexican children.

Background And Aims: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and elevated alanine transaminase (ALT) levels are common in obese Hispanic adults and children. Recently, a PNPLA3 gene variant (I148M) was strongly associated with NAFLD and higher ALT levels in obese adults, including Hispanics. The aims of this study were to estimate the frequency of elevated ALT levels, and to address the influence of obesity and PNPLA3/I148M on ALT levels in a general population sample of Mexican school-aged children.

Genomic study in Mexicans identifies a new locus for triglycerides and refines European lipid loci.

Background: The Mexican population and others with Amerindian heritage exhibit a substantial predisposition to dyslipidemias and coronary heart disease. Yet, these populations remain underinvestigated by genomic studies, and to date, no genome-wide association (GWA) studies have been reported for lipids in these rapidly expanding populations.

Methods And Findings: We performed a two-stage GWA study for hypertriglyceridemia and low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) in Mexicans (n=4361), and identified a novel Mexican-specific genome-wide significant locus for serum triglycerides (TGs) near the Niemann-Pick type C1 protein gene (p=2.

Diabetes in Mexico: cost and management of diabetes and its complications and challenges for health policy.

Background: Mexico has been experiencing some of the most rapid shifts ever recorded in dietary and physical activity patterns leading to obesity. Diabetes mellitus has played a crucial role causing nearly 14% of all deaths. We wanted to make a comprehensive study of the role of diabetes in terms of burden of disease, prevalence, cost of diabetes, cost of complications and health policy.

[Results of a community-based life style intervention program for children].

Objective: Describe the three-year results of a program designed for the adoption of a healthy life style in primary school students on the body mass index (BMI) and the consumption of food.

Materials And Methods: Community randomized and controlled trial. Two communities in the State of Mexico with similar socio-demographic characteristics were randomized to implement the intervention (n=816) or serve as a control (n=408).

[Type 2 diabetes and frecuency of prevention and control measures].

Objective: To determine the frequency of application of prevention and control measures for type 2 diabetes in Mexican population.

Materials And Methods: ENSANUT 2012 is a nationally and by-state representative survey. Sample design was probabilistic, multistage, stratified and clustered.

The R230C variant of the ATP binding cassette protein A1 (ABCA1) gene is associated with a decreased response to glyburide therapy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Objective: To test the hypothesis that persons with the R230C allele of ABCA1 show a decreased glycemic response to glyburide. This polymorphism is exclusively found in Ameri-indian populations and is associated with type 2 diabetes.

Research Design And Methods: This is a single blind controlled study including participants with type 2 diabetes (fasting glucose levels 126-250 mg/dl and HbA1c 7%-10%) managed with metformin and a lifestyle program.

Adipose co-expression networks across Finns and Mexicans identify novel triglyceride-associated genes.

Background: High serum triglyceride (TG) levels is an established risk factor for coronary heart disease (CHD). Fat is stored in the form of TGs in human adipose tissue. We hypothesized that gene co-expression networks in human adipose tissue may be correlated with serum TG levels and help reveal novel genes involved in TG regulation.

VNN1 gene expression levels and the G-137T polymorphism are associated with HDL-C levels in Mexican prepubertal children.

Background: VNN1 gene expression levels and the G-137T polymorphism have been associated with high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels in Mexican American adults. We aim to evaluate the contribution of VNN1 gene expression and the G-137T variant to HDL-C levels and other metabolic traits in Mexican prepubertal children.

Methodology/principal Findings: VNN1 mRNA expression levels were quantified in peripheral blood leukocytes from 224 unrelated Mexican-Mestizo children aged 6-8 years (107 boys and 117 girls) and were genotyped for the G-137T variant (rs4897612).

Normal HDL-apo AI turnover and cholesterol enrichment of HDL subclasses in New Zealand rabbits with partial nephrectomy.

Objective: The kidney has been proposed to play a central role in apo AI catabolism, suggesting that HDL structure is determined, at least in part, by this organ. Here, we aimed at determining the effects of a renal mass reduction on HDL size distribution, lipid content, and apo AI turnover.

Methods: We characterized HDL subclasses in rabbits with a 75% reduction of functional renal mass (Nptx group), using enzymatic staining of samples separated on polyacrylamide electrophoresis gels, and also performed kinetic studies using radiolabeled HDL-apo AI in this animal model.

Contribution of common genetic variation to the risk of type 2 diabetes in the Mexican Mestizo population.

Several studies have identified nearly 40 different type 2 diabetes susceptibility loci, mainly in European populations, but few of them have been evaluated in the Mexican population. The aim of this study was to examine the extent to which 24 common genetic variants previously associated with type 2 diabetes are associated in Mexican Mestizos. Twenty-four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in or near genes (KCNJ11, PPARG, TCF7L2, SLC30A8, HHEX, CDKN2A/2B, CDKAL1, IGF2BP2, ARHGEF11, JAZF1, CDC123/CAMK1D, FTO, TSPAN8/LGR5, KCNQ1, THADA, ADAMTS9, NOTCH2, NXPH1, RORA, UBQLNL, and RALGPS2) were genotyped in Mexican Mestizos.

Reconstructing Native American population history.

The peopling of the Americas has been the subject of extensive genetic, archaeological and linguistic research; however, central questions remain unresolved. One contentious issue is whether the settlement occurred by means of a single migration or multiple streams of migration from Siberia. The pattern of dispersals within the Americas is also poorly understood.

PCSK1 rs6232 is associated with childhood and adult class III obesity in the Mexican population.

Background: Common variants rs6232 and rs6235 in the PCSK1 gene have been associated with obesity in European populations. We aimed to evaluate the contribution of these variants to obesity and related traits in Mexican children and adults.

Methodology/principal Findings: Rs6232 and rs6235 were genotyped in 2382 individuals, 1206 children and 1176 adults.

Metabolic actions of fibroblast growth factor 21.

Purpose Of Review: FGF21 has emerged as a hormone involved in energy homeostasis. A large number of recent reports have expanded the role of FGF21 from a response factor to prolonged fasting to a key hormone that regulates free fatty acid (FFAs) levels. The therapeutic role of recombinant human FGF21 for type 2 diabetes and dyslipidemia is under study.

Exercise increases serum fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) levels.

Background: Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) increases glucose uptake. It is unknown if FGF21 serum levels are affected by exercise.

Methodology/principal Findings: This was a comparative longitudinal study.

Association between carotid intima-media thickness, buccodental status, and glycemic control in pediatric type 1 diabetes.

Objective: To evaluate the association between carotid intima-media thickness, buccodental status, and glycemic control in patients with type 1 diabetes.

Methods: Cross-sectional study with consecutive cases attended in an outpatient clinic (n = 69). Medical and clinical dental history, HbA1c, lipid profile, treatment period, and daily insulin dosage were recorded.

Metformin decreases plasma resistin concentrations in pediatric patients with impaired glucose tolerance: a placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial.

The objective was to determine the effect of metformin on the concentrations of resistin and other markers of insulin resistance or inflammation (C-reactive protein, cytokines, body weight, HbA1c, among others) in minors with glucose intolerance. Patients aged 4 to 17 years with glucose intolerance were studied. They were randomized to receive 850 mg of either metformin or placebo twice daily for 12 weeks, during which all followed an iso-caloric diet and an exercise program.

Primary amenorrhea in two sisters: description of a Mexican family with 17α hydroxylase-17 lyase deficiency caused by arginine - stop mutation.

A rare cause of congental adrenal hyperplasia is 17α-hydroxylase deficiency. It results in sexual infantilism, primary amenorrhea in females, pseudohermaphroditism in males, hypertension, and hypokalemia. We studied two female siblings from a rural community in Mexico.

Optimal cutoff points for the detection of undiagnosed type 2 diabetes, hypertension and metabolic syndrome in Mexican adults.

Objective: To compare the waist circumference cutoff points established by the American Heart Association and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (AHA/NHLBI) with those of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) for the screening of diabetes, hypertension, and metabolic syndrome in Mexican adults.

Material And Methods: This study comprised a subsample of the ENSANUT 2006. Subjects without diabetes and hypertension and non-pregnant women were included.

Prevalence of obesity and metabolic syndrome components in Mexican adults without type 2 diabetes or hypertension.

Objective: To describe the number of Mexican adults with undiagnosed diabetes and arterial hypertension and their association with obesity.

Material And Methods: The study included a sub-sample of 6 613 subjects aged 20 years or more who participated in the 2006 National Health and Nutrition Survey (ENSANUT 2006). Subjects with a previous diagnosis of diabetes or hypertension (n=1 861) were excluded.

Human native lipoprotein-induced de novo DNA methylation is associated with repression of inflammatory genes in THP-1 macrophages.

Background: We previously showed that a VLDL- and LDL-rich mix of human native lipoproteins induces a set of repressive epigenetic marks, i.e. de novo DNA methylation, histone 4 hypoacetylation and histone 4 lysine 20 (H4K20) hypermethylation in THP-1 macrophages.

A dietary pattern including nopal, chia seed, soy protein, and oat reduces serum triglycerides and glucose intolerance in patients with metabolic syndrome.

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a health problem throughout the world and is associated with cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Thus, the purpose of the present work was to evaluate the effects of a dietary pattern (DP; soy protein, nopal, chia seed, and oat) on the biochemical variables of MetS, the AUC for glucose and insulin, glucose intolerance (GI), the relationship of the presence of certain polymorphisms related to MetS, and the response to the DP. In this randomized trial, the participants consumed their habitual diet but reduced by 500 kcal for 2 wk.