Postgraduate medicine
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Postgraduate medicine · Nov 2020
Relationships among pancreatic beta cell function, the Nrf2 pathway, and IRS2: a cross-sectional study.
This study aimed to investigate the relationships among islet function, the Nrf2 pathway, and insulin receptor substrate 2 (IRS2) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), prediabetes mellitus (IGR), and normal glucose tolerance (NGT) populations. ⋯ Upon impairment of glucose regulation, the expression of TNF-α in the human body increased, which indicated the aggravation of oxidative stress (OS) and the inflammatory response. Islet function was maintained in the pre-diabetic population, and concurrently, the TNF-α, Nrf2, and HO-1 levels were moderately elevated, the expression of IRS2 was marginally inhibited, and the Nrf2 pathway was activated under mild OS stimulus to resist OS, inflammation, and injury, which may have been mediated through PI3 K/AKT. In patients with T2DM, islet function was significantly poorer, TNF-α amplification was enhanced significantly, and Nrf2, HO-1, and IRS2 expression reduced significantly; this suggested that, along with the aggravation of OS and the inflammatory response, Nrf2 pathway activation and HO-1 expression were both inhibited, the antioxidant capacity of the body was reduced, IRS2 degradation increased, and islet function was impaired.
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Postgraduate medicine · Nov 2020
ReviewOral semaglutide in patients with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, renal impairment, or other comorbidities, and in older patients.
Patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) often have comorbidities, such as cardiovascular disease or chronic kidney disease, and a large and growing proportion of the T2D patient population is over 65 years. There are many therapies for the treatment of T2D but not all are suitable for patients with comorbidities. Oral semaglutide is a tablet formulation of a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) and was recently approved for the treatment of T2D, representing an oral alternative to injectable GLP-1RAs. ⋯ There was no effect of age on glycemic efficacy of oral semaglutide and the presence of upper gastrointestinal disease or hepatic impairment did not affect the pharmacokinetics of semaglutide. Across the trials, the safety profile of oral semaglutide was as expected for a GLP-1RA, with gastrointestinal adverse events most commonly reported. As such, oral semaglutide provides an effective oral GLP-1RA treatment option in older patients and/or those with comorbidities, with no requirements for dose adjustment.
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Postgraduate medicine · Nov 2020
Practical guidance for use of oral semaglutide in primary care: a narrative review.
As the cornerstone of type 2 diabetes (T2D) management within the community, primary care providers are now faced with the challenge of not only managing diabetes itself, but also preventing hypoglycemia and weight gain associated with intensive disease management, and reducing cardiovascular risk. Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) are well established as efficacious treatments for T2D, and the safety/tolerability profile of this drug class is well defined. However, despite their beneficial effects, GLP-1RAs are under-utilized, highlighting the need for novel approaches to increase their use in primary care. ⋯ Due to the formulation of oral semaglutide, clinicians need to be aware of specific considerations in order to ensure optimal use. Such considerations include dosing conditions and use of concomitant medications. This article provides practical guidance on the use of oral semaglutide in the primary care setting, based on evidence from clinical studies, including the phase 3a PIONEER program, and the authors' clinical experience.
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Postgraduate medicine · Nov 2020
Outcome differences between carotid artery stenting (CAS) and carotid endarterectomy (CEA) in postoperative ventricular arrhythmia, neurological complications, and in-hospital mortality.
Objective: We study whether the carotid artery stenting (CAS) and carotid endarterectomy (CEA) differ from each other in postoperative ventricular arrhythmia, along with neurological complications (perioperative stroke and transient ischemic attack), in-hospital mortality, and estimated medical cost. Methods: This study used data of patients with carotid artery stenosis from the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database (2011-2014) from the United States of America. Based on the procedure that patients received, individuals were categorized into groups of CAS and CEA. ⋯ Multivariate logistic regressions showed that compared with patients underwent CAS, those with CEA had a lower odds of postoperative ventricular arrhythmia (odds ratio [OR] = 0.81, 95% confidence interval [CI]: [0.66-0.98]), less neurological complications (OR = 0.55, 95% CI: [0.51-0.59] in general; OR = 0.63, 95% CI: [0.57-0.69] in ischemic stroke; OR = 0.26, 95% CI: [0.20-0.32] in hemorrhagic stroke; and OR = 0.58, 95% CI: [0.47-0.71] in transient ischemic attack), and in-hospital mortality (OR = 0.52, 95% CI: [0.42-0.64]). Generalized linear model indicated patients undergoing CEA had lower medical cost (β = -4329.99, 95% CI: [-4552.61, -4107.38]) than patients undergoing CAS. Conclusions: In short-term outcomes, CEA was associated with a lower risk of postoperative ventricular arrhythmia, neurological complications, in-hospital mortality, and lower cost as compared with CAS.
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Postgraduate medicine · Nov 2020
Observational StudyDipeptidyl Peptidase-4 Inhibitor treatment could decrease Klebsiella pneumoniae Pneumonia in patients with type 2 diabetes.
To investigate the effect of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor (DPP4i) for Klebsiella pneumoniae (KP) pneumonia in patients with diabetes. ⋯ For public health issue with type2 diabetes and infection, DPP4i use decreased KP pneumonia. Male gender, patients with co-morbidities, patients with higher DSCI score and higher DDD of DPP4i were observed to decrease KP pneumonia infection in our analysis. The possible role of DPP4i causing immunological disturbances should be considered.