Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism Case Reports最新文献

Summary: We report a 61-year-old male patient without personal history of thyroid carcinoma or radiation exposure. In 2011, he presented with a cervical mass whose biopsy diagnosed a papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) in a lymph node metastasis (LNM). Total thyroidectomy with lymphadenectomy of central and ipsilateral compartment was performed. Histopathology identified a 2 mm follicular variant of PTC and LNM in 25/25 lymph nodes. The patient was treated with 150 mCi of radioactive iodine (RAI), followed by levothyroxine suppressive therapy. In 2016, a retrotracheal mass was diagnosed, suggesting local recurrence; patient was submitted to surgical excision and RAI therapy (120 mCi). Due to seizures, in 2019, a brain CT was performed that diagnosed brain metastases. The patient underwent debulking of the main lesion. Histopathology analysis confirmed a metastatic lesion with variated morphology: classical PTC and follicular pattern and hobnail and tall cell features. Molecular analysis revealed BRAFV600E in LNM at presentation and BRAFV600E and TERT promoter (TERTp) mutations in the recurrent LNM and brain metastasis. Based upon this experience we review the reported cases of subcentimetric PTC with brain metastases and discuss the molecular progression of the present case.

Learning points: Papillary microcarcinoma (PMCs) usually have very good prognosis with low impact on patient survival. PMCs presenting in elderly patients with LNM at diagnosis may carry a guarded outcome. Brain metastasis although rare indicate aggressive phenotypic features. Patient risk stratification of PMCs based on histopathological analysis and genetic testing may have a significant impact on prognosis providing therapeutic markers, that may predict disease progression and overall outcome.

Summary: Symptoms of primary adrenal insufficiency (PAI) are commonly nonspecific, causing the disease to be misdiagnosed or often delayed, and patients may present to the hospital with a life-threatening crisis. Previous case reports have documented that patients in this condition often require lifelong glucocorticoid replacement therapy. This study aimed to present a noteworthy outcome of PAI caused by adrenal tuberculosis infection, demonstrating complete recovery after six months of glucocorticoid replacement therapy. A 38-year-old Indonesian man presented to the endocrinology clinic in a tertiary hospital with a chief complaint of epigastric pain. The patient experienced nausea, vomiting, loss of consciousness, weight loss, excessive sweat, decreased appetite, weakness, and dizziness in the past 2 weeks. Laboratory examinations revealed hyponatremia, elevated adrenocorticotropic hormone, and suppressed morning plasma cortisol level. A non-contrast-enhanced abdominal MRI showed unilateral right-side adrenal enlargement and calcification. The patient's Mantoux test was positive. Corticosteroids and anti-tuberculosis therapy were administered. After 6 months, hydrocortisone was discontinued due to the patient's good clinical condition and normal morning plasma cortisol levels. After a 1-year follow-up, the patient remained asymptomatic with normal cortisol levels. We hypothesized several reasons for this unique outcome: (i) the patient was relatively young compared to previous cases, suggesting an adequate immune system may play a role; (ii) despite a 1-month delay in diagnosis and treatment, the absence of skin hyperpigmentation suggested an acute presentation, potentially contributing to the favorable outcome; and (iii) the absence of comorbidities potentially positively impacted the patient's outcome.

Learning points: Symptoms of adrenal insufficiency are often nonspecific and may only become apparent once significant damage has occurred to the adrenal gland. Clinical adjustments and a comprehensive understanding of epidemiological knowledge are necessary for diagnosing patients with endocrine diseases in limited-resource settings. Complete recovery in primary adrenal insufficiency caused by tuberculosis infection might be due to younger age, acute presentation, and absence of comorbidities.

Summary: In patients with diabetes mellitus, the toxic milieu caused by abnormal glucose and free fatty acid handling can lead to heart failure (HF). Referred to as diabetic cardiomyopathy (DMCM), this syndrome often exists in the absence of conventional risk factors for HF such as history of myocardial infarction or hypertension. Low-carbohydrate diets (LCDs) have recently been endorsed as an efficacious therapeutic dietary approach to prevent and reverse cardiometabolic disease including type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). LCDs improve systemic insulin resistance (IR), reverses cardiac remodelling in a rodent model and downregulates the expression of sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) receptors in the kidney. It is therefore conceivable that a lifestyle approach such as adopting an LCD can be offered to patients with DMCM. The reported case is that of a 45-year-old man with a 15-year history of non-ischaemic cardiomyopathy, T2DM and obesity. The patient volunteered to engage in a 16-week low-carbohydrate dietary intervention trial and then self-selected to remain on this diet for 1 year. The whole-food LCD was based on simple 'traffic light' style food lists and not designed to restrict calories, protein, fat or salt. After 1 year, the patient had lost 39 kg and his cardiometabolic markers had significantly improved. LCDs present a potentially beneficial approach for patients with DMCM and could be considered as a lifestyle intervention before SGLT2i therapy is commenced.

Learning points: Diabetic cardiomyopathy (DMCM) is a syndrome precipitated mainly by the detrimental effects of glucose metabolism disorders such as insulin resistance and diabetes. Low-carbohydrate diets (LCD) mimic many effects of sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i). LCDs are a dietary pattern which can have significant and beneficial effects on metabolic and anthropometric markers in patients with DMCM. LCDs and SGLT2i therapy could be combined and may achieve better clinical outcomes for patients with DMCM. Combination therapy may be carried out under close supervision as the real risk for diabetic ketoacidosis remains.

Summary: Calciphylaxis is a rare disorder characterised by the development of painful necrotic skin lesions. Occlusion of cutaneous arterioles due to ectopic calcification leads to potentially life-threatening widespread skin loss. Most cases occur in patients with chronic renal disease, which leads to dysregulation of calcium and phosphate homeostasis. Only a handful of case reports exist describing calciphylaxis occurring in patients without chronic renal disease but with hypoparathyroidism. We report on a unique case of a 53-year-old man with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 syndrome and acquired hypoparathyroidism due to total parathyroidectomy who went on to develop calciphylaxis following cardiac surgery.

Learning points: Calciphylaxis most commonly occurs in the context of chronic renal disease but can rarely occur in its absence as a consequence of calcium and phosphate dysregulation. Patients who develop necrotic skin lesions in the presence of hypoparathyroidism require an urgent dermatological opinion. Mortality from calciphylaxis is high, with the majority of deaths occurring secondary to sepsis. Management of calciphylaxis requires a multidisciplinary team approach to manage wound healing, infections and pain. Recovery with full rehabilitation from calciphylaxis can take months to years.

Summary: Primary hyperparathyroidism most commonly presents with hypercalcaemia. Rarely, parathyroid apoplexy or haemorrhage mimicking a thyroid bleeding cyst is the first presentation of a parathyroid adenoma. A woman presented with a sudden-onset painful 'goitre'. Ultrasound showed a cystic nodule located posterior to rather than in the right thyroid lobe, suggesting parathyroid adenoma bleeding. Biochemistry showed mild primary hyperparathyroidism. 99mTc-pertechnetate/sestamibi showed no uptake in the nodule, which was interpreted as a cold thyroid nodule. 18F-fluorocholine PET/CT showed uptake in the nodule, suggestive of a parathyroid adenoma. Persistent mild primary hyperparathyroidism complicated by nephrolithiasis and osteopenia favoured parathyroidectomy over a wait-and-see approach. The patient was referred for parathyroidectomy along with right thyroid lobectomy. Pathology showed an adenoma, with an eccentrically located cystic structure filled with red blood cells surrounded by a thickened fibrous capsule. In conclusion, cervical pain/haemorrhage with hypercalcaemia points to the diagnosis of parathyroid apoplexy, mimicking a thyroid bleeding cyst. Workup with ultrasound and, if available, 18F-choline PET/CT allows for timely surgery, minimizing the risk of recurrent and severe bleeding.

Learning points: A bleeding cyst may be located posterior to rather than in the thyroid, suggesting a parathyroid haemorrhage. Neck pain and/or haemorrhage along with primary hyperparathyroidism point to parathyroid apoplexy. A two-step presentation has been described, with a first phase of local symptoms to be followed by visible and possibly life-threatening compressing bleeding. Therefore, an expedited workup is needed, allowing for timely surgery.

Summary: A 60-year-old woman presented to our clinic with an acute onset 3 months history of right ankle pain. The patient had a history of poorly differentiated thyroid cancer, which was treated with total thyroidectomy, left lateral neck dissection levels II-V and central neck dissection levels VI-VII followed by postoperative I-131 radioactive iodine (131I) ablation therapy 3.7 GBq 6 months ago. The post-131I WBS showed residual iodine-avid thyroid tissue with no other iodine-avid disease or metastasis. SPECT/CT of the neck and chest showed nonavid bilateral pulmonary nodules, discrete nodal masses in mediastinum and nonavid bone lesions. FDG-PET CT scan showed FDG-avid mediastinal lymph nodes (LN), innumerable non-FDG-avid subcentimetric pulmonary nodules and few FDG-avid lytic lesions in the skeleton. X-ray and MRI of the right ankle showed a well-marginated lytic lesion in the posterior body of calcaneus and 5 × 6 cm soft tissue mass lesion, respectively. The histopathology of the calcaneus mass confirmed a positive immunostaining for thyroid origin which includes thyroglobulin and TTF-1 with PAX-8. Endobronchial mediastinal and bronchial LN biopsy confirmed thyroid cancer metastasis. Gene mutation showed HRAS and GNA13 with a high tumor mutational burden. We describe a rare case of poorly differentiated thyroid cancer in a patient who presented with right ankle pain; we confirmed the cause to be a calcaneus metastasis from the thyroid cancer, with calcaneus being an extremely rare site for bone metastases. Gene mutations points toward treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Learning points: Poorly differentiated thyroid carcinoma (PDTC) usually metastasizes to lung and bone but can rarely occur in the calcaneus. Patients with distant metastases have significantly worse long-term prognosis. Radiotherapy is effective in reducing the metastatic pains as well as reducing the size of the metastasis. PAX-8 staining can be used to differentiate thyroid carcinomas from lung adenocarcinomas. The importance of searching for gene mutations to decide the treatment of PDTC.

Summary: Mitotane is used for treatment of advanced adrenocortical carcinoma. It is administered when the carcinoma is unresectable, metastasized, or at high-risk of recurrence after resection. In addition, mitotane is considered to have direct adrenolytic effects. Because of its narrow therapeutic-toxic range, therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) is warranted. In 2020, a left-sided adrenal gland tumor was found (5.8 cm) in a 38-year-old man. Considering the size of this lesion and inability to exclude an adrenocortical carcinoma on imaging, a laparoscopic adrenalectomy was performed. Histopathologic examination determined presence of an adrenocortical carcinoma (pT2N0M0 ENSAT stadium II; ki67 10-15%). There was no evidence for residual or metastatic disease but given the high risk of recurrence, adjuvant therapy with mitotane was initiated. During TDM, a sudden and spuriously high level of mitotane was observed but without signs or symptoms of toxicity. After exploration, it was found that this high concentration was completely due to uncontrolled hypertriglyceridemia. After correction thereof, mitotane levels were again in the therapeutic range. This observation underscores the importance of TDM sampling in a fasting state with concurrent control of prevalent or incident dyslipidemia.

Learning points: TDM of mitotane is advocated to achieve therapeutic levels while avoiding toxicity. For correct TDM, sampling should be done at least 12 h after last intake of mitotane. Although sampling in fasting conditions in not explicitly mentioned in the guidelines, fasting state should be considered as elevated serum triglyceride levels might cause spuriously high mitotane levels. In patients undergoing treatment with mitotane and presenting with too high or unexplained fluctuating mitotane levels without signs or symptoms of toxicity, hypertriglyceridemia as a possible cause should be investigated. If dyslipidemia occurs in patients under mitotane treatment, other causes than mitotane (e.g. alcohol abuse and diabetes) should be considered and appropriate treatment should be initiated.

Summary: Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS) is a rare, autosomal recessive, multisystem non-motile ciliopathy of progressive onset. It is primarily characterised by rod-cone dystrophy, early-onset obesity and related complications, postaxial polydactyly, renal and genitourinary abnormalities, learning disabilities, and hypogonadism. The diagnosis is based on Beales' modified diagnostic criteria. We present a case of two monozygotic female twins, 17 years of age at presentation, referred for obesity since childhood. The initial hormonal work-up was negative and no dysmorphic features were noted. They were diagnosed with exogenous obesity. However, after ophthalmologic problems became apparent, rod-cone dystrophy was observed and genetic testing was performed. A mutation in the BBS2 gene led to the diagnosis of BBS, although the full diagnostic criteria were not met. This case not only highlights the need to raise awareness for BBS but also exposes two limitations of the current diagnostic standard. The first limitation is the low sensitivity of the clinical diagnostic model, due to the progressive onset and the high variability of the syndrome. The second limitation is the unclear role of genetic testing. As genetic testing becomes more widely available, genetic diagnosis preceding clinical diagnosis will become more common, leading to a diagnostic conundrum. We propose an update of the diagnostic model. A less strict application in the presence of confirmed genetic mutations should be applied, as this could facilitate earlier diagnosis and intervention. This is important because therapeutic agents are being developed that could have a significant impact on quality of life and prognosis.

Learning points: Due to the low prevalence, the significant inter-and intrafamilial variation, and the slowly evolving phenotype, monogenic forms of obesity such as Bardet-Biedl syndrome are difficult to diagnose. Despite advances in the understanding of the presentation, pathophysiology and access to accurate genetic characterisation, a substantial number of diagnoses are still made by ophthalmology, as recognition of BBS in other departments of medicine, remains limited. Clinical diagnosis of BBS is based on Beales' modified diagnostic criteria which require the presence of four primary features or three primary features plus two secondary features. This model has its limitations. Due to the progressive onset of clinical symptoms, patients generally do not meet the diagnostic criteria early in life, leading to a delay in diagnosis. In addition, the role of genetic testing remains controversial. However, as it becomes more widely available, genetic diagnosis may precede a full clinical diagnosis. BBS has an impact on the quality of life and prognosis of both the patient and the family. Obesity management strategies are an important part of the multidisciplinary approach, as there is no cure available. Setmelanotide has shown pr

Summary: We report a case of catamenial erythema multiforme major in a 46-year-old female. She was treated successfully with goserelin, a GnRH agonist, until the expected age of menopause; however, its therapeutic effects persisted for longer than expected, possibly due to accumulation in adipose tissue.

Learning points: A group of menstrual cycle-related dermatoses and hypersensitivity syndromes exist but are rarely reported in the literature. A history of recurrent cutaneous eruptions in premenopausal females should be considered in the context of the menstrual cycle. The diagnosis of menstrual cycle-related dermatoses is largely clinical, although provocation testing can assist. Treatment options are broad and are aimed at reducing the immune response and/or suppressing ovulation. Goserelin may accumulate and have a gonadotrophin-suppressing effect for longer than expected.

Summary: Fibromuscular dysplasia can cause renovascular hypertension. Since fibromuscular dysplasia may be underdiagnosed, precise diagnosis and management are crucial, especially for young women. A 20-year-old woman with hypertension and hypokalemia was referred to our hospital for further evaluation of secondary hypertension. At the previous hospital, her blood pressure was 160/110 mmHg and the serum potassium level was 2.9 mEq/L. The equilibrium phase on contrast-enhanced computed tomography revealed a low-density area in the upper median portion of the right kidney. On admission to our hospital, her blood pressure was 141/96 mmHg under 5 mg of amlodipine. Laboratory tests revealed plasma renin activity of 11.3 ng/mL/h and plasma aldosterone concentration of 117.1 pg/mL. Renal venous sampling of active renin concentration showed a right-to-left renin ratio of 3.13, confirming a significant increase in renin secretion from the right kidney. Selective reno-angiography detected focal stenosis with adjacent aneurysmal dilation and tortuosity in the proximal branch of the right renal artery. She was diagnosed with branch artery fibromuscular dysplasia and successfully treated with percutaneous transluminal angioplasty. After the treatment, she was free from hypertension and hypokalemia without any medications. Since branch artery fibromuscular dysplasia is sometimes difficult to diagnose, contrast-enhanced computed tomography can be a promising diagnostic tool as shown in this case. Concerning treatment, our patient was treated with percutaneous transluminal angioplasty, which should be considered for women of reproductive age because recommended antihypertensive medications can be teratogenic even in the first trimester of pregnancy.

Learning points: Although branch artery fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD) is sometimes difficult to diagnose, it should be considered in patients with high-renin, high-aldosterone hypertension. Branch artery FMD can present with a low-density area of the kidney on contrast-enhanced computed tomography, as shown in this case. Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) can be an appropriate treatment for branch artery FMD, especially in young female patients. PTA may immediately improve hypertension and hypokalemia without the need for medications.