Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is one of the severe complications of Type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and a major cause of end-stage renal disease in these patients. Results from published studies on the relationship between angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) insertion/ deletion (I/D) gene polymorphism and patients with DN are still conflicting. We compared the clinical characteristics and the genotype frequencies of ACE polymorphism in 130 T2DM Moroccan patients with DN and 85 T2DM Moroccan patients without DN (controls) using specific primers in a polymerase chain reaction. The degenerative complications of diabetes were significantly higher in the group with nephropathy. The distribution of the I/D genotypes was in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The D allele was the most frequent allele in the Moroccan population in both groups studied (P = 0.68), however, there was no significant difference between the genotypes in T2DM patients with or without DN (P = 0.78). The ACE gene I/D polymorphism was not associated with an increased risk of DN in the Moroccan population.
Primary hyperparathyroidism is a relatively common endocrine disorder that can lead to hypercalcemia and, consequently, cause long-term renal and skeletal complications. Usually, the diagnosis of this disorder is made at an asymptomatic stage. We report three cases of primary hyperparathyroidism revealed by acute pancreatitis, which is an unusual initial manifestation. The three patients, aged 55, 61, and 78 years, experienced acute epigastric pain accompanied by vomiting. Laboratory tests showed hyperlipasemia, and the abdominal CT scan revealed acute necrotizing pancreatitis. After an investigation into the underlying causes, the diagnosis of primary hyperparathyroidism was confirmed, and imaging identified the presence of parathyroid adenoma in all three patients. Parathyroidectomy was performed and the anatomopathological examination confirmed the diagnosis of parathyroid adenoma.
Simpson-Golabi-Behmel syndrome (SGBS) is a rare genetic disorder that is characterized by the overgrowth of various parts of the body. We present a unique case of a young man with SGBS associated with pituitary insufficiency. This association has not been described yet in the literature. The patient was diagnosed with SGBS at 12 years, which was further confirmed through genetic testing (de novo nonsense mutation of the GPC3 gene). At the age of 18, the patient consulted for alteration of the general condition with asthenia. Laboratory evaluation revealed pituitary insufficiency consisting of central hypothyroidism associated with partial secondary adrenal insufficiency. The pituitary MRI was unremarkable. So far, Pituitary insufficiency has never been described in SGBS cases. To our knowledge, this is the first case reported in the literature.
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