GAD autoantibody affinity in adult patients with latent autoimmune diabetes, the study participants of a GAD65 vaccination trial.

Objective: Patients with latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA) express autoantibodies against the 65-kDa isoform of GAD (GADA). Intervention with recombinant human GAD65 formulated with aluminium hydroxide (GAD-alum) given twice subcutaneously to LADA patients at intervals of 4 weeks was safe and did not compromise β-cell function in a Phase II clinical trial. GADA affinity has been shown to predict progression to type 1 diabetes.

47,XXY Klinefelter syndrome: clinical characteristics and age-specific recommendations for medical management.

47,XXY (Klinefelter syndrome) is the most frequent sex chromosomal disorder and affects approximately one in 660 newborn boys. The syndrome is characterized by varying degrees of cognitive, social, behavioral, and learning difficulties and in adulthood additionally primary testicular failure with small testes, hypergonadotropic hypogonadism, tall stature, and eunuchoid body proportions. The phenotype is variable ranging from "near-normal" to a significantly affected individual.

Prolactin insufficiency but normal thyroid hormone levels after cranial radiotherapy in long-term survivors of childhood leukaemia.

Background: Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) patients treated with cranial radiotherapy (CRT) have an increased risk of GH deficiency (GHD). Little is known about insufficiencies of prolactin (PRL) and TSH, but also lactation failure has been reported in this population.

Objective: To study the long-term outcome of CRT on PRL and thyroid hormone levels in GHD ALL patients and the prevalence of lactation failure.

Bone loss after childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia: an observational study with and without GH therapy.

Objective: Bone mineral density (BMD) in survivors of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) seems to vary with time, type of treatments and GH status. We aimed to evaluate BMD in ALL patients with GH deficiency (GHD), with and without GH therapy.

Design: Case-control study.

Adult survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia with GH deficiency have normal self-rated quality of life but impaired neuropsychological performance 20 years after cranial irradiation.

Objective: Cranial radiotherapy (CRT) was, until recently, important for achieving long-term survival in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). Because survival rates have improved markedly, the long-term complications, such as GH deficiency (GHD) and neuropsychological impairment, have become increasingly important.

Design And Patients: The level of self-reported quality of life and neuropsychological functioning was investigated in 44 adults (21 women) with a median age of 25 years who had been treated for childhood onset (CO) ALL with CRT (median 24 Gy).

The utility of the growth hormone (GH) releasing hormone-arginine test for diagnosing GH deficiency in adults with childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia treated with cranial irradiation.

Context: The insulin tolerance test (ITT) is the current standard diagnostic test for the diagnosis of adult GH deficiency (GHD), but alternative tests, such as the GHRH-arginine test, have been proposed.

Objective: We investigated the sensitivity and specificity of the GHRH-arginine test using ITT as the gold standard in diagnosing GHD in a group of young adults treated with cranial irradiation (CRT) for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). We estimated the positive and negative predictive values of the GHRH-arginine test among patients as well as a number of individual characteristics and therapy-related factors during both the GHRH-arginine test and ITT.

Survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, with radiation-induced GH deficiency, exhibit hyperleptinaemia and impaired insulin sensitivity, unaffected by 12 months of GH treatment.

Objective: Adult survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) often exhibit GH deficiency (GHD), due to prophylactic cranial radiotherapy (CRT). It is not known whether the observed risk for adiposity in these patients is associated with impaired insulin sensitivity and whether the insulin sensitivity is affected by GH replacement therapy.

Subjects And Design: Eleven patients with GHD (median age 29 years), previously given prophylactic CRT for ALL, and 11 sex-, age- and body mass index (BMI)-matched controls were investigated with bioimpedance analysis (BIA) and analysis of serum leptin, serum free fatty acids (FFA) and serum insulin.

Growth hormone deficiency predicts cardiovascular risk in young adults treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia in childhood.

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common childhood malignancy, and until recently prophylactic cranial radiotherapy (CRT) was important for achieving long-term survival. Hypothalamic-pituitary hormone insufficiency is a well-recognized consequence of CRT for childhood cancer. Another problem is increased cardiovascular risk, which has been shown in long-term survivors of other childhood cancers.