Skip to main content
Archives of Disease in Childhood. Fetal and Neonatal Edition logoLink to Archives of Disease in Childhood. Fetal and Neonatal Edition
. 2004 Jan;89(1):F65–F67. doi: 10.1136/fn.89.1.F65

Hyperinsulinaemic hypoglycaemia in preterm neonates

K Hussain, A Aynsley-Green
PMCID: PMC1721630  PMID: 14711860

Abstract

Hyperinsulinism in infancy (HI) is an important cause of severe and recurrent hypoglycaemia in newborn infants. It usually appears in infants born at term, and only one case of its occurrence in a prematurely born infant has been reported as an incidental finding. This is a report of seven infants born at 31–36 weeks gestation who experienced severe persistent hyperinsulinism. Two infants were large for dates. All infants were difficult to manage, suggesting that the occurrence of HI with prematurity may be associated with a particularly aggressive illness. HI should be considered in the differential diagnosis of severe hypoglycaemia in preterm infants.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (109.8 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Aynsley-Green A., Hussain K., Hall J., Saudubray J. M., Nihoul-Fékété C., De Lonlay-Debeney P., Brunelle F., Otonkoski T., Thornton P., Lindley K. J. Practical management of hyperinsulinism in infancy. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed. 2000 Mar;82(2):F98–F107. doi: 10.1136/fn.82.2.F98. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Aynsley-Green A., Polak J. M., Bloom S. R., Gough M. H., Keeling J., Ashcroft S. J., Turner R. C., Baum J. D. Nesidioblastosis of the pancreas: definition of the syndrome and the management of the severe neonatal hyperinsulinaemic hypoglycaemia. Arch Dis Child. 1981 Jul;56(7):496–508. doi: 10.1136/adc.56.7.496. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Collins J. E., Leonard J. V. Hyperinsulinism in asphyxiated and small-for-dates infants with hypoglycaemia. Lancet. 1984 Aug 11;2(8398):311–313. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(84)92685-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Collins J. E., Leonard J. V., Teale D., Marks V., Williams D. M., Kennedy C. R., Hall M. A. Hyperinsulinaemic hypoglycaemia in small for dates babies. Arch Dis Child. 1990 Oct;65(10):1118–1120. doi: 10.1136/adc.65.10.1118. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Gembal M., Detimary P., Gilon P., Gao Z. Y., Henquin J. C. Mechanisms by which glucose can control insulin release independently from its action on adenosine triphosphate-sensitive K+ channels in mouse B cells. J Clin Invest. 1993 Mar;91(3):871–880. doi: 10.1172/JCI116308. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Glaser B., Thornton P., Otonkoski T., Junien C. Genetics of neonatal hyperinsulinism. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed. 2000 Mar;82(2):F79–F86. doi: 10.1136/fn.82.2.F79. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Hawdon J. M., Aynsley-Green A., Bartlett K., Ward Platt M. P. The role of pancreatic insulin secretion in neonatal glucoregulation. II. Infants with disordered blood glucose homoeostasis. Arch Dis Child. 1993 Mar;68(3 Spec No):280–285. doi: 10.1136/adc.68.3_spec_no.280. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Hawdon J. M., Hubbard M., Hales C. N., Clark P. M. Use of specific immunoradiometric assay to determine preterm neonatal insulin-glucose relations. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed. 1995 Nov;73(3):F166–F169. doi: 10.1136/fn.73.3.f166. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Hughes D., Murphy J. F., Dyas J., Robinson J. A., Riad-Fahmy D., Hughes I. A. Blood spot glucocorticoid concentrations in ill preterm infants. Arch Dis Child. 1987 Oct;62(10):1014–1018. doi: 10.1136/adc.62.10.1014. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Kane C., Shepherd R. M., Squires P. E., Johnson P. R., James R. F., Milla P. J., Aynsley-Green A., Lindley K. J., Dunne M. J. Loss of functional KATP channels in pancreatic beta-cells causes persistent hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia of infancy. Nat Med. 1996 Dec;2(12):1344–1347. doi: 10.1038/nm1296-1344. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Lindley K. J., Dunne M. J., Kane C., Shepherd R. M., Squires P. E., James R. F., Johnson P. R., Eckhardt S., Wakeling E., Dattani M. Ionic control of beta cell function in nesidioblastosis. A possible therapeutic role for calcium channel blockade. Arch Dis Child. 1996 May;74(5):373–378. doi: 10.1136/adc.74.5.373. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Meissner T., Brune W., Mayatepek E. Persistent hyperinsulinaemic hypoglycaemia of infancy: therapy, clinical outcome and mutational analysis. Eur J Pediatr. 1997 Oct;156(10):754–757. doi: 10.1007/s004310050706. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Moncrieff M. W., Lacey K. A., Malleson P. N. Management of prolonged hypoglycaemia in Beckwith's syndrome. Postgrad Med J. 1977 Mar;53(617):159–161. doi: 10.1136/pgmj.53.617.159. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Ng P. C., Lam C. W. K., Lee C. H., Ma K. C., Fok T. F., Chan I. H. S., Wong E. Reference ranges and factors affecting the human corticotropin-releasing hormone test in preterm, very low birth weight infants. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2002 Oct;87(10):4621–4628. doi: 10.1210/jc.2001-011620. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Rahier J., Guiot Y., Sempoux C. Persistent hyperinsulinaemic hypoglycaemia of infancy: a heterogeneous syndrome unrelated to nesidioblastosis. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed. 2000 Mar;82(2):F108–F112. doi: 10.1136/fn.82.2.F108. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Soltész G., Aynsley-Green A. Hyperinsulinism in infancy and childhood. Ergeb Inn Med Kinderheilkd. 1984;51:151–202. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-69070-9_4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Sperling M. A., Menon R. K. Infant of the diabetic mother. Curr Ther Endocrinol Metab. 1994;5:372–376. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Stanley C. A., Lieu Y. K., Hsu B. Y., Burlina A. B., Greenberg C. R., Hopwood N. J., Perlman K., Rich B. H., Zammarchi E., Poncz M. Hyperinsulinism and hyperammonemia in infants with regulatory mutations of the glutamate dehydrogenase gene. N Engl J Med. 1998 May 7;338(19):1352–1357. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199805073381904. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Archives of Disease in Childhood Fetal and Neonatal Edition are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES