Fulminant ACTH decrease following diabetic ketoacidosis induced by immune checkpoint inhibitor combination therapy with nivolumab and ipilimumab: A case report.

RATIONALE: The increasing use of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) for treating malignant tumors result in the concomitant rise of immune-related adverse events (irAEs). This case report may provide useful insight to understanding the etiology of ICI-induced hypophysitis, a severe irAE leading to potentially fatal secondary adrenal insufficiency. PATIENT CONCERNS: An 81-year-old Japanese man was hospitalized for diabetic ketoacidosis following 4 courses of ICI combination therapy with nivolumab and ipilimumab for metastatic renal cell carcinoma. DIAGNOSIS: Insulin secretion was depleted, leading to diagnosis of fulminant type 1 diabetes. Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and cortisol levels were very high (60.8 pmol/L and 1575 nmol/L, respectively) upon admission. ACTH and cortisol returned to normal ranges on the 2nd day. On the 8th day, an ACTH loading test showed intact cortisol response (peak value 519 nmol/L). However, on the 14th day, there was a sharp decrease in ACTH and cortisol levels (10.5 pmol/L and 47 nmol/L, respectively) accompanied by fatigue and a drop in blood pressure to 97/63 mm Hg. As secondary adrenal insufficiency was suspected, hydrocortisone replacement was initiated. An ACTH loading test on the 17th day revealed low cortisol peak (peak value 232 nmol/L), indicating sudden disruption of adrenal function. Magnetic resonance imaging showed no abnormal findings and there was no other pituitary hormone deficiency. These findings, along with the patient clinical course, suggest that secondary adrenal insufficiency was caused by acute ACTH producing cell destruction as an irAE associated with ICI therapy. INTERVENTIONS: The patient hyperglycemia and ketoacidosis were treated using extracellular fluid and insulin therapy. After development of adrenal insufficiency, hydrocortisone 20 mg was started, and the patient symptoms improved. OUTCOMES: He was continued on insulin therapy, hydrocortisone, and reinitiated nivolumab. LESSONS: This case provides a detailed course of the fulminant onset of ACTH deficiency during ICI administration, emphasizing the importance of close monitoring.

Preferable effects of pemafibrate on liver function and fibrosis in subjects with type 2 diabetes complicated with liver damage.

BACKGROUND: Pemafibrate has been reported to ameliorate lipid profiles and liver dysfunction. However, which patients derive benefit from the hepatoprotective effects of pemafibrate is unclear. METHODS: We conducted a sub-analysis of the PARM-T2D study where subjects with type 2 diabetes complicated by hypertriglyceridemia were prospectively treated with pemafibrate or conventional therapies for 52 weeks. From the original cohort, subjects who had metabolic-associated fatty liver disease without changing their treatment regimens for comorbidities were analyzed. Eligible subjects (n = 293) (average age 61.2 ± 11.7 years, 37.5% female) treated with pemafibrate (pemafibrate, n = 152) or controls who did not change their treatment regimens (controls, n = 141) were divided into three groups based on their alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels: ALT ≤ upper normal limit (UNL) (pemafibrate, n = 65; controls, n = 50), UNL < ALT ≤ 2×UNL (pemafibrate, n = 58; controls, n = 54), and 2×UNL < ALT (pemafibrate, n = 29; controls, n = 27). RESULTS: Pemafibrate treatment significantly ameliorated ALT levels (from 29 to 22 U/L, p < 0.001 by Wilcoxon's signed-rank test) in the total cohort and subjects with high ALT levels (2×ULN < ALT), and improved liver fibrosis as assessed by the Fibrosis-4 index (mean change - 0.05 (95% confidence interval: -0.22 to - 0.02), p < 0.05 versus baseline by the Mann-Whitney U-test and p < 0.05 versus the ALT ≤ UNL group by the Kruskal-Wallis test followed by Dunn's post-hoc analysis). CONCLUSIONS: The hepatoprotective effects of pemafibrate were dominant in subjects with type 2 diabetes complicated with liver dysfunction. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study was registered with the University Hospital Medical Information Network Center Clinical Trials Registry (UMIN000037385).

Favorable Effect of Pemafibrate on Insulin Resistance and ß-Cell Function in Subjects with Type 2 Diabetes and Hypertriglyceridemia: A Subanalysis of the PARM-T2D Study.

Pemafibrate, a novel selective peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor modulator, has beneficial effects on lipid metabolism. However, its effects on glucose metabolism in individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) remain to be fully clarified. This was a subanalysis of the PARM-T2D study, a multicenter prospective observational study on the use of pemafibrate versus conventional therapy for 52 weeks in subjects with T2DM complicated with hypertriglyceridemia. The subanalysis included participants who did not change their treatment for diabetes and did not receive insulin or insulin secretagogues during the study period. Changes in glucose metabolism markers, including homeostatic model assessment (HOMA2) scores and disposition index, were assessed. A total of 279 participants (141 in the pemafibrate group; 138 in the control group) met the criteria for the subanalysis. There were no significant changes in HbA1c during the 52-week study period in both groups. However, the pemafibrate group showed significant improvements versus the control group for insulin resistance assessed by HOMA2-R (-0.15 versus 0.08; estimated treatment difference -0.23 (95% confidence interval -0.44, -0.02); p = 0.03) and maintenance of ß-cell function assessed by disposition index (0.015 versus -0.023; estimated treatment difference 0.037 (95% confidence interval 0.005, 0.069); p = 0.02). Correlation analyses showed that improvements in HOMA2-R and disposition index were significantly associated with improvements in lipid abnormalities and γ-glutamyl transpeptidase. In conclusion, pemafibrate reduced insulin resistance and maintained ß-cell function in subjects with T2DM and hypertriglyceridemia, presumably by improving lipid profiles and lipid-related hepatocyte stress.

Development of a hyperosmolar-hyperglycemic state and possible fulminant type 1 diabetes mellitus during the treatment of a case of adenocarcinoma of the lung and interstitial pneumonia.

An 85-year-old man was being treated with anti-cancer drugs for adenocarcinoma of the lung and was on a tapering dose of prednisolone for interstitial pneumonia. He attended our hospital complaining of fatigue, thirst, and polyuria in September 2020. His postprandial plasma glucose concentration was 976 mg/dL, his glycated hemoglobin was 8.0%, his plasma osmolality was 342 mOsm/kg H2O, his urine ketone body content was 1 +, and his blood pH was 7.356. Therefore, we diagnosed a hyperosmolar-hyperglycemic state and he was admitted to the hospital for treatment. He had had no previous upper respiratory symptoms, and his postprandial plasma glucose and glycated hemoglobin were normal 13 days before he was first assessed (90 mg/dL and 5.9%, respectively). On admission, his serum pancreatic exocrine enzyme activities were high and he was negative for islet-specific autoantibodies. His serum C-peptide concentration was 0.60 ng/mL, suggesting that his endogenous insulin secretion was partially intact at that time. Although he did not meet the diagnostic criteria, we suspected him of having fulminant type 1 diabetes mellitus, because of the abrupt onset of hyperosmolar-hyperglycemic state. His general condition was improved by fluid and insulin administration. His human leukocyte antigen genotype was DRB1*04:05 DQB1*04:01:01, which is a disease susceptibility haplotype for fulminant type 1 diabetes mellitus. In addition, his prednisolone treatment may have caused an autoimmune abnormality, further predisposing toward the development of fulminant type 1 diabetes mellitus.