Angiotensin converting enzyme insertion/deletion polymorphism is associated with increased adiposity and blood pressure in obese children and adolescents.

Background: The insertion/deletion polymorphism in the gene encoding the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE I/D) was associated with arterial hypertension and obesity in adults, but the data in children are scarce and yielded contrasting results. We assessed the impact of the ACE I/D on blood pressure and obesity related traits in a Brazilian cohort of obese children and adolescents.

Methods And Results: ACE I/D was genotyped in 320 obese children and adolescents (64% of girls) aged 7-16years, referred for a weight-loss program.

Obesity and familial predisposition are significant determining factors of an adverse metabolic profile in young patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia.

Background/aims: Glucocorticoid (GC) therapy is known to predispose to an adverse metabolic profile. Therefore, we investigated the prevalence of obesity and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in young patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) and to correlate this prevalence with GC treatment and family history.

Methods: The study population consisted of 33 young CAH patients who received cortisone acetate during their growth periods; those who were salt wasters also received fludrocortisone.

Similar health benefits of endurance and high-intensity interval training in obese children.

Purpose: To compare two modalities of exercise training (i.e., Endurance Training [ET] and High-Intensity Interval Training [HIT]) on health-related parameters in obese children aged between 8 and 12 years.

Lack of mutations in the leptin receptor gene in severely obese children.

Objective: To analyze the LEPR gene in obese children and to investigate the associations between molecular findings and anthropometric and metabolic features.

Subjects And Methods: Thirty-two patients were evaluated regarding anthropometric characteristics, blood pressure, heart rate, serum glucose, insulin, leptin levels, and lipid profile. The molecular study consisted of the amplification and automatic sequencing of the coding region of LEPR in order to investigate new mutations.

Allelic variations in the vitamin D receptor gene, insulin secretion and parents' heights are independently associated with height in obese children and adolescents.

Polymorphisms in the VDR gene were reported to be associated with variations in intrauterine and postnatal growth and with adult height, but also with other traits that are strongly correlated such as the BMI, insulin sensitivity, insulin secretion and hyperglycemia. Here, we assessed the impact of VDR polymorphisms on body height and its interactions with obesity- and glucose tolerance-related traits in obese children and adolescents. We studied 173 prepubertal (Tanner's stage 1) and 146 pubertal (Tanner's stages 2-5) obese children who were referred for a weight-loss program.

Expression of clock genes in human subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissues.

Disrupted circadian rhythms are associated with obesity and metabolic alterations, but little is known about the participation of peripheral circadian clock machinery in these processes. The aim of the present study was to analyze RNA expression of clock genes in subcutaneous (SAT) and visceral (VAT) adipose tissues of male and female subjects in AM (morning) and PM (afternoon) periods, and its interactions with body mass index (BMI). Ninety-one subjects (41 ± 11 yrs of age) presenting a wide range of BMI (21.

Novel inactivating mutations in the GH secretagogue receptor gene in patients with constitutional delay of growth and puberty.

Background: A limited number of mutations in the GH secretagogue receptor gene (GHSR) have been described in patients with short stature. Objective To analyze GHSR in idiopathic short stature (ISS) children including a subgroup of constitutional delay of growth and puberty (CDGP) patients.

Subjects And Methods: The GHSR coding region was directly sequenced in 96 independent patients with ISS, 31 of them with CDGP, in 150 adults, and in 197 children with normal stature.

Body weight, metabolism and clock genes.

Biological rhythms are present in the lives of almost all organisms ranging from plants to more evolved creatures. These oscillations allow the anticipation of many physiological and behavioral mechanisms thus enabling coordination of rhythms in a timely manner, adaption to environmental changes and more efficient organization of the cellular processes responsible for survival of both the individual and the species. Many components of energy homeostasis exhibit circadian rhythms, which are regulated by central (suprachiasmatic nucleus) and peripheral (located in other tissues) circadian clocks.

The N363S polymorphism in the glucocorticoid receptor gene: effects on visceral fat assessed by abdominal computed tomography.

Objective: To verify whether N363S polymorphism of the glucocorticoid receptor-gene can be associated to visceral fat by CT scan in obese individuals, and the impact of this variant on metabolic profile.

Methods: The N363S variant was screened in 295 Brazilians, 195 were obese and 100 presented normal weight. Based on genotype, obese N363S SNP carriers were paired with obese wild-type subjects.

Genetic variants influencing effectiveness of weight loss strategies.

Body weight excess has an increasingly high prevalence in the world. Obesity is a complex disease of multifactorial origin with a polygenic condition affected by environmental factors. Weight loss is a primary strategy to treat obesity and its morbidities.

Effects of perilipin (PLIN) gene variation on metabolic syndrome risk and weight loss in obese children and adolescents.

Context: Genetic polymorphisms at the perilipin (PLIN) locus have been investigated for their potential utility as markers for obesity and metabolic syndrome (MS). We examined in obese children and adolescents (OCA) aged 7-14 yr the association of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) at the PLIN locus with anthropometric, metabolic traits, and weight loss after 20-wk multidisciplinary behavioral and nutritional treatment without medication.

Design: A total of 234 OCA [body mass index (BMI = 30.

Augmented muscle vasodilatory responses in obese children with Glu27 beta-2-adrenoceptor polymorphism.

This study examined forearm vasodilatation during mental challenge and exercise in 72 obese children (OC; age = 10 +/- 0.1 years) homozygous with polymorphism in the allele 27 of the beta-2-adrenoceptors: Gln27 (n = 61) and Glu27 (n = 11). Forearm blood flow was recorded during 3 min of each using the Stroop color-word test (MS) and handgrip isometric exercise.

Binge eating symptoms, diet composition and metabolic characteristics of obese children and adolescents.

This study aimed to determine the occurrence of symptoms of binge eating (BE) among children and adolescents seeking treatment for their obesity, as well as to evaluate their diet composition and metabolic characteristics. The Binge Eating Scale (BES) was answered by 128 children and adolescents (10.77+/-2.

[Metabolic profile according to leptin levels in obese patients].

Increased body mass index and waist circumference are related to cardiovascular risk factors. Leptin is an adipocyte-produced hormone and regulates body weight. Leptin is directly related to body fat.

[Obese children lipid profile: effects of hypocaloric diet and aerobic physical exercise].

Unlabelled: Diet and exercise help improve obese adults' lipid profile. However, their effect on obese children, the aim of the present study, is poorly known. Fifty obese children were studied into 2 paired groups: Group D (1,500 - 1,800 kcal diet: 55% carbohydrate, 30% fat, 15% protein), and Group DE (same diet + aerobic physical activity 1 hour/day 3 times a week).

Musculoskeletal findings in obese children.

Aim: A cross-sectional study was conducted to explore osteoarticular alterations in obese children.

Methods: Twenty-five boys and 24 girls (mean age: 10.8+/-2.

Effect of gastric bypass on spontaneous growth hormone and ghrelin release profiles.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to analyze growth hormone (GH) concentrations in obese women before and after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGBP) and how resulting changes in weight, fat mass, ghrelin levels, and insulin sensitivity affect GH secretion.

Research Methods And Procedures: Blood was sampled at 20-minute intervals for 24 hours in 10 non-diabetic premenopausal severely obese women before and 6 months after RYGBP. GH concentrations were measured in all samples, and serum ghrelin was collected at five time-points.

[Effects of growth hormone on anthropometric and metabolic parameters in android obesity].

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of GH on body weight, body composition and cardiovascular risk factors in android obese men. Forty non-diabetic subjects aged 20 to 50 years-old with android obesity (WHR > 1) were divided in two groups, on a prospective randomized double-blind basis to receive treatment with GH (0.050 U/kg/day) or placebo for three months.

Prevalence of subclinical hypothyroidism in a morbidly obese population and improvement after weight loss induced by Roux-en-Y gastric bypass.

Background: There are many studies concerning thyroid function in obesity, and some of them describe higher TSH levels in obese subjects. Few studies evaluated long-term changes in thyroid function caused by weight loss after bariatric surgery. Our aims were to evaluate the prevalence of subclinical hypothyroidism (SH) in a morbidly obese population and to analyze the effect of weight loss induced by Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGBP) on TSH and thyroid hormone (TH) levels.

Results of biliopancreatic diversion in two patients with Prader-Willi syndrome.

Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) is a genetic disorder characterized by hypotonia, mental retardation or learning disability, hyperphagia and compulsive eating due to hypothalamic dysfunction. Obesity is a major cause of increased morbidity and mortality among patients with PWS. Gastric restrictive surgery has been associated with partial breakdown of the staple-line in PWS.

Diet and exercise training restore blood pressure and vasodilatory responses during physiological maneuvers in obese children.

Background: The effects of diet and diet plus exercise training on muscle vasodilatation during physiological maneuvers in obese children are unknown. We tested the hypothesis that (1) blood pressure (BP) and forearm vascular conductance (FVC) responses during handgrip exercise and mental stress would be altered in obese children and (2) diet plus exercise training would restore BP and FVC responses during exercise and mental stress in obese children.

Methods And Results: Thirty-nine obese children (aged 10+/-0.

Gly16 + Glu27 beta2-adrenoceptor polymorphisms cause increased forearm blood flow responses to mental stress and handgrip in humans.

We hypothesized that the muscle vasodilatation during mental stress and exercise would vary among humans who are polymorphic at alleles 16 and 27 of the beta(2)-adrenoceptors. From 216 preselected volunteers, we studied 64 healthy, middle-aged normotensive women selected to represent three genotypes: homozygous for the alleles Arg(16) and Gln(27) (Arg(16)/Gln(27), n = 34), Gly(16) and Gln(27) (Gly(16)/Gln(27), n = 20), and Gly(16) and Glu(27) (Gly(16)/Glu(27), n = 10). Forearm blood flow (plethysmography) and muscle sympathetic nerve activity (microneurography) were recorded during 3-min Stroop color-word test and 3-min handgrip isometric exercise (30% maximal voluntary contraction).

Systemic hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and dyslipidemia in relation to body mass index: evaluation of a Brazilian population.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of systemic hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hypercholesterolemia, and hypertriglyceridemia in a Brazilian population in relation to body mass index.

Method: Retrospective evaluation of 1213 adults (mean age: 45.2 +/- 12.

Abnormal neurovascular control during sympathoexcitation in obesity.

Objective: We tested the hypothesis that muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) and forearm vascular resistance (FVR) would be augmented during mental stress or cold pressor test in healthy obese individuals compared with healthy lean individuals.

Research Methods And Procedures: Twenty-nine healthy obese women and 12 age-matched healthy lean women were involved in the study. MSNA was directly measured from the peroneal nerve using microneurography.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma gene expression in orbital adipose/connective tissues is increased during the active stage of Graves' ophthalmopathy.

The mechanisms involved in the increase of orbital retro-ocular adipose tissue that occurs in Graves' ophthalmopathy (GO) are still unclear. In this condition, the orbital tissue shows glycosaminoglycans deposition produced by activated fibroblasts capable of undergoing adipocytic differentiation. Many genes are involved in adipogenic mechanisms including the transcription factor peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPAR-gamma).