Sensible treatment of obesity in rural youth (STORY): design and methods.

Project STORY is a 3-arm, randomized, planning and feasibility study assessing the effectiveness of two behavioral weight management interventions in an important and at-risk population, overweight children and their parents in medically underserved rural counties. Participants will include 90 parent-child dyads from rural counties in north central Florida. Families will be randomized to one of three conditions: (a) a Family-Based Behavioral Group Intervention, (b) a Parent-Only Behavioral Group Intervention, and (c) a waitlist control condition.

Adiponectin and leptin: potential tools in the differential diagnosis of pediatric diabetes?

The incidence of type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus in the pediatric population has increased over the past decade. The practitioner is often faced with the challenge of differentiating between type 1 and type 2 diabetes at the time of initial diagnosis because of the overlap of clinical and laboratory characteristics between these two entities. Adipokines are proteins secreted by the adipose tissue.

Magnesium deficiency is associated with insulin resistance in obese children.

Objective: Magnesium deficiency has been associated with insulin resistance (IR) and increased risk for type 2 diabetes in adults. This study was designed to determine whether obese children exhibit serum or dietary magnesium deficiency and its potential association with IR.

Research Design And Methods: We studied 24 obese nondiabetic children (BMI > or =85th percentile) and 24 sex- and puberty-matched lean control subjects (BMI <85th percentile).

Role of inflammatory pathways in the development and cardiovascular complications of type 2 diabetes.

Experimental and epidemiologic studies support the role of inflammation in the development of type 2 diabetes and atherosclerosis. Serum levels of inflammatory markers, in particular highly sensitive C-reactive protein, have been found to be strong predictors of increased risk for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease independent of traditional risk factors. A beneficial effect of thiazolidinediones, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, and statins in the prevention of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular events has recently been reported, and potential anti-inflammatory mechanisms of action for these compounds have been described.