Combination of alcohol and glucose consumption as a risk to induce reactive hypoglycemia

Aims/Introduction Alcohol consumption has been reported to cause hypoglycemia. However, the mechanism involved has not been unequivocally established. This study comprised healthy volunteers. We carried out a prospective trial to compare the effects of glucose and alcohol consumption, alone or in combination, on glucose and lipid metabolism. Materials and Methods A 75‐g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), a combined 75‐g glucose plus 20‐g alcohol tolerance test (OGATT) and a 20‐g alcohol tolerance test (OATT) were carried out in the participants. Plasma glucose, insulin, triglyceride and ethanol concentrations during each test were compared. Results We studied 10 participants. Their plasma glucose concentrations 15 and 30 min after the intake of 75 g of glucose were significantly higher during the OGATT than the OGTT. Hypoglycemia occurred in five participants after the OGATT, which was significantly more frequently than after the OGTT (P = 0.046). Hypoglycemia did not occur after the OATT, and the ethanol concentration was significantly lower after the OGATT than the OATT. The changes in triglyceride concentration from 30 min after the consumption of 75 g of glucose were significantly greater during the OGATT than the OGTT. The plasma insulin concentrations peaked after 60 min during both the OGTT and OGATT, and were significantly higher during the OGATT (P = 0.047). There were no differences between the two interventions in the Matsuda or disposition indexes. Conclusions Hypoglycemia occurred more frequently after the simultaneous consumption of alcohol plus glucose than after the consumption of glucose alone, suggesting that alcohol in the combination of glucose induces reactive hypoglycemia

Rivaroxaban with or without aspirin in stable cardiovascular disease

BACKGROUND: We evaluated whether rivaroxaban alone or in combination with aspirin would be more effective than aspirin alone for secondary cardiovascular prevention. METHODS: In this double-blind trial, we randomly assigned 27,395 participants with stable atherosclerotic vascular disease to receive rivaroxaban (2.5 mg twice daily) plus aspirin (100 mg once daily), rivaroxaban (5 mg twice daily), or aspirin (100 mg once daily). The primary outcome was a composite of cardiovascular death, stroke, or myocardial infarction. The study was stopped for superiority of the rivaroxaban-plus-aspirin group after a mean follow-up of 23 months. RESULTS: The primary outcome occurred in fewer patients in the rivaroxaban-plus-aspirin group than in the aspirin-alone group (379 patients [4.1%] vs. 496 patients [5.4%]; hazard ratio, 0.76; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.66 to 0.86; P<0.001; z=−4.126), but major bleeding events occurred in more patients in the rivaroxaban-plus-aspirin group (288 patients [3.1%] vs. 170 patients [1.9%]; hazard ratio, 1.70; 95% CI, 1.40 to 2.05; P<0.001). There was no significant difference in intracranial or fatal bleeding between these two groups. There were 313 deaths (3.4%) in the rivaroxaban-plus-aspirin group as compared with 378 (4.1%) in the aspirin-alone group (hazard ratio, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.71 to 0.96; P=0.01; threshold P value for significance, 0.0025). The primary outcome did not occur in significantly fewer patients in the rivaroxaban-alone group than in the aspirin-alone group, but major bleeding events occurred in more patients in the rivaroxaban-alone group. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with stable atherosclerotic vascular disease, those assigned to rivaroxaban (2.5 mg twice daily) plus aspirin had better cardiovascular outcomes and more major bleeding events than those assigned to aspirin alone. Rivaroxaban (5 mg twice daily) alone did not result in better cardiovascular outcomes than aspirin alone and resulted in more major bleeding events