Norms for Clinical Use of CXM, a Real-Time Marker of Height Velocity.

Context: Height velocity (HV) is difficult to assess because growth is very slow. The current practice of calculating it from measurements taken at several-month intervals is insufficient for managing children with growth disorders. We identified a bone growth by-product (collagen X biomarker, CXM) in blood that in preliminary analysis in healthy children correlated strongly with conventionally determined HV and displayed a pattern resembling published norms for HV vs age.

A degradation fragment of type X collagen is a real-time marker for bone growth velocity.

Despite its importance as a key parameter of child health and development, growth velocity is difficult to determine in real time because skeletal growth is slow and clinical tools to accurately detect very small increments of growth do not exist. We report discovery of a marker for skeletal growth in infants and children. The intact trimeric noncollagenous 1 (NC1) domain of type X collagen, the marker we designated as CXM for Collagen X Marker, is a degradation by-product of endochondral ossification that is released into the circulation in proportion to overall growth plate activity.

Use of Telehealth Videoconferencing in Pediatric Type 1 Diabetes in Oregon.

Introduction: We reviewed the impact of telehealth videoconferencing clinics on outcomes of care in pediatric patients with type 1 diabetes in rural Oregon.

Methods: We performed a chart review as well as the review of patient satisfaction questionnaires from 27 patients seen in the first year of the program.

Results: The number of yearly visits to diabetes clinic increased from average 1.

Cardiac function in congenital adrenal hyperplasia: a pattern of reversible cardiomyopathy.

Objective: To evaluate cardiac function in infants with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) before and after corticosteroid replacement therapy.

Study Design: This prospective, case-control study included 9 infants with CAH. Cardiac function was assessed by echocardiography at presentation and after corticosteroid replacement therapy.

Congenital hypothyroidism caused by excess prenatal maternal iodine ingestion.

We report the cases of 3 infants with congenital hypothyroidism detected with the use of our newborn screening program, with evidence supporting excess maternal iodine ingestion (12.5 mg/d) as the etiology. Levels of whole blood iodine extracted from their newborn screening specimens were 10 times above mean control levels.

Imatinib mesylate causes growth deceleration in pediatric patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia.

Background: Imatinib mesylate, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, is used in the treatment of chronic myelogeneous leukemia (CML). Given its ease of administration and manageable side effects in adults, imatinib mesylate was introduced as therapy for pediatric CML. Recently published case reports describe growth deceleration in children treated with imatinib.

Natural history of idiopathic diabetes insipidus.

Objective: To determine what percentage of diabetes insipidus (DI) in childhood is idiopathic and to assess the natural history of idiopathic DI.

Study Design: We conducted a retrospective chart review of 105 patients with DI who were born or had DI diagnosed between 1980-1989 at 3 medical centers. A second cohort of 30 patients from 6 medical centers in whom idiopathic DI was diagnosed after 1990 was evaluated retrospectively for subsequent etiologic diagnoses and additional hypothalamic/pituitary deficiencies and prospectively for quality of life.

Prevalence and trends of metabolic syndrome among Korean adolescents: from the Korean NHANES survey, 1998-2005.

Objectives: To evaluate the prevalence and trend of metabolic syndrome (MetS) among Korean adolescents.

Study Design: Data from 1998, 2001, and 2005 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys were analyzed (N = 4164; age, 10 to 19 years) for MetS prevalence using the modified International Diabetes Federation criteria.

Results: The combined prevalence of MetS in Korean adolescents was 2.

Childhood obesity and the metabolic syndrome.

The current epidemic of obesity reflects environmental changes that have an impact on a genetically susceptible population. The scope of obesity and its associated comorbidities warrants its position among the most crucial global public health problems faced today. Society has gained better appreciation for the significance of this problem yet still has much to learn regarding how best to address the obesity crisis.

The hypothalamic path to obesity.

Obesity is a growing public health concern, affecting an estimated 11% of children in Western society. The impact of obesity-related morbidity and mortality on society is significant, with both genetic and environmental factors contributing to its development. In most individuals, food intake and energy expenditure are tightly regulated by a feedback system comprising a number of hormonal and central nervous system pathways.