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Intensive Glycaemic Control (intensive + glycaemic_control)

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PRESCRIBER, Issue 13-14 2008
Article first published online: 29 JUL 200
NSAIDs stroke risk NSAIDs have been linked with an increased risk of stroke in an epidemiological study from The Netherlands (Arch Intern Med 2008;168: 1219-24). Nine years' follow-up of 7636 older persons (mean age 70) identified 807 strokes. The risk of stroke was significantly increased for current use of nonselective NSAIDs (hazard ratio 1.72 for all strokes) and COX-2 selective NSAIDs (HR 2.75 for all strokes; HR 4.54 for ischaemic stroke). Increased risk was found for several individual NSAIDs but was statistically significant only for naproxen (HR 2.63) and the withdrawn rofecoxib (HR 3.38). HPV vaccine chosen The DoH has chosen GlaxoSmithKline's Cervarix HPV vaccine for the national immunisation campaign beginning in September. Cervarix is a bivalent vaccine conferring immunity against HPV16 and 18, which account for 70 per cent of cervical cancers worldwide. Its competitor, Gardasil, is a quadrivalent vaccine additionally protecting against HPV6 and 11, which cause 90 per cent of genital warts. The procurement process assessed the vaccines against ,a wide range of criteria such as their scientific qualities and cost effectiveness'. The DoH has not revealed what it will pay for Cervarix. Melatonin for insomnia Lundbeck has introduced melatonin (Circadin) as monotherapy for the short-term treatment of primary insomnia characterised by poor quality of sleep in patients who are aged 55 or over. The dose is 2mg once daily two hours before bed-time and after food for three weeks. A course costs £10.77. Fesoterodine launched Pfizer has introduced feso-terodine (Toviaz), a prodrug for tolterodine (Detrusitol), for the treatment of symptoms of overactive bladder. Treatment is initiated at a dose of 4mg per day and increased to 8mg per day according to response. The full therapeutic effect may not occur until after two to eight weeks; treatment should be re-evaluated after eight weeks. A month's treatment at either dose costs £29.03, the same as sustained-release tolterodine (Detrusitol XL). Intensive glycaemic control for T2D? Two large trials of intensive glycaemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes have conflicting implications for clinical practice. The ACCORD study (N Engl J Med 2008;358:2545-9) found that treating patients at high CVD risk to a target HbA1c of <6.0 per cent was associated with a 22 per cent increased risk of death and no reduction in macrovascular end-points compared with a target of 7.0-7.9 per cent. The ADVANCE study compared treating to a standard (HbA1c 7.3 per cent) or low (HBA1c 6.5 per cent) target. More intensive glycaemic control significantly reduced microvascular end-points, primarily due to a reduction in nephropathy. There was no difference in the risk of retinopathy or macrovascular end-points. Nicorandil as ulcer cause The potassium-channel activator nicorandil (Ikorel) may be associated with gastro-intestinal ulceration but is frequently overlooked as a possible cause, warns the MHRA in its latest Drug Safety Update (2008;1:Issue 11). Ulceration may affect any portion of the gastro-intestinal tract from the mouth to the perianal area, and it is frequently severe and may cause perforation. Ulcers due to nicorandil are refractory to treatment and only resolve on withdrawal of the drug. Withdrawal should be carried out under the supervision of a cardiologist. , This issue of Drug Safety Update also includes an overview of safety issues with natalizumab (Tysabri) for multiple sclerosis. Atypical antipsychotics diabetes risk ,small' The excess risk of diabetes due to treatment with an atypical antipsychotic is small compared with older anti-psychotics, say UK researchers (Br J Psychiatry 2008;192:406-11). Their meta-analysis of 11 studies found that, compared with the use of first-generation antipsychotics in patients with schizophrenia, the over-all increased risk of diabetes with atypicals was 32 per cent. Risperidone was associated with lowest excess risk (16 per cent), followed by quetiapine (Seroquel) and olanzapine (Zyprexa; 28 per cent) then clozapine (39 per cent). Most studies had method-ological limitations. Copyright © 2008 Wiley Interface Ltd [source]

Glycaemic status and cardiovascular disease in type 2 diabetes mellitus: re-visiting glycated haemoglobin targets for cardiovascular disease prevention

DIABETES OBESITY & METABOLISM, Issue 6 2007
Sherita H. Golden
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death among people with type 2 diabetes. Recent attention has focused on chronic hyperglycaemia as an additional risk factor in people with diabetes since their excess CVD risk is not entirely explained by traditional cardiovascular risk factors. Clinical trials of intensive glucose control to reduce CVD events have been equivocal, but recent epidemiological studies have shown that HbAlc, a measure of chronic hyperglycaemia, predicts incident cardiovascular events. This review, which focuses on type 2 diabetes, summarizes (i) the epidemiological literature examining the relation between glycaemic status, as assessed by glycated haemoglobin (HbAlc) and CVD, (ii) the controversy regarding treatment goals for HbAlc in terms of preventing microvascular disease vs. macrovascular disease and (iii) on-going clinical trials of intensive glycaemic control for CVD prevention. [source]

Advanced glycation endproducts: what is their relevance to diabetic complications?

DIABETES OBESITY & METABOLISM, Issue 3 2007
N. Ahmed
Glycation is a major cause of spontaneous damage to proteins in physiological systems. This is exacerbated in diabetes as a consequence of the increase in glucose and other saccharides derivatives in plasma and at the sites of vascular complications. Protein damage by the formation of early glycation adducts is limited to lysine side chain and N-terminal amino groups whereas later stage adducts, advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs), modify these and also arginine and cysteine residues. Metabolic dysfunction in vascular cells leads to the increased formation of methylglyoxal which adds disproportionately to the glycation damage in hyperglycaemia. AGE-modified proteins undergo cellular proteolysis leading to the formation and urinary excretion of glycation free adducts. AGEs may potentiate the development of diabetic complications by activation of cell responses by AGE-modified proteins interacting with specific cell surface receptors, activation of cell responses by AGE free adducts, impairment of protein,protein and enzyme,substrate interactions by AGE residue formation, and increasing resistance to proteolysis of extracellular matrix proteins. The formation of AGEs is suppressed by intensive glycaemic control, and may in future be suppressed by thiamine and pyridoxamine supplementation, and several other pharmacological agents. Increasing expression of enzymes of the enzymatic defence against glycation provides a novel and potentially effective future therapeutic strategy to suppress protein glycation. [source]

Risk factors for visual impairment registration due to diabetic retinopathy in Leeds, 2002,2005

PRACTICAL DIABETES INTERNATIONAL (INCORPORATING CARDIABETES), Issue 3 2009
Diabetes & Endocrinology, H Hayat Specialist Registrar
Abstract We undertook a retrospective study of case notes of those patients registered blind or partially sighted due to diabetic retinopathy in the Leeds metropolitan area in the years 2002 and 2005. Both the incidence of visual impairment due to diabetic retinopathy and the relative contribution to total registrations are similar to those observed in other local and national studies. The main risk factors for registered visual impairment were poor glycaemic control prior to ophthalmic review, no prior retinopathy screening, late presentation with symptomatic visual loss, non-compliance with planned review and laser treatment failure. Most of these risk factors are avoidable. Nearly two-thirds of patients diagnosed with diabetes mellitus were being screened for diabetic retinopathy. These figures would suggest that the National Service Framework for Diabetes' proposed coverage of 80% by 2006 and 100% by the end of 2007 is achievable. The duration of diagnosed diabetes mellitus at the time of registration was an average of 16 years in this study. This reflects the slow development of sight-threatening retinopathy and visual loss observed previously. Conventional therapy for diabetic retinopathy with laser photocoagulation reduces the risk of visual loss more effectively than it improves visual function. Despite the increased risk of early worsening of retinopathy seen with intensive glycaemic control in the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial and the UK Prospective Diabetes Study, improved control closer to the time of diagnosis of diabetes mellitus would have helped to provide a sustained reduction in the risk of retinopathy developing or progressing. Both laser treatment failure and non-attendance may limit the benefits of improved screening coverage. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons. [source]