The aim of this study was to estimate the heritability of variation in testosterone levels in 12-year-old children, and to explore the overlap in genetic and environmental influences on circulating testosterone levels and androgen-dependent pubertal development. Midday salivary testosterone samples were collected on 2 consecutive days in a sample of 183 unselected twin pairs. Androgen-induced p...

METHODS The incidence of obesity is increasing worldwide, especially in countries with accelerated economic growth. We determined the prevalence of and associations between overweight/obesity and cardiovascular risk factors in pre-pubertal (seven- to 11-year-old) schoolchildren (both genders, n = 198) in Luanda, Angola. Biochemical (fasting blood) and clinical examinations were obtained in a si...

An 11 year boy presented with periods of lethargy, poor appetite and diminished interest in normal activities alternating with periods of overactivity, reduced sleep and unruly behaviour. The symptoms started after a temporary separation from home when the boy became quieter and displayed easy fatiguability, crying spells and no initiative to go to school. Fifteen days later, he suddenly became...

Healthy children, aged between 5 and 9 years who had not taken antibiotics in the preceding three months were recruited. Plaque was sampled from the gingival crevice of either the lower left or lower right first permanent molar to estimate the prevalence of Porphyromonas gingivalis, Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans and Tannerella forsythensis which have been implicated as main etiological a...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study is to analyze post pubertal results of pre pubertal tunica albuginea plication with non-absorbable sutures in the correction of CPC. MATERIALS AND METHODS The files of patients who underwent tunica albuginea plication without incision (dorsal/lateral) were retrospectively reviewed. Patients younger than 13 years of age at the time of operation and older than 14...

BACKGROUND Puberty can affect vitamin D levels. OBJECTIVES The goal of this study was to analyze the relation between vitamin D deficiency and puberty in obese Spanish children, along with the possible interrelation between vitamin D status and degree of insulin resistance. METHODS A cross-sectional study was carried out, in which clinical and biochemical data were gathered from 120 obese a...

In a sample of 3,187 twins and 3,294 of their parents, we sought to investigate association of both individual variants and a genotype-based height score involving 176 of the 180 common genetic variants with adult height identified recently by the GIANT consortium. First, longitudinal observations on height spanning pre-adolescence through adulthood in the twin sample allowed us to investigate ...