Surgical treatment for primary hyperparathyroidism in Hong Kong: changes in clinical pattern over 3 decades.

Hypothesis: With the introduction of the blood chemistry multichannel autoanalyzer, primary hyperparathyroidism (HPT) is increasingly diagnosed. The clinical pattern of primary HPT has undergone a significant evolution in Western countries. A similar change can be documented in a geographic region where this condition is considered to be relatively uncommon.

Consensus statement on iodine deficiency disorders in Hong Kong.

This article reviews the available data on the study of iodine deficiency disorders in Hong Kong and to discuss the approach towards preventing such disorders in Hong Kong. The importance of iodine and iodine deficiency disorders is described, and the available data on the dietary iodine intake and urinary iodine concentration in different populations of Hong Kong are summarised and discussed. Dietary iodine insufficiency among pregnant women in Hong Kong is associated with maternal goitrogenesis and hypothyroxinaemia as well as neonatal hypothyroidism.

Metastatic melanoma of the pituitary gland. Case report.

The authors report on the clinical features and imaging studies in a case of metastatic melanoma of the pituitary gland. Cerebral metastatic melanoma and pituitary metastasis from any source are commonly associated with systemic metastasis, whereas pituitary metastatic melanoma without widespread disease dissemination is distinctly rare. This 46-year-old man presented with diabetes insipidus and anterior pituitary dysfunction 5 years after he underwent resection of a cutaneous malignant melanoma of the neck.

Adiponectin ameliorates dyslipidemia induced by the human immunodeficiency virus protease inhibitor ritonavir in mice.

Although the clinical application of HIV protease inhibitors (PIs) has markedly reduced HIV-related morbidity and mortality, it is now recognized that PI-based therapy often causes serious metabolic disorders, including hyperlipidemia and premature atherosclerosis. The etiology of these adverse effects remains obscure. Here, we demonstrate that deficiency of the fat-derived hormone adiponectin might play a role.

C-reactive protein predicts the deterioration of glycemia in chinese subjects with impaired glucose tolerance.

Objective: Recent studies have shown that C-reactive protein (CRP) predicts future risk of diabetes in healthy Caucasians. We determined whether plasma CRP level was elevated in Chinese subjects with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and whether CRP level could be used to predict progression to type 2 diabetes or reversion to normal glucose tolerance (NGT) in these high-risk individuals.

Research Design And Methods: A total of 228 subjects with IGT at baseline from the Hong Kong Cardiovascular Risk Factors Prevalence Study underwent repeat oral glucose tolerance testing after 2 years.

Contribution of polyol pathway to diabetes-induced oxidative stress.

Diabetes causes increased oxidative stress, which is thought to play an important role in the pathogenesis of various diabetic complications. However, the source of the hyperglycemia-induced oxidative stress is not clear. It was found that the polyol pathway is the major contributor to oxidative stress in the lenses and nerves of diabetic mice.

The fat-derived hormone adiponectin alleviates alcoholic and nonalcoholic fatty liver diseases in mice.

Adiponectin has recently been shown to be a promising candidate for the treatment of obesity-associated metabolic syndromes. Replenishment of recombinant adiponectin in mice can decrease hyperglycemia, reverse insulin resistance, and cause sustained weight loss without affecting food intake. Here we report its potential roles in alcoholic and nonalcoholic fatty liver diseases in mice.

Diabetes gene therapy: potential and challenges.

Gene therapy, developing rapidly as a result of advances in molecular biology and the Human Genome Project, is now highlighted as a most hopeful technology of the 21st century. The major goal of gene therapy in diabetes mellitus (DM) is to maintain euglycemia in face of wide variations in dietary intake. Although some obstacles remain to be overcome, the risk-benefit ratio of gene therapy in DM is better than that of lifelong injections of insulin, and islet transplantation, which faces the problems of donor shortage and rejection.

Advanced glycation end products and endothelial dysfunction in type 2 diabetes.

Objective: Data from experimental studies have suggested that the increased formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) is one of the causes of endothelial dysfunction in diabetes. This study was performed to investigate whether changes in endothelium-dependent vasodilation, a marker of endothelial function, were related to serum AGEs concentrations in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Research Design And Methods: For this study, 170 patients with type 2 diabetes and 83 healthy nondiabetic control subjects of similar age were recruited.

Effects of angiotensin II receptor antagonist on endothelial vasomotor function and urinary albumin excretion in type 2 diabetic patients with microalbuminuria.

Background: Microalbuminuria is associated with dysfunction of the vascular endothelium in patients with diabetes mellitus. The objective of the present study was to determine whether treatment with losartan at a dose sufficient to lower urinary albumin excretion was accompanied by an improvement in endothelial function in type 2 diabetic patients with microalbuminuria.

Methods: Endothelial function was measured in 80 type 2 diabetic patients with microalbuminuria and 68 non-diabetic controls using high-resolution vascular ultrasound.

Obstructive sleep apnea is independently associated with insulin resistance.

Epidemiological studies have implicated obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) as an independent comorbid factor in cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. It is postulated that recurrent episodes of occlusion of upper airways during sleep result in pathophysiological changes that may predispose to vascular diseases. Insulin resistance is a known risk factor for atherosclerosis, and we postulate that OSA represents a stress that promotes insulin resistance, hence atherogenesis.