Four groups of type 2 diabetes contribute to the etiological and clinical heterogeneity in newly diagnosed individuals: An IMI DIRECT study

The presentation and underlying pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes (T2D) is complex and heterogeneous. Recent studies attempted to stratify T2D into distinct subgroups using data-driven approaches, but their clinical utility may be limited if categorical representations of complex phenotypes are suboptimal. We apply a soft-clustering (archetype) method to characterize newly diagnosed T2D based on 32 clinical variables. We assign quantitative clustering scores for individuals and investigate the associations with glycemic deterioration, genetic risk scores, circulating omics biomarkers, and phenotypic stability over 36 months. Four archetype profiles represent dysfunction patterns across combinations of T2D etiological processes and correlate with multiple circulating biomarkers. One archetype associated with obesity, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and impaired β cell glucose sensitivity corresponds with the fastest disease progression and highest demand for anti-diabetic treatment. We demonstrate that clinical heterogeneity in T2D can be mapped to heterogeneity in individual etiological processes, providing a potential route to personalized treatments

Tracheal intubation in traumatic brain injury

Background: We aimed to study the associations between pre- and in-hospital tracheal intubation and outcomes in traumatic brain injury (TBI), and whether the association varied according to injury severity. Methods: Data from the international prospective pan-European cohort study, Collaborative European NeuroTrauma Effectiveness Research for TBI (CENTER-TBI), were used (n=4509). For prehospital intubation, we excluded self-presenters. For in-hospital intubation, patients whose tracheas were intubated on-scene were excluded. The association between intubation and outcome was analysed with ordinal regression with adjustment for the International Mission for Prognosis and Analysis of Clinical Trials in TBI variables and extracranial injury. We assessed whether the effect of intubation varied by injury severity by testing the added value of an interaction term with likelihood ratio tests. Results: In the prehospital analysis, 890/3736 (24%) patients had their tracheas intubated at scene. In the in-hospital analysis, 460/2930 (16%) patients had their tracheas intubated in the emergency department. There was no adjusted overall effect on functional outcome of prehospital intubation (odds ratio=1.01; 95% confidence interval, 0.79–1.28; P=0.96), and the adjusted overall effect of in-hospital intubation was not significant (odds ratio=0.86; 95% confidence interval, 0.65–1.13; P=0.28). However, prehospital intubation was associated with better functional outcome in patients with higher thorax and abdominal Abbreviated Injury Scale scores (P=0.009 and P=0.02, respectively), whereas in-hospital intubation was associated with better outcome in patients with lower Glasgow Coma Scale scores (P=0.01): in-hospital intubation was associated with better functional outcome in patients with Glasgow Coma Scale scores of 10 or lower. Conclusion: The benefits and harms of tracheal intubation should be carefully evaluated in patients with TBI to optimise benefit. This study suggests that extracranial injury should influence the decision in the prehospital setting, and level of consciousness in the in-hospital setting. Clinical trial registration: NCT02210221

Informed consent procedures in patients with an acute inability to provide informed consent

Purpose: Enrolling traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients with an inability to provide informed consent in research is challenging. Alternatives to patient consent are not sufficiently embedded in European and national legislation, which allows procedural variation and bias. We aimed to quantify variations in informed consent policy and practice. Methods: Variation was explored in the CENTER-TBI study. Policies were reported by using a questionnaire and national legislation. Data on used informed consent procedures were available for 4498 patients from 57 centres across 17 European countries. Results: Variation in the use of informed consent procedur

Shared Genetic Basis for Type 1 Diabetes, Islet Autoantibodies, and Autoantibodies Associated With Other Immune-Mediated Diseases in Families With Type 1 Diabetes

Transplantation and autoimmunit

Novel Association Between Immune-Mediated Susceptibility Loci and Persistent Autoantibody Positivity in Type 1 Diabetes

Transplantation and autoimmunit

Four groups of type 2 diabetes contribute to the etiological and clinical heterogeneity in newly diagnosed individuals: an IMI DIRECT study

The presentation and underlying pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes (T2D) is complex and heterogeneous. Recent studies attempted to stratify T2D into distinct subgroups using data-driven approaches, but their clinical utility may be limited if categorical representations of complex phenotypes are suboptimal. We apply a soft-clustering (archetype) method to characterize newly diagnosed T2D based on 32 clinical variables. We assign quantitative clustering scores for individuals and investigate the associations with glycemic deterioration, genetic risk scores, circulating omics biomarkers, and phenotypic stability over 36 months. Four archetype profiles represent dysfunction patterns across combinations of T2D etiological processes and correlate with multiple circulating biomarkers. One archetype associated with obesity, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and impaired 1 beta cell glucose sensitivity corresponds with the fastest disease progression and highest demand for anti-diabetic treatment. We demonstrate that clinical heterogeneity in T2D can be mapped to heterogeneity in individual etiological processes, providing a potential route to personalized treatments.Therapeutic cell differentiatio

Genetic analysis of blood molecular phenotypes reveals common properties in the regulatory networks affecting complex traits

We evaluate the shared genetic regulation of mRNA molecules, proteins and metabolites derived from whole blood from 3029 human donors. We find abundant allelic heterogeneity, where multiple variants regulate a particular molecular phenotype, and pleiotropy, where a single variant associates with multiple molecular phenotypes over multiple genomic regions. The highest proportion of share genetic regulation is detected between gene expression and proteins (66.6%), with a further median shared genetic associations across 49 different tissues of 78.3% and 62.4% between plasma proteins and gene expression. We represent the genetic and molecular associations in networks including 2828 known GWAS variants, showing that GWAS variants are more often connected to gene expression in trans than other molecular phenotypes in the network. Our work provides a roadmap to understanding molecular networks and deriving the underlying mechanism of action of GWAS variants using different molecular phenotypes in an accessible tissue. Perioperative Medicine: Efficacy, Safety and Outcome (Anesthesiology/Intensive Care

Variation in the practice of tracheal intubation in Europe after traumatic brain injury: a prospective cohort study.

Traumatic brain injury patients frequently undergo tracheal intubation. We aimed to assess current intubation practice in Europe and identify variation in practice. We analysed data from patients with traumatic brain injury included in the prospective cohort study collaborative European neurotrauma effectiveness research in traumatic brain injury (CENTER-TBI) in 45 centres in 16 European countries. We included patients who were transported to hospital by emergency medical services. We used mixed-effects multinomial regression to quantify the effects on pre-hospital or in-hospital tracheal intubation of the following: patient characteristics; injury characteristics; centre; and trauma system characteristics. A total of 3843 patients were included. Of these, 1322 (34%) had their tracheas intubated; 839 (22%) pre-hospital and 483 (13%) in-hospital. The fit of the model with only patient characteristics predicting intubation was good (Nagelkerke R2 64%). The probability of tracheal intubation increased with the following: younger age; lower pre-hospital or emergency department GCS; higher abbreviated injury scale scores (head and neck, thorax and chest, face or abdomen abbreviated injury score); and one or more unreactive pupils. The adjusted median odds ratio for intubation between two randomly chosen centres was 3.1 (95%CI 2.1-4.3) for pre-hospital intubation, and 2.7 (95%CI 1.9-3.5) for in-hospital intubation. Furthermore, the presence of an anaesthetist was independently associated with more pre-hospital intubation (OR 2.9, 95%CI 1.3-6.6), in contrast to the presence of ambulance personnel who are allowed to intubate (OR 0.5, 95%CI 0.3-0.8). In conclusion, patient and injury characteristics are key drivers of tracheal intubation. Between-centre differences were also substantial. Further studies are needed to improve the evidence base supporting recommendations for tracheal intubation