A Long-term Safety Study of Latanoprost in Pediatric Patients With Glaucoma and Ocular Hypertension: A Prospective Cohort Study.

PURPOSE: The objective was to assess the long-term effect of treatment with latanoprost on ocular development and safety in pediatric patients with glaucoma and ocular hypertension. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. METHODS: This was a prospective 3-year cohort study conducted in 14 countries in Europe and South America. Patients aged < 18 years with glaucoma or ocular hypertension were enrolled into either the latanoprost or non-prostaglandin (non-PG) group in this observational study. The primary endpoint was change in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) from baseline to 3 years. Several secondary endpoints were evaluated, including corneal thickness and ocular hyperpigmentation. For treatment comparison, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used for continuous endpoints and Fisher exact test was applied for proportion of participants with clinically significant deterioration events. RESULTS: A total of 175 patients were enrolled: 102 in the latanoprost group (median follow-up: 36.7 months) and 73 in the non-PG group (median follow-up: 36.1 months). There was no statistically significant difference between the latanoprost and the non-PG groups (aged 5 to <18 years) in BCVA change from baseline (least square mean logMAR difference -0.03 [95% confidence interval: -0.12, 0.06]), corneal thickness, or ocular hyperpigmentation. CONCLUSIONS: Latanoprost had an acceptable safety profile with no evidence of inducing clinically meaningful or statistically significant changes in ocular development or ocular hyperpigmentation in pediatric patients with glaucoma and ocular hypertension.

Growth and nutritional status of Khasi boys in Northeast India relating to exogamous marriages and socioeconomic classes.

The Khasis are one of the matrilineal tribes of Meghalaya in Northeast India. They belong to the Indo-Mongoloid racial stock, and speak the Monkhmer language of the Austro-Asiatic group. They have their own traditional religion (Niam Khasi), but about 65% of them have converted to Christianity. A few Khasi members have also embraced Islam through matrimonial relationship with immigrant Muslim males. The present study was based on a cross-sectional sample of 1,351 urban Khasi boys aged 3-18 years belonging to these three religious groups, with a view to understanding the effects of socioeconomic factors on growth and nutritional status, using anthropometric variables such as weight and height. The findings showed that about 60%, 29%, and 6% of these boys were below -2 Z-scores of the US National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) references in respect of weight for age, height for age, and body mass index for age, respectively. The logistic regression coefficient (beta +/- standard error) indicated that the prevalence of low weight for age (below -2 Z-scores of the NCHS references) was positively associated with age (0.088 +/- 0.014, P<0.0001), while it was inversely associated with household income (-1.216 +/- 0.030, P<0.0001). Likewise, low height for age Z-score was negatively associated with household income (-1.056 +/- 0.130, P<0.0001), although such a relationship was not significant in the case of low body mass index for age (-0.169 +/- 0.229, P>0.05). There were also significant differences between religious groups in respect of anthropometric variables. Allowing for household income, the ANCOVA test indicated that Muslim Khasi boys, who were the offspring of intermarriages between Khasi females and immigrant Muslim males, were significantly heavier and taller than Christian and Niam Khasi boys almost across ages. From about 3-10 years of age, Muslim Khasi boys were, on average, comparable to the 5th and 25th percentiles of the NCHS references of height and weight, respectively. Although it looks as though genetic mechanisms like heterosis and/or gene flow might also be associated with the larger body size in Muslim boys, such a conjecture could only be substantiated or refuted by further studies concerning genetic and more socioeconomic data on both immigrant and nonimmigrant populations.

Effects of heterosis on growth in height and its segments: a cross-sectional study of the Khasi girls in Northeast India.

BACKGROUND: It is generally believed that improvement in environmental quality is the main factor responsible for the better growth and nutritional status of children in developing countries. However, it is still not clear whether this better growth performance is also associated with heterosis and/or gene flow that may take place as a result of the geographical movement of individuals, or migration. AIM: The present paper attempts to examine the effects of heterosis on physical growth of girls in height and its segments. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional sample of the Khasi girls of Shillong in Northeast India was considered in the present analysis. The height and sitting height of 1368 girls aged 3-18 years were measured with a Harpenden anthropometer, following standard techniques. The sample was divided into two groups, namely hybrid (HB) and non-hybrid (NHB) girls,in order to test the effects of heterosis using analysis of covariance with the household income as a covariate. The Preece-Baines model I (M. A. Preece and M. F. Baines, Annals of Human Biology, 5, 1-24, 1978) was used to fit the adjusted means of height and its segments with a view to assess the variation in adult height, age at peak velocity and size at peak velocity. RESULTS: Both HB and NHB girls were similar in age at maximum increment for height(12 years) and sitting height (13 years), although it was much earlier in the former(10.5 years) than in the latter (11.9 years) with respect to subischial length. The results indicated that HB girls were larger than NHB girls across ages. Such a higher anthropometric status in HB girls was mainly due to their higher growth velocities before the adolescent period. The effect of heterosis after household income was highly significant at many ages from 6 to 18 years, although it was not clearly perceptible in the case of subischial length. CONCLUSION: Subject to further studies, the role of heterosis and/or gene flow in influencing growth and development of children cannot be completely ruled out, especially after 5 years of age when the variation in growth patterns is likely to be associated not only with environmental quality but also with genetic mechanisms.