Effect of honey on glucose and insulin concentrations in obese girls.

BACKGROUND: Childhood obesity represents a major health problem of our century. The benefits of natural products, such as honey, in the management of obesity have gained renewed interest. In this study, we investigated the effect of honey on glucose and insulin concentrations in obese prepubertal girls. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty healthy obese girls aged 10.55 (±SEM:0.34) years with a mean body mass index (BMI) above the 97th centile for age (28.58 ± 1.40 kg/m2 , BMI z-score 2.96) underwent a standard oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) followed by an oral honey tolerance test (OHTT) 2 weeks later. Both solutions contained 75 g of glucose. Subsequently, subjects were randomized to receive either 15 g of honey or 15 g of marmalade daily, while both groups complied with dietetic instructions. Six months later all subjects were re-evaluated with an OGTT and an OHTT. RESULTS: At the end of the study, all subjects demonstrated a significant reduction in BMI (27.57 ± 1.40, z-score: 2.54 vs 28.58 ± 1.40 kg/m2 , z-score: 2.96, P < 0.001), however, there were no significant differences in BMI and all parameters tested between the group that received honey and the control group. The areas under the concentration-time curve for glucose and insulin for the entire population were significantly lower following ingestion of honey than glucose solution (P < 0.001) both at the beginning and at the end of study. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that honey does not have an effect on stimulated plasma glucose and serum insulin concentrations compared with the standard glucose solution in obese prepubertal girls.

Long-term follow-up of a child with Klinefelter syndrome and achondroplasia from infancy to 16 years.

BACKGROUND: Achondroplasia (ACH), an autosomal dominant skeletal dysplasia, occurs in approximately 1:20,000 births. On the other hand, 47,XXY aneuploidy (Klinefelter syndrome [KS]) is the most common sex chromosome disorder, with a prevalence of approximately 1:600 males. To the best of our knowledge, only five cases of patients presenting both ACH and KS have been reported to date in the international literature. However, none of these cases has been longitudinally followed during the entire childhood. CASE PRESENTATION: We report a male patient with ACH and KS, diagnosed in early infancy because of his typical phenotype of ACH. The diagnosis was confirmed by molecular analysis revealing a de novo heterozygous 1138 G-to-A mutation of the FGFR3 gene. During his first assessment, a karyotype was performed, which also revealed coexistence of KS. He was followed by our pediatric endocrinology team until the age of 16 years, then he was gradually transferred to adult endocrine care. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first reported case with both conditions that was diagnosed in infancy and was longitudinally followed by a pediatric endocrinology team regularly, from infancy to late adolescence. With a typical phenotype of ACH, it is striking and noteworthy that he did not develop the classical endocrine complications of a child with KS, neither did he necessitate testosterone supplementation during his pubertal development, due to his normal virilization and testosterone levels.