[Use of thyroid hormones in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases: literature review].

Cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of death all over the world. Thyroid hormones play a significant role in the regulation of cardiac function. According to a number of researches, patients with cardiovascular diseases usually have a decrease in the concentration of thyroid hormones in the blood serum, which may be associated with a poor prognosis. Today it still remains unclear whether the change in the bioavailability of thyroid hormones in the myocardium is a favorable physiological mechanism or a replication of an adaptation disorder. Experimental researches suggest that thyroid hormone therapy may be applied in clinical cardiology. This review describes the results of researches examining the use of thyroid hormones in patients with cardiovascular diseases, as well as experiment data on animal models. The available data on the use of thyroid hormones in patients with acute myocardial infarction and heart failure allow us to suggest that normalization of thyroid hormone levels is a safe and potentially effective treatment method in the group of patients with cardiovascular disease. At the same time, the data on the use of thyroid hormones in patients who have undergone an open-heart surgery or heart transplantation are limited. However, at present, it is difficult to draw unambiguous conclusions about the benefits, as well as about the possible risk of using thyroid hormones in the described conditions. Large-scale clinical researches are required to confirm the safety and evaluate the effectiveness of such therapy. Moreover, it is necessary to set parameters for evaluating the safety and effectiveness and understand which hormone (thyroxine or triiodothyronine), what dosage and at what stage of the disease should be applied. Until we do not have answers for these questions, thyroid hormone therapy in patients with cardiovascular diseases should remain within the research field.

[Continuous subcutaneous infusion of somatostatin analogues in the treatment of congenital hyperinsulinism].

BACKGROUND: Congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI) is a severe disease with a high risk of development of neurological complications due to persistent hypoglycemia. The use of an analog of somatostatin (octreotide) in patients with the resistance to the first-line drug allows to avoid surgical intervention. However, the octreotide is currently used in the form of frequent fractional injections due to the short duration of it’s effect. We present in this article our own experience of using octreotide in continuous subcutaneous infusion in pediatric patients in order to improve the quality of life. AIM To evaluate the efficiency and safety of the regime of continuous subcutaneous infusion of octreotide with the use of micro-dispensers (pumps) in children with diazoxide-resistant course of CHI. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An observational single-centre dynamic research was carried out on the basis of the Federal State Budgetary Institution «Endocrinology Research Centre» of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation. The study included pediatric patients with CHI and proven diazoxide-resistant course who were initially treated with octreotide in the form of intermittent subcutaneous injections. The researches compared the indicants of efficiency and safety of therapy on treatment of intermittent injections and after transfer to continuous subcutaneous infusion of the drug. The duration of each method of administration was at least 2 weeks. RESULTS: 16 patients took part in the research. The median for the total duration of octreotide usage in the examined patients was 3 months. According to the results of the work, the use of micro-dispensers for continuous subcutaneous administration of octreotide allowed to reduce the number of patients with episodes of hypoglycemia for more than 4 times (13/16 vs. 3/16); p=0,001). Also, there was a significant decrease in the number of patients with hyperglycemic episodes (4/16 vs. 0/16); p=0.000) and reduced dose of intravenous glucose (6.8 vs 5.2 mg/kg/min; p=0.042) as a result of continuous therapy, which indicates the advantages of smooth continuous administration comparing to single injections. We have not detected any significant side effects of the treatment. Elevated liver enzyme levels, dyspeptic symptoms and gallstone formation in some patients did not require cancellation of therapy. There were no hormonal disorders in the form of hypothyroidism and somatotropic hormone deficiency against the background of continuous octreotide infusion. CONCLUSIONS: Thus, the use of octreotide in patients with diazoxide-resistant course of СHI in continuous subcutaneous infusion using pumps has a number of advantages over the standard method of intermittent subcutaneous injection. This method of administration allows to achieve better glycemic control and reduce the risks from infusion therapy with highly concentrated glucose solutions, which undoubtedly improves the quality of life of patients.