FK 506 prevents spontaneous diabetes in the BB rat.

The BB rat is the experimental analogue of human juvenile diabetes mellitus. From 30 through 120 days after birth, 59 BB rats were treated with water (n = 20), or FK 506 in daily intragastric doses of 1 mg/kg (n = 19) or 2 mg/kg (n = 20). Diabetes developed in 75%, 15%, and 0% of the three groups. Animals protected from diabetes by FK 506, and killed in the nondiabetic state at 120 days had normal intraperitoneal glucose tolerance tests, virtual absence histopathologically of autoimmune insulitis, normal pancreatic insulin content, and immunocytochemical confirmation of islet insulin and glucagon content. Forty five to 75 days after stopping FK 506, about 3/4 of the animals who were diabetes free at 120 days have remained so. These results provide support for a clinical trial of FK 506 for recent onset diabetes

Effect of FK 506 on spontaneous diabetes in BB rats

From days 30-120 after birth, 59 BB rats were treated with water (n = 20) or FK 506 in intragastric doses of 1 mg·kg-1·day-1 (n = 19) or 2 mg·kg-1·day-1 (n = 20). Diabetes developed in 75, 15, and 0% of the 3 groups, respectively. Animals protected from diabetes by FK 506 had normal intraperitoneal glucose tolerance tests, virtual absence histopathologically of autoimmune insulitis, and normal pancreatic insulin content. Forty-five to 75 days after stopping FK 506, ∼75% of the rats that were diabetes free at 120 days remained so

A multivariate logistic regression equation to screen for dysglycaemia: development and validation

Aims  To develop and validate an empirical equation to screen for dysglycaemia [impaired fasting glucose (IFG), impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and undiagnosed diabetes]. Methods  A predictive equation was developed using multiple logistic regression analysis and data collected from 1032 Egyptian subjects with no history of diabetes. The equation incorporated age, sex, body mass index (BMI), post-prandial time (self-reported number of hours since last food or drink other than water), systolic blood pressure, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and random capillary plasma glucose as independent covariates for prediction of dysglycaemia based on fasting plasma glucose (FPG) ≥ 6.1 mmol/l and/or plasma glucose 2 h after a 75-g oral glucose load (2-h PG) ≥ 7.8 mmol/l. The equation was validated using a cross-validation procedure. Its performance was also compared with static plasma glucose cut-points for dysglycaemia screening. Results  The predictive equation was calculated with the following logistic regression parameters: P  = 1 + 1/(1 + e −X ) = where X = −8.3390 + 0.0214 (age in years) + 0.6764 (if female) + 0.0335 (BMI in kg/m 2 ) + 0.0934 (post-prandial time in hours) + 0.0141 (systolic blood pressure in mmHg) − 0.0110 (HDL in mmol/l) + 0.0243 (random capillary plasma glucose in mmol/l). The cut-point for the prediction of dysglycaemia was defined as a probability ≥ 0.38. The equation's sensitivity was 55%, specificity 90% and positive predictive value (PPV) 65%. When applied to a new sample, the equation's sensitivity was 53%, specificity 89% and PPV 63%. Conclusions  This multivariate logistic equation improves on currently recommended methods of screening for dysglycaemia and can be easily implemented in a clinical setting using readily available clinical and non-fasting laboratory data and an inexpensive hand-held programmable calculator. Diabet. Med. 22, 599–605 (2005)Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/75603/1/j.1464-5491.2005.01467.x.pd

Geographic differences in the risk of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus: the importance of registries.

There are marked geographic differences in the incidence of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM); for example, children in countries such as Finland are over 35 times more likely to develop IDDM than children in Japan. An understanding of the reasons for the geographic differences is likely to be important for understanding and, hopefully, preventing IDDM. There are problems, however, because of the lack of registries with adequate standardization. The major needs for the future studies include (1) to clarify the definition of IDDM for epidemiologic study, (2) to establish a standardized approach for IDDM registries, (3) to use registries to evaluate viral, immunologic, and genetic differences in order to explain differential risks across populations, and (4) to encourage the development of new population-based registries worldwide