Magnetic resonance cold pressor test to investigate potential endothelial dysfunction in patients suffering from type 1 diabetes.

BACKGROUND: In its course, diabetes impairs microvascular function through endothelial dysfunction. As the response of myocardial perfusion to sympathetic stimulation through cold is modulated by endothelium-related factors, an incipient endothelial dysfunction might be observed noninvasively by investigation of myocardial perfusion with a cold pressor test (CPT). This approach has been used in clinical MRI previously. PURPOSE: To assess endothelial function of patients suffering from type 1 diabetes by MR CPT. STUDY TYPE: Prospective cohort study. SUBJECTS: Twenty type 1 diabetics and 20 healthy volunteers. FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE: 3T, dynamic contrast enhanced perfusion (steady-state free precession). ASSESSMENT: Absolute quantitative myocardial perfusion values at rest and under CPT. STATISTICAL TESTS: Kolmogorov-Smirnov test to determine normal distribution of the results. T-test for independent samples. RESULTS: Patients' mean myocardial perfusion was 0.68 cc/g/min at rest and 0.80 cc/g/min during CPT, respective values of 0.81 cc/g/min and 1.36 cc/g/min were found in healthy volunteers. Perfusion values differed significantly for CPT (P < 0.01) but not for resting conditions (P = 0.06). DATA CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that endothelial function might be impaired in type 1 diabetes patients. This fosters the thesis that endothelial function may serve as an early biomarker for coronary artery disease in patients with type 1 diabetes while these patients are still clinically asymptomatic. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 2 Technical Efficacy: Stage 3 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2018;48:1595-1601.

Bariatric surgery for morbid obesity in craniopharyngioma.

OBJECTIVE: To retrospectively analyse the effectiveness of bariatric surgery for hypothalamic obesity in patients with craniopharyngioma (CP). PATIENTS: Patients who developed morbid obesity after surgery for CP and who underwent laparoscopic gastric banding (LAGB), laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy or gastric bypass were included (n = 9). Patients with common obesity who underwent bariatric surgery served as controls (LAGB n = 40, sleeve gastrectomy n = 49 and gastric bypass n = 54). RESULTS: CP was diagnosed during childhood or adolescence [median (range) 10 (1-21) years] and age at bariatric surgery was 17 [12-30] years. Six patients underwent gastric banding [median follow-up 5.5 years (range 1-9)], 4 had a sleeve gastrectomy [median follow-up 2 (0.4-4) years] and two patients had gastric bypass surgery (median follow-up 3 years). Three patients had more than one type of bariatric surgery. Different from controls, no weight loss was observed after LAGB or sleeve gastrectomy. The two patients who had gastric bypass surgery lost body weight comparable with controls. CONCLUSION: With LAGB and sleeve gastrectomy, no significant loss of body weight was achieved in young adult patients with craniopharyngioma-associated morbid obesity.

Gastric leakage after sleeve gastrectomy-clinical presentation and therapeutic options.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze gastric leakage following sleeve gastrectomy depending on its point of detection and localization in order to evaluate therapeutic strategies. METHOD: From Dec 2006 until June 2010, data of all patients undergoing bariatric surgery were entered into a prospectively documented database. Evaluation contained patient's gender, age, body mass index (BMI), type of surgery, clinical symptoms, diagnostics, onset and localization of leakage, type of therapy, length of stay (LOS), and clinical outcome. RESULTS: Forty-five of 196 bariatric patients underwent sleeve gastrectomy, 22 male and 23 female with mean age 43 ± 9.7 years and mean BMI 54.9 ± 10 kg/m(2). Four patients developed a gastric leak (8.9%)-three proximal leaks and one distal leak. Leakage was detected by upper gastrointestinal (UGI) radiography in two cases, by gastroscopy in one case, and by abdominal computed tomographic (CT) scan in another case. In two cases, CT scan was not feasible because of patient's conditions. Three patients underwent relaparoscopy with re-suture of staple line, abdominal lavage, and placement of an intraabdominal drain. Both patients with proximal leaks required stent graft application as leakage reoccurred within 5 days after relaparoscopy. LOS varied between 30 and 120 days. None of the patients died. CONCLUSION: The location of leakage, and the presence or absence of an intraabdominal drain are determining factors for its treatment. UGI radiography with contrast media and gastroscopy are comparable and superior to standard CT scan. Stent graft application is a promising therapy in case of proximal leakage; re-suture or resection of the staple line are possible solutions in case of a distal leak.

Long-term effects of radiotherapy on cardiovascular risk factors in acromegaly.

OBJECTIVE: Radiation therapy (RT) is a useful adjuvant tool for acromegalic patients not cured by surgery and/or not responding to pharmacotherapy. However, its specific effects on cardio- and cerebrovascular morbidity are still on debate. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of 42 acromegalic patients cured after conventional radiotherapy (CRT, n=31) or radiosurgery by gamma-knife (GKRS, n=11) followed for a median period of 16.5 years (range: 2-40). Totally, 56 patients cured by surgery alone, with similar GH/IGF1 levels and duration of disease remission, served as control group. METHODS: Changes in cardiovascular risk factors, such as body mass index, glucose metabolism, insulin resistance, blood pressure, and lipid profile (pre-defined primary end point) and occurrence of new major cardio- and cerebrovascular events (secondary end point) during follow-up. RESULTS: The number of obese, hypertensive, and dyslipidemic subjects increased over time only in patients cured with RT. In contrast, the glucose response to the oral glucose tolerance test and the percentage of subjects with glucose alterations improved only in controls. As expected, the percentage of patients with pituitary failure was deeply higher among RT patients than among controls (86 vs 30%, P<0.0005). Despite these findings, a similar number of RT patients and controls developed major cardio- or cerebrovascular events (4/42 vs 3/56, P: NS). No differences were found between CRT and GKRS subgroups. CONCLUSIONS: Previous RT seems to be associated with a worse metabolic profile in acromegalic patients studied after a long-term follow-up. Nevertheless, a direct link between RT and cardiovascular events remains to be proven.