Lipid infiltration in the parotid glands: a clinical manifestation of metabolic syndrome

Lipoedematous scalp: is there an association with fatty infiltration of the parotid?

Lipoedematous scalp (LS) is an extremely rare condition characterised by a soft and boggy consistency in the scalp due to an increased layer of subcutaneous tissue.In this report, we present a case of LS in a 64-year-old Indian woman. Clinical examination revealed only vague boggy lumpiness involving the whole of occipital scalp extending to parietal scalp. MRI scalp showed diffuse fatty infiltration of the scalp, particularly at the posterior parietal and occipital convexity extending to both lateral aspects of the cranium, with homogeneous signal in keeping with fat. Incidentally MRI also found diffuse fatty infiltration of the parotids.The aethiopathogenesis of LS is still unknown, however it is believed that the hormone leptin could be the key hormone in the dysregulation of fat deposition and distribution. This case report highlights the subtle features with which these cases can present and explores the literature on reported cases of LS.

Insulin Resistance and Obesity Affect Lipid Profile in the Salivary Glands

In today's world wrong nutritional habits together with a low level of physical activity have given rise to the development of obesity and its comorbidity, insulin resistance. More specifically, many researches indicate that lipids are vitally involved in the onset of a peripheral tissue (e.g., skeletal muscle, heart, and liver) insulin resistance. Moreover, it seems that diabetes can also induce changes in respect of lipid composition of both the salivary glands and saliva. However, judging by the number of research articles, the salivary glands lipid profile still has not been sufficiently explored. In the current study we aim to assess the changes in the main lipid fractions, namely, triacylglycerols, phospholipids, free fatty acids, and diacylglycerols, in the parotid and the submandibular salivary glands of rats exposed to a 5-week high fat diet regimen. We observed that the high caloric fat diet caused a significant change in the salivary glands lipid composition, especially with respect to PH and TG, but not DAG or FFAs, classes. The observed reduction in PH concentration is an interesting phenomenon frequently signifying the atrophy and malfunctions in the saliva secreting organs. On the other hand, the increased accumulation of TG in the glands may be an important clinical manifestation of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes mellitus.