Children and adolescents with poorly controlled type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) are at risk for decreased bone mass. Growth hormone (GH) and its mediator, IGF-1, promote skeletal growth. Recent observations have suggested that children and adolescents with T1DM are at risk for decreased bone mineral acquisition. We examined the relationships between metabolic control, IGF-1 and its binding proteins (IGFBP-1, -3, -5), and bone mass in T1DM in adolescent girls 12–15 yr of age with T1DM (n = 11) and matched controls (n = 10). Subjects were admitted overnight and given a standardized diet. Periodic blood samples were obtained, and bone measurements were performed. Serum GH, IGFBP-1 and -5, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), glucose, and urine magnesium levels were higher and IGF-1 values were lower in T1DM compared with controls (p < 0.05). Whole body BMC/bone area (BA), femoral neck areal BMD (aBMD) and bone mineral apparent density (BMAD), and tibia cortical BMC were lower in T1DM (p < 0.05). Poor diabetes control predicted lower IGF-1 (r2 = 0.21) and greater IGFBP-1 (r2 = 0.39), IGFBP-5 (r2 = 0.38), and bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BALP; r2 = 0.41, p < 0.05). Higher urine magnesium excretion predicted an overall shorter, lighter skeleton, and lower tibia cortical bone size, mineral, and density (r2 = 0.44–0.75, p < 0.05). In the T1DM cohort, earlier age at diagnosis was predictive of lower IGF-1, higher urine magnesium excretion, and lighter, thinner cortical bone (r2 ≥ 0.45, p < 0.01). We conclude that poor metabolic control alters the GH/IGF-1 axis, whereas greater urine magnesium excretion may reflect subtle changes in renal function and/or glucosuria leading to altered bone size and density in adolescent girls with T1DM.

Objective-To assess if children and adolescents with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) have decreased bone mineral density (BMD).Study design-Bone densitometry of the whole body, hip and lumbar spine was utilized in a case:control design (84 individuals with NF1: 293 healthy individuals without NF1). Subjects were 5-18 years of age. Individuals with NF1 were compared to controls using an analysis-of-covariance with a fixed set of covariates (age, weight, height, Tanner stage, and sex).Results-Individuals with NF1 had decreased areal bone mineral density (aBMD) of the hip (p<0.0001), femoral neck (p<0.0001), lumbar spine (p=0.0025), and whole body subtotal (p<0.0001). When individuals with NF1 were separated into groups with and without a skeletal abnormality, the NF1 individuals without a skeletal abnormality still had statistically significant decreases compared to controls (p<0.0001 for whole body subtotal aBMD) albeit less pronounced than those with osseous abnormalities.Conclusions-These data suggest that individuals with NF1 have a unique generalized skeletal dysplasia, predisposing them to localized osseous defects. Dual energy x-ray absorptiometry may prove useful to identify individuals with NF1 who are at risk for clinical osseous complications, and monitoring therapeutic trials. Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. A generalized intrinsic abnormality could predispose some patients to develop a localized defect of the long bones (causing unilateral bowing, fracture and frank pseudarthrosis), the vertebrae (causing scoliosis), and the sphenoid wing. Elucidation of the bone mineral density in NF1 pediatric population will provide insight into the etiology of localized abnormalities and aid in development of potential therapeutic options. This report uses dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) to assess bone health in NF1 children and adolescents. NIH Public Access MethodsNF1 individuals were recruited from an NF1 clinic at the University of Utah; all fulfilled the diagnostic criteria. 1,2 A total of 84 individuals with NF1 (ages 5-18) were included in the study. Those with other chronic illnesses known to influence bone health, e.g. illnesses requiring systemic steroids, anorexia, pregnancy, lactation, oral contraception or any hormone replacement were excluded. A cohort of 293 healthy children without NF1 (ages 3-21), collected by the Center for Pediatric Nutrition Research at the University of Utah were utilized as controls. Children <3 years were generally not included due to difficulty in cooperating with imaging procedures.Medical histories wer...

Objective To test the hypothesis that massage would improve autonomic nervous system (ANS) function as measured by heart rate variability (HRV) in preterm infants. Study Design Medically stable, 29- to 32-week preterm infants (17 massage, 20 control) were enrolled in a masked, randomized longitudinal study. Licensed massage therapists provided the massage or control condition twice a day for 4 weeks. Weekly HRV, a measure of ANS development and function, was analyzed using SPSS generalized estimating equations. Results Infant characteristics were similar between groups. HRV improved in massaged infants but not in the control infants (P<0.05). Massaged males had a greater improvement in HRV than females (P<0.05). HRV in massaged infants was on a trajectory comparable to term-born infants by study completion. Conclusion Massage-improved HRV in a homogeneous sample of hospitalized, medically stable, preterm male infants and may improve infant response to exogenous stressors. We speculate that massage improves ANS function in these infants.

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Noninvasive measures of fetal and neonatal body composition may provide early identification of children at risk for obesity. Air displacement plethysmography provides a safe, precise measure of adiposity and has recently been validated in infants. Therefore, we explored relationships between term newborn percent body fat (%BF) measured by air displacement plethysmography to 2-dimensional ultrasound (2-D US) biometric measures of fetal growth and maternal and umbilical cord endocrine activity. A total of 47 mother/infant pairs were studied. Fetal biometrics by 2-D US and maternal blood samples were collected during late gestation (35 wk postmenstrual age); infants were measured within 72 h of birth. Fetal biometrics included biparietal diameter, femur length, head circumference, abdominal circumference (AC), and estimated fetal weight (EFW). Serum insulin, insulin-like growth factor (IGF) 1, IGF binding protein-3, and leptin concentrations were measured in umbilical cord and maternal serum. The mean %BF determined by plethysmography was 10.9 +/- 4.8%. EFW and fetal AC had the largest correlations with newborn %BF (R(2) = 0.14 and 0.10, respectively; P < 0.05); however, stepwise linear regression modeling did not identify any fetal biometric parameters as a significant predictor of newborn %BF. Newborn mid-thigh circumference (MTC; cm) and ponderal index (PI; weight, kg/length, cm(3)) explained 21.8 and 14.4% of the variability in %BF, respectively, and gave the best stepwise linear regression model (%BF = 0.446 MTC + 0.347 PI -29.692; P < 0.001). We conclude that fetal growth biometrics determined by 2-D US do not provide a reliable assessment of %BF in term infants.