Do you know this syndrome? Berardinelli-Seip syndrome

Altered acylated ghrelin response to food intake in congenital generalized lipodystrophy

BACKGROUND

Patients with congenital generalized lipodystrophy (CGL) have very low levels of leptin and are described as having a voracious appetite. However, a direct comparison between CGL and eutrophic individuals is lacking, regarding both appetite parameters and acylated ghrelin, the hormone form that is active in acute food intake stimulation. The objective of the present study was to address whether and in what extent the subjective appetite parameters and acylated ghrelin response to a meal are affected in CGL individuals, in comparison to eutrophic individuals. Additionally, an obese group was included in the study, to allow the comparison between a leptin-resistant and a leptin-deficient condition on these aspects.

METHODS

Eutrophic controls (EUT, n = 10), obese subjects (OB, n = 10) and CGL (n = 11) were fasted overnight and then received an ad libitum meal. Blood was collected and the visual analogue scale was applied before and 90 minutes after the meal. An additional blood sample was collected at 60 minutes for ghrelin determination.

RESULTS

The CGL patients showed low fasting levels of leptin and adiponectin, dyslipidemia, and insulin resistance. The caloric intake was similar among the 3 groups. However, both CGL (p = 0.02) and OB (p = 0.04) had shorter satiation times than EUT. The CGL patients also had lower satiety time (p = 0.01) and their sensation of hunger was less attenuated by the meal (p = 0.03). Fasting acylated ghrelin levels were lower in CGL than in EUT (p = 0.003). After the meal, the levels tended to decrease in EUT but not in CGL and OB individuals.

CONCLUSION

The data indicate that, although not hyperphagic, the CGL patients present appetite disturbances in relation to eutrophic individuals. Their low fasting levels of acylated ghrelin and the absence of the physiological drop after meal intake suggest a role of these disturbances in hunger attenuation and satiety but not in acute satiation.

Uso de metformina y un inhibidor de SGLT2 en el manejo de lipodistrofia congénita generalizada. Reporte de caso

Introducción. La lipodistrofia congénita generalizada (LCG) es un síndrome genético autosómico recesivo extremadamente raro que se caracteriza por ausencia generalizada de tejido adiposo, deficiencia en la producción de hormonas como la leptina y complicaciones metabólicas potencialmente serias como diabetes mellitus tipo 2 (DM2), esteatohepatitis e hipertrigliceridemia.Presentación del caso. Paciente femenina de 17 años con un diagnóstico tardío de LCG y con diabetes mellitus (erróneamente clasificada como tipo I), hipertrigliceridemia severa e infecciones a repetición. Luego de introducir metformina y un inhibidor del SGLT2 en el manejo de la paciente, se logró un adecuado control metabólico.Conclusión. Con frecuencia, el desconocimiento de algunas enfermedades huérfanas lleva a diagnósticos erróneos y, por tanto, a tratamientos inadecuados que en algunos casos pueden empeorar la condición clínica de los pacientes. Por lo anterior, en el caso de la LCG, es necesario que la comunidad médica tenga una mejor comprensión de sus aspectos diagnósticos y terapéuticos para brindar un diagnóstico y tratamiento oportunos.

Eruptive Xanthomas - Two Case Reports With Distinct Features

BACKGROUND:

Eruptive xanthomas are rare and often asymptomatic. On the other hand, these cutaneous lesions are a red flag for serious underlying metabolic disorders that demand an early diagnosis to prevent morbidity and mortality.

CASE REPORT:

We report on two male patients, aged 23 and 27 years, who presented with eruptive xanthomas. Clinical, histological and laboratory investigations disclosed a metabolic syndrome in the younger patient and an alcohol-induced chylomicronemia in the elder one. Two types of macromorphology of cutaneous lesions were observed. Treatment was tailored according to underlying pathologies and resulted in significant improvement of the metabolic parameters and improvement of skin lesions.

CONCLUSION:

Dermatologists should be aware of the diagnostic importance of eruptive xanthomas for serious metabolic disorders.

Cardiac Manifestations of Congenital Generalized Lipodystrophy

IN BRIEF Congenital lipodystrophy is a rare genetic disorder characterized by a near-complete absence of fat cells, hypoleptinemia leading to a voracious appetite, and marked insulin resistance. This article focuses on the known cardiovascular manifestations of patients with congenital lipodystrophy, including cardiomyopathy, cardiac arrhythmias, and accelerated atherosclerosis arising from a markedly deranged metabolic milieu. Future research that targets leptin deficiency (metreleptin) and apoC3 mRNA (antisense oligonucleotide) could open a window for potential pharmacological treatment of this challenging disorder.

How Research on Human Progeroid and Antigeroid Syndromes Can Contribute to the Longevity Dividend Initiative

Although translational applications derived from research on basic mechanisms of aging are likely to enhance health spans and life spans for most of us (the longevity dividend), there will remain subsets of individuals with special vulnerabilities. Medical genetics is a discipline that describes such "private" patterns of aging and can reveal underlying mechanisms, many of which support genomic instability as a major mechanism of aging. We review examples of three classes of informative disorders: "segmental progeroid syndromes" (those that appear to accelerate multiple features of aging), "unimodal progeroid syndromes" (those that impact on a single disorder of aging), and "unimodal antigeroid syndromes," variants that provide enhanced protection against specific disorders of aging; we urge our colleagues to expand our meager research efforts on the latter, including ancillary somatic cell genetic approaches.