Monitoring of diabetes treatment

BACKGROUND: Therapeutic interventions for diabetes are most effective when administered in the newly onset phase, yet determining the exact onset moment can be elusive in practice. Spontaneous autoimmune diabetes among NOD mice appears randomly between 12 and 32 weeks of age with an incidence range from 60 to 90%. Furthermore, the disease often progresses rapidly to severe diabetes within days, resulting in a very short window of newly onset phase, that poses significant challenge in early diagnosis...

Pediatric optic pathway/hypothalamic gliomas (OPHG) pose challenges in treatment due to their location and proximity to vital structures. Surgical resection plays a key role in the management of OPHG especially when the tumor exhibits mass effect and causes symptoms. However, data regarding outcomes and complications of surgical resection for OPHG remains heterogenous. The authors performed a systematic review on pediatric OPHG in four databases: PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar. We included studies that reported on the visual outcomes and complications of OPHG resection...

Due to its widespread use for the treatment of Type-2 diabetes, metformin is routinely detected in surface waters globally. Laboratory studies have shown that environmentally relevant concentrations of metformin can adversely affect the health of adult fish, with effects observed more frequently in males. However, the potential risk to wild fish populations has yet to be fully elucidated and remains a topic of debate. To explore whether environmentally relevant metformin exposure poses a risk to wild fish populations, the present study exposed wild fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) to 5 or 50 μg/L metformin via 2 m diameter in-lake mesocosms deployed in a natural boreal lake in Northern Ontario at the International Institute for Sustainable Development - Experimental Lakes Area (IISD-ELA)...

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 and malaria cause significant morbidity and mortality globally. Co-infection of these diseases can worsen their impact on public health. This review aims to synthesize literature on the clinical outcomes of COVID-19 and malaria co-infection to develop effective prevention and treatment strategies. METHODS: A comprehensive literature search was conducted using MeSH terms and keywords from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to January 2023. The review included original articles on COVID-19 and malaria co-infection, evaluating their methodological quality and certainty of evidence...

Background Chemotherapy correlates to acute and long-term cardiotoxicity, is reflected clinically by myocardial and vascular endothelial dysfunction, and can cause cardiovascular complications. Thus, early diagnosis of cardiovascular disease in cancer patients undergoing anti-cancer treatment is necessary to enhance long-term survival. Our principal objective in this study was to discern the impact of specific anti-cancer chemotherapeutics and biologics on arterial stiffness alterations before and after the administration...

PURPOSE: Understanding factors that influence blood glucose levels in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is crucial for managing hyperglycemia. Currently, there is no standardized interpretation method for glucagon levels in oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). This study aims to assess the relationship between the lowest glucagon/highest C-peptide ratio (Lglc/Hcp) in OGTT and glucose control levels in T2DM. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Clinical data from 120 patients with T2DM were examined to compare the correlations of Lglc/Hcp and other pancreatic islet function-associated indices with fasting blood glucose (G0), glucose at 120 minutes in OGTT (G120), hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), and the area under the glucose curve in OGTT (AUCglu)...

BACKGROUND: Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) contribute significantly to global morbidity and mortality, with cancer being one of the leading causes. In this prospective observational study, we aimed to investigate the prevalence and impact of endocrine disorders, specifically diabetes and thyroid dysfunction, in patients with advanced metastatic cancer undergoing cancer-directed therapy. METHODS: Over 15 months, we recruited 100 histologically proven advanced metastatic cancer patients from the Department of Medical Oncology Haematology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, and conducted institutional-based prospective observational study...

Oral calorie intake causes an acute and transient decline in serum testosterone concentrations. It is not known whether this decline occurs in men on testosterone therapy. In this study, we evaluated the change in testosterone concentrations following oral glucose ingestion in hypogonadal men before and after treatment with testosterone therapy. This is a secondary analysis of samples previously collected from a study of hypogonadal men with type 2 diabetes who received testosterone therapy. Study participants (n=14) ingested 75 grams of oral glucose and blood samples were collected over two hours...

BACKGROUND: Detailed, comprehensive, and timely reporting on population health by underlying causes of disability and premature death is crucial to understanding and responding to complex patterns of disease and injury burden over time and across age groups, sexes, and locations. The availability of disease burden estimates can promote evidence-based interventions that enable public health researchers, policy makers, and other professionals to implement strategies that can mitigate diseases...

INTRODUCTION: Short-term studies reported improved glycemic control and a decrease in eHbA1c (estimated hemoglobin A1c) in patients with type 1 diabetes during COVID-19 lockdown, but long-term changes are unknown. Therefore, the main objectives are to (1) analyze whether laboratory-measured HbA1c changed during and after two lockdowns and (2) investigate potential variables influencing HbA1c change. METHODS: In this cohort study, 291 adults with type 1 diabetes were followed over 3 years including the prepandemic phase and two lockdowns...

INTRODUCTION: Hypertension (HT) is a major public health problem globally, and it is the commonest chronic disease with a prevalence of 27% among people aged 15 years or above in Hong Kong. There is emerging literature confirmed that patients with resistant hypertension (RHT) give its increased risk for adverse clinical outcomes and higher rate of documented target organ damage. This study aims to identify the prevalence of RHT among Chinese hypertensive patients managed in public primary care setting of Hong Kong and exploring its associated risk factors...

Studies of patients with castrate-resistant prostate cancer at high risk of developing overt metastases but with no current evidence of evaluable disease on computed tomography or bone scan non-metastatic castrate-resistant prostrate cancer have demonstrated increased metastasis-free survival and overall survival following treatment with the next-generation oral anti-androgen apalutamide (in addition to therapies that aim to lower testosterone to castrate levels) or luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone antagonist or surgical castration...

OBJECTIVES: IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) can affect nearly any organ and is often treated with glucocorticoids, which contribute to organ damage and toxicity. Comorbidities and healthcare utilization in IgG4-RD are poorly understood. METHODS: We conducted a cohort study using claims data from a United States managed care organization. Incident IgG4-RD cases were identified using a validated algorithm; general population comparators were matched by age, sex, race/ethnicity, and index date...

PURPOSE: To examine the effects of GLP-1 agonists compared to SGLT-2 inhibitors on diabetic retinopathy. DESIGN: Retrospective clinical cohort study using TriNetX (Cambridge, MA, USA), a federated electronic health records network comprising multiple healthcare organizations. METHODS: Patients with an International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) code of non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy and monotherapy treatment, excluding insulin, with GLP-1 agonists or SGLT-2 inhibitors...

PURPOSE: Current literature lacks consensus on risk factors for pharyngocutaneous fistula (PCF), and empirical antibiotic guidelines for PCF are limited. The aim of this study was to reduce the incidence of PCF and improve antibiotic treatment efficacy for patients with PCF after open neck surgery by analyzing their clinical characteristics, pathogenic bacteria, and antibiotic susceptibility. METHODS: This study was a 13-year single-center retrospective cohort study, including 699 patients who underwent open neck surgery for laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancer...

AIM: Many adolescents with T1D experience a decline in metabolic control due to erratic eating habits and subpar adherence to treatment regimens. The objective of our retrospective observational study was to assess the effect of the Tandem Control IQ (CIQ) advanced hybrid closed-loop (AHCL) system on a cohort of adolescents with suboptimal glucose control. METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated 20 non-adherent patients with T1D, who were inconsistently using Multiple Daily Injections (MDIs) and flash glucose monitoring and were subsequently started and on CIQ...

BACKGROUND: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), characterized by β-cell dysfunction and insulin resistance (IR), presents considerable treatment challenges. Apelin is an adipocyte-derived factor that shows promise in improving IR; however, it is limited by poor targeting and a short half-life. In the present study, engineered small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) derived from Wharton's jelly-derived mesenchymal stem cells (WJ-MSCs) loaded with apelin were used to address the limitations of the therapeutic application of apelin...

Objective To date, there are no widely implemented machine learning (ML) models that predict progression from prediabetes to diabetes. Addressing this knowledge gap would aid in identifying at-risk patients within this heterogeneous population who may benefit from targeted treatment and management in order to preserve glucose metabolism and prevent adverse outcomes. The objective of this study was to utilize readily available laboratory data to train and test the performance of ML-based predictive risk models for progression from prediabetes to diabetes...

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, which was first discovered in Wuhan, China. The disease has grown into a global pandemic causing mild to moderate symptoms in most people. The disease can also exhibit serious illnesses, especially for patients with other chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, or cancer. In such cases of severe illness, high flow nasal oxygen (HFNO) has been used to provide oxygenation to COVID-19 patients...

BACKGROUND: Diabetic neuropathy (DN) is the most common complication of diabetes, and approximately 50% of patients with this disease suffer from peripheral neuropathy. Nerve fiber loss in DN occurs due to myelin defects and is characterized by symptoms of impaired nerve function. Schwann cells (SCs) are the main support cells of the peripheral nervous system and play important roles in several pathways contributing to the pathogenesis and development of DN. We previously reported that human tonsil-derived mesenchymal stem cells differentiated into SCs (TMSC-SCs), named neuronal regeneration-promoting cells (NRPCs), which cells promoted nerve regeneration in animal models with peripheral nerve injury or hereditary peripheral neuropathy...