1,204
views
0
recommends
+1 Recommend
0 collections
    24
    shares
      • Record: found
      • Abstract: found
      • Article: found
      Is Open Access

      Acquired Generalized Lipodystrophy Associated with Autoimmune Hepatitis and Low Serum C4 Level

      case-report

      Read this article at

      Bookmark
          There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

          Abstract

          Lipodystrophies are a group of diseases characterized by loss of fat tissue and are associated with insulin resistance. A six-year- old girl followed with the diagnosis of autoimmune hepatitis showed a severe loss of fat tissue, hyperinsulinemia, impaired glucose tolerance, hypertriglyceridemia and low serum complement 4 (C4) levels. She had coarse facial features with generalized loss of subcutaneous fat and prominent muscularity. Remarkable acanthosis nigricans was present over the neck, axilla, and umbilicus. Two hours after glucose loading, the glucose tolerance test revealed a glucose level of 258 mg/dL, a HbA1c value of 6.8%, and an insulin level of 642.9 mIU/mL, documenting a state of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Acquired generalized lipodystrophy was diagnosed and metformin with dietary intervention was initiated. Low serum complement levels proved the autoimmune nature of the process. We conclude that the serum complement levels must be investigated in patients with acquired lipodystrophy, particularly when it is associated with autoimmune hepatitis.

          Conflict of interest:None declared.

          Related collections

          Most cited references19

          • Record: found
          • Abstract: found
          • Article: not found

          Autoimmune hepatitis in childhood: a 20-year experience.

          To determine the clinical, biochemical, and histological features, and outcome of childhood autoimmune hepatitis (AIH), we reviewed the medical records of 52 children with AIH, 32 (median age: 10 [2-15] years) anti-nuclear and/or smooth muscle antibody (ANA/SMA) positive, 20 (7 [0.8-14] years) liver/kidney microsomal antibody (LKM-1) positive, with median follow-up of 5 years (range 0.3-19). At presentation: 56% had symptoms of prolonged acute hepatitis; LKM-1 positive were younger (P = .011), with higher bilirubin (P = .007), and AST (P = .047); ANA/SMA positive had lower albumin (P = .023); 69% ANA/SMA positive, and 38% LKM-1 positive were cirrhotic (P = .080). ANA/SMA positive had increased frequency of HLA haplotype A1/B8/DR3/DR52a compared with controls (53% vs. 14%, P < .001). Of six (5 LKM-1 positive) with fulminant hepatitis, four were transplanted, one died, and one ANA/SMA positive improved with immunosuppression. Of 47 treated with immunosuppression, 2 (1 LKM-1 positive) died with no remission and 4 (2 LKM-1 positive) were transplanted 8 to 14 years after diagnosis. Immunosuppression was stopped successfully in 19% of ANA/SMA positive after a median of 3 years of treatment, but in none of LKM-1 positive. Baseline bilirubin and international normalized prothrombin ratio (INR) were independent variables predictive of outcome. In conclusion, ANA/SMA positive and LKM-1 positive AIH in childhood have clinical, biochemical, and histological differences, but similar severity and long-term outcome.
            Bookmark
            • Record: found
            • Abstract: found
            • Article: not found

            Increased fat intake, impaired fat oxidation, and failure of fat cell proliferation result in ectopic fat storage, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes mellitus.

            It is widely accepted that increasing adiposity is associated with insulin resistance and increased risk of type 2 diabetes. The predominant paradigm used to explain this link is the portal/visceral hypothesis. This hypothesis proposes that increased adiposity, particularly in the visceral depots, leads to increased free fatty acid flux and inhibition of insulin action via Randle's effect in insulin-sensitive tissues. Recent data do not entirely support this hypothesis. As such, two new paradigms have emerged that may explain the established links between adiposity and disease. (A) Three lines of evidence support the ectopic fat storage syndrome. First, failure to develop adequate adipose tissue mass in either mice or humans, also known as lipodystrophy, results in severe insulin resistance and diabetes. This is thought to be the result of ectopic storage of lipid into liver, skeletal muscle, and the pancreatic insulin-secreting beta cell. Second, most obese patients also shunt lipid into the skeletal muscle, the liver, and probably the beta cell. The importance of this finding is exemplified by several studies demonstrating that the degree of lipid infiltration into skeletal muscle and liver correlates highly with insulin resistance. Third, increased fat cell size is highly associated with insulin resistance and the development of diabetes. Increased fat cell size may represent the failure of the adipose tissue mass to expand and thus to accommodate an increased energy influx. Taken together, these three observations support the acquired lipodystrophy hypothesis as a link between adiposity and insulin resistance. (B) The endocrine paradigm developed in parallel with the ectopic fat storage syndrome hypothesis. Adipose tissue secretes a variety of endocrine hormones, such as leptin, interleukin-6, angiotensin II, adiponectin (also called ACRP30 and adipoQ), and resistin. From this viewpoint, adipose tissue plays a critical role as an endocrine gland, secreting numerous factors with potent effects on the metabolism of distant tissues. These two new paradigms provide a framework to advance our understanding of the pathophysiology of the insulin-resistance syndrome.
              Bookmark
              • Record: found
              • Abstract: found
              • Article: not found

              Leptin reverses insulin resistance and hepatic steatosis in patients with severe lipodystrophy.

              Lipodystrophy is a rare disorder that is characterized by selective loss of subcutaneous and visceral fat and is associated with hypertriglyceridemia, hepatomegaly, and disordered glucose metabolism. It has recently been shown that chronic leptin treatment ameliorates these abnormalities. Here we show that chronic leptin treatment improves insulin-stimulated hepatic and peripheral glucose metabolism in severely insulin-resistant lipodystrophic patients. This improvement in insulin action was associated with a marked reduction in hepatic and muscle triglyceride content. These data suggest that leptin may represent an important new therapy to reverse the severe hepatic and muscle insulin resistance and associated hepatic steatosis in patients with lipodystrophy.
                Bookmark

                Author and article information

                Journal
                J Clin Res Pediatr Endocrinol
                JCRPE
                Journal of Clinical Research in Pediatric Endocrinology
                Galenos Publishing
                1308-5727
                1308-5735
                March 2010
                8 December 2010
                : 2
                : 1
                : 39-42
                Affiliations
                [1 ] Department of Pediatric Endocrinology, Uludağ University Faculty of Medicine, Bursa, Turkey
                [2 ] Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Uludağ University Faculty of Medicine, Bursa, Turkey
                +90 224 295 05 40+90 224 442 81 43 erderen@ 123456yahoo.com Erdal Eren, Uludağ University, Medical Faculty Department of Pediatric Endocrinology, Bursa, Turkey
                Article
                50
                10.4274/jcrpe.v2i1.39
                3005665
                21274335
                cfc2e379-f5f2-4ebd-8819-dbec0bde5310
                © Journal of Clinical Research in Pediatric Endocrinology, Published by Galenos Publishing.

                This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

                History
                : 1 November 2009
                : 6 November 2009
                Categories
                Case Reports

                Pediatrics
                lipodystrophy,complement c4,autoimmune hepatitis
                Pediatrics
                lipodystrophy, complement c4, autoimmune hepatitis

                Comments

                Comment on this article