Early detection of cognitive impairment in patients with insulinoma.

PURPOSE: Long-standing hypoglycemia can cause cognitive impairment, and whether recurrent severe hypoglycemia impacts cognitive function in patients with insulinoma has not been studied. This study focused on exploring the cognitive function in patients with insulinoma. METHODS: A prospective study was conducted to assess cognitive function in patients with insulinoma by administering the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) questionnaire between January 2016 and July 2017, and patients with cognitive impairment were followed up to undergo the MoCA test 1 year after surgery. The MoCA scores after surgery were compared with the scores before surgery, and the associations between cognitive impairment and relevant factors were further evaluated by multiple linear regression analysis. RESULTS: Eighteen out of thirty-four patients (53%) with insulinoma were screened positive for cognitive impairment as defined by a MoCA score <26. Performance in certain cognitive domains, including visuospatial and executive functions, delayed memory, attention, language, and abstraction, was significantly worse in patients with cognitive impairment. Multivariate analysis indicated that MoCA scores correlated significantly with tumor grade and years of education. Eight patients with cognitive impairment were lost to follow-up. The remaining ten patients with cognitive impairment showed improvements 1 year postoperatively, and seven patients recovered to normal cognitive function. CONCLUSIONS: Cognitive impairment was found in patients with insulinoma and was reversible in some patients 1 year after surgery. More studies are needed to explore the underlying mechanisms of the existence and reversibility of cognitive impairment in patients with insulinoma.

Altered behavior with an organic cause: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Insulinomas are pancreatic endocrine tumors of rare incidence worldwide, the vast majority are of single occurrence and benign. These may not always present with the clear symptoms described in the literature and may be overlooked because their neuroglycopenic characteristics present in a fashion similar to some psychiatric conditions. CASE REPORT: A 50-year-old Hispanic man referred severe psychomotor symptoms, described as anxiety, aggressiveness, agitation, weakness, diaphoresis, and decreased visual acuity. Laboratory testing performed during his last episode revealed increased insulin levels and C-peptide among other findings. Imaging, biopsy, and histopathologic analysis confirmed an insulinoma was the cause of the symptoms, proving the importance of ruling out organic causes of altered mental status prior to consideration of psychiatric disorders. CONCLUSION: It is of critical importance to rule out organic causes of altered mental status prior to consideration of psychiatric disorders, as unusual diseases may be overlooked by physicians and be detrimental to the patient's progress.

[Insulinoma found in patient with apparent mental disorder: a case report]. / Insulinoma descubierto en paciente con aparente trastorno mental: reporte de un caso.

Pancreatic Insulinoma is a neuroendocrine tumor of the beta cells of the islets of Langerhans, has an incidence of 4 cases per 1 000 000 persons. We report the case of a 36-year-old woman with altered behavior associated with melancholy. Psychiatry describes an abnormal mental examination and diagnosed double depression; however, the patient had the Whipple triad and insulin/glucose ratio higher than 0.3. The insulinoma was localized by magnetic resonance imaging and treated with surgery. Insulinomas can mimic mental disorders, making early diagnosis difficult. We compare health care data in our locality with others obtained from the global literature. We conclude that despite the technical limitations, insulinoma should be included in the differential diagnosis of mental disorders with hypoglycemia.

Insulinoma descubierto en paciente con aparente trastorno mental: reporte de un caso / Insulinoma found in patient with apparent mental disorder: a case report

El Insulinoma pancreático es un tumor neuroendocrino de las células beta de los islotes de Langerhans, tiene una incidencia de 4 casos por 1 000 000 habitantes. Se reporta el caso de una mujer de 36 años con alteración del comportamiento asociado a melancolía. Psiquiatría describe un examen mental anormal y diagnosticó depresión doble; sin embargo, la paciente tuvo la triada de Whipple y razón insulina/glucosa mayor a 0,3. El insulinoma fue localizado mediante resonancia magnética y tratado con cirugía. Los insulinomas pueden simular trastornos mentales, dificultando un diagnóstico temprano. Se compara los datos de la atención médica en nuestra localidad con otros obtenidos de la literatura a nivel mundial. Concluimos que a pesar de las limitaciones técnicas se debe incluir al insulinoma en el diagnóstico diferencial de trastornos mentales con hallazgo de hipoglucemia.

Pancreatic Insulinoma is a neuroendocrine tumor of the beta cells of the islets of Langerhans, has an incidence of 4 cases per 1 000 000 persons. We report the case of a 36-year-old woman with altered behavior associated with melancholy. Psychiatry describes an abnormal mental examination and diagnosed double depression; however, the patient had the Whipple triad and insulin/glucose ratio higher than 0.3. The insulinoma was localized by magnetic resonance imaging and treated with surgery. Insulinomas can mimic mental disorders, making early diagnosis difficult. We compare health care data in our locality with others obtained from the global literature. We conclude that despite the technical limitations, insulinoma should be included in the differential diagnosis of mental disorders with hypoglycemia.

An insulinoma presenting with hypochondriac delusions and food refusal.

The authors report a case of a 68-year-old man with an unrecognized insulinoma manifesting with neuropsychiatric symptoms. For two years, he presented with unspecified behavior changes, autonomic and neuroglycopenic symptoms, which led him to be misdiagnosed with a neurologic and psychiatric disorder before the insulinoma was recognized. Following neurological alterations in context of hypoglycemia, subsequent to longstanding food refusal, he was admitted in the psychiatric ward. Despite good global response and normal food intake, hypoglycemic episodes were still occurring and led to a careful evaluation which permitted the definitive diagnostic. This case highlights the diagnostic difficulties of medical disorders presenting with clinical features overlapping neurological and psychiatric syndromes. It also reflects the diagnostic difficulties in rare clinical entities, particularly in patients previously followed in psychiatry and underlines the need for a constant dialogue and updating of clinicians.

Insulinoma with early-morning abnormal behavior.

We report a 65-year-old man with insulinoma who initially developed stereotypical behaviors and then progressed to more complex behaviors occurring early in the morning. He could not remember the events during the episodes. Insulinoma was diagnosed based on fasting blood glucose level of 15 mg/dl, high fasting immunoreactive insulin/blood glucose ratio (more than 0.3), and a tumor in the pancreas head by abdominal CT. Hypoglycemia caused by insulinoma should be considered as one of the mechanisms underlying abnormal nocturnal behaviors since the symptoms are very similar to those of sleep-related epilepsy, parasomnia, and night delirium.

[Neuropsychiatric disorders in insulinoma]. / Neuropsykiatriske forstyrrelser ved insulinom.

The case of a young female presenting severe mental problems and episodic neurological symptoms is described. Obsessive-compulsive disorder was diagnosed upon psychiatric treatment for eight months. No neurological condition was found. Hypoglycaemia was observed during an episode of long-lasting somnolescence and the patient referred for endocrinological examination. Reactive hypoglycaemia was ruled out in an oral glucose tolerance test. A test of prolonged starvation revealed hypoglycaemia associated with neuropsychiatric symptoms. Glucose abolished this condition, suggesting an insulinoma as the basis of the spontaneous hypoglycaemia. Subsequently, two insulinomas were resected from the tail of the pancreas. The patient has recovered completely after her surgery, with no signs of mental or neurological disease and blood glucose within normal limits. As insulinoma is often associated to the MEN1-syndrome, the patient and her relatives are now being investigated for this condition.

Insulinoma masquerading as factitious hypoglycemia.

A 36-year-old woman without significant medical history complained of "spells" of diplopia, fatigue, and dizziness. On formal fasting, her glucose dropped to 40 mg/dL, with simultaneous insulin levels of 15 microU/mL (normal <6 microU/mL) and C-peptide of 2.5 ng/ml (normal <2 ng/mL). An isolated plasma sulfonylurea screen done during the fast was positive for tolbutamide, suggesting the diagnosis of factitious hypoglycemia, but further workup revealed multiple pancreatic masses resulting in an eventual diagnosis of multiple insulinomas that was confirmed surgically. We discuss the approach to hypoglycemia caused by insulin excess and distinguishing clinical and biochemical features.

Malignant insulinoma with extensive liver metastases presenting as disturbance of consciousness.

A 56-year-old man was referred to our hospital for evaluation of episodic disturbance of consciousness. Hypoglycemic symptoms were noted and Whipple's triad was satisfied. The 75 g OGTT and the glucagon test revealed a high baseline insulin level and hyperreactivity to glucagon. A pancreatic tumor and liver metastases were found by abdominal computed tomography (CT). Based on the finding of liver biopsy, the final diagnosis was malignant insulinoma with liver metastasis. He selected conservative treatment and no hypoglycemic crisis has occurred for one year since discharge. Early diagnosis and long-term follow-up is necessary since this tumor is slow growing.

A pathological cause for aggression.

A case of insulinoma is presented which highlights the need for the physician to be alert and non-judgmental, and the importance of performing basic, simple and appropriate investigations. In this case a fasting blood glucose provided the evidence for the diagnosis.

Reversibility of unawareness of hypoglycemia in patients with insulinomas.

BACKGROUND: A lack of appropriate autonomic warning symptoms before the development of neuroglycopenia occurs frequently in patients with diabetes mellitus. The pathogenesis of this phenomenon is unclear, but it is associated with intensive insulin therapy, prolonged duration of diabetes, frequent episodes of hypoglycemia, and impaired glucose counterregulation. Recently, it has been proposed that repeated episodes of hypoglycemia may themselves induce the phenomenon. METHODS: To test this hypothesis and to determine whether the phenomenon is reversible, we assessed autonomic and neuroglycopenic symptoms, counterregulatory hormonal responses, and cognitive function during stepped hypoglycemic-clamp studies in 6 patients with insulinomas before and approximately six months after curative surgery and in 14 normal subjects matched for age, weight, and sex. RESULTS: Before surgery, the patients with insulinomas had lower scores than the normal subjects for autonomic symptoms (mean [+/- SD], 3.5 +/- 0.8 vs. 9.6 +/- 4.5) and neuroglycopenic symptoms (2.8 +/- 1.5 vs. 8.9 +/- 5.3). The patients also had impaired counterregulatory hormonal responses (their plasma epinephrine, norepinephrine, glucagon, growth hormone, and cortisol responses before surgery were 187 +/- 227 pg per milliliter [1.03 +/- 1.25 nmol per liter], 223 +/- 85 pg per milliliter [1.32 +/- 0.50 nmol per liter], 86 +/- 21 ng per liter, 7.4 +/- 5.2 micrograms per liter, and 12.1 +/- 1.5 micrograms per deciliter [334 +/- 41 nmol per liter], respectively, as compared with 842 +/- 439 pg per milliliter [4.63 +/- 2.41 nmol per liter], 519 +/- 150 pg per milliliter [3.07 +/- 0.89 nmol per liter], 201 +/- 58 ng per liter, 25.3 +/- 13.7 micrograms per liter, and 26.3 +/- 1.2 micrograms per deciliter [726 +/- 33 nmol per liter] in the normal subjects) and less deterioration in cognitive function than the normal subjects during hypoglycemia (sum of z scores for seven tests of cognitive function, 1.7 +/- 1.9 vs. 8.9 +/- 3.5) (P < 0.02 for all comparisons). Surgical cure reversed all these abnormalities (P not significant for all comparisons with the normal subjects). CONCLUSIONS: Hypoglycemia itself can induce unawareness of the autonomic and neuroglycopenic symptoms of hypoglycemia and decrease the counterregulatory hormonal responses to hypoglycemia.

Forty years of neuroglycopenia: neuropsychiatry for the internist.

The case of a 65-year-old patient with an insulin-secreting pancreatic tumour and a 40-year history of neuropsychiatric disease is reported. The physiopathology and clinical features of acute, subacute, and chronic neuroglycopenia in patients with endogenous insulin hypersecretion are discussed.

[Neurological changes in insulinoma]. / Nevrologicheskie izmeneniia pri insulinome.

Hypoglycemic disease is characterized by neurasthenic and encephalopathic syndromes. Three stages, an initial one, a stage marked by pronounced alterations and rehabilitation one (after insulinoma removal) were distinguished. Hypoglycemic paroxysms manifest themselves by syncopal, epileptic, pseudostroke and psychomotor excitation. Of paramount importance for diagnosis are EEG studies during fasting or rastinon test. Surgical removal of insulinoma results in normalization of neurological disturbances.

A case of Down's syndrome, insulinoma and anorexia.

The report describes a case of a 35-year-old female with Down's syndrome, insulinoma and anorexia. It is believed to be the first time such an association has been reported. Diagnostic and management problems are discussed with particular reference to people with a mental handicap.