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Open access

Diabetes mellitus-induced lower urinary tract symptoms and hepatic steatosis in an older male

Nnennaya U Opara

Summary

Diabetes mellitus type 2 (DM-2) is one of the important causes of low-grade chronic inflammation (meta inflammation) seen in almost all tissues in the body. Other possible mechanisms involved in the development of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) with DM-2 are the hypertonicity of the peripheral sympathetic nerves and hyperinsulinemia effects on the autonomous nervous system activity. These further suggests that abnormalities in glucose homeostasis influence the hyperproliferation of the prostate cells resulting in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Similarly, hepatic steatosis, a form of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) prevalence among patients with DM-2, is as high as 75%. NAFLD has no symptoms in most diabetic patients. In this study, we present a case of a 64-year-old Black male who had worsening urinary urgency and hesitancy for 4 months, with increasing abdominal girth. Patient was found to have symptoms, diagnostic studies, and physical exam findings indicative of BPH and fatty liver disease. He was treated with hepato-protective medications, tighter control of his blood glucose levels, and blood pressure meds for 13 months. Upon follow-up, most of his symptoms were resolved. Timeline of BPH resolution and decrease in liver size following treatment suggest that DM-2 has a strong correlation with the development of BPH and fatty liver disease in most patients living with diabetes.

Learning points

  • Men with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM-2) tend to have significantly lower serum PSA level, lower testosterone levels, and larger prostate volume compared to non-diabetic male patients.

  • Patients with DM-2 have higher prevalence of hepatic steatosis, liver cirrhosis, and end-stage liver failure.

  • The role of metformin in reducing hepatic steatosis as stated by several studies is yet to be validated as our patient has been on metformin for 22 years for the management of DM-2 with fatty liver disease.

DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1530/EDM-22-0290
Volume 2022: Issue 1
Open access

A 17-year-old boy with lymphocytic infundibuloneurohypophysitis who developed non-alcoholic steatohepatitis effectively treated with growth hormone

Hidekuni Takahashi, Shigeo Nishimata, Atsushi Kumada, Gaku Yamanaka, Yasuyo Kashiwagi, and Hisashi Kawashima

Summary

We encountered a case of childhood-onset lymphocytic infundibuloneurohypophysitis, based on the MRI and endocrinological findings, with decreased function of the anterior and posterior lobes of the pituitary. Three years after the diagnosis, the patient developed non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), which was effectively treated by growth hormone (GH) supplementation. The present case demonstrated that NASH can be effectively treated by short-term GH supplementation, even in late childhood.

Learning points

  • In recent years, the efficacy of growth hormone replacement therapy in normalizing the liver function of adult-onset growth hormone deficiency patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) has been reported.

  • Lymphocytic infundibuloneurohypophysitis is a very rare disease, particularly in childhood.

  • We here presented a rare case of a child with lymphocytic infundibuloneurohypophysitis who developed NASH and showed substantial improvement in liver function after growth hormone treatment.

DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1530/EDM-21-0148
Volume 2022: Issue 1
Open access

Fructose-induced severe hypertriglyceridemia and diabetes mellitus: a cautionary tale

Ana Dugic, Michael Kryk, Claudia Mellenthin, Christoph Braig, Lorenzo Catanese, Sandy Petermann, Jürgen Kothmann, and Steffen Mühldorfer

Summary

Drinking fruit juice is an increasingly popular health trend, as it is widely perceived as a source of vitamins and nutrients. However, high fructose load in fruit beverages can have harmful metabolic effects. When consumed in high amounts, fructose is linked with hypertriglyceridemia, fatty liver and insulin resistance. We present an unusual case of a patient with severe asymptomatic hypertriglyceridemia (triglycerides of 9182 mg/dL) and newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus, who reported a daily intake of 15 L of fruit juice over several weeks before presentation. The patient was referred to our emergency department with blood glucose of 527 mg/dL and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) of 17.3%. Interestingly, features of diabetic ketoacidosis or hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state were absent. The patient was overweight with an otherwise unremarkable physical exam. Lipase levels, liver function tests and inflammatory markers were closely monitored and remained unremarkable. The initial therapeutic approach included i.v. volume resuscitation, insulin and heparin. Additionally, plasmapheresis was performed to prevent potentially fatal complications of hypertriglyceridemia. The patient was counseled on balanced nutrition and detrimental effects of fruit beverages. He was discharged home 6 days after admission. At a 2-week follow-up visit, his triglyceride level was 419 mg/dL, total cholesterol was 221 mg/dL and HbA1c was 12.7%. The present case highlights the role of fructose overconsumption as a contributory factor for severe hypertriglyceridemia in a patient with newly diagnosed diabetes. We discuss metabolic effects of uncontrolled fructose ingestion, as well as the interplay of primary and secondary factors, in the pathogenesis of hypertriglyceridemia accompanied by diabetes.

Learning points

  • Excessive dietary fructose intake can exacerbate hypertriglyceridemia in patients with underlying type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and absence of diabetic ketoacidosis or hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state.

  • When consumed in large amounts, fructose is considered a highly lipogenic nutrient linked with postprandial hypertriglyceridemia and de novo hepatic lipogenesis (DNL).

  • Severe lipemia (triglyceride plasma level > 9000 mg/dL) could be asymptomatic and not necessarily complicated by acute pancreatitis, although lipase levels should be closely monitored.

  • Plasmapheresis is an effective adjunct treatment option for rapid lowering of high serum lipids, which is paramount to prevent acute complications of severe hypertriglyceridemia.

DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1530/EDM-21-0110
Volume 2021: Issue 1
Open access

First-generation somatostatin ligand receptor treatment in a pregnant patient with a neuroendocrine tumor with liver metastases

Nynne Emilie Hummelshøj, Gitte Dam, Lars Henning Pedersen, Astrid Hjelholt, and Gerda Elisabeth Villadsen

Summary

This rare case describes the course of a pregnancy in a patient with a disseminated small intestinal neuroendocrine tumor. The patient received treatment with first-generation somatostatin ligand receptor (SLR) every 4 weeks and had stable disease for several years before her pregnancy. First-generation SLR treatment was initially paused after detection of the pregnancy. During pregnancy, the patient experienced moderate gastro-intestinal discomfort and fatigue, which was considered predominantly pregnancy related. However, since symptoms could be linked to the patient’s cancer, treatment was resumed after the first trimester. Chromogranin-A measurements remained stable throughout pregnancy and was paralleled by the absence of diarrhea and only minor flushing. She gave birth by elective caesarean section in week 37 to a healthy baby. Subsequent follow up imaging immediately after and 10 months postpartum showed no disease progression. The safety profile of SLR treatment during pregnancy in the context of disseminated neuroendocrine tumors (NET) is discussed.

Learning points

  • Neuroendocrine neoplasms (NEN) are rare cancers often occurring in the gastro-intestinal tract or lungs.

  • Many patients with NEN live for several years with disseminated disease.

  • SLR treatment has been given to pregnant patients before; often patients with acromegaly. Pregnancies are reported uneventful.

  • This patient completed an uneventful pregnancy while receiving SLR treatment for disseminated neuroendocrine disease and gave birth to a healthy baby.

  • More research regarding long term effects and safety signals of SLR treatment during pregnancy are much needed.

DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1530/EDM-21-0126
Volume 2021: Issue 1
Open access

Primary hepatic neuroendocrine tumor

Le Tuan Linh, Nguyen Minh Duc, Hoang Tu Minh, Nguyen Ngoc Cuong, Vuong Thu Ha, Dao-Thi Luan, Thieu-Thi Tra My, and Bui Van Lenh

Summary

Primary hepatic neuroendocrine tumor (PHNET) is a rare type of neuroendocrine tumor (NET) that is also a primary hepatic tumor. Patients are present with almost no specific clinical symptoms and typically present with negative test results and atypical imaging characteristics; therefore, the differentiation of PHNET from other types of primary hepatic masses can be very difficult. In this article, we describe a case of PHNET that mimicked a liver helminth infection in a 57-year-old man. The diagnosis of PHNET in this patient was challenging, and the final diagnosis was based on imaging, histopathology features, and long-term follow-up.

Learning points

  • An uncommon type of neuroendocrine tumor (NET) is a primary hepatic neuroendocrine tumor (PHNET).

  • Primary hepatic neuroendocrine tumors are rare NET lesions found in the liver, characterized by non-specific clinical and imaging results, which can be easily confused with other liver lesions, including HCC and parasitic lesions.

  • To have a conclusive diagnosis and classification, a mixture of many medical assessment techniques, such as imaging, gastrointestinal endoscopy, nuclear medicine, anatomy, including histopathology, and immunohistochemistry, is essential.

DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1530/EDM-20-0220
Volume 2021: Issue 1
Open access

Treatment with somatostatin analogues and PRRT in metastatic middle ear adenoma with neuroendocrine features

Joana Lima Ferreira, Bernardo Marques, C Willemien Menke-van der Houven van Oordt, Wouter W de Herder, Tessa Brabander, and Johannes Hofland

Summary

Middle ear adenomas with neuroendocrine features (ANEF) are rare, with an estimated 150 reported cases. They usually pursue an indolent clinical course. Four reported cases of middle ear ANEF with distant metastases were treated with surgery, external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) and chemotherapy. To date, no successful systemic treatment for malignant behaviour of this rare tumour has been reported. Long-acting somatostatin analogues (SSAs) and peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) have been used in well-differentiated metastatic neuroendocrine tumours (NETs), but their use has never been described in cases of metastatic middle ear ANEF. We report two patients with grade 1 middle ear ANEF treated with surgery and EBRT. They had stable disease for several years, until clinical symptoms appeared and extensive metastases were detected on 68Ga-DOTA0-Tyr3-octreotate (DOTATATE) PET/CT. Treatment with long-acting SSA was started, with stable disease for 1 year. Afterwards, despite undergoing local treatments, both patients presented progressive disease. Due to high-uptake metastases at 68Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT, both cases underwent four cycles of PRRT with 177Lu-DOTATATE, which secured disease control and improvement of quality of life in both. Similar to other well-differentiated NETs, SSA and PRRT could constitute efficacious therapeutic options in metastatic middle ear ANEF. Its neuroendocrine differentiation, potential to metastasize and somatostatin receptor type 2 expression prompt consideration and management of this disease as a neuroendocrine neoplasm.

Learning points

  • Our cases oppose the 2017 WHO classification of middle ear adenoma with neuroendocrine features as a benign disease.

  • This entity warrants long-term follow-up, as local recurrence or persistence of disease is reported in up to 18% of surgically treated patients.

  • PET/CT scan with 68Ga-labelled somatostatin analogues (SSA) can be used for staging of metastatic middle ear adenoma with neuroendocrine features.

  • Unlabelled SSA and peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) with radiolabelled SSA can be the first systemic therapeutic options for patients with advanced middle ear adenoma with neuroendocrine features.

DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1530/EDM-20-0172
Volume 2021: Issue 1
Open access

Successful long-term use of pioglitazone in Berardinelli–Seip lipodystrophy-associated diabetes

Carolina Chaves, Mariana Chaves, João Anselmo, and Rui César

Summary

Berardinelli–Seip congenital lipodystrophy (BSCL) is a rare autosomal recessive disease, characterized by the absence of subcutaneous adipose tissue, leptin deficiency and severe metabolic complications, such as insulin resistance, diabetes mellitus, and dyslipidemia. The most common mutation occurs in BCSL2 which encodes seipin, a protein involved in adipogenesis. We report a patient with BSCL who was diagnosed with diabetes at 11 years old. He was started on metformin 1000 mg twice daily, which lowered glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) to less than 7%. Four months later, HbA1c raised above 7.5%, indicating secondary failure to metformin. Therefore, we added the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPARG) agonist, pioglitazone. Since then and for the last 5 years his HbA1c has been within the normal range. These findings indicate that pioglitazone should be considered as a valid alternative in the treatment of diabetes in BSCL patients. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first specific report of successful long-term treatment with pioglitazone in a patient with BSCL.

Learning points

  • Berardinelli–Seip congenital lipodystrophy (BSCL) is a recessive genetic disorder associated with severe insulin resistance and early onset diabetes, usually around puberty. Failure of oral antidiabetic medication occurs within the first years of treatment in BSCL patients.

  • When failure to achieve metabolic control with metformin occurs, pioglitazone may be a safe option, lowering insulin resistance and improving both the metabolic control and lipodystrophic phenotype.

  • Herein we show that pioglitazone can be a safe and efficient alternative in the long-term treatment of BSCL patients with diabetes.

DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1530/EDM-20-0183
Volume 2021: Issue 1
Open access

Late infantile form of multiple sulfatase deficiency

Nami Mohammadian Khonsari, Benyamin Hakak-Zargar, Tessa Voth, and Shahab Noorian

Summary

Multiple sulfatase deficiency (MSD) is a lysosomal storage disorder (LSD) that results in the accumulation of sulfate esters which go on to cause neurological deterioration and mental delay, skin changes, and dysmorphism. The disease can be categorized into three subtypes based on the age of onset: neonatal, late infantile, or juvenile. Our patient is a 2.5-year-old girl, the only child of a healthy couple. Prior to the presentation of the disease, she had not been noted to have any previous health complications. The condition began at the age of 6 months with developmental regression and global hypotonia. Following thorough evaluation and testing, the patient was diagnosed with severe late infantile MSD, although some features, such as minimal mental deterioration, minimal dysmorphic facial features, and minimal organ enlargement, did not fully correlate with the diagnosis, since in cases of severe forms of the condition these features are almost always quite marked. The unexpected minimalism of some of the patient’s MSD signs in spite of the severity of her MSD condition made her case worth further studying.

Learning points:

  • Treating dermatologic signs and symptoms greatly eased our patient’s discomfort.

  • We would suggest the use of appropriate supportive treatment for symptom management regardless of the life expectancy of the patient.

  • As regards the diagnosis of MLD, given that in some cases the patient may present with irregular features of the condition, a genetic evaluation may be useful for accurate diagnosis.

  • If motor function impairment is followed by dermatologic involvement, as seen in our patient and in many cases in the literature, MSD must be considered, and additional tests should be done to rule it out.

DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1530/EDM-20-0128
Volume 2020: Issue 1
Open access

Metastatic insulinoma presenting 14 years after benign tumour resection: a rare case and management dilemma

F Keen, F Iqbal, P Owen, A Christian, N Kumar, and A Kalhan

Summary

We present a 60-year-old woman who underwent successful surgical resection (partial pancreatectomy) for a low grade non-functioning pancreatic neuroendocrine tumour (pNET), with no biochemical or radiological features of recurrence on follow-up visits for 5 years. Fourteen years after the initial surgery, she developed spontaneous severe hypoglycaemic episodes which required hospitalisation, with subsequent investigations confirming the diagnosis of a metastatic insulin-secreting pNET (insulinoma). Medical management of her severe spontaneous hypoglycaemic episodes remained challenging, despite optimum use of diazoxide and somatostatin analogue therapy. Based on a discussion at the regional neuroendocrine tumour multidisciplinary team meeting, she underwent an elective hepatic trans-arterial embolization which was unfortunately unsuccessful. She ended up requiring an emergency right hemihepatectomy and left retroperitoneal mass resection which finally stabilised her clinical condition.

Learning points:

  • Ours is only the seventh case report of a previously benign pNET presenting as a functional insulin secreting metastatic tumour. However, it is the first case report, in which the metastatic functional pNET presented after such a long hiatus (14 years).

  • There is currently no clear consensus regarding the length of follow-up of non-functional pNET which are deemed cured post-surgical resection, with most guidelines advocating a median follow up of 5 years (). The delayed presentation in our case suggests additional considerations should be made regarding optimal post-operative surveillance duration based on the age of the patient, location of the tumour, lymph node spread and Ki-67 index.

  • Hepatic artery embolization and/or partial hepatectomy remains a treatment option for pNET patients with significant hepatic metastasis.

DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1530/EDM-20-0065
Volume 2020: Issue 1
Open access

Non-functional duodenal neuroendocrine carcinoma: a rare cause of diabetes mellitus

Chad Bisambar, Andrew Collier, Fraser Duthie, and Carron Meney

Summary

A 40-year-old Caucasian female presented with hyperglycaemia, polyuria, polydipsia and weight loss of 6 kg over a 1-month period. There was no personal or family history of malignancy or diabetes mellitus. On examination, she was jaundiced with pale mucous membranes and capillary glucose was 23.1 mmol/L. Initial investigations showed iron deficiency anaemia and obstructive pattern of liver function tests. HbA1c was diagnostic of diabetes mellitus at 79 mmol/mol. Malignancy was suspected and CT chest, abdomen and pelvis showed significant dilatation of intra- and extra-hepatic biliary tree including pancreatic duct, with periampullary 30 mm mass lesion projecting into lumen of duodenum. Enlarged nodes were seen around the superior mesenteric artery. This was confirmed on MRI liver. Fasting gut hormones were normal except for a mildly elevated somatostatin level. Chromogranin A was elevated at 78 pmol/L with normal chromogranin B. Duodenoscopy and biopsy showed possible tubovillous adenoma with low-grade dysplasia, but subsequent endoscopic ultrasound and biopsy revealed a grade 1, well differentiated neuroendocrine tumour. The patient was started on insulin, transfused to Hb >8 g/dL and Whipple’s pancreatico-duodenectomy was undertaken. This showed a well-differentiated neuroendocrine carcinoma arising in duodenum (Grade G1 with Ki67: 0.5%), with areas of chronic pancreatitis and preservation of pancreatic islet cells. There was complete resolution of diabetes post Whipple’s procedure and patient was able to come of insulin treatment. Her last HBA1C was 31 mmol/mol, 4 months post tumour resection.

Learning points:

  • Diabetes mellitus and malignancy can be related.

  • A high index of suspicion is needed when diabetes mellitus presents atypically.

  • Non-functional neuroendocrine tumours can present with diabetes mellitus.

DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1530/EDM-18-0061
Volume 2018: Issue 1