Obesity and upper body fat distribution in Mexican American children from families with a diabetic proband

Upper and centralized body fat distribution is associated with non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). Few studies have focused on anthropometric characteristics of preadults from families in which there is a diabetic (NIDDM) proband. This study explores the prevalence of upper and centralized body fatness in Mexican American children from the Diabetes Alert study (1981–1983) in Starr County, Texas. Anthropometric data on 165 males and 224 females 9–19 years include measures of adiposity such as skinfold thicknesses and the body mass index (BMI), a measure of overweight. They show rates of obesity two to three times that of White children of comparable age and sex from National Health Surveys. In comparison with U.S. White subjects, Mexican American adults are shorter, have more adiposity and arm muscle mass and have sitting heights and body breadths at the mean of these dimensions for the U.S. population. Children from Diabetes Alert families show only marginal excess of severe obesity (> 95th percentile of BMI) when compared to the general population of children surveyed in Starr County schools. Girls from these families, but not boys, have excess fatness in the BMI compared to Mexican American children from the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (HHANES); suprailiac skinfold thicknesses are also greater in children of the Diabetes Alert study than in HHANES children. From 1972 through 1982, Mexican American children in South Texas showed an increase in average stature, weight, and the BMI. These data together suggest that excessive obesity exists and may be increasing in children in populations at risk for NIDDM. The prevention of NIDDM in the Mexican American population may be more effective if educational and promotional interventions include the school aged population. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Spectrum of CLN6 mutations in variant late infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis

The neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses (NCLs) are a group of autosomal recessive neurodegenerative diseases of childhood. CLN6, the gene mutated in variant late infantile NCL (vLINCL), was recently cloned. We report the identification of eight further mutations in CLN6 making a total of 18 reported mutations. These mutations include missense, nonsense, small deletions or insertions, and two splice-site mutations. Ten mutations affect single amino acids, all of which are conserved across vertebrate species. Minor differences in the pattern of disease symptom evolution can be identified. One patient with a more protracted disease progression was a compound heterozygote for a missense mutation and an unidentified mutation. Fifteen CLN6 mutations occur in one or two families only, and families from the same country do not all share the same mutation. Unlike NCLs caused by mutations in CLN1, CLN3, CLN5, and CLN8, there is no major founder mutation in CLN6. However, one mutation (E72X) is significantly more common in patients from Costa Rica than two other mutations present in that same population. In addition, a 1-bp insertion (c.316insC) is associated with families from Pakistan and I154del may be common in Portugal. A group of Roma Gypsy families from the Czech Republic share two disease-associated haplotypes, one of which is also present in a Pakistani family, consistent with the proposed migration of the Roma from the Indian subcontinent 1,000 years ago. All mutations are recorded in the NCL Mutation Database together with their country of origin for use in the development of rapid screening assays to confirm diagnosis and to facilitate carrier testing appropriate to a population.     

Enhancement of excitability and inhibitory processes in hippocampal dentate gyrus by noradrenaline: a pharmacological study in awake, freely moving rats.

Idazoxan (IDA), an alpha 2 receptor antagonist which increases firing rate of noradrenergic neurons in the locus coeruleus (LC) and release of noradrenaline (NA) in target structures, was used to study the neuromodulatory effects of NA in the hippocampus in awake rats. After IDA the population spike in the dentate gyrus (DG), evoked by a single pulse to the perforant path, was greatly enhanced with no effect of the drug on excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs). Paired pulses with short interpulse intervals (25-30 ms) produced inhibition of the response to the second pulse which was increased by IDA. This drug effect was independent of its effect on the amplitude of the first spike, since the increase in inhibition was seen at stimulation intensities which did not increase the response amplitude to the initial pulse. Thus both excitability and inhibitory processes can be enhanced in the same population of neurons by an alpha 2 adrenoceptor antagonist.     

Quality of mobility measures among individuals with acquired brain injury: an umbrella review

Quality of Life Research - While several mobility measures exist, there is large variability across measures in how mobility is conceptualized, the source of information and the measurement...     

Clinical utility of PTSD,resilience, sleep,and blast as risk factors to predict poor neurobehavioral functioning following traumatic brain injury: A longitudinal study in U.S. military service members

Quality of Life Research - This study examined the clinical utility of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), low resilience, poor sleep, and lifetime blast exposure as risk factors for predicting...     

Beneficial Effects of a Mixture of Algae and Extra Virgin Olive Oils on the Age-Induced Alterations of Rodent Skeletal Muscle: Role of HDAC-4

Aging is associated with a progressive decline in skeletal muscle mass, strength and function (sarcopenia). We have investigated whether a mixture of algae oil (25%) and extra virgin olive oil (75%) could exert beneficial effects on sarcopenia. Young (3 months) and old (24 months) male Wistar rats were treated with vehicle or with the oil mixture (OM) (2.5 mL/kg) for 21 days. Aging decreased gastrocnemius weight, total protein, and myosin heavy chain mRNA. Treatment with the OM prevented these effects. Concomitantly, OM administration decreased the inflammatory state in muscle; it prevented the increase of pro-inflammatory interleukin-6 (IL-6) and the decrease in anti-inflammatory interleukin-10 (IL-10) in aged rats. The OM was not able to prevent aging-induced alterations in either the insulin-like growth factor I/protein kinase B (IGF-I/Akt) pathway or in the increased expression of atrogenes in the gastrocnemius. However, the OM prevented decreased autophagy activity (ratio protein 1A/1B-light chain 3 (LC3b) II/I) induced by aging and increased expression of factors related with muscle senescence such as histone deacetylase 4 (HDAC-4), myogenin, and IGF-I binding protein 5 (IGFBP-5). These data suggest that the beneficial effects of the OM on muscle can be secondary to its anti-inflammatory effect and to the normalization of HDAC-4 and myogenin levels, making this treatment an alternative therapeutic tool for sarcopenia.     

Three-Year Follow-Up of the POIBA Intervention on Childhood Obesity: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Childhood obesity has increased worldwide over the past four decades. This quasi-experimental study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a multicomponent and multilevel school-based intervention (POIBA) at 3 years of follow-up. The nutrition intervention focused on food groups, food pyramid, nutrients, portions, and balanced menus. In total, 3624 children participated in the study. Anthropometric measurements and information on food frequency and behavior, physical activity, and daily screen use were collected in the intervention (IG) and comparison group (CG). Positive unadjusted changes toward adherence to recommendations were found for water, meat, sweets, and fried potato consumption, proper breakfast, not having dinner in front of the TV, out-of-school physical activity, and daily screen use. Three scores were used to calculate the proportion of children making more than one change to improve healthy habits regarding physical activity (global Activity score), nutrition (global Nutrition score), and both (global score). Students exposed to the intervention had a significantly better global Activity score (16.2% IG vs. 11.9% CG; p = 0.012) and Global score (63.9% IG vs. 58.5% CG; p = 0.025). Intervention effects on obesity incidence at 3-year follow-up lost significance but maintained the positive trend. In conclusion, school-based interventions including a family component could be useful to address the childhood obesity problem.     

Microbiome as Mediator of Diet on Colorectal Cancer Risk: The Role of Vitamin D,Markers of Inflammation and Adipokines

Obesity and diet are associated with colorectal cancer (CRC) risk, and microbiome could mediate this risk factor. To investigate this interaction, we performed a case–control study (34 CRC cases and 32 controls) and analyzed fecal microbiota composition using 16S rRNA metabarcoding and sub-sequential shotgun analyses of genomic bacterial DNA to evaluate the role of microbiome and diet in CRC etiology, taking into account vitamin D and other risk biomarkers. Dietary habits were evaluated using a short questionnaire. Multivariate methods for data integration and mediation analysis models were used to investigate causal relationships. CRC cases were significantly more often deficient in vitamin D than controls (p = 0.04); FokI and CYP24A1 polymorphism frequency were different between cases and controls (p = 0.03 and p = 0.02, respectively). A diet poor in fatty fish and rich in carbohydrates was found to be significantly associated with CRC risk (p = 0.011). The mediation analysis confirmed the significant role of the microbiome in mediating CRC risk—increasing levels of Bifidobacteria/Escherichia genera ratio, an indicator of “healthy” intestinal microbiome, can overcome the effect of diet on CRC risk (p = 0.03). This study suggests that microbiome mediates the diet effect on CRC risk, and that vitamin D, markers of inflammation, and adipokines are other factors to consider in order to achieve a better knowledge of the whole carcinogenic process.     

Implementing a Transition Program from Paediatric to Adult Services in Phenylketonuria: Results after Two Years of Follow-Up with an Adult Team

We aimed to report the implementation of a phenylketonuria (PKU) transition program and study the effects of follow-up with an adult team on metabolic control, adherence, and loss of follow-up. Fifty-five PKU patients were analysed in the study periods (SP): 2 years before (SP1) and after the beginning of adult care (SP2). Retrospective data on metabolic control and number of clinic appointments were collected for each SP, and protein intakes were analysed. In SP2, three patients (6%) were lost to follow-up. There was a small but statistically significant increase in median number of annual blood spots from SP1 to SP2: 11 (7–15) vs. 14 (7–20); p = 0.002. Mean ± SD of median blood Phe remained stable (525 ± 248 µmol/L vs. 552 ± 225 µmol/L; p = 0.100); median % of blood Phe < 480 µmol/L decreased (51 (4–96)% vs. 37 (5–85)%; p = 0.041) and median number of clinic appointments increased from SP1 to SP2: (5 (4–6) vs. 11 (8–13); p < 0.001). No significant differences were found regarding any parameter of protein intake. Our results suggest that the implementation of an adult service was successful as impact on metabolic control was limited and attendance remained high. Continuous dietetic care likely contributed to these results by keeping patients in follow-up and committed to treatment.