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This article discusses a study conducted in Spain that aimed to assess the cardiovascular structure and function, as well as exercise tolerance, in adolescents born small for gestational age (SGA). The study followed a cohort of 30 SGA adolescents and 28 normal birthweight controls from preadolescence to adolescence. The results showed that while signs of cardiac remodelling and dysfunction were evident in SGA individuals during preadolescence, no significant differences in left ventricular dimensions or deformation were observed in SGA adolescents. However, SGA adolescents did have markedly reduced exercise tolerance. Further research is needed to understand the causes of these findings and their potential association with increased cardiovascular mortality among adults born SGA. [Extracted from the article]

Being born small for gestational age (SGA) is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease in adulthood, but the consequences of SGA on adult exercise response are unclear. These results support further research to clarify the causes of impaired exercise capacity and the potential links with increased cardiovascular mortality in adults born SGA. [Extracted from the article]

Circulating small RNAs, including miRNAs but also isomiRs and other RNA species, have the potential to be used as non-invasive biomarkers for communicable and non-communicable diseases. This study aims to characterize and compare small RNA profiles in human biofluids. For this purpose, RNA was extracted from plasma and breast milk samples from 15 healthy postpartum mothers. Small RNA libraries were prepared with the NEBNext® small RNA library preparation kit and sequenced in an Illumina HiSeq2000 platform. miRNAs, isomiRs and clusters of small RNAs were annotated using seqBuster/seqCluster framework in 5 plasma and 10 milk samples that passed the initial quality control. The RNA yield was 81 ng/mL [standard deviation (SD): 41] and 3985 ng/mL (SD: 3767) for plasma and breast milk, respectively. Mean number of good quality reads was 4.04 million (M) (40.01% of the reads) in plasma and 12.5M (89.6%) in breast milk. One thousand one hundred eighty two miRNAs, 12,084 isomiRs and 1,053 small RNA clusters that included piwi-interfering RNAs (piRNAs), tRNAs, small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNA) and small nuclear RNAs (snRNAs) were detected. Samples grouped by biofluid, with 308 miRNAs, 1,790 isomiRs and 778 small RNA clusters differentially detected. In summary, plasma and milk showed a different small RNA profile. In both, miRNAs, piRNAs, tRNAs, snRNAs, and snoRNAs were identified, confirming the presence of non-miRNA species in plasma, and describing them for the first time in milk.