Carbohydrate modified diet & insulin sensitizers reduce body weight & modulate metabolic syndrome measures in EMPOWIR (enhance the metabolic profile of women with insulin resistance): a randomized trial of normoglycemic women with midlife weight gain.

RATIONALE: Progressive midlife weight gain is associated with multiple adverse health outcomes and may represent an early manifestation of insulin resistance in a distinct subset of women. Emerging data implicate hyperinsulinema as a proximate cause of weight gain and support strategies that attenuate insulin secretion. OBJECTIVE: To assess a previously reported novel hypocaloric carbohydrate modified diet alone (D), and in combination with metformin (M) and metformin plus low-dose rosiglitazone (MR), in diverse women with midlife weight gain (defined as >20lbs since the twenties), normal glucose tolerance, and hyperinsulinemia. PARTICIPANTS: 46 women, mean age 46.6±1.0, BMI 30.5±0.04 kg/m2, 54.5% white, 22.7% black, 15.9% Hispanic, at 2 university medical centers. METHODS: A dietary intervention designed to reduce insulin excursions was implemented in 4 weekly nutritional group workshops prior to randomization. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Change in 6-month fasting insulin. Pre-specified secondary outcomes were changes in body weight, HOMA-IR, metabolic syndrome (MS) measures, leptin, and adiponectin. RESULTS: Six-month fasting insulin declined significantly in the M group: 12.5 to 8.0 µU/ml, p = .026. Mean 6-month weight decreased significantly and comparably in D, M, and MR groups: 4.7, 5.4, and 5.5% (p's.049, .002, and.032). HOMA-IR decreased in M and MR groups (2.5 to 1.6 and 1.9 to 1.3, p's = .054, .013). Additional improvement in MS measures included reduced waist circumference in D and MR groups and increased HDL in the D and M groups. Notably, mean fasting leptin did not decline in a subset of subjects with weight loss (26.15±2.01 ng/ml to 25.99±2.61 ng/ml, p = .907. Adiponectin increased significantly in the MR group (11.1±1.0 to 18.5±7.4, p<.001) Study medications were well tolerated. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that EMPOWIR's easily implemented dietary interventions, alone and in combination with pharmacotherapies that target hyperinsulinemia, merit additional investigation in larger, long-term studies. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00618072.

Growth hormone treatment of adults with Prader-Willi syndrome and growth hormone deficiency improves lean body mass, fractional body fat, and serum triiodothyronine without glucose impairment: results from the United States multicenter trial.

CONTEXT: GH replacement in Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) children has well-defined benefits and risks and is used extensively worldwide. Its use in PWS adults has been limited by documentation of benefits and risks, as determined by larger multisite studies. OBJECTIVES: Our objective was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of GH in GH-deficient genotype-positive PWS adults. DESIGN: We conducted a 12-month open-label multicenter trial with 6-month dose-optimization and 6-month stable treatment periods. SETTING: The study was conducted at outpatient treatment facilities at four U.S. academic medical centers. PATIENTS: Lean and obese PWS adults with diverse cognitive skills, behavioral traits, and living arrangements were recruited from clinical populations. INTERVENTION: Human recombinant GH (Genotropin) was initiated at 0.2 mg/d with monthly 0.2-mg increments to a maximum 1.0 mg/d, as tolerated. MAIN OUTCOMES MEASURES: Lean body mass and percent fat were measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. RESULTS: Lean body mass increased from 42.65 +/- 2.25 (se) to 45.47 +/- 2.31 kg (P < or = 0.0001), and percent fat decreased from 42.84 +/- 1.12 to 39.95 +/- 1.34% (P = 0.025) at a median final dose of 0.6 mg/d in 30 study subjects who completed 6-12 months of GH. Mean fasting glucose of 85.3 +/- 3.4 mg/dl, hemoglobin A1c of 5.5 +/- 0.2%, fasting insulin of 5.3 +/- 0.6 microU/ml, area under the curve for insulin of 60.4 +/- 7.5 microU/ml, and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance of 1.1 +/- 0.2 were normal at baseline in 38 study initiators, including five diabetics, and remained in normal range. Total T(3) increased 26.7% from 127.0 +/- 7.8 to 150.5 +/- 7.8 ng/dl (P = 0.021) with normalization in all subjects, including six (20%) with baseline T(3) values at least 2 sd below the mean. Mildly progressive ankle edema was the most serious treatment-emergent adverse event (five patients). CONCLUSIONS: This multicenter study demonstrates that GH improves body composition, normalizes T(3), and is well tolerated without glucose impairment in PWS genotype adults.

Obesity: new perspectives and pharmacotherapies.

There is a widespread epidemic of obesity in the United States, which has been associated with an increased risk of diabetes mellitus, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases. Although lifestyle modifications and long-term dietary vigilance remain cornerstones of weight reduction treatment, the continued availability of U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved pharmacotherapies has expanded the options available for the management of obesity. These agents include anorexiants, thermogenic drugs, and lipid-partitioning drugs. As knowledge regarding the possible causes of obesity increases, there are new drugs under investigation, which include beta3-adrenergic receptor agonists, modifiers of leptin, and cannabinoid receptor-1 antagonists (rimonabant). Also under investigation are antidiabetic agents (metformin, exenatide), anticonvulsant drugs (topiramate, zonisamide), antidepressants (bupropion, fluoxetine), and growth hormones. New targets for pharmacotherapy include uncoupling proteins, fatty acid synthase, neuropeptide Y, melanocortin, ghrelin, various regulatory gut peptides, and ciliary neurotropic factor. Pharmacologic agents are in clinical development that target these substances.

Long-term (2-4 year) weight reduction with metformin plus carbohydrate-modified diet in euglycemic, hyperinsulinemic, midlife women (Syndrome W).

Long-term weight reduction remains the ultimate objective and challenge of obesity management. Few long-term dietary or pharmacointervention studies have been conducted and there is a critical need for long-range treatment strategies that are effective, safe, and acceptable. The authors conducted a retrospective cohort analysis of 21 euglycemic, hyperinsulinemic women with progressive, refractory, midlife weight gain (Syndrome W) who had previously lost weight (> or =10% reduction from baseline) with a comprehensive 1-year treatment program that included metformin and a hypocaloric, carbohydrate-modified (low-glycemic index) diet, as well as, other lifestyle modifications. The goal of the analysis was to determine long-term efficacy of the composite intervention using NHLBI criteria for weight stabilization, weight regain < or =3 kg (6.6 lb) in 2 years. Of a total of 26 consecutive women with Syndrome W who achieved goal weight during a 3-year period (1998-2001), 21 women (mean [standard error] age, 55.2 [2.4] years; mean body mass index, 34.2 [1.3] kg/m(2)) continued metformin and returned for annual follow-up visits. Weight maintenance was observed at the final (2-4 year) follow-up visit in 19/21 (90.5%) of women. Mean final follow-up weight (77.5 [2.8] kg) correlated highly with mean weight at 1-year protocol completion (77.2 [2.7] kg), (correlation coefficients r(xy) and sigma(xy) = 0.96, P = 0.000), demonstrating long-term weight reduction in the surveillance phase. Significant and robust decrements in fasting insulin (-28.4% [8.1%] to -43.4% [3.7%]) were observed at all follow-up visits (P < or = 0.002). This preliminary case series suggests that metformin may be an effective long-term adjunct to dietary and other interventions in the treatment of obesity in hyperinsulinemic patients. A randomized clinical trial of the dual regimen should be considered in nondiabetic women with midlife weight gain and hyperinsulinemia (Syndrome W) and, quite possibly, in additional euglycemic overweight and obese subjects with documented hyperinsulinemia and other portentous features of the Metabolic Syndrome.

Syndrome W: a new model of hyperinsulinemia, hypertension and midlife weight gain in healthy women with normal glucose tolerance.

To characterize a new insulin resistance syndrome in euglycemic midlife women and the relationship of its features (including hypertension and dyslipidemia), with hyperinsulinemia (AUC insulin > or = 100 microU/mL), retrospective cohort analysis was conducted in 278 consecutive women who presented to a Menopausal Health Program. Of 67 women with midlife weight gain "greater than 20 pounds since their twenties" and body mass indices (BMIs) between 25 and 32 kg/m(2), none of the subjects met criteria for Type 2 diabetes, 5 women had impaired glucose tolerance, and 36 women were hyperinsulinemic. Hyperinsulinemia was a highly statistically significant determinant of hypertension, dyslipidemia, and truncal obesity (Odds Ratios 10.6, 4.0, and 13.7; P values < or = 0.0001, < or = 0.007, and < or = 0.0001) in cross-tabulations. AUC insulin was the best predictor variable of hypertension and dyslipidemia in univariate and multivariate logistic regression models (univariate P values 0.0004 and 0.0088). After adjustment for BMI, age, and estrogen use, the final models, correctly classified, respectively, 74% and 69% of all cases in the dataset (model P values: < or = 0.0001 and < or = 0.0067) and AUC insulin had a log-linear (i.e., dose-dependent) relationship with hypertension and dyslipidemia, which suggests causality. We propose that the constellation of symptoms that includes midlife weight gain, "waist-gain," hypertension, dyslipidemia, and appetite dysregulation in euglycemic women with hyperinsulinemia be titled Syndrome W and suggest that the highly statistically significant relationship of hyperinsulinemia with the characteristic features are evidence of a causal role for insulin in its etiology. The identification of Syndrome W before the onset of overt impaired glucose tolerance, diabetes, or manifestations of coronary artery disease could have important clinical and public health implications for midlife women.