Leptin and adiponectin as predictors of cardiovascular risk after gestational diabetes mellitus

Source at https://doi.org/10.1186/s12933-016-0492-4.Background: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in later life, but the mechanism remains unclear. Adipokine imbalance in the presence of metabolic dysfunction may be a key event in promoting CVD. The aim of the study was to examine the relationships between GDM, cardiovascular risk, and plasma adiponectin, leptin and the leptin/adiponectin (L/A) ratio in pregnancy and at 5 years after the index pregnancy. Methods: This population-based prospective cohort included 300 women who had an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) during pregnancy. Five years later, the OGTT was repeated along with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, lipid analysis, and pulse wave velocity analysis. Fasting adiponectin and leptin levels were measured four times during pregnancy and at follow-up. Results: We found the L/A ratio higher in GDM women during both pregnancy and follow-up compared to nonGDM women. A high L/A ratio during pregnancy was associated with CV risk based on lipid ratios at follow-up, especially the TG/HDL-C ratio. Further, interaction analysis indicated that an increase in the L/A ratio of 1 unit was associated with a higher CV risk in GDM compared to normal pregnancy. Finally, low adiponectin levels independently predicted increased lipid ratios at follow-up. Conclusions: Taken together, our findings suggest that high L/A ratio in pregnancy and in particularly in those with GDM are associated with an unfavorable CVD risk profile during follow-up. Future studies should investigate if a dysregulated leptin and adiponectin profile during pregnancy is associated with atherosclerotic disease during long-term follow-up

European expert consensus on practical management of specific aspects of parathyroid disorders in adults and in pregnancy : recommendations of the ESE Educational Program of Parathyroid Disorders (PARAT 2021)

This European expert consensus statement provides recommendations for the diagnosis and management of primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT), chronic hypoparathyroidism in adults (HypoPT), and parathyroid disorders in relation to pregnancy and lactation. Specified areas of interest and unmet needs identified by experts at the second ESE Educational Program of Parathyroid Disorders in 2019 were discussed during two virtual workshops in 2021 and subsequently developed by working groups with interest in the specified areas. PHPT is a common endocrine disease. However, its differential diagnosis of familial hypocalciuric hypercalcemia (FHH), the definition and clinical course of normocalcemic PHPT, and the optimal management of its recurrence after surgery represents areas of uncertainty requiring clarifications. HypoPT is an orphan disease characterized by low calcium concentrations due to insufficient PTH secretion, most often secondary to neck surgery. Prevention and prediction of surgical injury to the parathyroid glands are essential to limit the disease-related burden. Long-term treatment modalities including the place for PTH replacement therapy and the optimal biochemical monitoring and imaging surveillance for complications to treatment in chronic HypoPT need to be refined. The physiological changes in calcium metabolism occurring during pregnancy and lactation modify the clinical presentation and management of parathyroid disorders in these periods of life. Modern interdisciplinary approaches to PHPT and HypoPT in pregnant and lactating women and their newborn children are proposed. The recommendations on clinical management presented here will serve as background for further educational material aimed at a broader clinical audience and were developed with the focus on endocrinologists in training.Peer reviewe

Parathyroid hormone, but not vitamin D, is associated with the metabolic syndrome in morbidly obese women and men: a cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency and secondary hyperparathyroidism is high among morbidly obese subjects. Further, low serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25 [OH]D) and magnesium have been associated with increased risk of the metabolic syndrome (MS), and recently, a possible link between PTH and MS has been reported. Although it is well known that the synthesis and secretion of PTH is regulated by serum levels of calcium, phosphate, magnesium and 25(OH)D, less is known about the possible clustered affiliation of these parameters with MS. We aimed to explore whether MS is associated with abnormal serum levels of PTH, 25(OH)D and magnesium in a population of morbidly obese patients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Fasting serum levels of 25(OH)D, PTH and magnesium were assessed in a cross-sectional cohort study of 1,017 consecutive morbidly obese patients (68% women). Multiple logistic regression analyses were used to assess the independent effect of PTH, 25(OH)D and magnesium on the odds for MS (National Cholesterol Education Program [NCEP]) after adjustment for confounding factors.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Sixty-eight percent of the patients had MS. Patients with MS had lower mean serum magnesium (P < 0.001) and higher mean PTH (P = 0.067) than patients without MS, whereas mean 25(OH)D did not differ significantly. Patients with PTH levels in the second to fourth quartiles had higher odds of prevalent MS (odds ratio 1.47 [95% CI 0.92–2.35], 2.33 [95% CI 1.40–3.87] and 2.09 [95% CI 1.23–3.56], respectively), after adjustment for 25(OH)D, magnesium, calcium, phosphate, creatinine, age, gender, season of serum sampling, BMI, current smoking, albuminuria, CRP, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Further, PTH was significantly correlated with systolic and diastolic pressure (both P < 0.001), but not with the other components of MS. The levels of 25(OH)D and magnesium were not associated with MS in the multivariate model.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The PTH level, but not the vitamin D level, is an independent predictor of MS in treatment seeking morbidly obese Caucasian women and men. Randomized controlled clinical trials, including different therapeutic strategies to lower PTH, e.g. calcium/vitamin D supplementation and weight reduction, are necessary to explore any cause-and-effect relationship.</p

Cerebrospinal fluid catecholamines in Alzheimer's disease patients with and without biological disease

Noradrenergic and dopaminergic neurons are involved in cognitive functions, relate to behavioral and psychological symptoms in dementia and are affected in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Amyloid plaques (A), neurofibrillary tangles (T) and neurodegeneration (N) hallmarks the AD neuropathology. Today, the AT(N) pathophysiology can be assessed through biomarkers. Previous studies report cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) catecholamine concentrations in AD patients without biomarker refinement. We explored if CSF catecholamines relate to AD clinical presentation or neuropathology as reflected by CSF biomarkers. CSF catecholamines were analyzed in AD patients at the mild cognitive impairment (MCI; n = 54) or dementia stage (n = 240) and in cognitively unimpaired (n = 113). CSF biomarkers determined AT status and indicated synaptic damage (neurogranin). The AD patients (n = 294) had higher CSF noradrenaline and adrenaline concentrations, but lower dopamine concentrations compared to the cognitively unimpaired (n = 113). AD patients in the MCI and dementia stage of the disease had similar CSF catecholamine concentrations. In the CSF neurogranin positively associated with noradrenaline and adrenaline but not with dopamine. Adjusted regression analyses including AT status, CSF neurogranin, age, gender, and APOEε4 status verified the findings. In restricted analyses comparing A+T+ patients to A-T- cognitively unimpaired, the findings for CSF adrenaline remained significant (p < 0.001) but not for CSF noradrenaline (p = 0.07) and CSF dopamine (p = 0.33). There were no differences between A+T+ and A-T- cognitively unimpaired. Thus, we find alterations in CSF catecholamines in symptomatic AD and the CSF adrenergic transmitters to increase simultaneously with synaptic damage as indexed by CSF neurogranin

European Society of Endocrinology Clinical Guideline: Treatment of chronic hypoparathyroidism in adults

Abstract Hypoparathyroidism (HypoPT) is a rare (orphan) endocrine disease with low calcium and inappropriately low (insufficient) circulating parathyroid hormone levels, most often in adults secondary to thyroid surgery. Standard treatment is activated vitamin D analogues and calcium supplementation and not replacement of the lacking hormone, as in other hormonal deficiency states. The purpose of this guideline is to provide clinicians with guidance on the treatment and monitoring of chronic HypoPT in adults who do not have end-stage renal disease. We intend to draft a practical guideline, focusing on operationalized recommendations deemed to be useful in the daily management of patients. This guideline was developed and solely sponsored by The European Society of Endocrinology, supported by CBO (Dutch Institute for Health Care Improvement) and based on the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) principles as a methodological base. The clinical question on which the systematic literature search was based and for which available evidence was synthesized was: what is the best treatment for adult patients with chronic HypoPT? This systematic search found 1100 articles, which was reduced to 312 based on title and abstract. The working group assessed these for eligibility in more detail, and 32 full-text articles were assessed. For the final recommendations, other literature was also taken into account. Little evidence is available on how best to treat HypoPT. Data on quality of life and the risk of complications have just started to emerge, and clinical trials on how to optimize therapy are essentially non-existent. Most studies are of limited sample size, hampering firm conclusions. No studies are available relating target calcium levels with clinically relevant endpoints. Hence it is not possible to formulate recommendations based on strict evidence. This guideline is therefore mainly based on how patients are managed in clinical practice, as reported in small case series and based on the experiences of the authors. (2015) 173, G1-G20 European Journal of Endocrinology Summary of recommendations The recommendations are worded as recommend (strong recommendation) and suggest (weak recommendation). We formally graded only the evidence underlying recommendations for therapeutic choices and target calcium levels. The quality of evidence behind the recommendations is classified as very low (4BBB), low (44BB), moderate (444B) and strong (4444). See further section &apos;Summary of methods used for guideline development&apos;. European Journal of Endocrinology Clinical Practice Guideline J Bollerslev, L Rejnmark and others ESE guideline on treatment of chronic HypoP

Association between abdominal aortic calcification, bone mineral density and fracture in older women

Although a relationship between vascular disease and osteoporosis has been recognized, its clinical importance for fracture risk evaluation remains uncertain. Abdominal aortic calcification (AAC), a recognized measure of vascular disease detected on single‐energy images performed for vertebral fracture assessment, may also identify increased osteoporosis risk. In a prospective 10‐year study of 1,024 older predominantly Caucasian women (mean age 75.0±2.6 years) from the Perth Longitudinal Study of Aging cohort we evaluated the association between AAC, skeletal structure and fractures. AAC and spine fracture were assessed at the time of hip densitometry and heel quantitative ultrasound. AAC was scored 0 to 24 (AAC24) and categorized into; low AAC (score 0 and 1, n=459), moderate AAC (score 2‐5, n=373) and severe AAC (score \u3e 6, n=192). Prevalent vertebral fractures were calculated using the Genant semi‐quantitative method. AAC24 scores were inversely related to hip bone mineral density (BMD) (rs=‐0.077, p=0.013) and heel broadband ultrasound attenuation (rs=‐0.074, p=0.020) and stiffness index (rs=‐0.073, p=0.022). In cross‐sectional analyses women with moderate to severe AAC were more likely to have prevalent fracture and LSI detected lumbar spine but not thoracic spine fractures (Mantel‐Haentzel test of trend p \u3c 0.05). For 10‐year incident clinical fractures and fracture‐related hospitalizations women with moderate to severe AAC (AAC24 score \u3e1) had increased fracture risk (HR 1.48 [1.15‐1.91], p=0.002; HR 1.46 [1.07‐1.99], p=0.019, respectively) compared to women with low AAC. This relationship remained significant after adjusting for age and hip BMD for clinical fractures (HR 1.40 [1.08‐1.81], p=0.010) but was attenuated for fracture‐related hospitalizations (HR 1.33 [0.98‐1.83], p=0.073). In conclusion, older women with more marked AAC are at higher risk of fracture, not completely captured by bone structural predictors. These findings further support the concept that vascular calcification and bone pathology may share similar mechanisms of causation that remain to be fully elucidated

Intra-operative MRI facilitates tumour resection during trans-sphenoidal surgery for pituitary adenomas

Background During trans-sphenoidal microsurgical resection of pituitary adenomas, the extent of resection may be difficult to assess, especially when extensive suprasellar and parasellar growth has occurred. In this prospective study, we investigated whether intra-operative magnetic resonance imaging (iMRI) can facilitate tumour resection. Methods Twenty patients with macroadenomas, (16 non-functioning, three growth-hormone secreting and one pharmaco-resistant prolactinoma) were selected for surgery in the iMRI. The mean tumour diameter was 27 mm (range 11–41). The mean parasellar grade, according to the Knosp classification, was 2.3. Pre-operative coronal and sagittal T1-weighted and T2-weighted images were obtained. The trans-sphenoidal tumour resection was performed at the edge of the tunnel of a Signa SP 0.5-Tesla MRI. The surgeon aimed at a radical tumour resection that was followed by a peri-operative MRI scan. When a residual tumour was visualised and deemed resectable, an extended resection was performed, followed by another MRI scan. This procedure was repeated until the imaging results were satisfactory. In all patients, we were able to obtain images to assess the extent of resection and to classify the resection as either total or subtotal. Results After primary resection, eight out of 20 cases were classified as total resections. A second resection was performed in 11 of 12 cases classified as subtotal resections, and in four of these, total resection was achieved. A third resection was performed in three of the remaining seven cases with subtotal resections, but we did not achieve total resection in any of these cases. Therefore, the use of iMRI increased the number of patients with total resection from 8/20 (40%) to 12/20 (60%). The only observed complication was a transient spinal fluid leakage. Conclusion Intra-operative MRI during trans-sphenoidal microsurgery is useful in selected patients for a safe and more complete resection. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited