Humans ; Liver Diseases ; complications ; diagnosis ; Metabolic Syndrome ; complications ; diagnosis

Bone Diseases, Metabolic ; diagnosis ; etiology ; therapy ; Chronic Disease ; Humans ; Liver Diseases ; complications ; diagnosis ; therapy

INTRODUCTIONTo review the definitions of the metabolic syndrome according to various expert groups and assess their relevance to clinical practice.

MATERIALS AND METHODSMedline searches were conducted to identify studies which addressed: (i) the utility of the metabolic syndrome compared to multivariable predictive functions for the identification of individuals at high risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and cardiovascular disease (CVD), (ii) the importance and definition of obesity in the definition of the metabolic syndrome and (iii) the impact of lifestyle and pharmacological interventions designed to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in those with and without the metabolic syndrome.

RESULTSAlthough inferior to multivariable risk scores in predicting T2DM and CVD, the metabolic syndrome represents a simple clinical tool, particularly for the prediction of T2DM. Obesity is not a critical component of the metabolic syndrome for identifying those at increased risk of CVD but may be important for predicting T2DM. If anything, pharmacological therapy, especially lipid lowering is as, if not more, effective in those with the metabolic syndrome than in those without.

CONCLUSIONSAlthough the metabolic syndrome appears to have limited utility for the identification of individuals at increased risk of T2DM or CVD, the diagnosis of the metabolic syndrome presents an opportunity to rationalise health services to deliver coordinated care to those with metabolic syndrome.

Cardiovascular Diseases ; etiology ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; etiology ; Humans ; Metabolic Syndrome ; complications ; diagnosis ; Obesity ; complications

Uremic encephalopathy is a well-known disease with typical MR findings including bilateral vasogenic or cytotoxic edema at the cerebral cortex or basal ganglia. Involvement of the basal ganglia has been very rarely reported, typically occurring in uremic-diabetic patients. We recently treated a patient who had non-diabetic uremic encephalopathy with an atypical lesion distribution involving the supratentorial white matter, without cortical or basal ganglia involvement. To the best of our knowledge, this is only the second reported case of non-diabetic uremic encephalopathy with atypical MR findings.
Adult ; Brain Diseases, Metabolic/*diagnosis ; *Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Humans ; Male ; Uremia/*complications

Inborn errors of metabolism constitute an important cause of neurological disease in the neonatal period and can present clinically as encephalopathy. Although it is relatively rare, it is important to have a high index of suspicion. Appropriate investigations and a step-wise approach to diagnosis allow for early institution of treatment and can prevent significant morbidity and mortality. The aim of this article is to give a brief outline of the various inborn errors of metabolism to consider in neonatal encephalopathy and to provide a framework for investigation and diagnosis.
Brain Diseases, Metabolic ; etiology ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Metabolism, Inborn Errors ; complications ; diagnosis

No abstract available.
Carotid Arteries/pathology/ultrasonography ; Carotid Artery Diseases/diagnosis/*etiology ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/complications/diagnosis ; Fatty Liver/*complications/diagnosis/ultrasonography ; Humans ; Metabolic Syndrome X/complications/diagnosis ; Obesity/complications/diagnosis ; Risk Factors

PURPOSE: Reduced heart rate variability significantly increases cardiovascular mortality. Metabolic syndrome increases the cardiac autonomic dysfunction. Recently, increasing cardiovascular mortality has been reported in patients with schizophrenia. This study was done to compare heart rate variability between adults with and without schizophrenia and to compare the relationship of heart rate variability to metabolic syndrome in hospitalized patients with schizophrenia. METHODS: This was a descriptive and correlational study in which 719 adults without schizophrenia and 308 adults with schizophrenia took part between May and June 2008. We measured the following: five-minute heart rate variability; high-frequency, low-frequency, the ratio of low-frequency to high-frequency, and the Standard Deviation of all the normal RR intervals. Data was also collected on metabolic syndrome, abdominal obesity, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, blood pressure and fasting glucose. RESULTS: The Standard Deviation of all the normal RR intervals values of heart rate variability indices were 1.53+/-0.18. The low-frequency and high-frequency values of heart rate variability indices were significantly higher in hospitalized patients with schizophrenia (3.89+/-1.36; 3.80+/-1.20) than those in the healthy participants (2.20+/-0.46; 2.10+/-0.46). There were no significant differences between the schizophrenic patients with and without metabolic syndrome. CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that schizophrenia patients have significantly lower cardiac autonomic control, but they have significantly higher low-frequency and high-frequency values than those of healthy adults. Use of antipsychotic drug may affect the autonomic nervous system in schizophrenic patients. Metabolic syndrome was not associated with cardiac autonomic control in schizophrenia patients.
Adult ; Autonomic Nervous System/physiopathology ; Blood Glucose/analysis ; Blood Pressure ; Cardiovascular Diseases/complications/diagnosis/mortality ; Cholesterol, HDL/blood ; Female ; *Heart Rate ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Male ; Metabolic Syndrome X/*complications/*physiopathology ; Middle Aged ; Obesity/etiology ; Schizophrenia/*complications/mortality/*physiopathology ; Triglycerides/blood

Any medical diagnosis should take a multimodal approach, especially those involving tumour-like conditions, as entities that mimic neoplasms have overlapping features and may present detrimental outcomes if they are underdiagnosed. These case reports present diagnostic pitfalls resulting from overdependence on a single diagnostic parameter for three musculoskeletal neoplasm mimics: brown tumour (BT) that was mistaken for giant cell tumour (GCT), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus osteomyelitis mistaken for osteosarcoma and a pseudoaneurysm mistaken for a soft tissue sarcoma. Literature reviews revealed five reports of BT simulating GCT, four reports of osteomyelitis mimicking osteosarcoma and five reports of a pseudoaneurysm imitating a soft tissue sarcoma. Our findings highlight the therapeutic dilemmas that arise with musculoskeletal mimics, as well as the importance of thorough investigation to distinguish mimickers from true neoplasms.
Adult ; Aneurysm, False ; diagnosis ; Biopsy ; Bone Diseases ; diagnosis ; Bone Diseases, Metabolic ; diagnosis ; Bone Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; Cell Proliferation ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Diagnostic Errors ; prevention & control ; Female ; Giant Cell Tumors ; diagnosis ; Humans ; Hyperparathyroidism ; complications ; Leukocytosis ; diagnosis ; Male ; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; microbiology ; Osteomyelitis ; diagnosis ; microbiology ; Osteosarcoma ; diagnosis ; Sarcoma ; diagnosis ; Soft Tissue Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; Tibia ; pathology

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is closely associated with abdominal obesity, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and Type 2 diabetes, which are all features of the metabolic syndrome. The aim of the present study was to elucidate whether NAFLD is associated with carotid atherosclerosis. METHODS: The study population comprised 659 subjects without hepatitis B and C infections and who did not consume alcohol. Fatty infiltrations of liver were detected by abdominal ultrasonography, and intima-media thickness (IMT) and plaque prevalence were estimated by carotid ultrasonography. RESULTS: The mean values of systolic and diastolic pressures, body mass index (BMI), aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, uric acid, total cholesterol, triglycerides, high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, fasting glucose, fasting insulin, homeostasis model of assessment (HOMA) index, hemoglobin A1c, and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 differed significantly between patients with NAFLD (n=314) and normal controls (n=345). The carotid IMT was 0.817+/-0.212 (mean+/-SD) mm in patients with NAFLD and 0.757+/-0.198 mm in normal controls (p<0.001). The prevalence of carotid plaques was higher in patients with NAFLD (26.4%) than in normal controls (15.9%) (p<0.001). This association persisted significantly after adjusting for age, sex, BMI, HOMA index and individual factors of metabolic syndrome by multiple logistic regression analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with NAFLD are at a high risk of carotid atherosclerosis regardless of metabolic syndrome and classical cardiovascular risk factors. Therefore, the detection of NAFLD should alert to the existence of an increased cardiovascular risk. Moreover, NAFLD might be an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
Aged ; Body Mass Index ; Carotid Arteries/pathology/ultrasonography ; Carotid Artery Diseases/diagnosis/*etiology ; Cholesterol, HDL/blood ; Demography ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/complications/diagnosis ; Diabetic Diet ; Fatty Liver/*complications/diagnosis/ultrasonography ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Metabolic Syndrome X/complications/diagnosis ; Middle Aged ; Obesity/complications/diagnosis ; Regression Analysis ; Risk Factors ; Triglycerides/blood

BACKGROUND: Thyroid hormones play an important role in regulating lipid and glucose metabolism. Thus this study was conducted to investigate the relationship between the thyroid hormone (FT4) or thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and the cardiovascular risk factors and metabolic syndrome in the individuals with subclinical thyroid dysfunction. METHODS: The female health examinee with normal range of FT4 were classified into three groups according to the level of TSH; euthyroid group (n=4,410), subclinical hypothyroidism group (n=438) and subclinical hyperthyroidism group (n=66). Age, blood pressure, BMI, fasting glucose, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglyceride, lipoprotein(a), and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) levels of serum specimens were compared among the groups and association of FT4 or TSH with these parameters. RESULTS: Fasting glucose was significantly higher in subclinical hyperthyroidism than in euthyroid and subclinical hypothyroidism groups (P=0.031), and total cholesterol was higher in subclinical hypothyroidism than in subclinical hyperthyroidism (P=0.011). But the other factors showed no difference among the groups. The level of TSH increased as triglyceride increased, while FT4 decreased as BMI or triglyceride increased. The FT4 also lowered when fasting glucose was above 126 mg/dL. TSH was not related with the metabolic syndrome, but the possibility of the syndrome was 1.3 times higher in the lowest quartile of the normal range of FT4 than in its highest quartile. CONCLUSIONS: For the interpretation of FT4, its reference interval needs to be divided into 4 quartiles, which can be used as one of the predicting factors of the metabolic syndrome.
Adult ; Aged ; Blood Glucose/analysis ; Cardiovascular Diseases/*diagnosis ; Cholesterol/blood ; Female ; Humans ; Hyperthyroidism/complications/diagnosis ; Metabolic Syndrome X/diagnosis/etiology ; Middle Aged ; Odds Ratio ; Risk Factors ; Thyroid Gland/*physiology ; Thyroid Hormones/blood ; Thyrotropin/blood