Vitamin D is essential for the normal mineralization of bones during childhood. Although diet and adequate sun exposure should provide enough of this nutrient, there is a high prevalence of vitamin D ...deficiency rickets worldwide. Children with certain conditions that lead to decreased vitamin D production and/or absorption are at the greatest risk of nutritional rickets. In addition, several rare genetic alterations are also associated with severe forms of vitamin-D-resistant or -dependent rickets. Although vitamin D3 is the threshold nutrient for the vitamin D endocrine system (VDES), direct measurement of circulating vitamin D3 itself is not a good marker of the nutritional status of the system. Calcifediol (or 25(OH)D) serum levels are used to assess VDES status. While there is no clear consensus among the different scientific associations on calcifediol status, many clinical trials have demonstrated the benefit of ensuring normal 25(OH)D serum levels and calcium intake for the prevention or treatment of nutritional rickets in childhood. Therefore, during the first year of life, infants should receive vitamin D treatment with at least 400 IU/day. In addition, a diet should ensure a normal calcium intake. Healthy lifestyle habits to prevent vitamin D deficiency should be encouraged during childhood. In children who develop clinical signs of rickets, adequate treatment with vitamin D and calcium should be guaranteed. Children with additional risk factors for 25(OH)D deficiency and nutritional rickets should be assessed periodically and treated promptly to prevent further bone damage.
Obesity is a chronic metabolic disease of high complexity and of multifactorial origin. Understanding the effects of nutrition on childhood obesity metabolism remains a challenge. The aim of this ...study was to determine the fatty acid (FA) profile of red blood cell (RBC) membranes as a comprehensive biomarker of children's obesity metabolism, together with the evaluation of their dietary intake. An observational study was carried out on 209 children (107 healthy controls, 41 who were overweight and 61 with obesity) between 6 and 16 years of age. Mature RBC membrane phospholipids were analyzed for FA composition by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Dietary habits were evaluated using validated food frequency questionnaires (FFQ) and the Mediterranean Diet Quality Index for children (KIDMED) test. Compared to children with normal weight, children with obesity showed an inflammatory profile in mature RBC FAs, evidenced by higher levels of ω-6 polyunsaturated FAs (mainly arachidonic acid,
< 0.001). Children who were overweight or obese presented lower levels of monounsaturated FA (MUFA) compared to children with normal weight (
= 0.001 and
= 0.03, respectively), resulting in an increased saturated fatty acid (SFA)/MUFA ratio. A lower intake of nuts was observed for children with obesity. A comprehensive membrane lipidomic profile approach in children with obesity will contribute to a better understanding of the metabolic differences present in these individuals.
BACKGROUND:Detection of cytomegalovirus (CMV) DNA by real-time polymerase chain reaction (rt-PCR) in dried blood spots (DBSs) collected for newborn screening has been assessed for retrospective ...diagnosis of congenital CMV (cCMV) infection, with variable results (sensitivities ranging from 34% to 100%). We aimed to assess the accuracy of this technique in Spain in a large patient series.
METHODS:Ambispective, multicenter study including patients with confirmed cCMV from the Spanish Registry of cCMV patients. cCMV was established on the presence of CMV DNA in any body fluid, by positive culture findings or by molecular techniques during the first 2 weeks of life. Children in whom cCMV had been excluded were used as negative controls. Neonatal DBS samples were collected from both groups. The presence of CMV DNA was assessed by rt-PCR (RealStar CMV, Altona, Germany) in a central laboratory.
RESULTS:One-hundred three patients and 81 controls from 10 hospitals were included. The performance of CMV DNA determination in DBS for the diagnosis of cCMV was as follows (95% confidence interval)sensitivity 0.56 (0.47–0.65), specificity 0.98 (0.91–0.99), positive likelihood ratio 22.81 (5.74–90.58) and negative likelihood ratio 0.45 (0.36–0.56). Sensitivity increased with the birth viral load (bVL) log category. In cCMV patients, lower bVL was the single variable associated with a negative DBS rt-PCR result (P = 0.017).
CONCLUSIONS:The sensitivity of CMV rt-PCR in DBS in our series was low and correlated with the bVL. Thus, a negative DBS result would not rule out cCMV infection, especially in patients with a low viremia level at birth.
The disorders in the metabolism of calcium can present with manifestations that strongly suggest their diagnosis; however, most of the time, the symptoms with which they are expressed are nonspecific ...or present only as a laboratory finding, usually hypercalcemia. Because many of these disorders have a genetic etiology, in the present study, we sequenced a selection of 55 genes encoding the principal proteins involved in the regulation of calcium metabolism.
A cohort of 79 patients with hypercalcemia were analyzed by next-generation sequencing.
The 30% of our cohort presented one pathogenic or likely pathogenic variant in genes associated with hypercalcemia. We confirmed the clinical diagnosis of 17 patients with hypocalciuric hypercalcemia (pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants in the
and
genes), one patient with neonatal hyperparathyroidism (homozygous pathogenic variant in the
gene), and another patient with infantile hypercalcemia (two pathogenic variants in compound heterozygous state in the
gene). However, we also found variants in genes associated with primary hyperparathyroidism (
), renal hypophosphatemia with or without rickets (
,
,
,
, and
), DiGeorge syndrome (
and
), and hypophosphatasia (
). Our genetic study revealed 11 novel variants.
Our study demonstrates the importance of genetic analysis through massive sequencing to obtain a clinical diagnosis of certainty. The identification of patients with a genetic cause is important for the appropriate treatment and identification of family members at risk of the disease.
As the obesity epidemic continues to grow inexorably worldwide, the need to develop effective strategies to prevent and control obesity seems crucial. The use of molecular tools can be useful to ...characterize different obesity phenotypes to provide more precise nutritional recommendations. This study aimed to determine the fatty acid (FA) profile of red blood cell (RBC) membranes, together with the evaluation of their dietary intake and biochemical parameters, of children and adults with obesity. An observational study was carried out on 196 children (113 with normal weight and 83 with obesity) and 91 adults (30 with normal weight and 61 with obesity). Mature RBC membrane phospholipids were analyzed for FA composition by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Dietary habits were evaluated using validated food frequency questionnaires (FFQ). Children with obesity presented higher levels of ω-6 polyunsaturated FAs (mainly linoleic acid,
= 0.01) and lower values of ω-3 FAs (mainly DHA,
< 0.001) compared with adults. Regarding blood biochemical parameters, children with obesity presented lower levels of glucose, LDL cholesterol, and alanine aminotransferase compared with adults with obesity. These lipidomic differences could be considered to provide specific nutritional recommendations for different age groups, based on an adequate fat intake.
Metabolically healthy obesity (MHO) has been described as BMI ≥ 30 kg/m
, without metabolic disorders traditionally associated with obesity. Beyond this definition, a standardized criterion, for ...adults and children, has not been established yet to explain the absence of those metabolic disorders. In this context, biomarkers of inflammation have been proposed as suitable candidates to describe MHO. The use of mature red blood cell fatty acid (RBC FA) profile is here proposed since its membrane lipidome includes biomarkers of pro- and anti-inflammatory conditions with a strict relationship with metabolic and nutritional status. An observational study was carried out in 194 children (76 children with obesity and 118 children with normal weight) between 6 and 16 years old. RBC FAs were analyzed by gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC-FID). An unsupervised hierarchical clustering method was conducted on children with obesity, based on the RBC FA profile, to isolate the MHO cluster. The MHO cluster showed FA levels similar to children with normal weight, characterized by lower values of arachidonic acid, (total ω-6 FA, ω6/ω3 FA ratios and higher values for EPA, DHA, and total ω-3 FA) (for all of them
≤ 0.01) compared to the rest of the children with obesity (obese cluster). The MHO cluster also presented lipid indexes for higher desaturase enzymatic activity and lower SFA/MUFA ratio compared to the obese cluster. These differences are relevant for the follow-up of patients, also in view of personalized protocols providing tailored nutritional recommendations for the essential fatty acid intakes.
The number of transgender people who request hormone treatment is increasing worldwide. We obtained base clinical and demographic information from transgender people treated at a specialised clinic ...in Spain (n =484) and studied changes over time. Transgender women treated in 2009-14 were older than those treated in 2015-20 (29years vs 17years), had a lower academic level and had higher anxiolytics consumption. Transgender men treated in 2009-14 were older than those treated later (27years vs 17years) and had a lower academic level. These trends reflect favourable changes in how the transgender population is treated by society and health services.
Resumen El objetivo de este documento es revisar las recomendaciones actuales en el manejo del hijo de madre con patología autoinmune tiroidea. En este 2017 se ha publicado la guía de la Asociación ...Americana de Tiroides para el diagnóstico y manejo de la enfermedad tiroidea durante el embarazo y el posparto. En dicha guía se establecen 97 recomendaciones y se propone un algoritmo de diagnóstico y tratamiento del hipotiroidismo gestacional. También en este último año se ha publicado una amplia revisión sobre el abordaje fetal y neonatal del hijo de madre con enfermedad de Graves. Se insiste en la trascendencia de la determinación de anticuerpos maternos frente al receptor de TSH en la segunda mitad del embarazo para estratificar adecuadamente el riesgo en el neonato.
NR5A1/SF-1 (Steroidogenic factor-1) variants may cause mild to severe differences of sex development (DSD) or may be found in healthy carriers. The NR5A1/SF-1 c.437G>C/p.Gly146Ala variant is common ...in individuals with a DSD and has been suggested to act as a susceptibility factor for adrenal disease or cryptorchidism. Since the allele frequency is high in the general population, and the functional testing of the p.Gly146Ala variant revealed inconclusive results, the disease-causing effect of this variant has been questioned. However, a role as a disease modifier is still possible given that oligogenic inheritance has been described in patients with NR5A1/SF-1 variants. Therefore, we performed next generation sequencing (NGS) in 13 DSD individuals harboring the NR5A1/SF-1 p.Gly146Ala variant to search for other DSD-causing variants and clarify the function of this variant for the phenotype of the carriers. Panel and whole-exome sequencing was performed, and data were analyzed with a filtering algorithm for detecting variants in NR5A1- and DSD-related genes. The phenotype of the studied individuals ranged from scrotal hypospadias and ambiguous genitalia in 46,XY DSD to opposite sex in both 46,XY and 46,XX. In nine subjects we identified either a clearly pathogenic DSD gene variant (e.g. in AR) or one to four potentially deleterious variants that likely explain the observed phenotype alone (e.g. in FGFR3, CHD7). Our study shows that most individuals carrying the NR5A1/SF-1 p.Gly146Ala variant, harbor at least one other deleterious gene variant which can explain the DSD phenotype. This finding confirms that the NR5A1/SF-1 p.Gly146Ala variant may not contribute to the pathogenesis of DSD and qualifies as a benign polymorphism. Thus, individuals, in whom the NR5A1/SF-1 p.Gly146Ala gene variant has been identified as the underlying genetic cause for their DSD in the past, should be re-evaluated with a NGS method to reveal the real genetic diagnosis.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Iodine is an essential trace element for the synthesis of thyroid hormones, which are keys in maternal metabolism during pregnancy as well as in neurological development during fetal and postnatal ...life. This was a prospective study on iodine status and thyroid function in women during pregnancy in the Basque country to assess whether there was any relationship among maternal urinary iodine, maternal thyroid function and thyrotropin (TSH) in newborns, and to explore any difference in women experiencing miscarriages.
We analyzed TSH, free T4 (FT4), free T3 (FT3), thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPO-Ab) titers in serum and urinary iodine concentrations (UIC) in 2104 women in the first trimester of pregnancy and in 1322 of them in their second trimester. We obtained neonatal TSH levels in 1868 cases.
In the first (T1) and second trimesters (T2), the median UICs were 88.5μg/L and 140μg/L, respectively. No relationship was found between UIC and FT4, or maternal and neonatal TSH. In T1 and T2, 9.7% and 7.5% of women were TPO-Ab positive, respectively. The total miscarriage rate was 10%. The percentage of miscarriages in healthy women was 8.9%, lower than in women with overt hypothyroidism (21.2%; p<0.001) and than in women with subclinical hypothyroidism (15.6%; p<0.025). The miscarriage rate was not higher in TPO-Ab-positive women.
In this study most women had iodine deficiency during pregnancy. Neonatal TSH is not correlated with maternal UIC during pregnancy. Pregnant women with hypothyroidism have a higher rate of miscarriages.
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