Diabetes Mellitus Associated with Klinefelter's Syndrome: A Case Report and Review in Japan

We report a case of Klinefelter's syndrome in a 48-year-old man who had diabetes mellitus associated with severe insulin resistance. We diagnosed him with Klinefelter's syndrome from his atrophic testicles, primary hypogonadism in hormonal examination, and a chromosomal aberration of 47, XXY. He showed severe decreased insulin sensitivity in a hyper-insulinemic euglycemic clamp test. He had injected over 100 units of insulin per day, however, testosterone replacement and administration of pioglitazone improved his glycemic control, which resulted in a decrease of insulin dose to less than 50 units per day. Here, we discuss the characteristics of diabetes mellitus associated with Klinefelter's syndrome in Japanese patients including this case. (Internal Medicine 41: 842-847, 2002)