Distinct Amino Acid Profile Characterizes Youth With or at Risk for Type 2 Diabetes.

Branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) and aromatic AAs (AAAs) are associated with increased risk for type 2 diabetes in adults. Studies in youth show conflicting results. We hypothesized that an AA metabolomic signature can be defined to identify youth at risk for β-cell failure and the development of type 2 diabetes.

Hyperglycemia: A determinant of cardiac autonomic dysfunction in youth with obesity across the spectrum of glycemic regulation.

Objectives: To characterize the determinants of heart rate variability (HRV) in youth with obesity across the glycemia spectrum.

Methods: A total of 94 adolescents, 15 ± 2.1 years (21 with normal weight, 23 with overweight-normal glucose tolerance, 26 with prediabetes and 24 with type 2 diabetes [T2D]) underwent an assessment of body composition (dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry), 2-h oral glucose tolerance test with the calculation of indices of glycemia and insulin sensitivity (IS), inflammatory markers (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein [hs-CRP] and tumour necrosis factor-α [TNF-α]), and HRV by peripheral arterial tonometry.