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VideoGIE : An Official Video Journal of... Jan 2024Insulinomas are among the most common types of functional pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors and can cause debilitating, recurrent, symptomatic hypoglycemia. Pancreatic... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND AND AIMS
Insulinomas are among the most common types of functional pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors and can cause debilitating, recurrent, symptomatic hypoglycemia. Pancreatic resection can be curative, but many patients are not candidates for major pancreatic surgery. EUS-guided radiofrequency ablation (EUS-RFA) is a novel minimally invasive technique for ablation of pancreatic tumors.
METHODS
In this article and accompanying video, we describe the EUS-RFA ablation device, provide instructions for device setup, and review outcomes of a case series of EUS-RFA for symptomatic insulinomas. We also review the current literature describing EUS-RFA for symptomatic pancreatic insulinomas.
RESULTS
This series of patients in the United States, as well as studies performed in other countries, suggests normalization of insulin levels that appears to be sustained over months to years following the procedure. There has been a favorable adverse event profile in the case series reported to date.
CONCLUSIONS
EUS-RFA is emerging as a promising option for the management of symptomatic insulinomas, particularly for patients who are poor surgical candidates or who decline surgery.
PubMed: 38239186
DOI: 10.1016/j.vgie.2023.08.007 -
Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice Dec 2023Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is found in around one third of people with diabetes, but remains inadequately diagnosed and treated. Its management includes three... (Review)
Review
Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is found in around one third of people with diabetes, but remains inadequately diagnosed and treated. Its management includes three cornerstones: 1) causal treatment with lifestyle modification, intensive diabetes therapy aimed at near-normoglycemia, and multifactorial cardiovascular risk intervention, 2) pathogenesis-oriented pharmacotherapy, and 3) symptomatic pain relief. Since symptomatic analgesic monotherapy only relieves the pain without targeting the underlying neuropathy and both has limited efficacy and is associated with adverse events, there is an unmet need for additional approaches derived from the pathogenetic concepts of DPN. Preclinical studies have suggested that diabetic neuropathy can be prevented or improved through the use of various agents that interfere with the pathophysiology of the underlying condition. Some of these encouraging findings could be translated successfully into the clinical setting. Efficacy and excellent safety were demonstrated in several meta-analyses (α-lipoic acid) and randomized clinical trials (benfotiamine, actovegin, epalrestat) in the treatment of symptomatic DPN. The NATHAN 1 trial demonstrated an improvement of neuropathic signs (deficits, impairments) after four years in asymptomatic DPN. These compounds are currently authorized for treatment of DPN in several countries. Long-term pivotal clinical trials should further establish their value as mono- and combination therapies in DPN.
Topics: Humans; Combined Modality Therapy; Diabetes Mellitus; Diabetic Neuropathies; Pain; Thioctic Acid
PubMed: 38245327
DOI: 10.1016/j.diabres.2023.110764