Der Internist
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Lipodystrophy (LD) syndromes are a group of rare and heterogeneous diseases characterized by a congenital deficiency or acquired loss of adipose tissue. Due to the resulting disorder of metabolism, sometimes severe sequelae can develop, such as hypertriglyceridemia, marked insulin resistance and early manifestation of type 2 diabetes, recurrent pancreatitis, fatty liver disease and liver fibrosis. Lipodystrophies are clinically recognizable due to the complete lack of subcutaneous adipose tissue or a conspicuous pattern of the distribution of body fat. Acanthosis nigricans in slimly built persons, a high fasting triglyceride level and elevated concentrations of liver enzymes as well as a positive history of pancreatitis can be indications of LD.
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Sepsis and septic shock are still associated with a high mortality and morbidity. A decisive factor for improvement of the outcome is the prompt initiation of an effective antibiotic treatment. ⋯ Effective empirical treatment comprises purposefully selected broad-spectrum antibiotics and also combination treatment or antimycotics in special situations. De-escalation strategies to narrow down or shorten the treatment are safe and can limit the side effects.
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Despite ongoing development, mortality in sepsis remains considerable. Various techniques for extracorporeal cytokine removal have been described, but evidence remains conflicting. ⋯ Despite a theoretical rationale, the use of blood purification methods cannot be recommended for sepsis patients due to the lack of evidence of their efficacy. Heterogeneous inflammatory responses in sepsis render conduction of larger trials difficult. Thus, future studies should cautiously identify appropriate sepsis subtypes to be included. Available techniques should be chosen as individualized complementary treatments and not as competing systems.
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The early detection and treatment of diabetic nephropathy (DN) is of crucial importance as patients with diabetes mellitus represent the largest proportion of patients on dialysis, with the highest morbidity and mortality. Currently, the first clinical sign of incipient DN is microalbuminuria, but its precision is not optimal. Many studies now report that proteins and peptides are new biomarkers in urine that primarily depict the pathophysiology of DN and thus allow for improved diagnosis of DN. ⋯ Clinical urinary proteome analysis shows great benefits and is already an appropriate tool for the early detection of incipient DN.
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Chronic pruritus (CP) is a highly prevalent, difficult-to-treat, and burdensome condition. Today, multiple topical and systemic therapy concepts are available for the treatment of CP. Current guidelines recommend, besides topical treatments, the use of a vast array of mostly off-label systemic drugs with different mechanisms, including antihistamines, gabapentinoids, antidepressants, immunosuppressive drugs, and μ‑opioid receptor antagonists. ⋯ Of note, phosphodiesterase‑4 inhibitors as topical agents and monoclonal antibodies, neurokinin‑1 receptor antagonists, Janus kinase inhibitors, and opioid receptor modulators as systemic agents are in the frontline of innovative CP treatment. Other promising targets include structures of the peripheral and central nervous system which are involved in itch signaling. This article provides an overview of currently available topical and systemic therapies for CP and their indications and discusses novel innovative agents and promising new targets in CP.