Medicine
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Insulin autoimmune syndrome (IAS) is a rare endocrine disease characterized by repeated fasting hypoglycemia or episodes of hypoglycemia late after meals, elevated serum insulin, and positivity for insulin autoantibody (IAA) or insulin receptor antibody (IRA). We summarize the clinical manifestations and treatment experiences of 3 patients with IAS. ⋯ For those patients with high-insulin hypoglycemia, IAA should be evaluated if serum insulin concentrations are inconsistent with C peptide levels. Therapeutically, a lower dose of glucocorticoids with more appropriate medication timing can be used to achieve good results.
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Primary aldosteronism due to aldosteronoma is the most common form of secondary hypertension, with an estimated prevalence of 4% of hypertensive patients in primary care and around 10% of referred patients. Diagnosis is a clinical challenge with simultaneous occurrence of primary ectopic meningioma in the adrenal gland. To our knowledge this is the first reported case of simultaneous occurrence of aldosteronomas and ectopic meningioma in the adrenal gland based on literatures. ⋯ The patient was diagnosed with PA due to APA and nonfunctional primary ectopic meningioma in the adrenal gland which is very rare and dealt with unilateral laparoscopic adrenalectomy.
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Paraquat is a widely applied contact herbicide that is highly poisonous. About 20% of patients with paraquat poisoning develop pneumomediastinum as a complication with a mortality rate of almost 100%. ⋯ Paraquat poisoning should be suspected as a differential diagnosis when patients present with pneumomediastinum without recognizable cause.
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There is widespread obesity paradox in cardiovascular diseases, the cardiovascular influence from weight management remains controversial. Moreover, previous publications indicating that different weight reduction extent might lead to various results. Thus, it is of importance to reassess the cardiovascular benefits of weight management strategies. ⋯ The results of this systematic review could provide reliable and concrete evidence for weight loss and its cardiovascular benefits.Prospero registration number: CRD42018108582.
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Extrahepatic metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) may cause a diagnostic problem. All 195 cases of histologic and immunostained sections were reviewed retrospectively in one center. The expression of arginase-1 (Arg-1), hepatocyte paraffin-1 (HepPar-1), glypican-3 (GPC-3), and α-Fetoprotein (AFP) was evaluated. ⋯ These data suggest that the panel of ARG-1, GPC-3, HepPar-1 and AFP has a high sensitivity and specificity to differentiate HCC from non-HCC. This study indicated that HCC should be considered when diagnosing metastasis of unclear origin. It is recommended to use the panel of ARG-1, GPC-3, HepPar-1 and AFP to differentiate HCC from non-HCC in extrahepatic metastasis, because of their sensitivity and specificity, especially in poorly differentiated lesions.