High maternal vitamin D levels in early pregnancy may protect against behavioral difficulties at preschool age: the Rhea mother-child cohort, Crete, Greece.

Animal studies suggest that prenatal vitamin D status may affect fetal brain growth. However, human studies are scarce with conflicting results. We aimed to investigate the association of maternal 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH) D] levels with multiple neurodevelopmental outcomes at 4 years of age.

Effect of parental obesity and gestational diabetes on child neuropsychological and behavioral development at 4 years of age: the Rhea mother-child cohort, Crete, Greece.

Studies have suggested an association between maternal obesity pre-pregnancy and gestational diabetes (GDM) with impaired offspring neurodevelopment, but it is not clear if these associations are explained by shared familiar characteristics. We aimed to assess the associations of maternal and paternal obesity, maternal glucose intolerance in early pregnancy and GDM, with offspring neurodevelopment at 4 years of age. We included 772 mother-child pairs from the "Rhea" Mother-Child cohort in Crete, Greece.

Metabolic profile in early pregnancy is associated with offspring adiposity at 4 years of age: the Rhea pregnancy cohort Crete, Greece.

Context: Maternal pre-pregnancy obesity may increase the risk of childhood obesity but it is unknown whether other metabolic factors in early pregnancy such as lipid profile and hypertension are associated with offspring cardiometabolic traits.

Objective: Our objective was to investigate whether fasting lipid, glucose, and insulin levels during early pregnancy and maternal pre-pregnancy weight status, are associated with offspring adiposity measures, lipid levels and blood pressure at preschool age.

Design And Methods: The study included 618 mother-child pairs of the pregnancy cohort "Rhea" study in Crete, Greece.

Losartan affects glomerular AKT and mTOR phosphorylation in an experimental model of type 1 diabetic nephropathy.

The AKT-mTOR pathway is activated in diabetic nephropathy. Renin-angiotensin system modulators exert beneficial effects on the diabetic kidney. We explored the action of losartan on AKT-mTOR phosphorylation in glomeruli and podocytes.

Rare presentation of occult medullary carcinoma of the thyroid as a mediastinal mass.

Objective: To describe a rare case of occult (<1 cm in diameter) medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) in a 45-year-old woman, presenting as an asymptomatic mediastinal mass.

Design: The diagnostic methodology included laboratory measurements of relevant biochemical and hormonal parameters including calcitonin (CT), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and chromogranin A, and imaging techniques including ultrasound (U/S), computed tomography (C/T), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and radio labeled somatostatin analog ((111)In-DTPA-octreotide).

Results: Chest CT revealed a mediastinal mass measuring 5 cm in diameter abutting the right thyroid lobe.

Percutaneous ethanol injection therapy: a surgery-sparing treatment for primary hyperparathyroidism.

Objective: To describe our 3-year experience in the long-term efficacy and safety of percutaneous ethanol injection therapy (PEIT), as an alternative to surgery for the management of patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (p-HPT).

Design: Prospective study with a mean follow-up of 19.6 +/- 10.

Weightlessness and skeleton homeostasis.

As human beings venture into space in the 21st century, they will be confronted with a "hypodynamic" and thus hostile environment for the bone homeostasis, that could potentially compromise their mobility in general and skeletal strength in particular after landing. From this point of view, space flight studies are especially interesting and intriguing models for scientists. Space studies, however, must not only overcome enormous technical problems but are also limited in size and frequency.