TART in prepubertal males with classic CAH could be found during childhood. We also report differences in markers of gonadal function in a subgroup of patients, especially in those with inadequate control.

Accumulating evidence suggests that both the intrauterine environment and growth during early life can influence the development of chronic noncommunicable diseases, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease, in adulthood. Here, we review the available human data supporting increased metabolic risk among children born premature or small for gestational age; the adrenal and pubertal modifications that contribute to this risk; metabolic changes that occur during adolescence and early adulthood; and approaches to potentially modify or decrease risk of metabolic disease. The risks associated with delivery at term or preterm are compared for each period of life. Knowledge of these associations is fundamental for the paediatric community to develop preventive strategies early during postnatal life.

Compared with healthy youth, DM patients use less tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs during the first years of adolescence but not later.

Abstract-Familial hyperaldosteronism type 1 is an autosomal dominant disorder attributed to a chimeric CYP11B1/ CYP11B2 gene (CG). Its prevalence and manifestation in the pediatric population has not been established. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of familial hyperaldosteronism type 1 in Chilean hypertensive children and to describe their clinical and biochemical characteristics. We studied 130 untreated hypertensive children (4 to 16 years old). Blood samples for measuring plasma potassium, serum aldosterone, plasma renin activity, aldosterone/renin ratio, and DNA were collected. The detection of CG was performed using long-extension PCR. We found 4 (3.08%) of 130 children with CG who belonged to 4 unrelated families. The 4 patients with CG had very high aldosterone/renin ratio (49 to 242). In addition, we found 4 children and 5 adults who were affected among 21 first-degree relatives. Of the 8 affected children, 6 presented severe hypertension, 1 presented prehypertension, and 1 presented normotension. High serum aldosterone levels (Ͼ17.7 ng/dL) were detected in 6 of 8 subjects (range: 18.6 to 48.4 ng/dL) and suppressed plasma renin activity (Յ0.5 ng/mL per hour) and high aldosterone/renin ratio (Ͼ10) in 8 of 8 children (range: 49 to 242). Hypokalemia was observed in only 1 of 8 children. We demonstrated that the prevalence of familial hyperaldosteronism type 1 in a pediatric hypertensive pediatric population was surprisingly high. We found a high variability in the clinical and biochemical characteristics of the affected patients, which suggests that familial hyperaldosteronism type 1 is a heterogeneous disease with a wide spectrum of presentations even within the same family group. (Hypertension. 2011; 57:1117-1121.) • Online Data Supplement Key Words: arterial hypertension Ⅲ aldosterone Ⅲ familial hyperaldosteronism Ⅲ glucocorticoid-remediable aldosteronism Ⅲ children F amilial hyperaldosteronism type I (FH-I; Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man, No. 103900), which is also known as glucocorticoid-remediable aldosteronism, is often characterized by severe hypertension, variable hyperaldosteronism, low plasma renin activity (PRA), normal or decreased serum potassium, and abnormal adrenal steroid production, including 18-oxocortisol and 18-hydroxycortisol, in adults. 1 FH-I occurs because of an unequal crossing over of the genes that encode the steroid 11ß-hydroxylase (CYP11B1) and aldosterone synthase (CYP11B1) enzymes, which results in a chimeric CYP11B1/CYP11B2 gene (CG) with aldosterone synthase activity that is regulated by plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone levels instead of angiotensin II 2 ; this results in an ectopic expression of aldosterone synthase in the zone fasciculate. 3 FH-I is an autosomal dominant disorder, and different pedigrees exhibit different crossover patterns of the hybrid gene, which suggests that the mutations arose independently in each pedigree. 4 In the hypertensive adult population, this monogenic form of aldosteronism is thought to account for only 0.5% to 1.0% o...

The results of this study demonstrate an inverse association between birth weight and blood pressure and serum aldosterone and cortisol levels. This association is independent of BMI and Tanner, suggesting foetal programming of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.

Abstract-Primary aldosteronism is an important cause of secondary hypertension and is suspected in adults with an aldosterone/renin ratio Ն25. The normal aldosterone/renin ratio is unknown in children. The aim was to establish serum aldosterone, plasma renin activity, and aldosterone/renin ratio values in a healthy pediatric population. A cross-sectional study was performed in 211 healthy normotensive children (4 to 16 years old). Two subgroups of normotensive children were obtained: with hypertensive parents (NH) (nϭ113) and normotensive parents (nϭ98). Blood samples for measuring serum aldosterone, plasma renin activity, aldosterone/renin ratio, and DNA were collected. In subjects with aldosterone/renin ratio Ն25, the chimeric CYP11B1/CYP11B2 gene was investigated by long-extension PCR. Key Words: primary aldosteronism Ⅲ plasma renin activity Ⅲ arterial hypertension Ⅲ aldosterone/plasma renin activity ratio P rimary aldosteronism (PA) has been recognized as a cause of hypertension since the 1950s. When the first case was reported, one of the most important characteristics was the presence of a severe hypertensive profile associated with hypokalemia.

Aquaporin-2 (AQP2), located at the luminal side of the collecting duct principal cells, is a water channel responsible for the final concentration of urine. Lack of function, often occurring through mistargeting of mutated proteins, induces nephrogenic diabetes insipidus (NDI), a condition characterized by large urinary volumes. In the present study, two new mutations (K228E and V24A) identified in NDI-affected individuals from distinct families along with the already reported R187C were analysed in comparison to the wild-type protein (AQP2-wt) using Xenopus laevis oocytes and a mouse collecting duct cell-line (mIMCD-3). Initial data in oocytes showed that all mutations were adequately expressed at reduced levels when compared to AQP2-wt. K228E and V24A were found to be properly targeted at the plasma membrane and exhibited adequate functionality similar to AQP2-wt, as opposed to R187C which was retained in internal stores and was thus inactive. In coexpression studies using oocytes, R187C impeded the functionality of all other AQP2 variants while combinations with K228E, V24A and AQP2-wt only showed additive functionalities. When expressed in mIMCD-3 cells, forskolin treatment efficiently promoted the targeting of AQP2-wt at the plasma membrane (>90%) while K228E only weakly responded to the same treatment (∼20%) and both V24A and R187C remained completely insensitive to the treatment. We concluded that both V24A and K228E are intrinsically functional water channels that lack a proper response to vasopressin, which leads to NDI as found in both compound mutations studied (K228E + R187C and V24A + R187C). The discrepancies in plasma membrane targeting response found in both expression systems stress the need to evaluate such data using mammalian cell systems.

Context 46,XY Gonadal dysgenesis (GD) is a heterogeneous group of disorders with a wide phenotypic spectrum, including embryonic testicular regression syndrome (ETRS). Objective To report a gene for 46,XY GD etiology, especially for ETRS. Design Screening of familial cases of 46,XY GD using whole-exome sequencing and sporadic cases by target gene-panel sequencing. Setting Tertiary Referral Center for differences/disorders of sex development (DSD). Patients and Interventions We selected 87 patients with 46,XY DSD (17 familial cases from 8 unrelated families and 70 sporadic cases); 55 patients had GD (among them, 10 patients from 5 families and 8 sporadic cases had ETRS), and 32 patients had 46,XY DSD of unknown etiology. Results We identified four heterozygous missense rare variants, classified as pathogenic or likely pathogenic in the Asp-Glu-Ala-His-box (DHX) helicase 37 (DHX37) gene in five families (n = 11 patients) and in six sporadic cases. Two variants were recurrent: p.Arg308Gln (in two families and in three sporadic cases) and p.Arg674Trp (in two families and in two sporadic cases). The variants were specifically associated with ETRS (7/14 index cases; 50%). The frequency of rare, predicted-to-be-deleterious DHX37 variants in this cohort (14%) is significantly higher than that observed in the Genome Aggregation Database (0.4%; P < 0.001). Immunohistochemistry analysis in human testis showed that DHX37 is mainly expressed in germ cells at different stages of testis maturation, in Leydig cells, and rarely in Sertoli cells. Conclusion This strong genetic evidence identifies DHX37 as a player in the complex cascade of male gonadal differentiation and maintenance.