Signal transduction in child health: closing the gap between clinical and basic research.

Although some diseases are specific to children, many diseases of adults, including obesity and the metabolic syndrome, often originate in childhood. Thus, understanding the mechanisms of disease onset and progression in children is vital not only for child health, but for adult health as well. The NICHe (New Inroads to Child Health) Conference series focuses on future directions in child health, by bringing together clinical and basic scientists with the aim of sharing knowledge to facilitate the development of new therapeutic approaches. This year's conference, entitled "Child Health and Signal Transduction," focused on G protein-coupled receptor and receptor tyrosine kinase pathways involved in endocrine signaling, how disruption of these pathways can lead to disease, and how understanding these pathways may guide drug discovery.