Human Chorionic Gonadotropin Stimulation Test in Prepubertal Children with Micropenis Can Accurately Predict Leydig Cell Function in Pubertal or Postpubertal Adolescents.

Background/aim: To evaluate the accuracy of the human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) stimulation test in children with micropenis in predicting later Leydig cell function.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective investigation of testosterone response to a 3-day hCG test (3,000 IU/m2/day) in prepuberty to indicate the need for hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in adolescence.

Results: Fifty Japanese boys (range, 0.

Prospective surveillance for atypical pathogens in children with community-acquired pneumonia in Japan.

A total of 141 children with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) were studied prospectively to determine the causative microorganisms. Microbial investigations included examination of postnasal swabs, cultures, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and serology. The atypical pathogens occurring most frequently were Mycoplasma pneumoniae (58 patients [41.

8,17-Epoxybriarane diterpenoids, briaranolides A-J, from an Okinawan Gorgonian Briareum sp.

Ten new 8,17-epoxybriarane diterpenoids, briaranolides A-J (1-10), were isolated from an Okinawan gorgonian Briareum sp. The structure of the diterpenoids was determined on the basis of spectroscopic analysis, chemical conversions, and X-ray analysis.

IgA-associated glomerulonephritis with membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis-like pattern in two children.

In this article, we report two patients with IgA-associated glomerulonephritis with a membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN) -like pattern. Both patients had nephrotic syndrome at onset. One patient was treated with high-dose alternate-day prednisolone (PSL), and the other with indomethacin and low-dose PSL.

Association of the CTLA-4 gene 49 A/G polymorphism with type 1 diabetes and autoimmune thyroid disease in Japanese children.

Objective: To clarify the role of the T-lymphocyte-associated-4 (CTLA-4) polymorphism in the susceptibility to child-onset type 1 diabetes with regard to its clinical characteristics and complications with autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD) in the Japanese population.

Research Design And Methods: The CTLA-4 49 A/G polymorphism was detected by the PCR-restriction fragment-length polymorphism (RFLP) method in 97 type 1 diabetic subjects and 20 patients with Graves' disease, a cohort which included 4 patients who also had type 1 diabetes.

Results: The genotypes and allele frequencies of this polymorphism did not differ between the type 1 diabetic subjects and the control subjects.