Behavior of pancreatic glucagon,insulin, and HGH in liver cirrhosis,after arginine and i.v. glucose

Summary The authors studied the behavior of plasma levels of glucagon, HGH and insulin in a group of cirrhotic patients both in basal conditions and after i.v. arginine and glucose in order to assess their respective importance in the pathogenesis of carbohydrate disorders. After i.v. arginine an increased plasma concentration of pancreatic glucagon was found which reached its highest level at 15 min; i.e. glucose did not suppress the increased plasma glucagon levels. Plasma HGH which is consistently increased is not influenced by i.v. glucose. Plasma insulin was consistently raised during both tests; however, the insulinogenic index after i.v. glucose behaved like that of mild diabetics. The true importance of glucagon in the pathogenesis of carbohydrate intolerance in cirrhotics cannot as yet be determined with certainty; according to the authors, hyperglucagonemia is not the primary factor but only one of the main causes of this intolerance.     

Improvement in glucose tolerance after one year of follow-up in a Hindu community in Africa

Oral glucose tolerance was studied following a 75 g glucose load in 108 (82.4%) of 131 male and 110 (79.1%) of 139 female members of a Hindu subcommunity aged 15 years and over in Dar es Salaam. One year later, the glucose tolerance tests were repeated in 93 (86.1%) and 93 (84.5%) of the 108 male, and 110 of the female subjects, respectively. In the first survey, 25 (26.9%) of the 93 male and 24 (25.8%) of the 93 female subjects had impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), 6 (6.4%) and 15 (16.1%), respectively, had diabetes mellitus; and 62 (66.7%) and 54 (58.1%), respectively, had normal glucose tolerance. In the repeat survey, of the 93 male and 93 female subjects, 8 (8.6%) and 7 (7.5%) had IGT, 4 (4.3%) and 10 (10.8%) had diabetes; and 81 (87.1%) and 76 (81.7%) were normal, respectively. Of the 21 subjects diagnosed as having diabetes in the first survey, 13 (61.9%) continued to show diabetic glucose tolerance; 4 (19%) IGT and 4 (19%) had normal glucose tolerance with no gender difference. One (1.6%) of the 62 male subjects and none of the 54 females with normal glucose tolerance in the first survey progressed to IGT, while the remainder retained normal glucose tolerance. Diabetes and IGT rates in both surveys were higher for the older than the younger persons. A significant fall in mean fasting and post-75 g blood glucose levels, and in mean systolic and diastolic pressure levels was observed between the first and second surveys in both genders. There was, however, no significant difference in body mass index (BMI), serum total cholesterol and triglyceride levels between surveys, suggesting that major dietary changes had not taken place. Male subjects who showed persistent IGT had significantly lower mean level of body mass index (kg/m²) than subjects who reverted to normal, whilst for the whole group those who had persistent IGT were older. It is tempting to speculate that these changes were due to community action. However, in view of the lack of change in weight and lipids and similar results in other communities in Tanzania when retested at 1 week, further studies are needed to establish the significance of the findings.     

Sensitization,pathologic, and imaging findings comparing symptomatic and quiescent failed renal allografts

Late allograft failure (LAF) is a common cause of end stage renal disease. These patients face interrelated challenges regarding immunosuppression management, risk of graft intolerance syndrome (GIS), and sensitization. This retrospective study analyzes sensitization, pathology, imaging, and transfusion requirements in 33 LAFs presenting either with GIS (22) or grafts remaining quiescent (11). All patients underwent immunosuppression weaning to discontinuation at LAF. Profound increases in sensitization were noted for all groups and occurred in the GIS group prior to transplant nephrectomy (TxN). Patients with GIS experienced a major upswing in sensitization at, or before the time of their symptomatic presentation. For both GIS and quiescent grafts, sensitization appeared to be closely linked to immunosuppression withdrawal. Most transfusion naïve patients became highly sensitized. Fourteen patients in the GIS group underwent TxN which revealed grade II acute cellular rejection or worse, with grade 3 chronic active T‐cell‐mediated rejection. Blinded comparisons of computed tomography scan of GIS group revealed swollen allografts with fluid collections compared with the quiescent allografts (QAs), which were shrunken and atrophic. The renal volume on imaging and weight of explants nearly matched. Future studies should focus on interventions to avoid sensitization and GIS.     

减重对于重度肥胖伴不同葡萄糖耐量者β细胞功能的影响

胰岛素抵抗是肥胖的标志,β细胞功能也会随之发生改变。2020年4月, JCEM杂志发表了一篇题为《减重改善重度肥胖伴空腹糖耐量受损患者β细胞功能：一个治疗窗》的文章[Rothberg AE, Herman WH, Wu C, et al. J Clin Endocrinol Metab, 2020,105(4...