The aim of this study was to determine the differences between two groups of adolescents with metabolic syndrome (MetS) and normal controls in relation to brain serotonergic activity through intensity-dependent auditory-evoked potentials (IDAEPs) and plasma free fraction of L-tryptophan. Eighteen adolescents with MetS and thirteen controls were studied. Free fraction, bound and total plasma L-tryptophan, glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL-cholesterol, albumin and IDAEPs were determined. Glycemia, triglycerides were significantly elevated, and HDL-cholesterol in plasma was significantly reduced. Free fraction and free fraction/total L-tryptophan ratio were decreased. The slope of the amplitude/stimulus intensity function of the N1/P2 component significantly increased in adolescents with MetS. Decrease of free fraction of L-tryptophan in plasma and increase of the slope of the N1/P2 component suggest a low brain serotonin tone. Cortex responses are regulated by serotonergic innervations and may show a different behavior in young patients with MetS. Therefore, the slope of the N1/P2 component along with the free fraction of L-tryptophan in plasma, indicate that in adolescents with MetS the state of serotonergic brain activity is depressed and possibly related to psychiatric disorders.

OBJECTIVE -The aim of this study was to describe the agreement between impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and impaired fasting glucose (IFG) in children with excess body weight using the original and the revised definitions of IFG.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS -Obese and overweight children aged 4 -17 years were included (n ϭ 533). Anthropometric parameters and biochemical tests (fasting and 2-h glucose tests after an oral glucose load [1.75 g/kg]) were performed. Case subjects with a fasting plasma glucose Ն126 mg/dl were excluded. The diagnostic parameters of the original and the revised definitions of IFG for detecting IGT were estimated. The analysis of agreement between these categories was made using the test.RESULTS -The prevalence of IFG increased from 6.2 to 13.3% using the new criteria. The prevalence of IFG became closer to the prevalence of IGT (14.8%). The revised criteria increased the sensitivity from 26.6 to 36.7%. However, the new IFG definition was not useful for identifying IGT cases. Of the 71 case subjects with IFG, only 29 (40.8%) had IGT. In addition, 50 case subjects with IGT (9.4%) and 13 with diabetes (2.4%) had a fasting glycemia Ͻ100 mg/dl. CONCLUSIONS -The new definition modestly increases the sensitivity of IFG for detecting IGT in children with excess body weight. Despite this, more than one-half of these cases are not detected. In addition, the false-positive rate was increased by 61%. Diabetes Care 27:2229 -2233, 2004I mpaired fasting glucose (IFG) is associated with an increased risk for having type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular events (1-3). It was originally conceived to be an analogous condition to impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) (4). However, multiple reports have proved that there is a lack of agreement between IGT and IFG (5-8). The prevalence of IGT was two times higher, and 40% of the IGT cases were considered normal using the fasting glycemia criterion. Based on this, the Expert Committee on Diagnosis and Classification of Diabetes Mellitus of the American Diabetes Association recently changed the definition of IFG (9). The lower limit was changed from 110 to 100 mg/dl. This change is intended to get a similar prevalence of IGT and IFG.Childhood obesity is now a problem of epidemic proportions worldwide (10). In the U.S., 20% of children ages 6 -17 years are obese, and an additional 22% of them are overweight. The prevalence is greater in Mexican Americans and African Americans compared with Asian Americans or Caucasians. Childhood obesity is associated with an increased likelihood for having either IGT or IFG. In referral centers, the prevalence of IGT has been reported close to 25% in obese children 4 -10 years of age (11) and up to 4.1% in population-based surveys (12). Our purpose is to describe the agreement between IGT and IFG in children with excess body weight.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS -Overweight or obese boys and girls, aged 4 -17 years (n ϭ 533), were included in the study. They were recruited from seven primary care units (n ϭ 168) and from one elementary sch...

The main objective was to show the decrement of serotoninergic brain activity in depressed women, through the analyses of the slope amplitude of N1/P2 components of the auditory-evoked potentials (AEP), and the measurement of the L-tryptophan free fraction in plasma (FFT). This cross-sectional study was carried out in 60 women, 30 depressed and 30 normal controls. Both groups were measured FFT, glucose, and neutral amino acids (NAA) levels; besides performing AEP to analyses the N1/P2 slope amplitude. It was found a lengthening in the slope amplitude of N1/P2 components of AEP in the group of depressed women, and despite that the level of FFT was low, there were no changes between bound fraction and the total L-Trp. The former suggests a decrease in serotonergic brain activity in the group of depressed women. Otherwise, since the auditory cortex response to sound is regulated by serotonergic innervation, it was expected a change in the behavior of AEP in the group of depressed patients. Thus, the slope amplitude of N1/P2 components of the AEP and the measurement of FFT have proved to be a good clinical indicators of the serotonergic neurotransmission state in the brain of depressed patients, and in another clinical conditions where brain serotonin is involved.

Changes observed in hypothalamic neurotransmitters appear to be closely related to nutritional status and to the response and control of PRL production, possibly to adapt the offspring to the metabolic changes. It was also confirmed that on-demand feeding of undernourished offspring is the main factor involved in nutritional recovery and a predisposition to overweight in the recovered undernourished animals.