diabetes

HbgA1c – Not Just For DM Anymore

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Newer Blood Test Predicts Diabetes, Heart Disease – BusinessWeek

For the current study, Selvin and her colleagues measured A1C from more than 11,000 stored blood samples from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study, which began in 1990. None of the study volunteers had diabetes or cardiovascular disease at the time the blood samples were taken.

The researchers then compared the A1C levels to fasting blood sugar levels and to the 15 years of overall health follow-up information gathered for the previous study.

During that time, 2,251 people were diagnosed with diabetes, nearly 1,200 were diagnosed with heart disease and 358 people had an ischemic (non-bleeding) stroke, according to the study.

As expected, the researchers found that elevated A1C levels were associated with an increased risk of being diagnosed with diabetes. Those with an A1C of less than 5 percent had a 48 percent reduced risk of diabetes, while people whose A1Cs were between 5 and 5.5 percent had a normal risk of diabetes. From there, however, the risk quickly went up. Those with an A1C of 5.5 to 6 percent had an 86 percent increased risk of diabetes. For those between 6 and 6.5 percent, the risk more than quadrupled. For people with levels above 6.5 percent, the odds of being diagnosed were more than 16 times higher than for someone with levels under 5.5 percent. These results were similar to those for fasting glucose levels, the study authors noted.

Where fasting glucose and A1C differed greatly, however, was in the prediction of future heart disease and stroke risk. While fasting glucose failed to predict future risk, the study found that A1C levels accurately did so.

People with A1Cs under 5.5 percent had an average risk of heart disease and stroke, but for people with an A1C between 5.5 and 6 percent, the risk went up 23 percent. For those with an A1C between 6 and 6.5 percent, the risk of cardiovascular disease jumped to 78 percent. When A1C went over 6.5 percent, the risk of cardiovascular disease went up nearly twofold.

Results of the study are published in the March 4 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

ASA May Reduce CVD and All-Cause Mortality in T2DM

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Aspirin Is Associated With Reduced Cardiovascular and All-Cause Mortality in Type 2 Diabetes in a Primary Prevention Setting — Diabetes Care

RESULTS There were 160 deaths (24.6%) during follow-up, with 70 (43.8%) due to CVD. In Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, there was no difference in either CVD or all-cause mortality in aspirin users versus nonusers (P = 0.52 and 0.94, respectively, by log-rank test). After adjustment for significant variables in the most parsimonious Cox models, regular aspirin use at baseline independently predicted reduced CVD and all-cause mortality (hazard ratio [HR] 0.30 [95% CI 0.09–0.95] and 0.53 [0.28–0.98[, respectively; P ≤ 0.044). In subgroup analyses, aspirin use was independently associated with reduced all-cause mortality in those aged ≥65 years and men.

CONCLUSIONS Regular low-dose aspirin may reduce all-cause and CVD mortality in a primary prevention setting in type 2 diabetes. All-cause mortality reductions are greatest in men and in those aged ≥65 years. The present observational data support recommendations that aspirin should be used in primary CVD prevention in all but the lowest risk patients.

Increased CIMT in T2DM = Abnormal Myocardial Perfusion

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Increased Carotid Intima-Media Thickness as a Predictor of the Presence and Extent of Abnormal Myocardial Perfusion in Type 2 Diabetes — Diabetes Care

CONCLUSIONS Increased CIMT was significantly related to the presence and extent of abnormal myocardial perfusion. Assessment of CIMT may be useful to identify asymptomatic patients with type 2 diabetes at higher risk for CAD.

RESULTS Increased CIMT was an independent predictor of the extent of abnormal perfusion (P < 0.001). In patients with increased CIMT as compared with patients with normal CIMT, abnormal perfusion (75 vs. 9%) and severely abnormal perfusion (28 vs. 3%) were observed more frequently.

Reduce DM Risk With…Coffee?

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Medical News: Tea, Coffee Seem to Protect Against Diabetes – in Endocrinology, Diabetes from MedPage Today

Drinking lots of coffee and tea every day — even decaf — might keep diabetes away, new research shows.

In a meta-analysis of 18 studies, drinking three to four cups of coffee per day was associated with a 25% lower risk of diabetes than drinking two cups or less per day (RR 0.76, 95% CI 0.69 to 0.82), according to Rachel Huxley, PhD, of the George Institute for International Health in Sydney, Australia, and colleagues.

There were similar results for decaf coffee and tea.

Watch Your Diabetic Medications

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Risk of cardiovascular disease and all cause mortality among patients with type 2 diabetes prescribed oral antidiabetes drugs: retrospective cohort study using UK general practice research database — Tzoulaki et al. 339: b4731 — BMJ

Conclusions Our findings suggest a relatively unfavourable risk profile of sulphonylureas compared with metformin for all outcomes examined. Pioglitazone was associated with reduced all cause mortality compared with metformin. Pioglitazone also had a favourable risk profile compared with rosiglitazone; although this requires replication in other studies, it may have implications for prescribing within this class of drugs.

Why I Drink Alcohol v2.0

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Medical Updates – Red Grape Compound Showing Promise Against Diabetes | Health News

After an observation period of at least five weeks, the mice that were on high-fat diets showed that healthy insulin levels came back in half of the group due to triggers of what the team at University of Texas thinks are brain proteins called sirtuins also called Silent Information Regulator Two (Sir2) proteins, which are thought to influence aging and stress resistance.

Some of the other mice had elevated insulin levels which was conclusive depending on their diets. Even if the foundation for a solution is here, research is not yet closer to a plausible way to administer resveratrol to humans because injection into the brain is not an option. Coppari also rejects the idea that wine can solve your pre-diabetic problems as there is not enough of the compound in each serving, unfortunately.