[Immunological development in asymptomatic HIV infected children].

In HIV infected children, CD45+CD4+ T lymph. reconstitution has been related to efficient thymopoiesis. Because human thymus undergoes spontaneous involution at a relatively young age, institution of antiretroviral therapy early in the course of infection has been recommended.

Body composition assessment: an indispensable tool for disease management.

Recent conceptual and technology advancements fostered a rapid development in the field of body composition assessment and provided new and powerful investigative tools. Densitometry, isotopic dilution, bioelectrical impedance, whole-body counting, neutron activation, X-ray absorptiometry, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and spectroscopy have been the most widely employed methods. The result of this effort is the discovery that body composition at both molecular and cellular or tissue levels is affected by virtually all the pathologic conditions found in medical textbooks.

Increased lipodystrophy is associated with increased exposure to highly active antiretroviral therapy in HIV-infected children.

Objective: To assess body composition changes in HIV-infected children receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART).

Methods: Thirty-seven HIV-positive children were enrolled. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans were performed in all HIV-infected children at baseline and after an additional 12 months of HAART and in 54 matched (for sex, age, body mass index [BMI], and pubertal stage) healthy controls.

Ramipril treatment in a patient with glycogen storage disease I non-A.

We studied the effect of ramipril on proteinuria and mild hypertension in a 21-year-old patient affected by glycogen storage disease type I non-A. After few months of therapy we obtained a decrease in total urine protein excretion that later re-increased in spite of the high dose of ACE inhibitor. Even if ACE inhibitors are the only effective therapy for GSD I nephropathy, further studies are requested.

Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry: analysis of pediatric fat estimate errors due to tissue hydration effects.

Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) percent (%) fat estimates may be inaccurate in young children, who typically have high tissue hydration levels. This study was designed to provide a comprehensive analysis of pediatric tissue hydration effects on DXA %fat estimates. Phase 1 was experimental and included three in vitro studies to establish the physical basis of DXA %fat-estimation models.

Anthropometry and methods of body composition measurement for research and field application in the elderly.

Evaluation of body composition is important in the study of human energy and protein metabolism as methods are available for quantifying energy stores and protein content at a single point in time; energy-protein balance can be monitored over time; and dynamic measures of energy and protein metabolism can be referenced to body mass and related measurable components for between-individual comparisons. This review emphasizes the need for considering subject age when developing body composition component prediction models that are applied in elderly populations. An overview of body composition research is provided that emphasizes compartment and level definitions and interrelations.

Body composition measurement in highly trained male athletes. A comparison of three methods.

Background: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the differences in the body composition estimate of highly trained male athletes by three different methods: dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) and skinfold thickness measurement (SFT).

Methods: The study occurred during a non-intensive training period. The measurements were performed at the Human Physiology laboratory.

Comparison between measured and predicted resting metabolic rate in moderately active adolescents.

The aim of this study was to check the validity of predictive equations for the calculation of resting metabolic rate (RMR) in moderately active adolescents. The RMR was measured in a sample of 25 healthy 15.5-18.

Regulation of the human glut4 gene expression in tumor RD18 cell line.

We tested if glut4, the gene for muscle-specific glucose transporter, underwent some variations of expression in neoplastic cells. Our model was a rhabdomyosarcoma cell line (RD18) which retains the ability to differentiate along the myogenic pathway. Any definable changes of expression of glut4 in normal and RD18 cells were revealed by Northern blot analysis.