Trace Elements in Obese Turkish Children

The quality of the diet of obese children is poor. Eating habits may alter micronutrient status in obese patients. In this study, we determined the serum levels of selenium, zinc, vanadium, molybdenum, iron, copper, beryllium, boron, chromium, manganese, cobalt, silver, barium, aluminum, nickel, cadmium, mercury, and lead in obese Turkish children. Thirty-four obese and 33 healthy control subjects were enrolled in the study. Serum vanadium and cobalt levels of obese children were significantly lower than those of the control group (0.244 +/- 0.0179 vs. 0.261 +/- 0.012 mu g/l, p < 0.001, and 0.14 +/- 0.13 vs. 0.24 +/- 0.15 mu g/l, p = 0.011, respectively). There was no significant difference between groups regarding the other serum trace element levels. In conclusion, there may be alterations in the serum levels of trace elements in obese children and these alterations may have a role in the pathogenesis of obesity

P300 auditory event-related potentials in children with obesity: is childhood obesity related to impairment in cognitive functions?

Objective: To investigate alterations in P300 auditory event-related potentials in children with obesity to detect changes in cognitive functions

Evaluation of adipocytokines in obese children with insulin resistance

Obesity and overweight are among the most serious health problems in western societies and an increasing problem in developing countries. Recent studies indicate an important role of adipose tissue hormones, or "adipokines", in obesity-associated complications. To investigate the relation of two circulating adipokines (visfatin, adiponectin) with markers of insulin sensitivity and obesity in children, 40 obese children and 40 control children were recruited. Homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and visfatin levels (4.99 +/- 2.08 vs. 1.47 vs. 0.7, p<0.001; 31.3 +/- 11.1 vs. 18.5 +/- 10.7, p<0.001, respectively) were significantly elevated and adiponectin levels (2.01 +/- 1.02 vs. 12.5 +/- 6.2, p<0.001) were significantly lower in the obese group. Comparisons of the clinical and metabolic characteristics between insulin-resistant and noninsulin-resistant groups in obese children are summarized. The insulin-resistant group had higher visfatin levels (36 +/- 9.7 vs. 22.9 +/- 7.6, p<0.001) and lower adiponectin levels (1.7 +/- 1.05 vs. 2.5 +/- 0.77, p: 0.016). Visfatin was correlated positively and adiponectin was correlated negatively with body mass index standard deviation score (BMI-SDS) and HOMA-IR. The role of various adipokines as connectors between obesity and diabetes mellitus has been better elucidated in recent years. Based on the findings of this study, visfatin and adiponectin levels can be used as specific markers for insulin sensitivity

Serum chitotriosidase activity: is it a new inflammatory marker in obese children?

Chitotriosidase (ChT) is an enzyme secreted by activated macrophages and involved in defense against, and in degradation of chitin-containing pathogens, such as fungi, nematodes, and insects. In addition, it plays an important role in the development of atherosclerosis related with systemic low-grade inflammation. To this effect of activity of ChT, we aimed to investigate serum ChT activity in obese subjects and to determine to relation with insulin resistance and high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP). A total of 73 obese subjects (10.9+/-2.6 years of age, 44 male patients) and 41 age and gender-matched healthy lean subjects (11.6+/-2.9 years of age, 18 male patients) were included in this study, between 2007 and 2008. The criterion for diagnosing obesity was defined as the body mass index (BMI) being over 97th percentile of the same gender and age. Fasting serum glucose, insulin, hsCRP and ChT levels were measured. We compared the differences in variables between obese and lean subjects with Student's t-test compared after ascertaining that the data were normally distributed. All data were expressed as mean+/-standard deviation. There was statistically significant increase in serum ChT activity of obese subjects, while there was statistically significant difference in serum hsCRP levels when compared to healthy lean subjects (30.0+/-17.9 and 23.0+/-17.8, p = 0.045; 2.3+/-3.1 and 0.7+/-1.2, p = 0.001). Obese subjects had significantly higher BMI-SDS, TG and HOMA-IR and lower HDL-C levels when compared with the healthy lean subjects (p 0.05). Although the data need to be validated by further investigation, the observations made in this study seem to indicate that serum ChT activity may not be a useful marker for monitoring systemic low-grade inflammation and insulin resistance in obese subjects