Association of HLA-G gene promoter haplotype with childhood IgA nephropathy in the Korean population / 소아과

PURPOSE: IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is the most commonly occurring form of chronic glomerulonephritis in pediatric cases. Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes have been implicated in various inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. The present study was conducted to investigate the association between 2 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the HLA-G gene and childhood IgAN. METHODS: The authors analyzed and compared HLA-G gene SNPs (rs1736936 and rs2735022) in 174 patients with childhood IgAN and in 438 healthy controls. In addition, IgAN patients were dichotomized and compared with respect to proteinuria (4 mg/m2/hour), the presence or absence of podocyte foot process effacement, and the presence of pathologically early and advanced disease markers such as interstitial fibrosis, tubular atrophy, or global sclerosis. RESULTS: No significant SNP frequency differences were observed for the HLA-G gene between IgAN patients and the control group. Moreover, no significantly associated SNP was observed with the presence of proteinuria, podocyte foot process effacement, or pathologically advanced markers. However, the haplotype, composed of rs1736936 and rs2735022, showed a significant association with the susceptibility to develop childhood IgAN (haplotype T/C: dominant model, P=0.049; haplotype C/T: recessive model, P=0.030). CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that rs1736936 and rs2735022 as the HLA-G gene promoter haplotype might be associated with the susceptibility to develop childhood IgAN in the Korean population.

A Case of Diabetic Nephropathy in a Child with Type 1 Diabetes

Diabetes mellitus(DM) is a metabolic syndrome caused by deficiency of insulin secretion and a consequence of insulin resistance. Poor glycemic control is a common finding in children with Type 1 DM(T1DM). Approximately 60% of the young patients with T1DM develop abnormalities in the eyes and 15-20% in the kidney. Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a serious metabolic complication of T1DM that leads to renal failure. Some clinical studies report that the duration of prepubertal diabetes may contribute less to the development of microvascular complications than pubertal and postpubertal duration. There have been few cases of DN in prepubertal patients with T1DM in Korea. Thus we report a case of a 12-year-old female with T1DM who had poor glycemic control and was diagnosed as DN in a prepubertal period. It was proven by renal biopsy after microscopic hematuria and proteinuria were detected through the mass school urinary screening program.

The Influences of Herbal Medicines as a Growth-promoting Complimentary Therapy on Predicted Adult Heights of Children / 대한소아내분비학회지

PURPOSE: A lot of complementary therapies to increase final adult heights have been used in Korean children. We are going to investigate the effects of herbal medicines on predicted adult heights of children. METHODS: Subjects were 29 children (13 boys & 16 girls) who visited to the growth clinic of the department of pediatrics in Kyunghee East-West Neo medical center from June 1st 2006 to June 30th 2008 and treated with herbal medicines and followed up over 1 year. At first visit, their mid-parental target height standard deviation score (MPHSDS), bone age, height SDS, height SDS adjusted for their bone ages (BAHSDS) and predicted adult height SDS (PAHSDS) were checked. After 1 year of complementary therapy, they were checked those parameters again. The differences of their MPHSDS, BAHSDS and PAHSDS before and after the therapy were compared with Wilcoxon signed rank test using SPSS 12.0. RESULTS: The mean changes in BAHSDS after therapy in boys and girls were -0.17 and -0.05. The mean changes in predicted adult height SDS after therapy in boys and girls were -0.28 and 0.03. There were no significant differences between BAHSDS and PAHSDS before and after the therapy. CONCLUSION: There is little evidence that the use of herbal medicines to improve the final adult heights of the children was effective. It is necessary to evaluate the long-term effects or the side effects of these therapies on final adult heights in more children.