Achard-Thiers Syndrome

Known as "Bearded Diabetic Woman Syndrome"

Apr 9, 2009 Naheed Ali

Achard-Thiers syndrome is an uncommon disorder that happens primarily in postmenopausal females.

Achard-Thiers syndrome is characterized by type 2 (insulin-resistant) diabetes mellitus and symptoms of androgen overabundance. The exact etiology (cause) of this syndrome is still unknown.

Symptoms of Achard-Thiers Syndrome

The symptoms of Achard-Thiers syndrome are numerous. Below are a few of them:

An Achard-Thiers syndrome victim might go through excessive hair development, and female victims have documented development of male pattern hair. The voice of the patient also shifts. Female people either lack menstruation altogether, or menstruation is rare for them. Victims have been reported to have high blood pressure (hypertension), and overgrowth in the adrenal glands.

Achard-Thiers victims also tend to develop pancreatic defects, liver problems, and abnormal ovaries. Affected patients tend to develop thyroid issues too. Furthermore, the majority of Achard-Thiers patients are either severely overweight or slightly obese.

Treatment of Achard-Thiers Syndrome

Diabetes is the most reported symptom of Achard-Thiers syndrome, so it may be wise to try to tackle this symptom first. Effective therapy normalizes blood glucose and lessens ramifications using insulin replacement, dieting, and exercise. Current types of insulin replacement involve single-dose, mixed-dose, multiple-dose, and split-mixed dose programs.

The multiple-dose programs may utilize an insulin pump. Insulin can be fast acting, medium acting, long acting, or a mix of fast acting and intermediate. It could be regular or distilled, and it may be taken from cattle, or human donors. Pure human insulin is practised extensively nowadays. Pancreas organ transplant as an avenue of therapy for Achard-Thiers is observational and necessitates chronic immuno-suppression.

Effective therapy calls for comprehensive dietary education. The victim's diet is specifically geared to involve the right amount and mix of nutrients. Most foods may be eaten by Achard-Thiers victims often in the absence of any harm. The diet can address dietary prescriptions and personal and cultural preferences to improve control of the dieting. For the weighty patient with type two diabetes, weight reducing is an objective. In type one diabetes, the calorie criteria for the body can be high, contingent on growth stage and physical activity level.

Type 2 diabetes can necessitate oral anti-diabetic drugs to induce endogenous insulin output, improve insulin sensitivity at the cellular stage, and hold back hepatic (liver) gluconeogenesis.

Handling of chronic diabetic complications of Achard-Thiers syndrome may include transplantation or dialysis for renal failure, photocoagulation for retinopathy (abnormalities in the retina of the eye), and vascular surgery for large-vessel disease. Meticulous blood glucose control is essential.

Any patient with a wound that has lasted more than 8 weeks who has tried standard wound care or revascularization without improvement, should consider something called “hyperbaric oxygen therapy.” This treatment may speed up the healing process by allowing more oxygen to get to the wound and may therefore result in fewer amputations.

Keeping glucose at near-normal levels for five or more years hinders both the onset and progression of retinopathy, nephropathy, and neuropathy in Achard-Thiers Syndrome. In type 2 diabetes, blood pressure control, jointly with smoking cessation, reduces the onset and progression of complications that include cardiovascular disease.