oxytocin and Diabetes-Mellitus--Type-1

The thymus is the unique lymphoid organ responsible for the generation of a diverse repertoire of T lymphocytes that are competent against non self-antigens while being tolerant to self-antigens. A vast repertoire of neuroendocrine-related genes is transcribed in the nonlymphoid cellular compartment of the thymus (thymic epithelial cells, dendritic cells and macrophages). The precursors encoded by these genes engage two types of interactions with developing T cells (thymocytes). First, they are not processed in a classical neuroendocrine way but as the source of self-antigens that are presented to pre-T cells by the major histocompatibility complex proteins of the thymus. This presentation could be responsible for the establishment of central T-cell self-tolerance to neuroendocrine functions. Second, they also deliver signal ligands that are able to bind to neuroendocrine-type receptors expressed by thymocytes. This interaction activates several types of intracellular signalling pathways implicated in the developmental process of T lymphocytes. Several experimental arguments support a role for thymic dysfunction as a crucial factor in the development of organ-specific autoimmune endocrinopathies, such as 'idiopathic' central diabetes insipidus and type 1 diabetes mellitus. The rational use of tolerogenic neuroendocrine self-antigens for the prevention/treatment of autoimmune endocrinopathies is currently under investigation.

Topics: Animals; Cell Differentiation; Diabetes Insipidus, Neurogenic; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1; Gene Expression Regulation; Humans; Insulin; Oxytocin; Pituitary Hormones; Self Tolerance; T-Lymphocytes; Thymus Gland; Transcription, Genetic; Vasopressins

Topics: Blood Volume; Child; Craniocerebral Trauma; Deamino Arginine Vasopressin; Dehydration; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1; Diuresis; Female; Humans; Kinetics; Male; Models, Biological; Neurophysins; Osmolar Concentration; Oxytocin; Pituitary Gland, Posterior; Postoperative Complications; Pregnancy; Pregnancy in Diabetics; Thirst; Urine; Vasopressins

The results of treatment of 90 patients with diabetes mellitus and pyo-necrotic lesions of the feet were compared. Oxytocin was used in 40 of the patients. It was found that parenteral administration of oxytocin resulted in more favorable course of diabetes mellitus in such patients. The intra-arterial or local use of Oxytocin was found to reliably increase the DNA synthesis by the endothelial cells, fibroblasts and histiocytes, which in its turn creates favorable conditions for the reparative process in the wounds and allows quality of the treatment to be considerably improved.

Topics: Acute Disease; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Chronic Disease; Combined Modality Therapy; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2; Diabetic Foot; DNA; Female; Foot; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Necrosis; Oxytocin

Oxytocin, a hormone most commonly associated with parturition and lactation, may have additional roles in diabetes complications. We determined oxytocin levels in premenopausal women with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) compared with non-diabetic controls and examined associations of oxytocin with health behaviours, clinical factors, biomarkers, kidney function and bone health. Lower oxytocin was hypothesized for T1DM.. A cross-sectional study of premenopausal women with T1DM (n = 88) from the Wisconsin Diabetes Registry Study, a population-based cohort of incident T1DM cases, and matched non-diabetic controls (n = 74) was conducted.. Women with T1DM had lower oxytocin levels than controls adjusting for caffeine and alcohol use (p = 0.03). Health behaviours associated with oxytocin differed between women with and without T1DM: oxytocin was negatively associated with hormonal contraceptive use (quantified as lifetime contraceptive oestrogen exposure) in women with T1DM (p = 0.003), whereas positively related to hormonal contraceptive use (quantified as never/former/current) in controls (p < 0.001). Oxytocin had a positive association with adiposity (waist-to-hip ratio and leptin) in women with T1DM and a negative relationship with adiposity (weight gain) in controls. In T1DM only, oxytocin was positively associated with caffeine intake (p = 0.01) and negatively associated with alcohol use (p = 0.01). Oxytocin was not related to glycemic control, kidney function or bone health in T1DM.. Oxytocin levels are lower in women with T1DM than matched controls. Oxytocin also has opposing associations with hormonal contraceptives and adiposity in women with and without T1DM. Research is needed to determine if the altered oxytocin milieu in T1DM is associated with oxytocinher health outcomes.

Topics: Adult; Body Weight; Bone Density; Case-Control Studies; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1; Female; Humans; Kidney Function Tests; Oxytocin; Premenopause; Young Adult

The aim of the present study was to highlight the newly discovered metabolic role of oxytocin (OT) in the type I diabetic rats. Previous studies have demonstrated that OT has a beneficial role on bone physiology and therefore, the OT effect on the diabetic osteopathy will be assessed as well.. Induction of the type I diabetes was carried out by an intraperitoneal injection of 60 mg/kg body weight of streptozotocin. The metabolic role of OT on diabetic rats after OT treatment with intramuscular injection of 40 µIU/kg body weight for 6 weeks was assessed. Histological and ultrastructural studies of rat pancreas samples, before and after the OT injection, were performed and compared with the obtained physiological results.. Oxytocin treatment had positive metabolic effects in diabetic rats. This is based on the change in glucose metabolism, lipid profile, and insulin sensitivity in experimental animals. In addition, OT treatment showed histological regenerative changes of pancreatic islet cells of diabetic rats. Moreover, OT administration showed that it has an anabolic effect on the bone biology.. The results suggest that activation of the oxytocin receptor (OTR) pathway by infusion of OT, OT analogs, or OT agonists may represent a promising approach for the treatment of diabetes and some of its complications, including diabetic osteopathy.

Topics: Animals; Blood Glucose; Bone and Bones; Bone Diseases, Endocrine; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1; Insulin; Insulin Resistance; Lipid Metabolism; Male; Oxytocin; Rats; Rats, Wistar

Haemodynamic changes that occur during pregnancy are maximal between 28 and 34 weeks. In the pregnant woman with several associated diseases, such as hypertensive myocardiopathy and pre-gestational diabetes, these changes can lead to a difficult control of pulmonary hypertension and acute pulmonary oedema. We report the case of a pregnant woman with long term type 1 diabetes mellitus who suffered pre-eclampsia in a previous pregnancy, and since then developed hypertensive cardiomyopathy. She was admitted at 30 week gestation for metabolic and blood pressure control, and developed congestive cardiac failure after the administration of betamethasone for foetal lung maturity. A transthoracic echocardiogram showed a non-dilated hypertrophic left ventricle with good systolic function, restrictive diastolic dysfunction and moderate pulmonary arterial hypertension. When her general condition improved, we performed a caesarean section under regional anaesthesia to prevent the complications of pulmonary and systemic hypertension. We present the anaesthetic management and resolution of complications after oxytocin administration.

Topics: Adult; Anesthesia, Epidural; Anesthesia, Obstetrical; Betamethasone; Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic; Cardiovascular Agents; Cesarean Section, Repeat; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1; Diastole; Female; Heart Failure; Humans; Hypertension, Pulmonary; Hypotension; Infant, Newborn; Intraoperative Complications; Norepinephrine; Oxytocin; Phenylephrine; Pre-Eclampsia; Preanesthetic Medication; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Complications, Cardiovascular; Pregnancy in Diabetics; Supine Position

Pre-eclampsia is a serious obstetric complication associated with a high rate of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. We report the case of a woman with a medical history of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and seizures possibly related to hypoglycemia who was admitted for an emergency cesarian due to severe pre-eclampsia and macrosomic fetus. In the first hour after delivery she experienced loss of consciousness and seizure, with vaginal bleeding and hypovolemic shock. Maximum vigilance is required for a patient with several concomitant diseases and a high-risk pregnancy. All prophylactic measures to lower the risk to mother and fetus should be undertaken. We analyze preanesthetic assessment, differential diagnosis, and choice of anesthesia in relation to this case.

Topics: Adult; Cesarean Section; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1; Diagnosis, Differential; Embolism, Amniotic Fluid; Emergencies; Epilepsy; Female; Fetal Macrosomia; Humans; Hypoglycemia; Hysterectomy; Infant, Newborn; Oxytocin; Postoperative Complications; Pre-Eclampsia; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Complications; Pregnancy in Diabetics; Pregnancy, High-Risk; Puerperal Disorders; Shock; Stroke; Uterine Hemorrhage

1. Synthesis of oxytocin (OT) and arginine-vasopressin (AVP) is increased in induced models of Type I diabetes, such as the streptozotocin model. However, these parameters have not yet been evaluated in spontaneous models, such as the nonobese diabetic mouse (NOD). Therefore, we studied in the magnocellular cells of the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of nondiabetic and diabetic 16-week-old female NOD mice and control C57B1/6 mice, the immunocytochemistry of OT and AVP peptides and their mRNA expression, using nonisotopic in situ hybridization (ISH). 2. In nondiabetic and diabetic NOD female mice, the number of OT- and AVP-immunoreactive cells were similar to those of the controls, whereas immunoreaction intensity was significantly higher for both peptides in diabetic NOD as compared with nondiabetic NOD and control C57B1/6 mice. 3. ISH analysis showed that the number of OT mRNA-containing cells was in the same range in the three groups, whereas higher number of AVP mRNA expressing cells was found in diabetic NOD mice. However, the intensity of hybridization signal was also higher for both OT and AVP mRNA in the diabetic group as compared with nondiabetic NOD and control mice. 4. Blood chemistry demonstrated that haematrocrit, total plasma proteins, urea, sodium, and potassium were within normal limits in diabetic mice. Thus, NOD mice were neither hypernatremic nor dehydrated. 5. We suggest that upregulation of OT and AVP reflects a high-stress condition in the NOD mice. Diabetes may affect neuropeptide-producing cells of the PVN, with the increased AVP and OT playing a deleterious role on the outcome of the disease.

Topics: Animals; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1; Female; Immunohistochemistry; In Situ Hybridization; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mice, Inbred NOD; Oxytocin; Paraventricular Hypothalamic Nucleus; RNA, Messenger; Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms; Vasopressins

Local use of oxytocin-antibacterial complexes in combination with treatment of diabetes including divided insulinotherapy in patients with postinjection abscesses and non-insulin-dependent diabetes led to compensation of diabetes and earlier sanation of suppurative focus compared with patients treated by local antibiotics only.

Topics: Abscess; Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Chi-Square Distribution; Data Interpretation, Statistical; Diabetes Complications; Diabetes Mellitus; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2; Drug Therapy, Combination; Humans; Hyperglycemia; Injections; Insulin; Middle Aged; Oxytocin

Arginine-vasopressin (AVP) and oxytocin (OT) secretions are abnormally stimulated by hypoglycaemia in patients with IDDM. Since previous studies showed that AVP secretion is influenced by the persistence of residual endogenous insulin secretion, we wondered whether this factor also regulates OT secretion.. Case-control study: the OT response to insulin-induced hypoglycaemia was measured in normal and diabetic patients with or without residual endogenous insulin secretion.. Ten normal male subjects, 10 C-peptide positive (CpP) and 11 C-peptide negative (CpN) male diabetic patients.. plasma C-peptide levels were measured after intravenous administration of 1 mg glucagon. Insulin tolerance test (ITT): diabetics were studied after optimization of their metabolic status by 3 days of treatment with constant subcutaneous insulin infusion. CpP and CpN diabetics and normal controls were tested with an intravenous administration of 0.15 IU per kg body weight insulin. Blood samples for OT assay were taken just before the rapid injection of insulin (time 0) and at time 15, 30, 45 and 60 min.. The basal concentrations of OT were similar in all groups. Insulin induced a similar hypoglycaemic nadir in all groups at 30 min, even though diabetic groups showed a delayed recovery in blood glucose levels. The glycaemic pattern was similar in all diabetic patients. Hypoglycaemia-induced OT rise was significantly higher in the two diabetic groups than in the normal group. However, CpN patients showed significantly higher OT increments than CpP subjects.. These data indicate that a residual endogenous insulin secretion exerts a partial protective action against the hypothalamic-pituitary disorder affecting the OT secretory system in IDDM.

Topics: Adult; Blood Glucose; C-Peptide; Case-Control Studies; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1; Glucagon; Humans; Hypoglycemia; Injections, Intravenous; Insulin; Insulin Secretion; Male; Oxytocin

In normal humans, arginine vasopressin and oxytocin are released acutely from the posterior pituitary gland in response to hypoglycemia, and their release may assist counterregulation. The responses of these hormones to insulin-induced hypoglycemia were measured in 16 insulin-dependent diabetic patients with no autonomic neuropathy (8 patients who had been diabetic less than 5 yr and 8 patients who had been diabetic greater than 15 yr) and in 6 normal subjects. The time of the onset of hypoglycemia and the mean blood glucose nadirs were similar in all groups, but the blood glucose recovery was delayed in the diabetic patients. In the normal subjects plasma arginine vasopressin rose from a mean basal value of 0.4 +/- 0.2 (+/- SE) pmol/L to a maximum of 1.3 +/- 0.6 pmol/L, and plasma oxytocin rose from 0.7 +/- 0.1 pmol/L to a maximum of 1.2 +/- 0.2 pmol/L 30 min after the onset of hypoglycemia. The plasma arginine vasopressin and oxytocin concentrations after hypoglycemia were significantly higher in both of the diabetic groups compared with those in the normal group. Arginine vasopressin and oxytocin rose in all control subjects after hypoglycemia. The individual hormonal profiles in the diabetic patients were variable, with an exaggerated rise of oxytocin in some diabetic patients and no rise in others. The arginine vasopressin responses were exaggerated in all of the diabetic patients. There was no correlation between the hormonal responses and the duration of diabetes. The exaggerated plasma arginine vasopressin and oxytocin responses to hypoglycemia in diabetic patients may indicate the failure of a normal inhibitory mechanism which modulates hormonal secretion or a compensatory response to impaired glucose recovery.

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Arginine Vasopressin; Blood Glucose; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1; Female; Humans; Hypoglycemia; Insulin; Male; Middle Aged; Oxytocin

In insulin-dependent (type 1) diabetic subjects (n = 7) with intact hormone response to hypoglycaemia, oxytocin infusion (0.2 mU/min over 60 min) produced significant rises in basal plasma glucagon and adrenaline levels, while it reduced basal plasma cortisol levels. During insulin-induced hypoglycaemia, oxytocin potentiated the increases in plasma glucagon and adrenaline, while an inhibitory effect on plasma cortisol levels was still present. In insulin-dependent (type 1) diabetic subjects (n = 7) with blunted counter-regulatory hormone response to hypoglycaemia, the same dose of oxytocin (0.2 mU/min over 60 min) increased basal plasma glucose and glucagon concentrations and lowered basal plasma cortisol concentration. In the same group of patients, oxytocin delivery (0.2 mU/min), simultaneously to an insulin-induced hypoglycaemia, produced a significant elevation of plasma glucagon and adrenaline concentrations thus enhancing glucose recovery from hypoglycaemia. In conclusion, in insulin-dependent (type 1) diabetic patients, oxytocin delivery enhances plasma glucagon and adrenaline levels in basal conditions and during insulin-induced hypoglycaemia.

Topics: Adult; Blood Glucose; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1; Epinephrine; Female; Glucagon; Hormones; Humans; Hydrocortisone; Insulin; Male; Oxytocin