Common adipokine features of neonates and centenarians.

Adipose tissue seems to be a pivotal organ in the aging process. We investigated whether healthy aging could have its roots in a sound metabolic condition from the first year of life by evaluating leptin and adiponectin levels in neonates [33 adequate for gestational age (AGA) and 29 small for gestational age (SGA)], 48 centenarians, and 50 healthy elderly subjects. At birth, SGA neonates showed lower leptin levels (SGA 0.

Changes in growth hormone receptor gene expression during therapy in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

Background: High levels of cytokines in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) can alter target cell sensitivity to growth hormone (GH) leading to short stature in adulthood. We hypothesized that the down-regulation of GH receptor (GHR) gene expression could be involved in growth failure of children with JIA.

Methods: In 18 (12 F and 6 M) prepubertal JIA patients and 13 age- and sex-matched healthy children, we evaluated serum growth-promoting factors and inflammatory indexes.

Is BaF3 bioassay useful to identify patients with bioinactive growth hormone?

We analyzed the ability of the BaF3 cell line bioassay to select patients with biologically inactive GH. We first evaluated the biological response of the Ba/F3-hGHR cells to rhGH additional doses from 10 to 5000 pg/ml. The concentration points corresponding to the linear part of the curve were selected.

Effect of human recombinant growth hormone therapy on circulating levels of erythropoietin and granulocyte-colony stimulating factor in short children.

Several reports suggest a role of growth hormone (GH) in the regulation of the haematopoietic system, as regards the normal differentiation and function of blood cells. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of rhGH therapy on erythropoietin (Epo) and granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) levels in 18 prepubertal short children with idiopathic GH deficiency (GHD) (n = 8) or without GHD (n = 10), during the first year of treatment. In non-GHD children Epo levels significantly decreased and G-CSF levels increased from basal to 12 months of therapy, whereas in GHD children they did not change significantly.

Short stature in children with coeliac disease.

Coeliac disease (CD) is a genetically determined gluten-sensitive enteropathy resulting in nutrient malabsorption, with an increasing incidence world-wide. Clinical presentation in early childhood may include classic malabsorption symptoms, whereas older CD children often present extra-intestinal symptoms including short stature and pubertal delay. A gluten-free diet (GFD) generally leads to a rapid catch-up in growth and to normalization of the pituitary function.