European journal of endocrinology
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Eur. J. Endocrinol. · Nov 2020
Mitochondrial diabetes and mitochondrial DNA mutation load in MELAS syndrome.
Mitochondrial myopathy, encephalopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episodes (MELAS) syndrome is a very rare condition; it encompasses a diverse group of disorders including diabetes. Phenotypic variability can be attributed to heteroplasmy along with varying proportions of mutant and WT mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). To examine the clinical relationship between mitochondrial diabetes and mutational load, we analyzed the mtDNA of children and young adolescents with MELAS syndrome using next generation sequencing (NGS). ⋯ We can infer that the mutation load in the MELAS syndrome is significantly associated with the onset of symptoms and associated diseases, including mitochondrial diabetes. However, it may not influence disease progression.
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The SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic has generated an explosion of interest both in the mechanisms of infection leading to dissemination and expression of this disease, and in potential risk factors that may have a mechanistic basis for disease propagation or control. Vitamin D has emerged as a factor that may be involved in these two areas. ⋯ Moreover, cardiac and coagulopathic features of COVID-19 disease deserve attention as they may also be related to vitamin D. Finally, we review the current clinical data associating vitamin D with SARS-CoV-2 infection, a putative clinical link that at this time must still be considered hypothetical.