Factors associated with referral for polysomnography in children with Down syndrome.

OBJECTIVES: Children with Down syndrome (DS) are recommended to undergo polysomnography (PSG) by the age of four years due to the high prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in this group, but compliance is incomplete. To further understand referral patterns for PSG in this condition, we aimed to compare demographics, PSG results, OSA severity, behavior, daytime functioning and quality of life (QOL) between children with DS referred for sleep testing and those recruited from the community. STUDY DESIGN: Children 3-19 years with DS was included: 20 referred clinically for assessment of OSA and 24 volunteers from the community. Demographic and anthropometric data, PSG parameters, sleep-related symptoms and QOL, behavior and daytime functioning were compared between groups. RESULTS: OSA severity did not differ between groups: 50% of the clinical and 42% of the community group had moderate/severe OSA. The clinical group had a higher weight z-score, BMI z-score, waist and hip circumference and neck-to-waist ratio. Questionnaire scores for daytime functioning, behavior and QOL were not different between groups. CONCLUSIONS: Despite not being referred for clinical sleep assessment, 42% of children with DS recruited from the community had moderate/severe OSA. There was no difference in the QOL, behavior, daytime functioning and sleep symptoms questionnaires although the clinical group had a higher BMI-Z score and overt signs of obesity. These findings underscore the importance of PSG screening of all children with DS.

Suppressing fatty acid uptake has therapeutic effects in preclinical models of prostate cancer.

Metabolism alterations are hallmarks of cancer, but the involvement of lipid metabolism in disease progression is unclear. We investigated the role of lipid metabolism in prostate cancer using tissue from patients with prostate cancer and patient-derived xenograft mouse models. We showed that fatty acid uptake was increased in human prostate cancer and that these fatty acids were directed toward biomass production. These changes were mediated, at least partly, by the fatty acid transporter CD36, which was associated with aggressive disease. Deleting Cd36 in the prostate of cancer-susceptible Pten-/- mice reduced fatty acid uptake and the abundance of oncogenic signaling lipids and slowed cancer progression. Moreover, CD36 antibody therapy reduced cancer severity in patient-derived xenografts. We further demonstrated cross-talk between fatty acid uptake and de novo lipogenesis and found that dual targeting of these pathways more potently inhibited proliferation of human cancer-derived organoids compared to the single treatments. These findings identify a critical role for CD36-mediated fatty acid uptake in prostate cancer and suggest that targeting fatty acid uptake might be an effective strategy for treating prostate cancer.