[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.

[Frequency of imperforate anus and associated risk factors in patients with Down syndrome].

Objectives: To establish the frequency of imperforate anus (IA) in the population with Down syndrome (DS) and study the associated risk factors.

Methods: An observational clinical study case control type was performed. The patients were evaluated at the Unit of Medical Genetics, University of the Andes, from February 2006 to February 2011.

[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.