La ecografía es una herramienta muy útil en las investigaciones clínicas, por tratarse de un método no invasivo y no ionizante que permite estudiar de forma dinámica el funcionamiento de determinadas estructuras. Cada vez más vemos a la ecografía como protagonista de diversos trabajos. 
Nuestro equipo sigue la línea de investigación de determinación y prevencion del riesgo cardiovascular en estadío muy precoces como desde la etapa neonatal ("Estudi Girona").

Carotid Intima-Media Thickness at 7 Years of Age:
 Relationship to C-Reactive Protein Rather than Adiposity
Inés Osiniri, Carmen Sitjar, Pilar Soriano-Rodriguez, Anna Prats Puig, Cristina Casas-Sastre, Lluis Mayol,Francis de Zegher, Lourdes Ibáñez, Judit Bassols, Abel López-Bermejo

The Journal of Pediatrics. Volume 160, Issue 2 , Pages 276-280.e1, February 2012

Objective
According to the concept of adipose tissue expandability, the vascular complications of obesity are related less to the amount of stored fat than to the low-grade inflammation that excess fat storage may elicit. We tested this concept in 7-year-old children by assessing whether carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) is related to obesity measures or to circulating highly sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP), as a marker of low-grade inflammation.

Study design
The study group comprised 135 asymptomatic Caucasian children (72 girls and 63 boys; mean age, 7.1±1.1 years) with normal height and weight distributions. Relationships were assessed among cIMT, hsCRP, obesity measures (ie, body mass index [BMI], total fat by bioelectric impedance, and visceral fat by ultrasound), insulin resistance (by the homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance), and fasting serum lipid levels.

Results 
cIMT was correlated with hsCRP, but not with BMI or body fat; the regression coefficients between cIMT and hsCRP (adjusted for age, sex, BMI, body fat, and serum lipid levels) were fairly similar across all BMI categories (β=0.370-0.411; all P<.001 to<.0001). Serum hsCRP increased with increasing BMI, total fat, and visceral fat (all P<.001).

Conclusion
At age 7 years, cIMT is already associated with low-grade inflammation, as measured by hsCRP, but not with BMI or body fat. These findings imply that public health strategies aimed at early prevention of cardiovascular disease may need to target low-grade inflammation rather than only BMI or adiposity.