ABSTRACT
The progression of early measures of microvascular disease and autonomic neuropathy were studied in a group of 81 children with insulin dependent diabetes mellitus over a mean interval of 4.2 years. Repeated measurements were made of blood pressure, albumin excretion, joint mobility, and pupillary dilatation in darkness. Over the years between the first and the second study, systolic and diastolic blood pressure showed positive tracking correlations (r = 0.38 and r = 0.32) with a small but significant deviation from normality; albumin/creatinine ratio was significantly increased (0.79 v 0.55); a greater number of children were identified in the second study as having limitation of mobility of the fifth metacarpophalangeal joint; and pupillary dilatation in darkness significantly decreased (61.5% v 62.9%); 62% of the children with one or more abnormal measurements in the first study were found to have measurements outside the normal ranges in the second study, indicating a consistency in observations over time. It remains to be seen with what accuracy these measurements predict adult onset clinical disease.
Subject(s)
Autonomic Nervous System Diseases/physiopathology , Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1/physiopathology , Diabetic Angiopathies/physiopathology , Diabetic Neuropathies/physiopathology , Adolescent , Albuminuria/etiology , Blood Pressure , Child , Child, Preschool , Disease Progression , Female , Humans , Joint Diseases/etiology , Longitudinal Studies , Male , Pupil Disorders/etiologyABSTRACT
Animal experiments suggested a possible interaction between GH or GH-dependent growth factors and bone healing. The aim of this study was to determine whether there were any significant changes in serum levels of IGF-I and/ or the activity of its receptors while a fractured bone was healing. Serum concentrations of IGF-I and its specific binding to erythrocyte receptors (IGF-I SB) were determined in a group of 12 prepubertal children treated for long bone fractures. Results were compared to those obtained from a group of age- and sex-matched controls. Blood samples were taken from all patients two weeks following the fractures, when bone formation rate should have been maximal. We found no difference in IGF-I SB between the two groups. However, serum IGF-I levels were increased in the group of children with fractures compared to controls. Results are suggestive of a possible interaction between IGF-I and bone repair processes as other investigators have suggested on the basis of animal experiments.
Subject(s)
Bone and Bones/injuries , Erythrocytes/metabolism , Fracture Healing/physiology , Insulin-Like Growth Factor I/metabolism , Child , Female , Humans , Male , Receptor, IGF Type 1/bloodABSTRACT
The aim of the study was to evaluate the influence of the month of birth on the development of atopic disease and the rate of sensitization to common environmental allergens in Greece. Analysis of the month of birth of 1755 individuals with atopic disease (asthma, rhinitis, atopic dermatitis), out of whom 771 had positive skin tests/RAST to Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and mixed grasses, in comparison to total live births (2,877,733) in Greece during 1968-88, was performed and showed significant correlation (p < 0.001) between month of birth and development of atopic disease in general. Months of birth May to August correlated best with bronchial asthma (p < 0.05) and rhinitis (p < 0.05), and July to August with atopic dermatitis (p < 0.05). Significantly greater than the expected frequency was found for D. pteronyssinus sensitivity for months of birth May to August (p < 0.01), for mixed grass pollen March to August (p < 0.01), and for Olea europaea pollen mainly March (p < 0.05). Our results indicate that in Greece high-risk birth months for development of atopy are May to August, whereas for sensitization to common aeroallergens they are March for O. europaea, March to August for mixed grasses, and May to August for D. pteronyssinus.
