OBJECTIVEThe prevalence of obesity and of type 2 diabetes mellitus in children have increased in the Chinese population over the past two decades, and thus diabetes prevention has become a major concern of public health agencies. Identification of individuals at risk for diabetes is an essential first step in designing and implementing intervention programs. Insulin resistance is the hallmark of the pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Subjects with hyperinsulinemia and impaired glucose tolerance are well accepted as being at high risk for diabetes. Acanthosis nigricans (AN) has been proposed as a reliable marker of hyperinsulinemia, but its utility for predicting hyperinsulinemia has not been systematically evaluated in obese children. In order to further explore the relationship between obese childhood with benign acanthosis nigricans and insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus, we examined 19 obese children with benign acanthosis nigricans.

METHODSNineteen of seventy six obese children (25%) with BMI over 25 enrolled in the Children' Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine fromJune 1st to September 1st in 2003 were studied. Skin biopsies were performed in these 19 obese children with acanthosis nigricans for final diagnosis. Levels of glucose, insulin, and glucose/insulin ratio were measured on fasting blood specimens and anthropometric parameters including waist/hip ratio, fat mass, body fat percentage and body mass index were examined. Oral glucose tolerance tests were also performed in these 19 children with benign acanthosis nigricans.

RESULTSAnthropometric parameters including waist/hip ratio, fat mass, body fat percentage and body mass index as well as fasting insulin level in acanthosis nigricans group were significantly higher than that of healthy controls (P < 0.01). Fasting glucose to insulin ratio (FGIR) of these 19 obese children with benign acanthosis nigricans was 4.27 +/- 0.53, indicating apparent insulin resistance. One of them was diagnosed as type 2 diabetes mellitus and ten of them showed impaired oral glucose tolerance.

CONCLUSIONChildhood benign acanthosis nigricans is tightly associated with obesity, hyperinsulinemia, insuline resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus, and may be used as a reliable index of insulin resistance.

Acanthosis Nigricans ; complications ; physiopathology ; Child ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; complications ; physiopathology ; Humans ; Hyperinsulinism ; complications ; physiopathology ; Insulin Resistance ; Obesity ; complications ; physiopathology

OBJECTIVEThe strong relation between type 2 diabetes mellitus and obesity with acanthosis nigricans is widely concerned. This study investigated the pancreatic beta-cell function in obese children with acanthosis nigricans, so as to find out the role of insulin secretion and insulin resistance in obese children with acanthosis nigricans.

METHODSThirty-five obese children with acanthosis nigricans (19 males and 16 females with mean age 12.8 +/- 1.5 years) were enrolled in this study. Thirty-eight obese children (21 boys and 17 girls with mean age 11.9 +/- 2.6 years) and 39 normal children (20 boys and 19 girls with mean age 11.2 +/- 2.2 years) were recruited as obese and normal control groups. The levels of serum fasting insulin, C-peptide, proinsulin and true insulin were measured in all the subjects. The ratios of proinsulin/insulin and proinsulin/C-peptide were calculated. Homeostasis model assessment was applied to assess the status of insulin resistance and basic function of pancreatic beta-cell.

RESULTSThe levels of fasting insulin, C-peptide proinsulin, true insulin, the ratios of proinsulin/insulin and proinsulin/C-peptide, insulin resistance index and insulin secretion index of obese children with acanthosis nigricans, obese control children and normal control children were: 18.5 (5.0-60.5) pmol/L, 12.4 (6.1-35.8) pmol/L and 5.1 (2.0-32.8) pmol/L; 3.9 (1.3-14.0) microg/L, 2.4 (1.1-4.0) microg/L and 1.1 (1.0-4.2) microg/L; 28.8 (9.9-64.2) pmol/L, 9.5 (2.2-34.5) pmol/L and 4.2 (2.0-16.0) pmol/L; 33.0 (6.2-66.0) pmol/L, 10.6 (4.8-29.4) pmol/L and 4.5 (1.3-30.1) pmol/L; 1.2 (0.4-8.9), 0.9 (0.2-1.9) and 0.8 (0.4-2.0); 6.9 (2.5-36.6), 4.7 (1.2-12.3) and 3.6 (1.2-9.6); 5.0 (0.8-14.1), 2.6 (1.3-8.1) and 1.2(0.4-6.9); 303.3 (52.2-1,163.8), 213.6 (84.6-572.0) and 51.1 (19.1-561.4). The levels of fasting insulin, C-peptide, proinsulin, true insulin, the ratios of proinsulin/insulin and proinsulin/C-peptide, insulin resistance index and insulin secretion index in obese children with acanthosis nigricans were significantly higher than those in obese children (P < 0.001) and normal children (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONObese children with acanthosis nigricans had higher insulin resistance and pancreatic beta-cell dysfunction; acanthosis nigricans may be a skin sign of high risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Acanthosis Nigricans ; complications ; Adolescent ; C-Peptide ; blood ; Child ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; etiology ; Female ; Humans ; Insulin ; blood ; Insulin Resistance ; Islets of Langerhans ; physiopathology ; Male ; Obesity ; complications ; physiopathology ; Proinsulin ; blood

OBJECTIVETo investigate the prevalence of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) in obese children and its possible mechanism.

METHODSThree subgroups were classified according to their body mass index (BMI) in 123 obese children with BMI over 23 aged 7 to 16:34 cases with BMI> or =31 group; 57 cases with 25< or =BMI<30 group; 32 cases with 23< or =BMI<25 group. Ultrasonographic and biochemical parameters including serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST), serum cholesterol, serum triglyceride, serum uric acid and free glucose to free insulin ratio (FGIR) were assayed. Twenty four children suspected as benign acanthosis nigricans underwent skin biopsy and its association with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis was also discussed.

RESULTSNinety-nine children (80.49 %) showed abnormal hepatic sonograms and 54 were diagnosed as NASH with the prevalence of 43.90%. Compared with the other two groups, BMI> or =31 group was significantly higher in prevalence of abnormal hepatic sonograms, NASH, decreased FGIR and risk of benign acanthosis nigricans (P<0.01). Fifty-four children diagnosed as NASH showed significantly higher incidence of hyperlipidemia, insulin resistance and higher body mass index as compared with 24 subjects without fatty liver changes. In 54 NASH children, 20(37.04%) had benign acanthosis nigricans. By bivariate analysis, ALT and AST were correlated well with BMI, cholesterol, triglyceride and FGIR (r(s)=0.413, 0.290, 0.379, -0.477, P<0.01; r(s)=0.359, 0.349, 0.348, -0.369, P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONThere is a high prevalence of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis in simple obese children and high incidence of benign acanthosis nigricans in NASH subjects. BMI> or=30 is a high risk factor of being NASH. Severe disturbance of lipid metabolism and insulin resistance may be involved in the mechanism of NASH.

Acanthosis Nigricans ; etiology ; Adolescent ; Body Mass Index ; Child ; China ; epidemiology ; Fatty Liver ; epidemiology ; etiology ; Female ; Humans ; Insulin Resistance ; Male ; Obesity ; complications ; Prevalence

OBJECTIVETo investigate adipokines levels in obese children with acanthosis nigricans (AN) and to explore the relationship between AN and metabolic syndrome (MS).

METHODSA cross-sectional study was performed on 109 obese children and 47 age- and gender-matched normal controls. The obese children were divided into two groups with AN and without AN. Serum levels of adiponectin, leptin, TNF-α and retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4) were measured using ELISA. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to estimate the association of clinical parameters with MS.

RESULTSWaist-hip ratio, systolic blood pressure, triglyceride, fasting insulin and insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR) were significantly higher in obese children with AN than in those without AN and normal controls (P<0.05). The obese children with AN and without AN had lower adiponectin levels than normal controls (P<0.05), on the contrary, the obese children with AN had higher leptin levels than those without AN and normal controls (P<0.05). Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that AN (OR=3.469, 95%CI: 1.518-7.929) and BMI (OR=7.108, 95%CI: 2.359-21.416) were independent risk factors for MS.

CONCLUSIONSAs a visible marker of insulin resistance, AN is associated with abnormal adipokines secretion. Reducing the incidence of AN and losing weight may prevent obesity associated MS.

Acanthosis Nigricans ; blood ; etiology ; Adiponectin ; blood ; Adolescent ; Child ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Insulin Resistance ; Leptin ; blood ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Metabolic Syndrome ; blood ; etiology ; Obesity ; complications

OBJECTIVETo observe the relationship of childhood benign acanthosis nigricans to anthropometric and metabolic indexes, with the aim of studying the association between childhood benign acanthosis nigricans and metabolic diseases.

METHODSA retrospective analysis was performed on the clinical data of 29 children who presented with benign acanthosis nigricans between February 2007 and October 2011. Thirty-two age, sex- and ethnic-matched normal children were selected as control group. The two groups were compared according to obesity (body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, body fat content and body fat percentage) and metabolic indexes (blood glucose, insulin level and blood lipids).

RESULTSBody mass index, body fat content, body fat percentage, waist-to-hip ratio, fasting blood glucose, insulin level and triglyceride in the 29 patients with benign acanthosis nigricans were higher than in the control group (P<0.05), but the level of high-density lipoprotein in the 29 patients was lower than in the control group (P<0.05). Of the 29 patients, 16 had impaired glucose tolerance and 3 were diagnosed with diabetes (1 case with type 1, two cases with type 2).

CONCLUSIONSChildhood benign acanthosis nigricans is closely associated with obesity, insulin resistance and dyslipidemia.

Acanthosis Nigricans ; complications ; Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Dyslipidemias ; etiology ; Female ; Humans ; Insulin Resistance ; Male ; Metabolic Diseases ; etiology ; Obesity ; etiology ; Retrospective Studies

No abstract available.
Acanthosis Nigricans/diagnosis/*etiology ; Biopsy ; Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors/chemistry/*complications/pathology ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Laparoscopy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Paraneoplastic Syndromes/diagnosis/*etiology ; Peritoneal Neoplasms/chemistry/*complications/pathology ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit/analysis ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Tumor Markers, Biological/analysis

Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) is characterized by decreased adrenal hormone production due to enzymatic defects and subsequent rise of adrenocorticotrophic hormone that stimulates the adrenal cortex to become hyperplastic, and sometimes tumorous. As the pathophysiology is basically a defect in the biosynthesis of cortisol, one may not consider CAH in patients with hypercortisolism. We report a case of a 41-yr-old man with a 4 cm-sized left adrenal tumorous lesion mimicking Cushing's syndrome who was diagnosed with CAH. He had central obesity and acanthosis nigricans involving the axillae together with elevated 24-hr urine cortisol level, supporting the diagnosis of Cushing's syndrome. However, the 24-hr urine cortisol was suppressed by 95% with the low dose dexamethasone suppression test. CAH was suspected based on the history of precocious puberty, short stature and a profound suppression of cortisol production by dexamethasone. CAH was confirmed by a remarkably increased level of serum 17-hydroxyprogesterone level. Gene mutation analysis revealed a compound heterozygote mutation of CYP21A2 (I173N and R357W).
17-alpha-Hydroxyprogesterone/blood ; Acanthosis Nigricans/complications ; Adrenal Hyperplasia, Congenital/complications/*diagnosis/drug therapy ; Adult ; Cushing Syndrome/diagnosis ; DNA Mutational Analysis ; Dexamethasone/therapeutic use ; Glucocorticoids/therapeutic use ; Heterozygote ; Humans ; Hydrocortisone/urine ; Male ; Mutation ; Obesity/complications ; Steroid 21-Hydroxylase/genetics ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed