Decreased Circulating Levels of Spexin in Obese Children.

Context: Spexin is a novel peptide that is implicated in obesity and related energy homeostasis in animals and adult humans. Little is known about its role in children.

Objective: The aim of the current study was to determine the potential role of Spexin in obese children and explore its relationships with various cardiometabolic risk factors.

Effect of vitamin D3 supplementation on serum 25(OH)D, lipids and markers of insulin resistance in obese adolescents: a prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled pilot trial.

Background/aims: To determine the effect of vitamin D3 supplementation on 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D], lipid profile and markers of insulin resistance in obese adolescents.

Methods: In this double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial, 58 obese adolescents (n = 58; 12-18 years of age) received either vitamin D3 (2,000 IU/day) or placebo for 12 weeks. Total 25(OH)D, fasting plasma glucose, insulin and lipid profile were measured at baseline and following supplementation.

Effects of fiber supplementation on glycemic excursions and incidence of hypoglycemia in children with type 1 diabetes.

Background: Nutritional therapy is an important component of diabetes management. There is data to suggest that fiber content of foods may affect glycemic response.

Materials And Methods: 10 children, diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, participated.

Temporal trends in the diagnosis and management of childhood obesity/overweight in primary care.

Objective: To determine the temporal trends in diagnosis and management of pediatric overweight/obesity by primary care providers at a single medical center.

Patients: Children 2 to 18 years old undergoing a general medical examination during 3 calendar years (2003, 2006, and 2009). The number of visits for general medical examination were 6390 in 2003, 6646 in 2006, and 7408 in 2009.

Response to vitamin D3 supplementation in obese and non-obese Caucasian adolescents.

Background/aims: Vitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent in obese children, and obese children tend to respond poorly to vitamin D supplementation. The objective of the study was to compare the response to vitamin D(3) supplementation (2,000 IU once daily for 12 weeks) between obese and non-obese Caucasian adolescents.

Methods: The study design was open label non-randomized.

Relationships between thyroid function and lipid status or insulin resistance in a pediatric population.

Background: In adults without thyroid disease, increasing levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) within the range of that considered normal have been shown to be associated with increases in total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides, and with decreases in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Serum TSH has also been found to be positively associated with fasting and postload insulin concentrations and negatively associated with insulin sensitivity in euthyroid adults. We hypothesized that such relationships also exist in euthyroid children and adolescents.

Cystic changes in the ovaries of a pre-pubertal girl with Henoch-Schönlein purpura.

Henoch Schönlein Purpura is an IgA mediated vasculitis that is known to be associated with scrotal pathology. However, an association between Henoch Schönlein purpura and ovarian pathology has not been described. We present the case of a girl who developed cystic changes in her ovaries during her course of Henoch Schönlein purpura.

Relationships between 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and plasma glucose and lipid levels in pediatric outpatients.

Objective: To study the relationships between serum vitamin D levels and plasma glucose or lipid levels in children and adolescents.

Study Design: We conducted a retrospective record review of pediatric outpatients (age, 2-18 years) with simultaneous measurement of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH] D) and fasting plasma glucose (n = 302) or 25(OH) D and a lipid panel (n = 177). Pearson correlation coefficient was used to estimate the correlation between 25(OH) D and logarithmic transformed plasma glucose or lipid levels.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus in children and adolescents: where do we stand with drug treatment and behavioral management?

Type 2 diabetes, once considered a disease of adults, is a growing problem in the pediatric population. The emergence of type 2 diabetes in this age group has paralleled the epidemic of childhood obesity. Lifestyle modifications represent first-line therapy for children and adolescents with type 2 diabetes.

The relationship between 24-hour integrated glucose concentrations and % glycohemoglobin.

Objective: Since glycohemoglobin values are widely used clinically as a surrogate for average glucose concentration over an extended period of time, we decided to determine the actual relationship between 24-hour integrated glucose values and percent total glycohemoglobin (%tGHb) in cohorts of people with and without diabetes.

Research Design And Methods: In 48 people without known diabetes with known stability of fasting glucose over a 1-year period of time, the calculated 24-hour integrated glucose concentration was compared with their %tGHb. In 15 normal young medical students, the glucose area response was determined from 46 venous blood samples obtained during a 24-hour period and compared with their %tGHb.

Cannabinoids attenuate capsaicin-evoked hyperalgesia through spinal and peripheral mechanisms.

Previous studies in our laboratory have demonstrated that cannabinoids administered intravenously attenuate the duration of nocifensive behavior and block the development of hyperalgesia produced by intraplantar injection of capsaicin. In the present study, we extended these observations and determined whether cannabinoids attenuate capsaicin-evoked pain and hyperalgesia through spinal and peripheral mechanisms, and whether the antihyperalgesia was receptor mediated. Separate groups of rats were pretreated 7 min before capsaicin with an intrathecal injection of vehicle or the cannabinoid receptor agonist WIN 55,212-2 at doses of 0.