Growth pattern in Kabuki syndrome with a KMT2D mutation.

Kabuki syndrome is a multiple congenital malformation syndrome with a spectrum of clinical features including short stature. Since there is no growth data on Kabuki syndrome patients with a proven KMT2D gene mutation, further research on growth and growth patterns is indicated. Data for this growth study on subjects with Kabuki syndrome were collected from referring clinicians.

Genetic, maternal and placental factors in the association between birth weight and physical fitness: a longitudinal twin study.

Background: Adult cardiorespiratory fitness and muscle strength are related to all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. Both are possibly related to birth weight, but it is unclear what the importance is of genetic, maternal and placental factors in these associations.

Design: Peak oxygen uptake and measures of strength, flexibility and balance were obtained yearly during adolescence (10-18 years) in 114 twin pairs in the Leuven Longitudinal Twin Study.

Genetic and environmental factors in associations between infant growth and adult cardiometabolic risk profile in twins.

Background: Accelerated infant growth is associated with an altered, mostly adverse adult cardiometabolic risk profile. The importance of genetic and environmental factors to these associations is unclear.

Objective: The objective was to examine the importance of genetic and environmental factors in the associations between infant growth and adult cardiometabolic risk factors (anthropometric characteristics, lipids, insulin sensitivity, leptin, blood pressure, and fibrinogen) in twins.

Training program for overweight prevention in the child's first year: compilation and results.

The current local overweight-prevention protocols are not applied as intended by Dutch child healthcare physicians and nurses. The development of a training program for these practitioners, based on the Intervention Mapping framework, with the aim of improving overweight-prevention in a child's first year, is described in this study. The needs assessment showed three program objectives to be relevant, namely improving: (i) awareness of the importance of early overweight-prevention; (ii) the competence to discuss (the risk of) overweight with parents; and (iii) working systematically according to the overweight-prevention protocol.

Obesity in childhood: A secular trend or an epidemic disease?

The concern about obesity in children has increased worldwide. The question arises, whether this trend to obesity already starts during the prenatal period and to what extent the increase of weight is related to a secular trend in height. For neonatal data, three studies, performed in The Netherlands, with neonatal data of birth weights were compared.

Changes in genetic and environmental effects on growth during infancy.

Background: Accelerated infant growth is a possible explanation for the relation between birth weight and adult diseases.

Objective: The aim of this study was to estimate the heritability of infant growth and to examine whether the genetic contribution changes with increasing or decreasing birth weight and gestational age.

Design: Growth (change in weight z score) was analyzed in 522 infants from the East Flanders Prospective Twin Survey for age windows of 0-1, 1-6, 6-12, and 12-24 mo.

Growth and final height after liver transplantation during childhood.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of end-stage pediatric liver disease and liver transplantation on growth and final height.

Patients And Methods: We evaluated growth at 2 years (n = 101) and 5 years (n = 63) after pediatric liver transplantation (LTx). Twenty-three children reached final height.

The effect of sibutramine on energy expenditure and body composition in obese adolescents.

Context: Childhood obesity is now considered to be an epidemic. Drug therapy in this age group remains a topic of research.

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the effect of treatment with sibutramine (10 mg) on body composition and energy expenditure in obese adolescents.

Reduction of excessive height in boys by bilateral percutaneous epiphysiodesis around the knee.

Unlabelled: In this study, the results of percutaneous epiphysiodesis as a surgical method to decrease final height is described in 15 boys with a predicted final height of more than 205 cm. A total of 17 boys with a height prediction between 195 and 209 cm without treatment were included as controls. The study period was from 1995-2002 and patients were followed for a mean period of 3.