Low Serum IGF-1 in Boys with Recent Onset of Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis.

Background: Liver-derived insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) contributes bone formation. Decreased IGF-1 levels are common in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), but whether IGF-1 is related to sex and differ during the pathogenic progress of JIA is unknown.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine IGF-1 levels in boys and girls with newly diagnosed JIA, with established JIA and in controls.

Differential expression profile of growth hormone/chorionic somatomammotropin genes in placenta of small- and large-for-gestational-age newborns.

Context: The human growth hormone/chorionic somatomammotropin (hGH/CSH) locus at 17q22-24, consisting of one pituitary-expressed postnatal (GH1) and four placenta-expressed genes (GH2, CSH1, CSH2, and CSHL1), is implicated in regulation of postnatal and intrauterine growth. A positive correlation has been reported between the offspring's birth weight and serum placental GH (coded by GH2) and placental lactogen (coded by CSH1, CSH2) levels in pregnant women.

Objective: The objective of the study was the investigation of the hypothesis that the mRNA expression profile of placental hGH/CSH genes contributes to the determination of birth weight.

Genome-wide scan identifies CDH13 as a novel susceptibility locus contributing to blood pressure determination in two European populations.

Hypertension is a complex disease that affects a large proportion of adult population. Although approximately half of the inter-individual variance in blood pressure (BP) level is heritable, identification of genes responsible for its regulation has remained challenging. Genome-wide association study (GWAS) is a novel approach to search for genetic variants contributing to complex diseases.