Continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) versus conventional injection therapy in newly diagnosed diabetic children: two-year follow-up of a randomized, prospective trial.

The effect of continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII), begun at diagnosis, on blood glucose control and endogenous insulin production was studied in a group of consecutively referred newly diagnosed diabetic children. In a random order, 15 children started CSII (age 9.5 +/- 4.2 (+/- SD) years) and 15 conventional injection therapy (age 7.0 +/- 3.6 years). For 2 years HbA1 and urinary C-peptide were measured monthly, C-peptide responses to glucagon 6-monthly, and insulin antibodies every 3 months. None of the patients requested change of therapy during the study period, but at 28 months 1 adolescent girl changed to injection therapy from CSII. Severe hypoglycaemia was observed once in each group, but ketoacidosis only once, in the injection therapy group. From 2 months after diagnosis onwards the CSII group had significantly lower HbA1 levels. Urinary and plasma C-peptide levels did not differ between the two groups and similar insulin doses were used throughout the study. At the end of the 2 years of therapy, the CSII group had significantly lower insulin antibody levels. The observations suggest that CSII is well accepted in newly diagnosed children and improves metabolic control, but does not prolong endogenous insulin production.

Vitamin D metabolism in breast-fed infants and their mothers.

The aim of this longitudinal study was to examine vitamin D metabolism in exclusively breast-fed infants. The four common vitamin D metabolites--25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD), 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D [1,25(OH)2D], 24,25-dihydroxyvitamin D [24,25(OH)2D], and 25,26-dihydroxyvitamin D [25,26(OH)2D]--as well as vitamin D binding protein (DBP) were determined simultaneously in mothers and their children from delivery to several months of age. Maternal blood samples, drawn approximately 6 wk before the expected date of delivery, were also analyzed. At delivery, total vitamin D metabolites in maternal and fetal plasma were closely correlated, maternal levels being higher. Unbound (free) vitamin D metabolite concentrations were higher in fetal than in maternal plasma, with the exception of free 1,25(OH)2D levels, which were equal. This suggests a rapid placental transfer of 1,25(OH)2D. 24,25(OH)2D and 25,26(OH)2D levels both in mothers and children were closely correlated with the precursor sterol 25OHD. For 1,25(OH)2D, no correlation could be demonstrated with any of the other vitamin D metabolites. DBP concentrations in maternal plasma at the time of delivery were about twice the mean adult reference value. In cord blood, DBP levels were in the lower part of the adult reference range. Maternal total 1,25(OH)2D levels, which were twice the reference mean during pregnancy, fell sharply after delivery but free 1,25(OH)2D levels much less. Analogous to the biochemical changes in the mother, the infants' DBP levels fell after birth, as a result of the sudden disappearance of the estrogen stimulus. At the same time, the mineral supply via the placenta was cut off.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Glomerular filtration rate in the preterm infant: the relation to gestational and postnatal age.

In 41 preterm neonates with a gestational age (GA) varying from 27 to 36 weeks, glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was measured by means of the continuous inulin infusion technique. The reliability of the technique was confirmed. During postnatal development GFR was found to increase in two ways: firstly, an increase with advancing gestational age, associated with the increase in body weight (BW) [GFR (ml/min) = 0.15 X GA-3.20, r = 0.48, P = 0.0048]; secondly, a postnatal increase, being independent from increment in BW. An increase in GFR (ml/min.kg) from 0.88 +/- 0.23 to 1.18 +/- 0.28 was observed between day 4 and day 11 postnatally (P less than 0.008). This latter increase is probably associated with changes in renal haemodynamics. No significant influence of artificial ventilation on GFR could be demonstrated in preterm neonates.

Long-acting somatostatin analogue (Sandostatin) reduces late night insulinopenic ketogenesis in diabetic teenagers.

Ten diabetic teenagers were admitted into our hospital for two nights, separated by one week. In a double-blind cross-over randomized study they received either 50 micrograms of the new long-acting somatostatin analogue Sandostatin sc or placebo. All patients were between 12 and 16 years of age, C-peptide negative with a duration of diabetes of at least four years. They had either conventional therapy or insulin pump therapy. Insulin doses and diets were kept unchanged. Blood samples were taken half hourly from 17.00 h until 09.30 h the next morning from an indwelling venous catheter. Hormonal and metabolic profiles on the two nights were evaluated by means of a distribution free time sequential co-movement analysis and by the paired Wilcoxon's signed rank test. After Sandostatin was given at 22.00 h, GH levels were significantly suppressed during 4 h. During that period blood glucose was slightly but significantly lower than after placebo. The free-insulin profiles from both nights were very comparable. Co-movement analysis showed a significant correlation between glucose and free insulin variations with a 30-min backward shift of the glucose curve. However, after Sandostatin administration this relation was lost in the period between 22.00 and 07.00 h, indicating a different effect of insulin on glucose levels during the nights Sandostatin was given. Early morning glucose rises were associated with free insulin levels below 20 mU/l. This association was not altered during the Sandostatin nights. Glucagon was not suppressed by Sandostatin except at 120 min after injection, and remained unchanged during the rest of the observation period.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The effects of colestipol hydrochloride on serum lipoprotein lipid and apolipoprotein B and A-I concentrations in children heterozygous for familial hypercholesterolemia.

The effects of colestipol hydrochloride on serum lipoprotein lipid and apolipoprotein B and A-I concentrations in children heterozygous for familial hypercholesterolemia. Acta Paediatr Scand, 72:81, 1983.--Colestipol hydrochloride was administered to 28 children with familial hypercholesterolemia type II-A, and its effects on serum lipoproteins were tested against a placebo in a cross-over design. All children consumed a diet low in cholesterol and high in linoleic acid. Colestipol therapy resulted in a 15.7% decrease in serum very low plus low density lipoproteins and in a 13.5% decrease in serum apolipoprotein B. High density lipoprotein cholesterol, serum apolipoprotein A-I and serum triglycerides remained unaltered.

The effect of a virtually cholesterol-free, high-linoleic-acid vegetarian diet on serum lipoproteins of children with familial hypercholesterolemia (type II-A).

The effect of a virtually cholesterol-free, high-linoleic-acid vegetarian diet and a high-linoleic-acid "normal" diet with a moderate cholesterol content was tested in 39 children heterozygote for hypercholesterolemia type II-A. The diets were administered in an outpatient cross-over design of two periods of 10 weeks each and the serum lipoproteins were analyzed at the end of the two 10-week periods. The vegetarian diet induced a decrease in serum concentrations of LDL-II total and free cholesterol and of apo-B, by an average of 10%, whereas HDL cholesterol and apo-A-I decreased by 4%. The disproportionately large change in LDL compared to the small change in HDL was interpreted as an antiatherogenic effect of the vegetarian diet.

The effect of oral calcium carbonate administration on serum lipoproteins of children with familial hypercholesterolaemia (type II-A).

The effect of oral calcium carbonate on serum lipoprotein concentrations was tested in 50 children with familial hypercholesterolemia (type II-A) consuming a low cholesterol high polyunsaturated fat diet, using a cross-over design versus a placebo. Cholesterol was measured in serum and in the individual lipoprotein density classes. Serum apolipoprotein B (the protein moiety of low density lipoprotein) and apolipoprotein A-I (the main protein of high density lipoprotein) were measured by specific immunoassays. Calcium carbonate treatment induced only a slight increase in serum apolipoprotein A-I (+ 4%) and a slight decrease in low density lipoprotein cholesterol (-4%), both changes being significant at the P = 0.05 level.

The effect of cholestyramine on serum lipids and platelet aggregation of hypercholesterolemic children (type II A) while on high linoleic acid diet.

25 children with familial hypercholesterolemia (type II A) were treated with cholestyramine or placebo in a cross over study during 2 periods of each 10 weeks. The medication was added to a high linoleic acid diet, which had been started at least 1 year earlier. Serum lipids and platelet aggregation were investigated at the end of the 2 periods. On cholestyramine, serum cholesterol levels decreased significantly, whereas the linoleate and oleate content of cholesterylesters and serum triglycerides did not change systematically. Platelet aggregation time, measured with a filtragometer, did not systematically change either.