Interleukin-2 (IL-2) is a cytokine that regulates the proliferation and differentiation of lymphocytes, and is currently used clinically in the treatment of assorted malignancies. Additionally, IL-2 is being actively investigated in clinical trials for treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Patients treated with IL-2 are susceptible to autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD), presenting as thyroiditis, which leads to either thyrotoxicosis or hypothyroidism, if not correctly and promptly identified and treated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGeneralized lipodystrophy is characterized by adipose tissue absence, hypoleptinemia, hypertriglyceridemia, insulin resistance, diabetes, hepatomegaly, and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. In the course of recruiting patients for treatment with recombinant leptin, we were struck by the frequency and severity of proteinuria. We evaluated 25 patients with generalized lipodystrophy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe interaction of insulin with its cell surface receptor is the first step in insulin action and the first identified target of insulin resistance. The insulin resistance in several syndromic forms of extreme insulin resistance has been shown to be caused by mutations in the receptor gene. We studied 8 female patients with the type A form of extreme insulin resistance and 3 patients (2 male and 1 female) with the Rabson-Mendenhall syndrome and followed the natural history of these patients for up to 30 years.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLeptin, an adipocyte hormone, when replaced in patients with lipodystrophy, improves insulin resistance, hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, and hepatic steatosis. Changes in body composition accompany this metabolic improvement. We studied 14 patients (3 men and 11 women); 12 of who had generalized lipodystrophy (7 congenital, 5 acquired), and 2 patients had partial lipodystrophy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Clin Endocrinol Metab
October 2003
Congenital generalized lipodystrophy (CGL) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder characterized by near complete absence of adipose tissue from birth. Recently, mutations in 1-acylglycerol-3-phosphate O-acyltransferase 2 (AGPAT2) and Berardinelli-Seip congenital lipodystrophy 2 (BSCL2) genes were reported in pedigrees linked to chromosomes 9q34 and 11q13, respectively. There are limited data regarding phenotypic differences between the various subtypes of CGL.
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