The IGF system in a case of Costello syndrome.

Costello syndrome is characterized by facial dysmorphia, hyperpigmented skin, palmar and plantar hyperkeratosis, curly hair, perioral and nasal papillomata (more rarely localized anally and on vocal cords), short stature, mental retardation and sociable personality. Although growth retardation is typical of Costello syndrome, its cause is not defined. We report on a 10-yr-old Caucasian girl affected by Costello syndrome with fasting hypoglycemia and short stature, associated low circulating levels of acid-labile subunit (ALS), relatively low levels of IGF-I and IGFBP-3, and normal IGF-II, mostly circulating in a binary complex with IGFBP-2 and -6 instead of in a 150 kDa ternary complex.

Enuresis subtypes based on nocturnal hypercalciuria: a multicenter study.

Purpose: Desmopressin may not be effective for nocturnal enuresis associated with polyuria and hypercalciuria. Nighttime hypercalciuria in an enuretic population from 5 centers and its correlation with nighttime polyuria were verified.

Materials And Methods: A total of 450 enuretic patients (278 males, 172 females, mean age 9.

Impact of inhaled corticosteroids on the risk of early Pseudomonas aeruginosa acquisition in cystic fibrosis.

Aim: To investigate the role of inhaled corticosteroids (IC) on the risk of Pseudomonas aeruginosa acquisition before the age of 10 y in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients.

Methods: For each subject the cumulative dose kg(-1) of IC received for each year of age was calculated until the end of follow-up. The age at CF diagnosis, the nutritional status (NS) and the number of respiratory exacerbations (RE) were used as surrogate measures for the severity of CF.

[Possible correlations between urinary cadmium and fetal growth retardation in pregnant women who smoke].

The results of a study on Ligurian women at the third day of puerperium are presented. The data obtained from the analysis of urinary cadmium levels in puerperae are related to their smoking habits and to the newborn weight. We found that women who smoked during pregnancy run the risk of giving birth to small-weight children one-and-a-half times higher than women who didn't smoke; moreover, cadmium levels in the urine of the women who smoked are higher too.