A novel autosomal recessive lipodystrophy syndrome due to homozygous LMNA variant.

BACKGROUND: Despite major advances in understanding the molecular basis of various genetic lipodystrophy syndromes, some rare patients still remain unexplained. CASES: We report a novel autosomal recessive lipodystrophy affecting two sisters aged 17 and 19 years and characterised by early onset intellectual disability, and subsequent development of near-generalised loss of subcutaneous fat with diabetes mellitus, extreme hypertriglyceridemia, hepatic steatosis, short stature, clinodactyly, joint contractures, leiomyoma of uterus and cataracts in childhood. The lipodystrophy was more pronounced in the upper and lower extremities, and there was no associated muscular hypertrophy. Using whole exome sequencing in this consanguineous Hispanic pedigree, we report disease-causing homozygous p.Arg545His LMNA variant in the affected subjects, and confirm the lack of pathogenic variants in other known lipodystrophy genes. The mother and a younger brother were both heterozygous for p.Arg545His LMNA variant and were overweight with acanthosis nigricans without any evidence of lipodystrophy. Our patients are distinct from previously reported autosomal recessive lipodystrophy syndromes and have no overlap with other autosomal recessive laminopathies, including mandibuloacral dysplasia, Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy and Charcot-Marie-Tooth neuropathy. CONCLUSION: Our report of this unusual familial generalised lipodystrophy syndrome adds to the pleiotropy associated with biallelic autosomal recessive LMNA variants.

Orlistat Therapy for Children With Type 1 Hyperlipoproteinemia: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Context: Patients with type 1 hyperlipoproteinemia (T1HLP), a rare genetic disorder, have extreme chylomicronemia and recurrent episodes of acute pancreatitis. Currently, the only therapeutic option is to consume an extremely low-fat diet because the triglyceride-lowering medications are not efficacious. Objective: To determine the efficacy of orlistat, a gastric and pancreatic lipase inhibitor, in reducing serum triglyceride levels in patients with T1HLP. Design and Setting: We conducted a randomized, open-label, clinical trial with a four-period, two-sequence ("orlistat" and "off orlistat" for 3 months), crossover study design. Patients: Two unrelated young Asian Indian males (11 and 9 years old) with T1HLP due to homozygous large GPIHBP1 deletions were enrolled at the UT Southwestern Medical Center. The patients were randomized to receive 3 months of orlistat or no therapy (off), then crossed over to the other arm, and this sequence was then repeated. Fasting serum triglyceride levels, fat-soluble vitamins, and gastrointestinal side effects were assessed. Results: Compared with the two off periods, orlistat therapy reduced serum triglycerides by 53.3% and 53.0% in patient 1 and 45.8% and 62.2% in patient 2. There was no deficiency of fat-soluble vitamin levels, and their growth continued. There were no serious adverse effects of orlistat; patient 1 had a mild increase in passage of gas and bloating, and patient 2 had constipation with mild stool leakage. Conclusion: Orlistat is safe and highly efficacious in lowering serum triglycerides in children with T1HLP and should be the first-line therapy in conjunction with an extremely low-fat diet.

Efficacy and Safety of Metreleptin Therapy in Patients With Type 1 Diabetes: A Pilot Study.

OBJECTIVE: To study the efficacy and safety of metreleptin therapy in patients with suboptimally controlled type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: After a baseline period of 4 weeks, five female and three male patients with T1DM (mean age 33 years, BMI 23.8 kg/m2) received metreleptin (0.08 mg/kg/day in females and 0.04 mg/kg/day in males) subcutaneously twice daily for 20 weeks followed by an off-therapy period of 4 weeks. RESULTS: Metreleptin therapy did not lower HbA1c significantly compared with the baseline value (mean difference -0.19% [-2.0 mmol/mol] and -0.04% [-0.5 mmol/mol] at 12 and 20 weeks, respectively). Mean body weight reduced significantly by 2.6 and 4.7 kg (P = 0.003) and daily insulin dose by 12.6% and 15.0% at week 12 and 20 (P = 0.006), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Metreleptin is safe but may not be efficacious in improving glycemic control in patients with T1DM, although it reduces body weight and daily insulin dose modestly.

The effect of dietary counseling on nutrient intakes in gastric banding surgery patients.

BACKGROUND: There is some evidence that bariatric surgery patients who undergo the purely restrictive procedures, such as the gastric banding (GB) or the vertical banded gastroplasty surgery, do not meet the dietary reference intakes for several nutrients. Whether dietary counseling improves micronutrient and macronutrient intakes was examined in GB surgery patients. METHODS: Twenty-three GB surgery patients received dietary and behavioral counseling for 12 weeks to limit energy intake and improve nutrient intakes. Food intake was assessed by 3-day food record at baseline and 6 and 12 weeks. Postintervention data were available in 21 patients. RESULTS: At baseline, more than 50% of the subjects reported inadequate dietary intakes of 13 nutrients but overconsumption of sodium and percent energy from saturated and trans-fatty acids. Mixed-effects model for repeated measures revealed a significant reduction in energy (P = 0.0007), absolute protein (P = 0.04), cholesterol (P = 0.045), and potassium (P = 0.01) intake and an increase in vitamin K (P = 0.03) intake and percent energy from protein (P = 0.005) during the 12 weeks. The McNemar test showed a reduction in the proportion of the subjects with an inadequate intake of vitamin K (P = 0.008) but an increase in the proportion of the subjects with an inadequate intake of thiamin (P = 0.03) at 12 weeks. The proportion of the subjects who did not meet the nutrient requirements for the remaining 27 nutrients was generally high and remained unchanged. CONCLUSIONS: Dietary intervention improved the intake of some nutrients in the GB surgery patients. However, most nutrient intake requirements remained unmet by many subjects. These results indicate that nutritional counseling beyond 12 weeks is warranted in GB surgery patients to improve their dietary nutrient intakes.

Comparison of efficacy and safety of leptin replacement therapy in moderately and severely hypoleptinemic patients with familial partial lipodystrophy of the Dunnigan variety.

CONTEXT: Leptin replacement therapy improves metabolic complications in patients with lipodystrophy and severe hypoleptinemia (SH), but whether the response is related to the degree of hypoleptinemia remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to compare efficacy of leptin therapy in familial partial lipodystrophy, Dunnigan variety (FPLD) patients with SH (serum leptin<7th percentile of normal) vs. those with moderate hypoleptinemia (MH; serum leptin in 7th to 20th percentiles). DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS: We conducted an open-label, parallel group, observational study in 14 SH (mean±sd, serum leptin, 1.9±1.1 ng/ml) and 10 MH (serum leptin, 5.3±1.0 ng/ml) women with FPLD. INTERVENTION: Patients received 0.08 mg/kg·d of metreleptin by twice daily sc injections for 6 months. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome variable was change in fasting serum triglycerides. Other secondary variables were fasting plasma glucose and insulin, insulin sensitivity, hemoglobin A1c, and hepatic triglyceride content. RESULTS: Median fasting serum triglycerides decreased from 228 to 183 mg/dl in the SH group (P=0.04) and from 423 to 339 mg/dl in the MH group (P=0.02), but with no difference between the groups (P value for interaction=0.96). Hepatic triglyceride levels similarly declined significantly from 8.8 to 4.9% in the SH group and from 23.7 to 9.2% in the MH group (P value for interaction=0.9). Loss of body weight and body fat occurred in both groups. Fasting glucose, insulin, glucose tolerance, and hemoglobin A1c levels did not change. K value on insulin tolerance test improved slightly in the SH group (0.98 to 1.24%; P=0.01), but not in the MH group (1.1 to 1.27%; P=0.4). CONCLUSION: Metreleptin replacement therapy is equally effective in FPLD patients with both SH and MH in reducing serum and hepatic triglyceride levels, but did not improve hyperglycemia.

High-volume exercise program in obese bariatric surgery patients: a randomized, controlled trial.

Weight regain is a problem among many bariatric surgery patients. Whether a high-volume exercise program (HVEP), a strategy to limit weight regain, is feasible in these patients is unknown. The feasibility of an HVEP in obese post-bariatric-surgery patients was determined by randomizing 33 Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) and gastric banding (GB) surgery patients with a mean BMI of 41 ± 6 kg/m2 to an HVEP or control group for 12 weeks. The HVEP group was instructed to expend ≥ 2,000 kcal/week in moderate-intensity exercise. All patients were counseled to limit energy intake. Treatment effect was assessed by repeated measures analysis. During the last 4 weeks of the study, 53% of the HVEP group expended ≥ 2,000 kcal/week and 82% expended ≥ 1,500 kcal/week. Step count, reported time spent and energy expended during moderate physical activity, maximal oxygen consumption relative to weight, and incremental area under the postprandial blood glucose curve were significantly improved over 12 weeks in the HVEP group compared to controls (group-by-week effect: P = 0.009-0.03). Both groups reported significant improvement in some quality-of-life scales. Changes in weight, energy and macronutrient intake, resting energy expenditure (REE), fasting lipids and glucose, and fasting and postprandial insulin concentrations were not different between the two groups. HVEP is feasible in about 50% of the patients and enhances physical fitness and reduces postprandial blood glucose in bariatric surgery patients.

Total reversal of weight loss from adjustable gastric banding surgery associated with excessive intake of energy dense liquid and solid foods: A case report.

SUMMARY: We report excessive binging and total reversal of weight loss in a patient after adjustable gastric banding surgery (AGBS). A 42-year-old female who underwent AGBS 4 years earlier was randomized to a diet group in a study on exercise training. The patient was on therapy for pre-diabetes and depression. She weighed 115 kg pre-surgery, lost 27.3 kg post-surgery, and weighed 117.3 kg at the start of the study. Her energy intake, assessed by 3-day food record, was 14,096 kcal/d at the beginning of the study of which 3086 kcal/d was from liquid and 7273 kcal/d from solid energy dense foods. The patient reported that the liquid foods facilitated binging on solid foods despite gastric band adjustments. Following intensive dietary counseling for 5 weeks, her reported energy intake decreased to <3000 kcal/d and body weight by 1 kg. Evaluating and actively addressing any dietary behavioral issues before and after AGBS are recommended.: