TouchREVIEWS in endocrinology最新文献

Introduction: Insulin therapy is most effective if patients learn how to properly adjust insulin to achieve glycaemic targets. There is a need for methods and tools that can assist these processes in clinical practice. The purpose of this feasibility study was to evaluate an approach to support insulin dose adjustment in individual patients using a mobile titration application (app). Methods: A cohort of adults (N=36) with type 2 diabetes with suboptimal glycaemia who were starting basal insulin self-titration were trained by a diabetes care and education specialist to use a mobile titration app to guide adjusting insulin doses. Glycaemia, diabetes distress and patient and provider satisfaction were assessed during the first 3 months after initiating basal insulin titration using the mobile app. Results: Mean haemoglobin type A1c (HbA1c) was significantly reduced by an average of 2.1 ± 2.2% from baseline to 3 months (p<0.001). Diabetes distress significantly decreased from baseline to follow-up with scores going down (or improving) across all scales. Both patients and providers reported high levels of satisfaction and positive experiences. Conclusion: The model offers a promising solution to streamline insulin dosage adjustments to achieve specific clinical and self-management goals with high expectations for long-term benefits and warrants further investigation.

There has been an exponential increase in the global prevalence of fatty liver disease in recent years in association with the obesity pandemic worldwide. 'Metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease', the new terminology adopted by an international panel of experts in 2020 to largely replace the old term 'non-alcoholic fatty liver disease', has now been accepted by most hepatologists and diabetologists across the globe. The term metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease was created to better reflect the metabolicand liver-specific manifestations and complications of fatty liver disease. It is important to disseminate our current understanding of this enigmatic disease among the global scientific fraternity. Recent publications, including articles from the latest issue of Endocrinology & Metabolism Clinics of North America, are attempting to fill this knowledge gap.

The most common symptom of menopause is vasomotor symptoms (VMS), which occur in more than 80% of postmenopausal women. Furthermore, VMS are the manifestation of menopause for which women most commonly seek treatment, namely, to address their impacted quality of life, including sleep, and work-and non-work-related productivity. VMS vary in frequency, intensity and duration. Hormone therapy (HT) has been our most effective treatment for VMS and has been approved for this indication by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Despite being a safe and effective treatment option, many patients and providers are hesitant to consider HT. Moreover, HT is contraindicated for some women. While many over-the-counter and non-HT options are available, we lack data on the efficacy and safety of most of these. This has left a void for women. Fezolinetant was recently approved by the FDA for the treatment of moderate-to-severe VMS. So far, clinical trials have shown positive results in terms of safety and efficacy. Fezolinetant is a non-hormonal, neurokinin 3 receptor antagonist that works in the hypothalamus at the thermoregulatory centre. Blocking the non-hormonal neurokinin 3 receptor antagonist modulates hot flashes and night sweats. As early as 4 weeks from initiating fezolinetant, women experienced a statistically significant reduction of both severity and frequency of VMS per day, resulting in an improved quality of life.

Hypertension affects about 1.28 billion adults globally, and significantly increases the risk of chronic morbidity and mortality among sufferers. About 15% of these individuals have secondary hypertension, the majority of whom have dysfunction of one or more endocrine systems as the cause of hypertension. Although adrenal disorders are often identified as the cause of endocrine hypertension, extra-adrenal disease and pituitary disorders also can cause the disease. Timely diagnosis is of paramount importance, because of the potential for a surgical cure or optimal disease control with pharmacotherapy to prevent hypertensive complications. Even with its relatively high prevalence compared with many other chronic illnesses, the diagnosis of endocrine hypertension is often delayed or never made because of poor awareness about the disease among physicians. This review attempts to provide an overview of the disease, with some practical aspects of diagnosis and management of a few of the important disorders causing endocrine hypertension.

Pituitary tumours (PTs) are the second most common intracranial tumour. Although the majority show benign behaviour, they may exert aggressive behaviour and can be resistant to treatment. The aim of this review is to report the recently identified biomarkers that might have possible prognostic value. Studies evaluating potentially prognostic biomarkers or a therapeutic target in invasive/recurrent PTs compared with either non-invasive or non-recurrent PTs or normal pituitaries are included in this review. In the 28 included studies, more than 911 PTs were evaluated. A systematic search identified the expression of a number of biomarkers that may be positively correlated with disease recurrence or invasion in PT, grouped according to role: (1) insensitivity to anti-growth signals: minichromosome maintenance protein 7; (2) evasion of the immune system: cyclooxygenase 2, arginase 1, programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1)/programmed death ligand 2, cluster of differentiation (CD) 80/CD86; (3) sustained angiogenesis: endothelial cell-specific molecule, fibroblast growth factor receptor, matrix metalloproteinase 9, pituitary tumour transforming gene; (4) self-sufficiency in growth signals: epidermal growth factor receptor; and (5) tissue invasion: matrix metalloproteinase 9, fascin protein. Biomarkers with a negative correlation with disease recurrence or invasion include: (1) insensitivity to anti-growth signals: transforming growth factor β1, Smad proteins; (2) sustained angiogenesis: tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1; (3) tissue invasion: Wnt inhibitory factor 1; and (4) miscellaneous: co-expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein and cytokeratin, and oestrogen receptors α36 and α66. PD-1/programmed cell death ligand 1 showed no clear association with invasion or recurrence, while cyclin A, cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated protein 4, S100 protein, ephrin receptor, galectin-3 , neural cell adhesion molecule, protein tyrosine phosphatase 4A3 and steroidogenic factor 1 had no association with invasion or recurrence of PT. With the aim to develop a more personalized approach to the treatment of PT, and because of the limited number of molecular targets currently studied in the context of recurrent PT and invasion, a better understanding of the most relevant of these biomarkers by well-d esigned interventional studies will lead to a better understanding of the molecular profile of PT. This should also meet the increased need of treatable molecular targets.

Van Wyk-Grumbach syndrome is a rare, female juvenile hypothyroidism disorder that is characterized by precocious puberty with clinical, radiological and hormonal pathologies. We present a case series of three patients with this unusual condition who were evaluated and followed up over a 3-year period between January 2017 and June 2020. All three patients presented with short stature (<3rd centile), low weight (<3rd centile), absence of goitre, no axillary or pubic hair, delayed bone age by more than 2 years, elevated thyroid-stimulating hormone with low T3 and T4 (primary hypothyroidism), and raised follicle-stimulating hormone with pre-pubertal levels of luteinizing hormone. Abdominal ultrasonography showed bilateral multi-cystic ovaries in two patients and a right-sided bulky ovary in the third patient. One of the patients also had a pituitary 'macroadenoma'. All the patients were successfully managed with levothyroxine. We discuss the pathophysiological mechanisms with a brief literature review.

Thyroid hormones, mainly triiodothyronine, have genomic and non-genomic effects on cardiomyocytes related to the contractile function of the heart. Thyrotoxicosis, which is the set of signs and symptoms derived from the excess of circulating thyroid hormones, leads to increased cardiac output and decreased systemic vascular resistance, increasing the volume of circulating blood and causing systolic hypertension. In addition, the shortening of the refractory period of cardiomyocytes produces sinus tachycardia and atrial fibrillation. This leads to heart failure. Approximately 1% of patients with thyrotoxicosis develop thyrotoxic cardiomyopathy, a rare but potentially fatal form of dilated cardiomyopathy. Thyrotoxic cardiomyopathy represents a diagnosis of exclusion, and prompt identification is crucial as it is a reversible cause of heart failure, and heart function can be recovered after achieving a euthyroid state using antithyroid drugs. Radioactive iodine therapy and surgery are not the best initial therapeutic approach. Moreover, it is important to manage cardiovascular symptoms, for which beta blockers are the first-line therapeutic option.

Urothelial cancer is a common neoplasm and metastatic disease correlates with a poor prognosis. Isolated adrenal gland metastases of urothelial carcinoma are quite rare, and management options can decide a patient's prognosis. Herein we report the case of a 76-year-old man with a metachronous solitary adrenal metastasis from a bladder carcinoma, who underwent adrenalectomy as part of his treatment. Furthermore, we discuss the cases of solitary adrenal metastases of urothelial carcinoma available in the literature, to identify key features to direct appropriate treatment of this rare metastatic site of urothelial cancer and improve prognosis and survival. Still, further prospective studies are needed to design effective therapeutic strategies.

Thyrolipomatosis, a diffuse non-neoplastic infiltration of fatty tissue in the thyroid gland, is an extremely rare condition with only about 30 cases reported worldwide. A few of these cases report the concurrency of thyrolipomatosis and malignant neoplasms in the thyroid or colon, but never with tongue cancer. A 44-year-old female patient with an infiltrative tongue mass suggestive of carcinoma presented for an outpatient consultation. Cervical imaging revealed multiple lymphadenopathies and a multinodular goitre with diffuse fatty infiltration, suggestive of thyrolipomatosis. Surgical intervention included partial resection of the tongue and thyroid (left hemiglossectomy and right hemithyroidectomy, respectively) and lymphadenectomy. The thyroid specimen showed diffuse fat metaplasia of the stromal thyroid tissue, confirming incidental thyrolipomatosis. During post-operative follow-up, the patient presented with recurrence of squamous cell carcinoma as indicated by new right-sided thyroid nodules, left-sided lymphadenopathies with confirmatory biopsy, and a growing neck mass that became infected. The patient developed septic shock and later died. Thyrolipomatosis causes thyroid swelling and can be clinically detected as goitres or as an incidental finding. Diagnosis is suggested by cervical imaging (ultrasonography, computed tomography or magnetic resonance), but confirmation is histological after thyroidectomy. Although thyrolipomatosis is benign, it could develop concurrently with neoplastic diseases, especially on embryologically related tissues (e.g. thyroid and tongue). This case report is the first in the literature describing the coexistence between thyrolipomatosis and tongue cancer in an adult Peruvian patient.

The American Association of Clinical Endocrinology (AACE) 2022 guideline provides comprehensive and evidence-based guidance on contemporary diabetes management. The statement reiterates the importance of person-centred, team-based care for optimum outcomes. The recent strides to prevent cardiovascular and renal complications have been aptly incorporated. The recommendations on virtual care, continuous glucose monitors, cancer screening, infertility and mental health are relevant. However, focused discussions on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and geriatric diabetes care could have been helpful. Outlining targets for prediabetes care is a notable addition and is likely to be the most effective strategy in addressing the rising burden of diabetes.