High intakes of skimmed milk, but not meat, increase serum IGF-I and IGFBP-3 in eight-year-old boys

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether a high protein intake (PI) from either milk or meat, at a level often seen in late infancy, could increase s-IGF-I and s-IGF-I/s-IGFBP-3 in healthy, prepubertal children. IGF-I levels are positively associated with growth velocity in children and some studies suggest that a high animal PI can stimulate growth. During protein deprivation IGF-I decrease, but it is unknown whether a high PI can increase s-IGF-I in well-nourished children. DESIGN: In all, 24 8-y-old boys were asked to take either 1.5 l of skimmed milk (n = 12) or the same amount of protein as 250 g low fat meat (n = 12) daily for 7 days. The remaining diet they could choose freely. At baseline and after 7 days, anthropometrical variables were measured, diet was registered (3-day weighed records), and s-IGF-I and s-IGFBP-3 (RIA) were determined after fast. RESULTS: PI increased by 61% in the milk group to 4.0 g/kg/day (P < 0.0001) and by 54% in the meat group to 3.8 g/kg/day (P = 0.001). The high milk intake increased s-IGF-I by 19% (P = 0.001) and s-IGF-I/s-IGFBP-3 by 13% (P < 0.0001). There were no increases in the meat group. CONCLUSIONS: High intake of milk and not meat, increased concentrations of s-IGF-I and s-IGF-I/s-IGFBP-3 significantly. Compounds in milk and not a high PI as such seem to stimulate IGF-I. This might explain the positive effect of milk intake on growth seen in some studies.     

Interpeduncular fossa sign: CT criterion of subarachnoid hemorrhage

A retrospective study of 100 cerebral computed tomography scans interpreted as displaying subarachnoid hemorrhage was undertaken to determine the frequency of blood in the interpeduncular fossa as a useful radiographic sign. The results indicate that the interpeduncular fossa sign is second only to blood in the Sylvian fissure-circular sulcus area as a reliable indicator of subarachnoid hemorrhage on CT scans.     

Demonstration of non-idiotypic variable heavy chain (VH) antigens on human peripheral blood lymphocytes

In this study we have obtained evidence for the expression of Vh-like determinants on unstimulated human T lymphocytes as well as T lymphoblasts. These determinants were detected with antisera raised against isolated VH fragments of a human IgG3 cryoglobulin (KUP). The antisera detect idiotypic, VH subgroup and HV framework determinants and behave as anti-immunoglobulin antibodies when tested against peripheral blood mononuclear cells in immunofluorescence experiments. However, sensitive radiolabelling and immunoprecipitation techniques revealed a certain reactivity against highly purified T lymphocytes. The specificity of these T-cell-reactive antibodies has not been fully established, but the results suggest that the antisera contain antibodies directed at VH fragment-specific antigens or antigens not exposed on native immunoglobulins or isolated heavy chains.     

Infrared analysis for determining macronutrients in human milk

Infrared (IR) analysis is widely used for routine analysis of cow milk in dairies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the precision and accuracy of an IR analyzer (Milko-scan 104) for measuring protein, fat, carbohydrate, and, indirectly, the energy content of human milk. The results of the IR analysis were compared with those of the following reference methods: protein--Kjeldahl (nitrogen minus nonprotein nitrogen); fat--Roese Gottlieb; carbohydrate--lactose enzymatic assay; energy--bomb calorimetry. The precision (repeatability coefficient of variation) of the IR results was high for all four components: protein 0.4%, fat 1.0%, carbohydrate 0.2%, and energy 0.1%. There was a close linear covariation between IR results and reference results. [Protein content was determined with an error (SD) of 0.01 g/100 ml and fat with an error of 0.03 g/100 ml.] The covariation between IR carbohydrate results and the results of the lactose assay was poor, probably because the oligosaccharides in the milk were included in the results from the IR analysis and not in the results from the lactose assay. IR analysis is a valuable method in research, especially in epidemiological surveys, in which large numbers of samples are analyzed, and for continuous monitoring of the nutritional value of human milk in milk banking programs.     

Short-term measurement of linear growth in preterm infants: validation of a hand-held knemometer.

A hand-held electronic knemometer, resembling a pair of callipers, for measuring knee-heel length in preterm infants was developed to improve the accuracy of measuring linear growth velocity in infants. The measuring system is based on a magnetic encoder and has a resolution of 0.01 mm. The knee-heel length is recorded automatically when the pressure applied on the heel reaches a preset value. The result of a measurement sequence is expressed as the average of five sequential readings. The error of one measurement sequence was 0.82 mm, corresponding to a coefficient of variation of 0.8% or 2 d of growth in knee-heel length. It includes the technical error and an error component due to the correlation of the readings within a series. The estimated error on the measurement of the knee-heel growth velocity (expressed as mm/d), measured over a 3-wk period, was 0.04 mm, corresponding to a coefficient of variation of 8%. Longitudinal growth data from 11 healthy preterm infants (birth weight 918-1482 g) are presented. Knee-heel length velocity from birth until day of regained birth weight was similar to the velocity during the following weeks, showing that there was no deceleration of growth immediately after birth. In conclusion, the method is accurate and gentle in measuring linear growth velocity over short periods and can be useful in monitoring the progress of ill infants and in growth studies of preterm and mature infants, in which linear growth is a more relevant short-term outcome than weight gain.     

Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy in children with cancer

We reviewed the clinical course of 32 children with cancer who received nutrition through a feeding tube placed percutaneously during gastroscopy (PEG). Their median age was 5.1 y (75%, range: 1.8-13.7 y, min: 3.5 mo) when the PEG was done 0.7-23 mo after diagnosis (median: 1.8 mo, 75%; range: 0.9-8 mo). Five of the children underwent bone marrow transplantation with the gastrostomy in place. There was a significant (p     

Similar superantigen gene profiles and superantigen activity in norwegian isolates of invasive and non-invasive group a streptococci

Group A streptococcus (GAS) harbours several virulence factors, including M protein (coded by the emm gene) and superantigens (SAgs). SAgs are extracellular toxins that directly activate the immune system by cross-binding to the HLA class II molecule and T cell receptor (TCR), thereby causing activation of up to 30% of the T cells and subsequent massive secretion of cytokines. Forty-eight GAS strains isolated from patients at Norwegian hospitals between 1988 and 2004 were included in this study. Of these, 24 were invasive streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS) or necrotizing fasciitis (NF) isolates and 24 were non-invasive pharyngitis isolates, matched for having the same T-type and year of isolation as the invasive isolates. The isolates were characterized by emm sequence typing, multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and SAg gene profiles. A correlation between T-type, emm type, sequence type and SAg gene profile was revealed. No difference between invasive and non-invasive isolates regarding serotype or genotype was demonstrated. Selected invasive and non-invasive isolates with identical SAg gene profiles were analysed for SAg activity in bacterial growth culture media with and without human cell culture media added. A human T cell proliferation assay was used as measurement for SAg activity and simultaneously we also measured the cytokine content in normal human peripheral blood leucocyte cell culture media. The results revealed that invasive and non-invasive isolates did not differ significantly in SAg activity as it is present in semipurified bacterial culture medium.