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Leptin is a hormone that regulates food intake and energy metabolism. Its coding gene (LEP) is one of the most promising candidates for obesity. Although some studies have detected associations of different single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the LEP gene with serum leptin levels and obesity-related traits, the results are still conflicting. We investigated two SNPs to find relationships with leptin concentrations. Thirty healthy Caucasian infants younger than 6 months were genotyped for the SNPs G2548A and A19G with polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and amplification refractory mutation system-mismatch amplification mutation assay (ARMS- MAMA) real-time PCR, and serum leptin concentrations were measured with a radioimmunoassay method. Considering the significant linkage disequilibrium observed between the two SNPs, we divided the sample according to the number of GG haplotypes and observed that individuals homozygous for the GG haplotype had higher serum leptin levels in early infancy than the others. Although these preliminary results are based on a limited sample, they suggest that the genetic background seems to play a role in modulating leptin levels in infancy, but changes in leptin levels over infancy and their correlation with obesity need to be further explored. We describe an ARMS-MAMA real-time PCR procedure which could be profitably applied in routine genetic screening., (© 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Aim: To investigate the role of ghrelin and obestatin in infancy., Methods: We measured ghrelin and obestatin concentrations in blood samples of infants, lactating mothers, and in breast milk., Results: The median (interquartile range) serum ghrelin concentrations were 922.11 (868.44) pg/ml in infants, 667.88 (942.78) pg/ml in lactating mothers, and 526.4 (439.86) pg/ml in breast milk. The serum obestatin levels were 844.87 (805.14) pg/ml in infants, 759.105 (855.55) pg/ml in lactating mothers, and 846.6 (472.07) pg/ml in breast milk. A positive correlation was found for serum ghrelin concentrations in breastfed infants and lactating mothers (p < 0.001, r = 0.789), serum ghrelin concentrations in breastfed infants and in breast milk (p < 0.001, r = 0.581), serum ghrelin concentrations in lactating mothers and in breast milk (p = 0.021, r = 0.450), and serum obestatin concentrations in breastfed infants and in lactating mothers (p = 0.047, r = 0.609)., Conclusion: We report for the first time the serum obestatin concentrations in infants and confirm the presence of correlations between ghrelin and obestatin in lactating mothers and breast milk. The correlations found early in infants' life, when hormones begin to exert their effects on feeding behavior, suggest that they may be involved in these processes., (Copyright © 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Background: Faecal calprotectin has been proposed as a sensitive marker for gastrointestinal inflammation in children and adults. High levels have been reported in healthy newborns and during the first months of life; the effect of the kind of feeding on the calprotectin concentration in stools is controversial., Objective: To evaluate faecal calprotectin values in healthy, exclusively breast-fed (BF) or formula-fed (FF) infants., Methods: Stool samples were obtained from 74 healthy infants (39 exclusively BF and 35 exclusively FF) with a median age of 51 days (range 13-90). Exclusion criteria were acute infections and treatment with anti-inflammatory drugs. Stool samples were stored at -20 degrees C until they were analysed, and the faecal calprotectin concentration was detected using a commercial quantitative enzyme-linked immunoassay (Calprest; Eurospital SpA, Trieste, Italy)., Results: The median faecal calprotectin concentration was significantly higher in BF infants (555.00 microg/g, range 122.5-2,000.0 microg/g) than in FF ones (206.60 mug/g, range 31.2-797.6 microg/g) (p < 0.001). We observed a significantly higher median stool frequency in BF infants than in FF ones (p < 0.001), but multiple regression analysis (independent variables: kind of feeding and stool frequency; dependent variable: calprotectin) showed a significant coefficient for the kind of feeding, but not for stool frequency (p = 0.937)., Conclusions: Our findings show that the kind of feeding influences the faecal calprotectin concentration, with higher values in healthy exclusively BF infants than in FF ones. Our study does not allow us to clearly identify the reason for our finding; this could be due to hormones (such as ghrelin and leptin), cytokines and other immunostimulating and growth factors (such as epidermal growth factor and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor) in human milk, which contribute to the development of the gastrointestinal immune system. Further investigations are needed to better clarify the mechanism underlying the relationship between feeding and faecal calprotectin levels in young infants., (Copyright 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

The case of an 8-year-old boy with severe bone mass reduction and 4 fractures as a result of an unsupervised diet established to treat cow's milk allergy is presented. Endocrine, genetic and orthopedic pathologies were excluded. While vitamin D intake had always been appropriate, his calcium intake had been inadequate for many years. This clinical report suggests that both vitamin D and calcium supplementation are necessary when a cow's milk protein-free diet is prescribed, even when a hypo- or non-allergenic formula is provided., (Copyright 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Methemoglobinemia is not a rare condition arising from the exposure to hemoglobin-oxidizing agents such as nitrates-nitrites present in well water or vegetables. Infants < 3 months of age are more susceptible than adults because of lower amounts of a key enzyme, NADH-cytochrome b5 reductase, which converts methemoglobin back to hemoglobin. We report 2 infants, aged respectively 2 and 1 months, suffering from methemoglobinemia, fed with a formula that was reconstituted with a high concentration of courgette soup to resolve constipation. They developed a severe cyanosis with methemoglobinemia (respectively 30.4 and 27%) and were hospitalized and treated with methylene blue at 1%. After 12 h the syndrome was completely resolved. Home-prepared infant foods containing vegetables are potential causes of methemoglobinemia. It is important not to feed infants with vegetables having a high nitrate content (e.g., courgette, spinach, beets and green beans) to resolve constipation since, particularly in the first months of life, they may cause severe methemoglobinemia., (Copyright 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Aim: To determine the concentration of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) in exclusively breast-fed (BF) and formula-fed (FF) infants in the first 5 months of life and to study the relationship between the IGF-I level and Z score for weight, body mass index (BMI) and tricipital skin-fold thickness., Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study in order to evaluate serum IGF-I in 97 age-matched healthy term infants: 50 FF and 47 BF., Results: FF infants showed higher values of IGF-I (38.9 +/- 12 ng/ml) when compared to BF infants (26.7 +/- 11.6 ng/ml; p < 0.05). A positive correlation was found between IGF-I values and Z score for weight (p < 0.001), BMI (p = 0.014), tricipital skin-fold thickness (p = 0.043) and age (p = 0.02)., Conclusion: These results show that the IGF-I serum concentration is higher in FF infants. The observed association between IGF-I and Z score for weight, BMI, tricipital skin-fold thickness confirms the effect of different infant feeding on body size., (Copyright (c) 2005 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Background: Biagram vector is derived by plotting direct measurements of reactance and phase angle from the analyzer, which are not dependent on anthropometric characteristics of the subject and it can be considered an emerging method for evaluating the nutritional status in clinical practice., Aim: To calculate and plot the Biagram vector in a sample of healthy infants in their first year of life., Methods: 174 healthy infants (99 male, 75 female) aged under 1 year, born at full term and adequate for gestational age, were enrolled in a cross-sectional study. The sample was divided into three age groups: 0-3.99 months (group A), 4-7.99 months (group B), and 8-11.99 months (group C). Bioelectric impedance analysis (BIA) was performed by a tetrapolar single frequence phase-sensitive impedance analyzer (STA/BIA; Akern Srl, Firenze, Italy)., Results: Biagram vector showed an increasing trend (p < 0.05) in the first year of life (group A: 27.9 +/- 12.6; group B: 32.1 +/- 9.7; group C: 37.2 +/- 9.5). Females showed Biagram vector values significantly higher than males in group A (34.7 +/- 15.0 vs. 24.0 +/- 9.1; p < 0.05). 95% confidence ellipses of Biagram vector for each age group were calculated and plotted and a comparison of our results with published data calculated in older children was conducted., Conclusion: The bivariate analysis of BIA measurements, plotted as a vector in relation to the age, showed an increasing trend with a higher gain rate under 1 year with respect to the following age periods. These data could reflect the variation of body composition in the first years of life and could be of interest to assess the nutritional status for clinical practice., (Copyright 2004 S. Karger AG, Basel)

11 mg natural progesterone (P) was administered to 20 healthy menopausal women by means of a nasal spray or intramuscular injection. Circulating P levels were calculated at various times after administration. The spray formulation yielded a CMax of 3.75 ng/ml at TMax = 60 min, the area under the curve (AUC)0-720 being 1,481.6 +/- 343. Intramuscular administration yielded a mean CMax of 4.137 ng/ml at TMax = 240 min, the AUC0-720 being 2,491.2 +/- 540. P absorption was faster through the nasal than through the intramuscular route, but intramuscular administration led to high serum levels for a much longer period.