ACTA ENDOCRINOLOGICA (BUC)

Background and aims. Increased fat accumulation associated to increased cardiometabolic risk factors is a prominent feature of type 2 diabetes. In type 1 diabetes, increased fat accumulation is not prevalent and its metabolic impact has not been fully evaluated. We aimed to evaluate differences in body composition, clinical and metabolic\r\nprofile in type 1 and type 2 diabetes patients with varying degrees of adiposity.\r\nMaterials and methods. Clinical, biochemical and body composition data (using a bioelectric impedance analyzer) from 96 type 1 and 253 type 2 adult diabetes patients have\r\nbeen collected.\r\nResults. In type 1 patients estimated visceral fat area (eVFA) increased significantly (84.3?27.9 vs. 103.0?27.9 vs. 128.1?29.1 cm2, p=0.006, 0.003, and <0.001) while BMI, body fat mass (BFM) did not differ across age tertiles. Between normal weight (BMI<25 kg/m2) and overweight (BMI>25 kg/m2) type 1 patients there were no significant differences either in triglycerides (128.7?135.6 vs. 92.8?50.6 mg/dl, p=0.1), HDL-cholesterol (53.6?15.9 vs.\r\n52.3?13.7 mg/dl, p=0.6) and uric acid levels (3.4?2.0 vs. 2.9?1.2 mg/dl, p=0.2), or in hypertension (39.5% vs. 40.0%, p=0.7) and nonalcoholic hepatosteatosis (NASH) (10.0% vs.\r\n10.5%, p=0.6) prevalences. In type 2 patients, BMI (32.3?5.9 vs. 29.5?5.1 vs. 27.9?5.0 kg/m2, p=0.001, p=0.04, p<0.001) and BFM (34.5?12.7 vs. 29.6?10.2 vs. 27.1?10.8 kg, p=0.007, p=0.11, p <0.001) decreased, while eVFA did not differ across age tertiles, suggesting that older age increases central fat distribution. Compared to normal weight, overweight type 2 diabetes patients had greater triglycerides (218.8?303.4 vs. 110.9?44.9 mg/dl, p=0.01), uric acid (4.5?2.4 vs. 3.3?1.4 mg/dl, p=0.01), and lower HDL-cholesterol (43.9?12.9 vs. 54.1?15.4 mg/dl, p<0.001) serum levels, and higher prevalences of hypertension (71.8% vs. 39.4%, p=0.005) and NASH (59.1% vs. 25.0%, p=0.005).\r\nConclusion. Visceral fat accumulation is associated with older age in both types of diabetes, but only in type 2 diabetes is associated with cardiometabolic anomalies.

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COVID-19 is a viral disease that is recognized now as a pandemic by the World Health Organization. It is known that some viral infections may trigger autoimmune diseases. It has been revealed that COVID-19 may also lead to the pathogenesis of some autoimmune diseases, including Type 1 DM (T1DM) and autoimmune thyroid diseases. Here, we aimed to present a young female patient with COVID-19, who we followed up in our clinic, who presented with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), and developed Hashimoto’s disease during the treatment process. In order to emphasize that COVID-19 may trigger the emergence of T1DM, that it may mask nonspecific DKA symptoms like nausea and vomiting, that it may cause delay in diagnosis of DKA, and also to emphasize the importance of evaluating other autoimmune diseases accompanying COVID-19, we found it appropriate to present this case.

Xanthomatosis is a rare disease; predominantly, it is a response to altered lipid levels in the form of a mucocutaneous granulomatous proliferative disorder of unclear origin. When blood lipid levels exceed the normal values, the macrophages around the blood vessels may result in xanthoma. The present case was observed in a 55-year-old woman who suffered from Cushing’s disease and had atypical xanthomas in her oral mucosa that were diagnosed by histopathological analysis and were associated with normal serum cholesterol levels.

Developments in the understanding of the molecular basis of water permeability of the red blood cell (RBC) have taken place rapidly since the discovery in 1985 in Cluj- Napoca, Romania, by the group of Benga of a water channel protein (WCP), later called aquaporin 1 (AQP1), in the RBC membrane. However, the physiological role of AQP1 is not yet fully understood. Investigations of RBCs from human subjects of various ages could help shed light on this important issue. We present a short review of our studies on this topic that were published in less “visible” journals and books. The diffusional water permeability (Pd) of the RBC membrane has the lowest values in the newborns. Then Pd values are increasing in children, reaching at about 7 years a value that remains rather constant in young and mature subjects. The high permeability to water of the RBC membrane can be correlated at these ages with the ability to undertake a high level of physical activity. In elderly individuals (over 65 years) a further small, but statistically significant, increase in the diffusional water permeability of RBC was observed. In this case the higher RBC water permeability can be correlated with a requirement of the RBC membrane to favour the membrane undulations and the rapid entry or exit of solutes of molecular size greater than water, in conditions when the organism is less physically active, probably has lower metabolic rates and lower mean rates of blood circulation.