ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Despite recent progress of immunosuppressive therapy with newly developed agents, long-term pancreatic graft survival after pancreas transplantation still remains low. Therefore, precise assessment of ß-cell function after pancreas transplantation is necessary. METHODS: Pancreatic ß-cell secretory activity was measured by means of the peripheral plasma fasting serum C-peptide (CPR) response to 1 mg of glucagon intravenously in 23 patients after pancreas transplantation. The utility of ΔCPR after injection was compared with other indices that reflect insulin secretion. RESULTS: When we performed the test, 6 patients still needed insulin injection after the transplantation. Mean CPR before and after glucagon intravenously were 1.9 ± 0.98 ng/mL and 4.6 ± 2.29 ng/mL, respectively. Fasting serum CPR, secretory unit of islet in transplantation (SUIT) index, and ΔCPR after glucagon injection were significantly different between insulin users and nonusers. During follow-up (501 ± 228 days), 3 patients could stop using insulin, and their increase of CPR (1.8 ± 0.5 ng/mL) was significantly higher than that in continuous insulin users (0.3 ± 0.3 ng/mL). CONCLUSION: Fasting CPR, SUIT index, and ΔCPR after glucagon injection could reflect ß-cell function for post-pancreas transplant patients, and glucagon stimulation test could give us additional information to predict insulin-free treatment.
Subject(s)
Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1/metabolism , Glucagon/administration & dosage , Pancreas Transplantation , C-Peptide/blood , Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1/surgery , Humans , Insulin/administration & dosageABSTRACT
A 51-year-old Japanese man with Churg-Strauss Syndrome (CSS) diagnosed by pleural biopsy is described. He was hospitalized because of high fever and bilateral knee, elbow and shoulder joint pain. Chest roentgenogram and chest computed tomography (CT) scan revealed bilateral massive pleural effusion. Pleural biopsy revealed eosinophilic infiltration and necrotizing granulomas. He was treated with oral prednisolone and his symptoms improved. This is the first report of CSS diagnosed by pleural biopsy.
Subject(s)
Churg-Strauss Syndrome/complications , Pleural Diseases/etiology , Humans , Male , Middle AgedABSTRACT
A case of a 21-year-old woman with Weber-Christian disease, associated with consumption coagulopathy and adequately controlled over the past year or more by corticosteroid and heparin therapy, has been described. Through the study on this case, it was concluded that a hemorrhagic diathesis complicating Weber-Christian disease, at least in advanced cases, was characterized by consumption coagulopathy associated with enhanced blood coagulability which arises from hyperlipemia due to abnormal lipid metabolism and further, that the consumption coagulopathy was modified by diminished synthesis of clotting factors and activation of the fibrinolytic system due to the secondary hepatic impairment. It might also be likely that systemic vascular changes contribute to the activation of the clotting system as a trigger of clotting factor consumption. The complex pathophysiology of a hemorrhagic diathesis in this disease seemed to be brought about by a complex combination of such a variety of factors. In addition, decreased erythrocyte sedimentation rate observed characteristically during hemorrhage might probably have a direct correlation with hypofibrinogenemia due to consumption coagulopathy in advanced cases.