Metabolic syndrome in children and adolescents from Mérida city, Venezuela: Comparison of results using local and international reference values (CREDEFAR study).

Objective: To obtain local reference values for blood lipids and blood pressure (BP), and to determine the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) in children and adolescents from Mérida, Venezuela, and to compare results using local and international cut-off values.

Materials And Methods: The study enrolled 916 participants of both sexes aged 9-18 years of age from educational institutions. Demographic, anthropometric, and BP data were collected.

[Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and its association with clinical and biochemical variables in obese children and adolescents: effect of a one-year intervention on lifestyle].

Objective: To study the frequency of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), its relationship to clinical and biochemical variables, and the effect 12-month's lifestyle intervention in obese children and adolescents.

Methods: Thirty-six obese patients aged 7 to 18 years, 42% female and 58% male, 72.2% prepubertal and 27.

[Obesity in schoolchildren from Merida, Venezuela: association with cardiovascular risk factors].

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of obesity and associated cardiovascular risk factors in schoolchildren in our city, given the influence of these factors on the development of atherosclerosis.

Methods: We studied a representative sample of second grade students composed of 370 children aged 7.82+/-0.

[Relationship between the triglyceride/high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol ratio, insulin resistance index and cardiometabolic risk factors in women with polycystic ovary syndrome].

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between the triglyceride/high density lipoprotein cholesterol (TG/HDL-c) ratio, insulin resistance index and cardiometabolic risk factors in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

Patients And Method: The present crosssectional study analyzed 62 women with PCOS and 48 healthy women (control group) aged 17- 35 years old. Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and blood pressure were registered.

Is testosterone and estrogen priming prior to clonidine useful in the evaluation of the growth hormone status of short peripubertal children?

Aim: To determine the usefulness of priming with gonadal steroids prior to growth hormone (GH) stimulation with clonidine in the evaluation of the GH status of short peripubertal children.

Children And Methods: Thirty-nine children, eight females and 31 males, were studied, with a mean chronological age of 12.37 +/- 2.

Exogenous subclinical hyperthyroidism: effect on the cardiovascular system.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of exogenous subclinical hyperthyroidism on left ventricular structure and function.

Material And Method: Twenty-three patients of both sexes, aged 27 to 70 years, with a diagnosis of exogenous subclinical hyperthyroidism (serum thyroid-stimulating hormone [TSH] ≤ 0.4mU/ml and normal free thyroxine [FT4]) were evaluated.

The triglyceride/HDL-cholesterol ratio as a marker of cardiovascular risk in obese children; association with traditional and emergent risk factors.

Objectives: To determine the presence of traditional and emergent cardiovascular risk factors and to evaluate the triglyceride/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (Tg/HDL-C) ratio as a marker for cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome (MS) in obese children.

Material And Methods: Sixty-seven prepubertal children of both sexes, between the ages of 6 and 12 yr, 20 normal-weight children, 18 overweight, and 29 obese subjects, were studied. Anthropometric measures, blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), and fat mass (FM), were measured.

[Effect of age and gender on the relationship between leptin and blood pressure in nondiabetic subjects].

Background And Objective: Insulin and leptin are involved in blood pressure (BP) homeostasis. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of gender, age, anthropometrics, leptin, fasting insulin concentration and insulin resistance index HOMA-IR (Homeostasis Model Assessment) on BP.

Patients And Method: We studied 194 non-diabetic asymptomatic volunteers (86 women, 108 men); subjects were classified into 3 groups according gender and age (< 30 yr; 30-50 yr; > 50 yr).

[The effect of seminal leukocytes on semen quality in subfertile males with and without varicocele].

Objectives: To compare the concentration of leukocytes and round cells in semen samples of subfertile males (SM), men with varicocele (VM), and fertile males (FM) to establish a possible relationship between leukocyte concentration, semen parameters (pH, concentration, mobility, spermatic morphology) and lipidic peroxidation of the spermatozoid.

Methods: We evaluated 298 semen samples from: 42 fertile males, 170 subfertile males, and 86 men with varicocele. Sperm tests were performed following WHO criteria.

[Frequency of subclinical hypothyroidism among healthy children and those with neurological conditions in the state of Mérida, Venezuela].

The purpose of this study was to investigate and to compare the frequency and possible aetiology of subclinical hypothyroidism (SH) in healthy and sick children developing neurological disorder changes. One hundred and eighty-seven male and female children between 1 month and 4 years old, 64 with and 123 without neurological disorders, were studied in the state of Mérida, Venezuela. Serum levels of thyrotropin (TSH), free thyroxine (FT4) and urinary iodine were measured by immunofluorescence and by the Sandell-Koltoff's method.

Sympathetic nervous system activation, antivenin administration and cardiovascular manifestations of scorpion envenomation.

Unlabelled: We performed two-dimensional echocardiograms and determined plasma norepinephrine levels on admission and at 24h after hospitalization, in 16 children with scorpion envenomation. All patients came from areas where scorpions have been identified as Tityus zulianus and received antivenin at the site of the accident or upon admission. Based on the presence or absence of cardiovascular manifestations, patients were divided into two groups.