BACKGROUND: Screening for acanthosis nigricans (AcN) in overweight children is repeatedly recommended. The significance of AcN, and its relation to central obesity in children, is unclear. OBJECTIVE: To compare clinical and anthropometric parameters associated with adiposity, between overweight and obese children with and without AcN. METHODS: One hundred and forty-nine overweight and obese children were screened for AcN. Height, weight, waist and hip circumferences, triceps skinfold thickness and segmental body fat amounts were measured. RESULTS: Twenty-two (14.8%) children had AcN. Children with AcN had greater height, weight, BMI, waist circumference, waist-to-height-ratio, triceps skinfold thickness, and total and truncal body fat percentage, compared to those without AcN. After adjustment for age and BMI, no adiposity measure was increased in children with AcN. CONCLUSION: Overweight and obese children with AcN basically have greater overall and central adiposity, than those without it. Adjusting for BMI, there is no evidence for increased abdominal fat in these children.

Fragile X syndrome is caused by CGG trinucleotide repeat expansion within the fragile X mental retardation 1 gene, when repeat number exceeds 200. The typical psychiatric profile of fragile X syndrome patients includes cognitive and behavioral deficits, psychiatric comorbidity, and autistic characteristics. Specific psychiatric features have not yet been clarified, specifically in relationship to age and genetic characteristics. The objective of this study was to characterize psychiatric comorbidities in subjects with fragile X syndrome at different ages. Subjects with fragile X syndrome and their unaffected siblings were recruited and their parents filled out functional-behavioral and psychiatric comorbidities questionnaires. Adolescents with fragile X syndrome showed decreased prevalence of functional-behavioral deficits. Incidence and severity of most psychiatric comorbidities were lower in older subjects. Incidence of generalized anxiety disorder increased with age in the fragile X syndrome group. The typical profile of patients with fragile X syndrome changes with age. Unaffected siblings exhibit anxiety and motor tics.