Pregestational Obesity-Induced Embryopathy.

Introduction: Several epidemiologic studies in humans have shown a relationship between pregestational obesity and congenital malformations in offsprings. However, there are no experimental evidence in animal models of obesity and pregnancy that reproduce the teratogenesis induced by this pathological condition.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of monosodium glutamate-induced obesity on embryonic development.

Effect of Diamel in patients with metabolic syndrome: a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study.

Background: The aim of the present study was to determine whether the administration of Diamel, marketed as a food supplement by Catalysis Laboratories (Madrid, Spain) could improve any of the components of metabolic syndrome (MS), as well as insulin resistance and sensitivity.

Methods: In all, 100 patients with MS (19-70 years of age) who satisfied the World Health Organization criteria for MS were included in the study. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either oral Diamel or a placebo (while maintaining a diet appropriate to their weight and physical activity) at a dose of two capsules before each of the three main meals each day for 1 year.

First-degree relatives of persons with type 1 diabetes: insulin resistance and enterovirus infection are associated with different patterns of islet cell autoimmunity.

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) results from the interaction of genetic and environmental factors. Previous studies indicate an association between detection of Enterovirus (EV) genome in blood and the clinical onset of T1D. Insulin resistance can also represent a risk factor for progression to clinically overt T1D.

[Frequency and characteristics of metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance in the first-degree relatives of persons with type 1 diabetes].

Aim: To determine the frequency of metabolic syndrome (MS) and insulin resistance (IR) in first-degree relatives of type 1 diabetic patients (FDR1) and to study the relationship between these two disorders and some clinical, biochemical and immunological characteristics.

Subjects And Methods: We studied 289 persons, of which 193 were children/adolescents and 96 were adults. Weight, height, waist and hip circumference, blood pressure, blood glucose, insulin, cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, glutamic acid decarboxylase autoantibodies (GADA) and tyrosine phosphatase autoantibodies were determined.

Metabolism of vitamin D in the human choriocarcinoma cell line JEG-3.

Calcitriol is an antiproliferative prodifferentiating secosteroid that exerts a protective role for some kinds of cancer. Alterations in 25-hydroxyvitamin D-1alpha-hydroxylase (CYP27B1) activity have been found in some tumor cells, but there are no studies performed in human choriocarcinoma. In the present work, calcitriol production and CYP27B1 gene regulation were studied in the human choriocarcinoma cell line JEG-3, and compared with normal human syncytiotrophoblasts (hS) in culture.

Effect of standard nicotinamide in the prevention of type 1 diabetes in first degree relatives of persons with type 1 diabetes.

Background: Nicotinamide has been used with success to prevent type 1 diabetes in animal models and humans. This vitamin B3 derivative has attracting effects on beta-cell protection and regeneration.

Aim/hypothesis: To evaluate the effect of standard nicotinamide administration on type 1 diabetes prevention in first degree relatives of persons with type 1 diabetes as well as on the concentrations of islet-cell-related autoantibodies, insulin secretion and peripheral sensitivity.

Islet cell related antibodies and type 1 diabetes associated with echovirus 30 epidemic: a case report.

Type 1 diabetes associated genes account for less than 50% of disease susceptibility. Human enteroviruses have been implicated as environmental factors that might trigger and/or accelerate this autoimmune disorder. We now report of a 12-year-old girl that developed pancreatic autoimmunity and type 1 diabetes after enteroviral infection.

Slowly progressing type 1 diabetes: persistence of islet cell autoantibodies is related to glibenclamide treatment.

Background: Several experimental studies in rats have demonstrated that sulfonylurea treatment increases autoantigen expression in B-cells. This phenomenon may be deleterious for the preservation of residual beta cell function in patients with slowly progressing type 1 diabetes or latent autoimmune diabetes of adult (LADA).

Aim/hypothesis: The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether the exclusion of glibenclamide in the treatment of ICA positive type 2 diabetic patients may diminish or halt the humoral autoimmune response against B-cells as well as improve metabolic control and insulin secretion.

Expression and activity of 25-hydroxyvitamin D-1 alpha-hydroxylase are restricted in cultures of human syncytiotrophoblast cells from preeclamptic pregnancies.

The human placenta synthesizes 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) and expresses the vitamin D receptor. Because preeclampsia (PE) is associated with low circulating levels of maternal 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) and IGF-I, it is possible that alterations in calcium metabolism seen in PE could occur at the level of the fetoplacental unit. In this study, the patterns of gene expression and enzyme activity of 25-hydroxyvitamin D-1 alpha-hydroxylase (1 alpha-hydroxylase) and the abundance of IGF-I mRNA in placentas from normal (NT) and PE-complicated pregnancies were investigated.