[Management of high blood pressure in children and adolescents: Recommendations of the European Society of hypertension]. / Manejo de la hipertensión arterial en niños y adolescentes: recomendaciones de la Sociedad Europea de Hipertensión.

Hypertension in children and adolescents has been gaining ground in cardiovascular medicine, mainly due to the advances made in several areas of pathophysiological and clinical research. These guidelines arose from the consensus reached by specialists in the detection and control of hypertension in children and adolescents. Furthermore, these guidelines are a compendium of scientific data and the extensive clinical experience it contains represents the most complete information that doctors, nurses and families should take into account when making decisions. These guidelines, which stress the importance of hypertension in children and adolescents, and its contribution to the current epidemic of cardiovascular disease, should act as a stimulus for governments to develop a global effort for the early detection and suitable treatment of high pressure in children and adolescents. J Hypertens 27:1719-1742 Q 2009 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Manejo de la hipertensión arterial en niños y adolescentes: recomendaciones de la Sociedad Europea de Hipertensión / Management of high blood pressure in children and adolescents: Recommendations of the European Society of hypertension

La hipertensión en niños y adolescentes ha ido ganando terreno en la medicina cardiovascular, gracias a los avances producidos en distintas áreas de la investigación fisiopatológica y clínica. Estas guías nacen del consenso al que han llegado los especialistas en la detección y control de la hipertensión en niños y adolescentes. Por otra parte, dichas guías son un compendio de los datos científicos y la extensa experiencia clínica con la que se cuenta, y constituyen la información clínica más completa que los médicos, enfermeras y familiares deberían tener en cuenta a la hora de tomar decisiones. Estas guías, que hacen hincapié en la importancia de la hipertensión en niños y adolescentes, así como en el papel que desempeña en la actual epidemia de enfermedades cardiovasculares, deberían constituir un estímulo para que los gobiernos desarrollaran un esfuerzo global para una detección precoz y un tratamiento adecuado de la hipertensión arterial en niños y adolescentes. J Hypertens 27:1719-1742 Q 2009 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins(AU)

Hypertension in children and adolescents has been gaining ground in cardiovascular medicine, mainly due to the advances made in several areas of pathophysiological and clinical research. These guidelines arose from the consensus reached by specialists in the detection and control of hypertension in children and adolescents. Furthermore, these guidelines are a compendium of scientific data and the extensive clinical experience it contains represents the most complete information that doctors, nurses and families should take into account when making decisions. These guidelines, which stress the importance of hypertension in children and adolescents, and its contribution to the current epidemic of cardiovascular disease, should act as a stimulus for governments to develop a global effort for the early detection and suitable treatment of high pressure in children and adolescents. J Hypertens 27:1719-1742 Q 2009 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins(AU)

Growth hormone treatment in short children with chronic kidney disease.

UNLABELLED: Growth hormone (GH) has been used for treatment of impaired growth in children with chronic kidney disease (CKD) for nearly 17 years. Controlled and open-label studies have shown that GH is highly effective in improving growth velocity and adult height. The growth response is negatively correlated with age and height at start and time spent on dialysis treatment; it is positively correlated with dose and duration of treatment and the primary renal disease (renal hypodysplasia). In children with renal transplants, corticosteroid treatment is an additional factor negatively influencing spontaneous growth rates. However, GH treatment is able to compensate corticosteroid-induced growth failure. GH treatment improved final height by 0.5-1.7 standard deviation score (SDS) in various studies, whereas the control group lost about 0.5 SDS in comparable time intervals. These variable results are explained in part by the factors mentioned above. The adverse events are comparable to those in non-CKD children treated with GH. CONCLUSION: GH treatment is safe and highly effective in improving growth and final height of short children with all stages of CKD. The highest treatment success is obtained if treatment is started at an early age and with relatively well-preserved residual renal function and continued until final height.

[Radiologic differentiation of rhabdoid tumor from Wilms' tumor and mesoblastic nephroma]. / Bildgebende Differenzierung des Rhabdoidtumors vom Nephroblastom und mesoblastischen Nephrom.

Differentiation between rhabdoid tumor (RT) and mesoblastic nephroma (MN) and Wilms' tumor (WT) by imaging studies in babies and young children before histological confirmation is useful to start optimal treatment early. Typical radiologic criteria (crescent-shaped subcapsular liquid areas, tumor lobules, blurred tumor borders, metastasis in the lung, and regional lymph nodes) are described. The results of 26 MRI, 30 CT, and 22 ultrasound examinations of 49 patients (22 RT, 19 WT, and 8 MN, age 2-57 months) were analyzed. The above-mentioned radiologic criteria were classified with score values. The score value distribution was analyzed between the tumor entities and by two investigators.RT had significantly higher score values than the MN and WT. The difference between the two investigators was not significant. As a group RT differentiates from the group of WT and MN, but this is not possible in single cases with the radiologic criteria employed. Only if more signs are observed together in one case can a RT be presumed, which may indicate an early biopsy before chemotherapy.

Long-term treatment with growth hormone in short children with nephropathic cystinosis.

OBJECTIVE: The objective was to assess the efficacy and safety of growth hormone (GH) treatment in severely growth retarded children with nephropathic cystinosis during conservative treatment and during renal replacement therapy. STUDY DESIGN: The design was an open-labeled prospective trial with a run-in period of 1 year. RESULTS: A total of 74 children with cystinosis (age 3.0 to 18 years) were treated with GH over a mean period of 3.1 years (range 1 to 10 years); 52 patients were receiving conservative treatment (mean age 7.1 years), 7 were receiving dialysis (12.5 years), and 15 had received a renal transplant (14.8 years). The mean standardized height (SD score) was -4.0 in the conservative treatment group, -4.4 in the dialysis group, and -4.9 in the renal transplant group. During the first treatment year, height velocity doubled in the conservative treatment group, increased by 80% in the dialysis group, and increased by 45% in renal transplant group. Within 3 years the height SD score increased by +1.6 (P <.001) in prepubertal patients receiving conservative treatment, and percentile parallel growth was maintained thereafter. These effects of GH were less expressed in peripubertal patients receiving renal replacement therapy. No major side effects were observed. CONCLUSION: Long-term GH treatment is safe and effective in young children with nephropathic cystinosis. GH treatment should be started early in the course of the disease if adequate nutrition and cysteamine treatment do not prevent growth retardation.

Impact of ACE I/D gene polymorphism on congenital renal malformations.

To investigate the role of the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) gene insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism on prevalence and progression of disease in children with chronic renal failure (CRF), we determined the ACE I/D genotype in 95 children with CRF due to renal malformations (hypo-/dysplasia, obstructive uropathy, reflux nephropathy; n = 59), other congenital or hereditary diseases (n = 23), or acquired glomerular disorders (n = 13), who had been followed prospectively over a 2-year period. CRF progression rate was followed in each individual by linear regression analysis of estimates of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) obtained every 2 months. Actuarial renal 'survival' analysis was performed, using a GFR loss of 10 ml/min per 1.73 m2 as a cutoff point. The distribution of the ACE genotype did not differ among the disease groups. There was also no difference in ACE genotype distribution between the patients and a control group of healthy Caucasian children (n = 163). Among the children with renal malformations, the 2-year renal survival was significantly lower in those with the DD genotype (61%) than in patients with ID or II genotype (89%, P < 0.01). In the other disease groups, the ACE I/D genotype was not predictive of CRF progression. In a multivariate analysis of risk factors, the adverse effect of the DD genotype (risk ratio 10.2, P < 0.05) was independent of and additive to those of arterial hypertension (RR 13.2, P < 0.001) and gross proteinuria (RR 4.7, P < 0.05). We conclude that the ACE DD genotype is a significant risk factor for children with congenital renal malformations to develop progressive CRF. The effect of the ACE polymorphism in this patient group is independent of hypertension and proteinuria.

Effect of ramipril on ambulatory blood pressure and albuminuria in renal hypertension.

Inhibition of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) exerts a renoprotective effect in adult patients with chronic kidney disease. We evaluated prospectively changes in blood pressure (BP), protein excretion and renal function after administration of the long-acting ACE inhibitor ramipril as monotherapy during 6 months in 14 moderately hypertensive children aged 5-18 years with various nephropathies. Four patients initially had a decreased glomerular filtration rate (GFR below 60 ml/min/1.73 m2). BP was evaluated by ambulatory 24-h monitoring. After 2 weeks of treatment by oral ramipril (1.5 mg/m2 once daily), mean values of systolic and diastolic 24-h ambulatory BP fell by more than 5 mmHg in nine patients. In eight patients the dose was doubled. At the end of the study systolic BP was below the 95th percentile in 9 and diastolic BP in 13 patients. The initially reduced nocturnal dip increased significantly. Of 11 patients with an increased albumin excretion (median 1.3 g/g creatinine), 6 responded to ramipril by a median reduction of 78% (range 24-83%), whilst in 5 albuminuria increased (median +19%). GFR was well preserved and no other adverse effects from the drug were noted. The study demonstrates that ramipril is an efficacious antihypertensive agent in children with renal hypertension. It is well tolerated, even in mild renal insufficiency. In addition, the drug has a persistent antiproteinuric action in about half of the patients contributing to conserve renal function.

Effect of growth hormone treatment on the adult height of children with chronic renal failure. German Study Group for Growth Hormone Treatment in Chronic Renal Failure.

BACKGROUND: Growth hormone treatment stimulates growth in short children with chronic renal failure. However, the extent to which this therapy increases final adult height is not known. METHODS: We followed 38 initially prepubertal children with chronic renal failure treated with growth hormone for a mean of 5.3 years until they reached their final adult height. The mean (+/-SD) age at the start of treatment was 10.4+/-2.2 years, the mean bone age was 7.1+/-2.3 years, and the mean height was 3.1+/-1.2 SD below normal. Fifty matched children with chronic renal failure who were not treated with growth hormone served as controls. RESULTS: The children treated with growth hormone had sustained catch-up growth, whereas the control children had progressive growth failure. The mean final height of the growth hormone-treated children was 165 cm for boys and 156 cm for girls. The mean final adult height of the growth hormone-treated children was 1.6+/-1.2 SD below normal, which was 1.4 SD above their standardized height at base line (P< 0.001). In contrast, the final height of the untreated children (2.1+/-1.2 SD below normal) was 0.6 SD below their standardized height at base line (P<0.001). Although prepubertal bone maturation was accelerated in growth hormone-treated children, treatment was not associated with a shortening of the pubertal growth spurt. The total height gain was positively associated with the initial target-height deficit and the duration of growth hormone therapy and was negatively associated with the percentage of the observation period spent receiving dialysis treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Long-term growth hormone treatment of children with chronic renal failure induces persistent catch-up growth, and the majority of patients achieve normal adult height.

Assessment of body composition in children with chronic renal failure.

In children with chronic renal failure treated conservatively by dialysis or by transplantation, various alterations of the nutritional, metabolic and fluid homeostasis may occur that may critically affect the patients' acute and chronic well-being. In the past, the assessment of body composition in children was hampered by insufficient precision, standardization and/or availability of appropriate anthropometric tools. Recently, there have been several methodological advances that may facilitate close and precise monitoring of body composition in this population. Specifically, the use of body mass index (BMI) data in children has become possible by the introduction of pediatric reference values processed for the calculation of standard deviation scores accounting for the skewed distribution of BMI. Skewness-adapted reference data have also been provided for percentage fat mass as assessed by multisite skinfold measurements. In addition, bioelectrical impedance analysis has been validated in healthy children as well as in pediatric dialysis and renal transplant populations. This novel auxological technique provides a highly reproducible, non-invasive and inexpensive way of assessing changes in total body water content in dialysed patients, as well as changes in fat and fat-free mass prior to dialysis and after renal transplantation.

Puberty in chronic renal failure.

Puberty is a period of transition characterized by a sequence of profound physical and psychological changes leading to full sexual maturity. This process is driven and orchestrated by the awakening of the gonadotropic hormone axis. Chronic renal failure and its treatment may interfere with the onset and progress of puberty by numerous mechanisms including endocrine, metabolic and neuropsychological abnormalities, and drug effects. On average, the onset of puberty is delayed by 2 years in children with chronic renal failure, even after successful transplantation. Moreover, pubertal height gain is only 50% of that observed in healthy children. In this report, we discuss the endocrine mechanisms underlying these alterations and highlight new therapeutical options for pubertal growth failure.

Long-term experience with growth hormone treatment in children with chronic renal failure.

After a decade of experience with recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) in children with chronic renal failure (CRF), the long-term efficacy and safety of the drug is now established. In prepubertal children, partial catch-up growth is achieved during the first three treatment years, followed by sustained percentile-parallel growth. Discontinuation of rhGH treatment results in catch-down growth in 75% of patients. Treatment efficacy is inversely correlated with age and baseline height velocity, and positively influenced by genetic target height and residual renal function. Skeletal maturation is not accelerated, suggesting a true increase in final height potential. Side effects are limited to a stimulation of insulin secretion, which is not associated with changes in glucose tolerance, and occasional cases of benign intracranial hypertension. In summary, the advent of rhGH has opened a new era in the management of growth failure in CRF. Available evidence suggests that treatment should start in early childhood and early in the course of renal failure, and should be continued at least until renal transplantation. It remains to be seen whether the beneficial effect of rhGH on height observed during the prepubertal period will result in an eventual increase in adult height.

Factors predictive of the short- and long-term efficacy of growth hormone treatment in prepubertal children with chronic renal failure. The German Study Group for Growth Hormone Treatment in Chronic Renal Failure.

To evaluate the growth-stimulating effects of short- and long-term treatment with recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) in growth-retarded children with chronic renal failure (CRF), 103 prepubertal children with CRF on conservative treatment (n = 74) or dialysis (n = 29) were treated with rhGH for up to 5 yr. rhGH treatment persistently increased standardized height (+ 1.6 SD scores) and predicted adult height (+7.7 cm, Tanner method) during the first 3 treatment years (P < 0.001 versus baseline), followed by percentile parallel growth during continued treatment. Both standardized height and predicted adult height were significantly more increased in conservatively treated than in dialyzed children (P < 0.001). Age, GFR, target height, and prestudy growth rate were identified as independent predictors of the response to rhGH treatment during the first and second treatment year. GFR and target height were positively correlated with the change in height SD score and the change in absolute or age-standardized height velocity. Age affected the growth response depending on which outcome measure was used: Although the first-year change in height SD score was inversely correlated with age, the change in absolute height velocity was independent of age, and the change in standardized height velocity was positively correlated with age. The growth response during the first treatment year positively predicted the long-term response. In conclusion, the short- and long-term growth response to rhGH treatment in prepubertal growth-retarded children with CRF is significantly affected by age, GFR, target height, and the pretreatment growth rate. Therefore, rhGH should be preferably started at a young age, and early in the course of CRF.

Impact of recurrent nephrotic syndrome after renal transplantation in young patients.

Recurrent disease is a frequent complication of patients transplanted for steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome associated with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. Its long-term prognosis has rarely been studied. We examined 39 patients aged 4-25 (mean 13.5) years at the time of first transplantation (TX). Twelve of these (30%) developed nephrotic syndrome after the first TX and 2 of 8 after the second TX. The mean observation period from first TX to last observation with a functioning graft or graft loss was 5.4 (0.1-19.3) years. We confirmed that recurrent disease is associated with older age at onset of the primary disease, shorter time from onset to end-stage renal disease, and diffuse mesangial proliferation in the initial kidney biopsy. Remissions occurred in all 3 children undergoing early repeated plasma exchange and in 1 adolescent following introduction of cyclosporin A 7 years after TX. At last observation 42% of relapsing and 48% of non-relapsing patients with a similar follow-up period had a functioning first graft. Median first graft survival was almost identical in the relapsing and the non-relapsing patients (4.3 vs. 4.2 years). Histological lesions of focal glomerulosclerosis were detected in the posttransplant biopsies of only 3 patients. In conclusion, young patients with nephrotic syndrome associated with focal segmental sclerosis have a similar graft survival with and without recurrence of the nephrotic syndrome.

Spectrum of early onset nephrotic syndrome associated with WT1 missense mutations.

We investigated 17 children with nephrotic syndrome (NS) of early onset (14 aged < 1 year) and rapid progression to end-stage renal disease for the presence of mutations in the Wilms' tumor suppressor gene WT1 on chromosome 11. In eight children (7 genotypic males) an association with Wilms' tumor and/or ambiguous genitalia (Denys-Drash syndrome) was observed. In these eight and two additional female patients with NS only constitutional missense mutations in the WT1 gene were detected; four children presented the so-called hot spot mutation in exon 9 (R394N) and six had different mutations in exons 8 and 9 (4 not previously described). Renal biopsy showed diffuse mesangial sclerosis in eight and focal segmental sclerosis in two cases. End-stage renal disease was reached either concomitantly or within four months after onset of NS in seven of ten patients. A unilateral Wilms' tumor was found before or concomitant with NS in four children (3 males, 1 female). From the seven genotypic males with WT1 mutations, five presented ambiguous genitalia and two a female phenotype. No mutation of the WT1 gene was found in seven other children with isolated congenital or infantile NS with or without DMS who appeared to have a slower progression than the first group. It is proposed that patients with early onset, rapidly progressive NS and diffuse mesangial or focal segmental sclerosis should be tested for WT1 mutations to identify those at risk for developing Wilms' tumor.

Inappropriate elevation of serum leptin levels in children with chronic renal failure. European Study Group for Nutritional Treatment of Chronic Renal Failure in Childhood.

Decreased spontaneous nutrient intake is a frequent clinical problem in patients with chronic renal failure (CRF). Leptin, the recently characterized gene product of the obese gene, is produced by adipocytes and is thought to act as an afferent satiety signal on the appetite and satiety centers of the brain. Serum leptin levels were investigated in 134 pediatric patients in different stages of CRF to evaluate a possible relationship between leptin, GFR, and spontaneous energy intake. Serum leptin levels, measured by a specific RIA, were elevated above the 50th percentile of the normal range in 78% of CRF patients and above the 95th percentile in 45% of patients. Gel chromatography of CRF sera yielded only one single immunoreactive peak at 16 kD, indicating that the increase of immunoreactive leptin levels in CRF serum was not due to accumulation of leptin degradation products. Multiple stepwise regression analysis revealed the percentage of body fat as assessed from skinfold measurements (r = 0.79, P < 0.0001) and GFR (r = -0.17, P < 0.005) as independent predictors of serum leptin levels, accounting for 66% of total statistical variability. There was an inverse linear correlation between standardized leptin levels (leptin z-score) and the spontaneous energy intake quantified from written dietary diaries (r = -0.36, P < 0.001). These data suggest that the percentage of body fat remains the main determinant of serum leptin in CRF patients, but their levels increase with declining GFR, presumably by reduced renal clearance. Leptin levels in CRF serum that are inappropriately elevated in relation to the percentage of body fat might lead to a dysregulation of the normal peripheral-central leptin feedback loop, thereby contributing to decreased nutrient intake in uremia.

Body mass index and percentage fat mass in healthy German schoolchildren and adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: To provide reference data for obesity indices in Mid-European schoolchildren and adolescents, to evaluate the usefulness of body mass index (BMI) as an indicator of obesity in children, and to analyse the patterns of fat accumulation during childhood. DESIGN: Cross-sectional observational study in 2554 healthy schoolchildren and adolescents (age, 6-19 y) living in Heidelberg, Germany in 1989/1990. Centile charts for BMI and skinfold-derived percentage body fat mass (PFM) were constructed using Cole's LMS method for normalised growth standards. RESULTS: The BMI centile values of German children ranged higher than French, lower than North American and Italian, and similar to Swedish and British children. While BMI steadily increased with age, PFM was markedly lower in peripubertal than in pre- and postpubertal boys. BMI predicted PFM with reasonable precision in girls (r=0.84), and in obese boys (r=0.58), but not in the leaner two thirds of the male population (r=0.01, NS). The 75th BMI percentile was the most appropriate cutoff value to screen for the 15% most obese patients by PFM (sensitivity: 82%, specificity: 85%). The pattern of the trunk-to-extremity skinfold ratio across childhood suggested that the typical adult distribution of central and peripheral fat is achieved in mid puberty in girls, but not before the end of adolescence in boys. CONCLUSIONS: The major differences observed between BMI charts obtained in different countries underline the need for population-specific reference data. BMI is of limited usefulness in predicting relative fat mass in individual children. The developmental pattern of fat accumulation and distribution during adolescence is highly dynamic and gender-specific.

Treatment with recombinant human growth hormone in short children with nephropathic cystinosis: no evidence for increased deterioration rate of renal function. The European Study Group on Growth Hormone Treatment in Short Children with Nephropathic Cystinosis.

To evaluate the effect of long-term treatment with recombinant human GH (rhGH) on renal function in short children with nephropathic cystinosis with and without concomitant cysteamine treatment, 36 growth-retarded children with nephropathic cystinosis (age 7.3+/-2.7 y; creatinine clearance [C(CR)] 50+/-27 mL (min x 1.73 m2)(-1) were treated with 1 IU rhGH/kg/wk for up to 5 y. The rise in serum creatinine before and during rhGH treatment was compared with that in a historical control group of cystinotic patients. The effect of concomitant cysteamine treatment on the evolution of renal function before and after the start of rhGH was evaluated separately in patients without (group A) and with cysteamine treatment (group B). The decline of C(CR) was also compared with that in noncystinotic patients with chronic renal failure with and without rhGH treatment. At study entry, serum creatinine values in group A were similar to those in the historical controls, whereas group B had significantly lower serum creatinine values. Treatment with rhGH did not accelerate the rise in creatinine independently of cysteamine treatment. There were no significant differences in the mean decline of C(CR) per year in cystinotic compared with noncystinotic patients with chronic renal failure with or without rhGH treatment. rhGH therapy for up to 5 y does not accelerate the deterioration of renal function. This justifies the continuation of controlled studies of rhGH treatment in these patients. The study also provides further evidence that cysteamine therapy reduces the progression of renal failure in children with cystinosis.

Metabolic effects of long-term growth hormone treatment in prepubertal children with chronic renal failure and after kidney transplantation. The German Study Group for Growth Hormone Treatment in Chronic Renal Failure.

To evaluate the metabolic effects of long-term treatment with recombinant human (rh) GH in short children with chronic renal failure (CRF), annual oral glucose tolerance tests (oGTT) during rhGH therapy for up to 5 y in 53 prepubertal children with CRF on conservative treatment, dialysis, and after renal transplantation were compared with that of 12 age-matched children treated with rhGH for idiopathic short stature. At the start of rhGH treatment, fasting values of glucose, insulin, glycosylated Hb A (HbA1C), triglycerides, cholesterol, glucose, and insulin responses during oGTT were significantly elevated in all patient groups compared with control subjects (p < 0.001). In the total population, fasting and 2-h postprandial glucose concentrations were inversely correlated with GFR and positively with age and methylprednisolone dosage in transplanted patients. Fasting insulin levels were positively correlated with body mass index and inversely with GFR. RhGH treatment was not associated with a change in fasting or stimulated glucose concentrations in any treatment group throughout the observation period. In contrast, serum insulin levels increased during the first treatment year in all groups, resulting in a more marked elevation of integrated insulin levels in transplant (1402 +/- 179 pM) and dialysis (1025 +/- 114 pM) patients compared with conservatively treated patients (829 +/- 94 pM), and control subjects (719 +/- 89 pM) (p < 0.01). Hyperinsulinemia persisted in all treatment groups for up to 5 y of follow-up. In conclusion, age, renal function, and obesity are the major independent predictors of glucose tolerance in children with CRF. Long-term rhGH treatment does not affect glucose tolerance, but aggravates the preexisting hyperinsulinemia in children with end-stage renal disease. In concert with the dyslipidemia of uremia, the rhGH-promoted hyperinsulinemia may contribute to the long-term risk for premature atherosclerosis in patients with childhood onset CRF.