Associations between anthropometric indicators in early life and low-grade inflammation,insulin resistance and lipid profile in adolescence

Background and aimsThe long-term relations between excessive adiposity in early childhood and unfavourable cardiometabolic profiles in later ages are not yet completely understood. We aimed to assess the associations between birth weight (BW) and BMI from 6 months to 6 years of age, with biomarkers indicative of low-grade inflammation, insulin resistance and lipid profiles in adolescence.Methods and resultsRetrospective school-based study with 415 Portuguese adolescents (220 girls), mean age of 14.08 ± 1.6 years old. Anthropometric data from birth to 6 years old was extracted from individual child health book records. Actual weight and height were measured and BMI calculated. Participants were classified at each time point as normal weight or overweight according to WHO reference values. Biomarkers were obtained from venous blood samples. Linear regressions were used to explore the associations between the biomarkers and early life anthropometric indicators. From 2 years onwards, BMI associated positively with the inflammatory score and HOMA-IR in adolescence. Children who were overweight/obese from 2 to 6 years of age presented significantly higher inflammatory score and HOMA-IR later in adolescence. TC/HDL ratio was also positively associated with BMI from the age of 5 years onwards. The associations between BMI and cardiometabolic outcomes remained positive in adolescence, with overweight adolescents presenting a higher inflammatory score, HOMA-IR and TC/HDL than normal weight adolescents.ConclusionA high BMI from an early age was consistently associated with worse inflammatory and lipid profiles and insulin resistance in adolescence. No associations were found between BW and the same studied outcomes.     

Effect of sorbinil on blood-retinal barrier in early diabetic retinopathy

To study the effect of sorbinil on the alteration of the blood-retinal barrier, 32 adult-onset, non-insulin-dependent diabetic patients with minimal or no retinopathy were randomly assigned to receive either oral sorbinil (250 mg once a day) or a placebo for 6 mo. All patients underwent fundus photography, fluorescein angiography, and vitreous fluorophotometry before treatment and at 3 and 6 mo after treatment. Vitreous fluorophotometry data showed that the alteration of the blood-retinal barrier increased significantly less in the sorbinil-treated group compared with the placebo group during the 6-mo study period. Side effects were limited to hypersensitivity reactions, with skin rash and fever, in only 2 of the 16 patients who received the drug. These hypersensitivity reactions disappeared with discontinuation of the medication. Aldose-reductase inhibition may play an important role in stabilization of the blood-retinal barrier in early diabetic retinopathy.