ABSTRACT
Background Hypothalamic damage may alter glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) secretion and be involved in the pathogenesis of obesity. We aim to evaluate the metabolic features and the dynamic changes of GLP-1 levels during an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) in children with hypothalamic obesity (HO) compared with simple obesity controls. Methods Subjects included eight patients (six females, aged 9-16 years) with hypothalamo-pituitary tumors who later developed obesity and eight controls with simple obesity matched for age, body mass index (BMI), gender and puberty. We assessed the metabolic syndrome features, fat mass, severity of hyperphagia using a standardized questionnaire, and measured glucose, insulin and GLP-1 levels during a standard 75 g OGTT. Results Age, gender distribution, pubertal status and BMI-Z scores were not significantly different. Subjects with HO had higher fasting triglycerides (TG) than controls (128 vs. 94 mg/dL; p=0.05). Four HO subjects and three controls met the criteria for the metabolic syndrome. Fasting and 120 min post-glucose load GLP-1 levels were significantly higher in HO patients than in controls (21.9 vs. 19.7 pg/mL; p=0.025, 22.1 vs. 17.7 pg/mL; p=0.012). Patients with HO had significantly higher hyperphagia scores than in simple obese controls (13 vs. 2.5; p=0.012). Conclusions Patients with HO appear to have more metabolic complications and hyperphagia than controls with simple obesity. Impaired satiety may play an important role in HO. Fasting and glucose-induced serum GLP-1 concentrations seem to be altered in HO patients and could be a part of the pathogenesis of HO.
Subject(s)
Glucagon-Like Peptide 1/blood , Glucose/pharmacology , Hypothalamic Diseases/metabolism , Obesity/metabolism , Adolescent , Blood Glucose/metabolism , Body Mass Index , Child , Female , Glucose Tolerance Test , Glycated Hemoglobin/analysis , Humans , Hyperphagia/metabolism , Hypothalamic Diseases/blood , Hypothalamic Neoplasms/blood , Hypothalamic Neoplasms/metabolism , Insulin/blood , Male , Metabolic Syndrome/metabolism , Obesity/bloodABSTRACT
Mauriac syndrome is characterized by growth impairment, Cushingoid features, and hepatomegaly in patients with poorly controlled type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). We report a novel presentation of Mauriac syndrome in a 9-year-old girl who was diagnosed with neonatal diabetes at 3 months of age due to the p.R201C mutation in KCNJ11. She was initially treated successfully with glipizide at a dose of 0.85 mg/kg/day but after being lost to follow-up and having improper adjustment in dose over many years, the recent dose of 0.6 mg/kg/day appears to have been insufficient for glycemic control but enough to maintain a low level of C-peptide and prevent diabetic ketoacidosis. With proper insulin administration, all presenting clinical characteristics were resolved within 1 month. A review of the literature relating to clinical manifestations of Mauriac syndrome in children with diabetes was performed and included in this report for comparison with our patient. While Mauriac syndrome has been traditionally associated with T1DM, the presence of Mauriac syndrome should not be excluded in other types of diabetes mellitus.
