MUSCLE INFARCTION AND SEVERE DETERIORATION OF RENAL FUNCTION IN A PATIENT WITH TYPE 1 DIABETES MELLITUS AND CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE.

CONTEXT: Spontaneous muscle infarction is a rare complication of diabetes mellitus, mainly affecting women and patients with long-lasting type 1 diabetes. OBJECTIVE: This report is aimed to describe the case of a patient with type 1 diabetes and diabetic nephropathy in whom a severe deterioration of renal function was triggered by a muscle infarction. SUBJECT AND METHODS: Subject of the study was a 33-years-old woman with an 18 years history of type 1 diabetes mellitus, proliferative diabetic retinopathy, nephropathy at stage 3 chronic kidney disease, somatic sensory-motor polyneuropathy and autonomic neuropathy. RESULTS: The patient presented with severe pain and dysfunction of the left thigh without prior trauma plus progressive deterioration of the renal function. Nuclear magnetic resonance of the thigh showed inflammatory changes in the external vastus with hyperintensity on T2 sequence and edema of the subcutaneous cellular tissue. After other possible etiologies were ruled out, a clinical diagnosis of spontaneous muscle infarction was established. The patient needed hospital admission for two months, during which the renal function worsened until she required hemodialysis. No other possible triggers of kidney injury were identified. CONCLUSIONS: Up to our knowledge, this is the first described case where muscle infarction is suspected to have caused exacerbation of an existing chronic kidney failure. Monitoring the renal function should be considered in patients with diabetic nephropathy presenting with this rare complication of diabetes.

Utilidad del cortisol plasmático nocturno en el diagnóstico del síndrome de cushing / Utility of nocturnal plasma cortisol in the diagnosis of cushing's syndrome

La determinación del cortisol plasmático nocturno se ha propuesto como una alternativa en el diagnóstico del síndrome de Cushing, principalmente para diferenciar entre pacientes con síndrome de Cushing y sujetos con estados de seudosíndrome de Cushing. Se analizaron retrospectivamente las medidas de cortisol plasmático a medianoche en 28 pacientes con sospecha clínica de síndrome de Cushing y elevación de la excreción de cortisol libre urinario (20 pacientes con síndrome de Cushing y 8 con seudosíndrome de Cushing). No se realizaron estudios endocrinológicos el día del ingreso. En los 2 días posteriores se tomaron muestras para cortisol sérico a las 8.00 y a las 24.00 h. Los resultados se compararon con otras pruebas diagnósticas realizadas simultáneamente (cortisol libre urinario y test de supresión con 1 mg de dexametasona). El cortisol plasmático a las 24.00 h fue el único parámetro que distinguió a todos los pacientes con síndrome de Cushing de aquellos con seudosíndrome de Cushing. Su valor más bajo entre los pacientes con síndrome de Cushing fue de 11,9 µg/dl, sin que se apreciaran diferencias entre los resultados obtenidos el segundo y el tercer día de ingreso. En el grupo de pacientes con seudosíndrome de Cushing, 3 casos presentaron un cortisol nocturno no suprimido durante el segundo día de hospitalización (6,1-10,2 µg/dl), mientras que todas las determinaciones obtenidas 24 horas más tarde proporcionaron valores menores de 5 µg/dl. Estos datos indican que el estudio del cortisol a medianoche puede requerir de un ingreso de al menos 48 h cuando se evalúa a pacientes con seudosíndrome de Cushing (AU)

[Effectiveness of treatment with metformin in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus poorly controlled with insulin treatment]. / Eficacia del tratamiento con metformina en pacientes con diabetes mellitus tipo 2 pobremente controlada con insulinoterapia.

Combined treatment with insulin plus metformin could be a good alternative to improve the glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus poorly controlled with insulin therapy. We retrospectively studied 21 obese insulin-treated type 2 diabetic patients with deficient metabolic control (HbA1c 9.2 +/- 1.2%) who were treated with metformin for a minimum of 8 months. After 4 months of treatment, a significant decrease in the percentage of HbA1c was observed (delta HbA1c -1.07 +/- 1.12%; p < 0.01), with maintained values since then. Non changes in body weight or insulin requirement were noted. Our results suggest that the addition of metformin to insulin treatment is a safe and effective strategy for the improvement of glycemic control among obese type 2 diabetic patients.