Journal of endocrinological investigation
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J. Endocrinol. Invest. · Sep 2002
Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical TrialLeptin levels in patients with type 1 diabetes receiving intensive insulin therapy compared with those in patients receiving conventional insulin therapy.
Several reports suggest that insulin may have a role in the regulation of serum leptin levels, and this is related to the fact that serum leptin levels generally indicate the amount of body fat. Studies show that leptin levels are low in newly diagnosed patients with Type-1 diabetes (T1 DM) and increase after institution of insulin therapy. This study was designed to test whether serum leptin levels are higher in patients receiving intensive insulin therapy (IIT) compared to conventional insulin therapy (CIT). ⋯ Leptin levels were higher in IIT compared to CIT (13+/-12 vs 7+/-7 ng/ml, respectively, p<0.05). The results of this study demonstrate that patients on IIT have higher leptin levels than patients on CIT. This increase in leptin level in IIT patients is independent of changes in bw and is probably due to the stimulatory effect of insulin on leptin production.
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J. Endocrinol. Invest. · Mar 2002
Comparative StudyActivity of GH/IGF-I axis in trauma and septic patients during artificial nutrition: different behavior patterns?
The aim of this study was to compare several parameters of GH/IGF-I axis activity in septic and trauma patients during Intensive Care Unit (ICU) stay. To this goal, 13 patients with sepsis (SEP) and 16 with trauma (TRA) were studied. Thirty-three adult subjects (AS) were studied as controls. ⋯ The GH response to GHRH in SEP and TRA was similar and lower (p<0.01) than in AS. These findings indicate that IGF-I activity is impaired more in septic than in trauma patients. Reduced IGF-I activity probably reflects peripheral GH resistance though basal and GHRH-induced GH levels were not increased in these conditions.
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J. Endocrinol. Invest. · Feb 2002
Evaluation of circulating levels and renal clearance of natural amino acids in patients with Cushing's disease.
Although the hypercortisolism-induced impairment of protein homeostasis is object of several studies, a detailed evaluation of the complete amino acid profile of patients with Cushing's syndrome (CS) has never been performed. The aim of the current open transversal controlled study was to evaluate serum and urinary concentrations as well as renal clearance of the complete series of natural amino acids and their relationship with glucose tolerance in patients with Cushing's disease (CD). Twenty patients with CD (10 active and 10 cured) and 20 sex- and age-matched healthy controls entered the study. ⋯ Although Homa-R was significantly correlated to BMI in active patients (r=0.74 p<0.05), it was not correlated to amino acid levels. In conclusion, the results of the current study demonstrate that patients with CD have significant changes in serum and urinary concentration of several amino acids and changes in renal clearance of some specific amino acids. Normalization of cortisol levels restored the amino acid profile.
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J. Endocrinol. Invest. · Jan 2002
Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis impairment in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis and polymyalgia rheumatica.
Stressful/inflammatory conditions activate the immune system and subsequently the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis through the central and peripheral production of cytokines such as IL-6 and TNF-alpha. A relative adrenal hypofunction, as evidenced by inappropriately normal F levels and reduced DHEAS levels, has been recently claimed to play a causative role in the pathogenesis of autoimmune/inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR). Thus, we evaluated baseline levels of adrenal androgens, IL-6 and IL-12 together with HPA axis challenge by ovine CRH and low-dose ACTH in premenopausal RA women and aged PMR women. ⋯ In PMR, the ACTH-induced enhanced 17-OHP levels suggest a partial age- and cytokine-induced impairment of the P450 21 beta-hydroxylase, which eventually leads to inadequate glucocorticoid production. The clinical and biochemical improvement observed after glucocorticoid therapy in patient with RA and PMR, might thus be attributed to a direct dampening of pro-inflammatory factors as well as to the restoration of the steroid milieu. Given its multifaceted properties, including the ability to counteract the negative side effects of glucocorticoids, the therapeutical administration of DHEA might be considered in these pathologies, provided its safety is proved.