Ma-Pi 2 macrobiotic diet and type 2 diabetes mellitus: pooled analysis of short-term intervention studies

SummaryThe macrobiotic, Ma‐Pi 2 diet (12% protein, 18% fat and 70% carbohydrate), has shown benefit in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). This pooled analysis aims to confirm results from four, 21‐day intervention studies with the Ma‐Pi 2 diet, carried out in Cuba, China, Ghana and Italy. Baseline and end of study biochemical, body composition and blood pressure data, were compared using multivariate statistical methods and assessment of the Cohen effect size (d). Results showed that all measured indicators demonstrated significant changes (p  0.05). Similarly, glycemia and glycemic profiles in all four studies were independent of the sample size (p = 0.237). The Ma‐Pi diet 2 significantly reduced glycemia, serum lipids, uremia and cardiovascular risk in adults with T2DM. These results suggest that the Ma‐Pi 2 diet could be a valid alternative treatment for patients with T2DM and point to the need for further clinical studies. Mechanisms related to its benefits as a functional diet are discussed. © 2013 The Authors. Diabetes/Metabolism Research and Reviews published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Diabetes-Related Autoantibodies in Children With Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

[No abstract available

A 12-month follow-up of the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 primary vaccination: evidence from a real-world study

A real-world population-based longitudinal study, aimed at determining the magnitude and duration of immunity induced by different types of vaccines against COVID-19, started in 2021 by enrolling a cohort of 2,497 individuals at time of their first vaccination. The study cohort included both healthy adults aged ≤65 years and elderly subjects aged >65 years with two or more co-morbidities. Here, patterns of anti-SARS-CoV-2 humoral and cell-mediated specific immune response, assessed on 1,182 remaining subjects, at 6 (T6) and 12 months (T12) after the first vaccine dose, are described. At T12 median anti-Spike IgG antibody levels were increased compared to T6. The determinants of increased anti-Spike IgG were the receipt of a third vaccine dose between T6 and T12 and being positive for anti-Nucleocapside IgG at T12, a marker of recent infection, while age had no significant effect. The capacity of T12 sera to neutralize in vitro the ancestral B strain and the Omicron BA.5 variant was assessed in a subgroup of vaccinated subjects. A correlation between anti-S IgG levels and sera neutralizing capacity was identified and higher neutralizing capacity was evident in healthy adults compared to frail elderly subjects and in those who were positive for anti-Nucleocapside IgG at T12. Remarkably, one third of T12 sera from anti-Nucleocapside IgG negative older individuals were unable to neutralize the BA.5 variant strain. Finally, the evaluation of T-cell mediated immunity showed that most analysed subjects, independently from age and comorbidity, displayed Spike-specific responses with a high degree of polyfunctionality, especially in the CD8 compartment. In conclusion, vaccinated subjects had high levels of circulating antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein 12 months after the primary vaccination, which increased as compared to T6. The enhancing effect could be attributable to the administration of a third vaccine dose but also to the occurrence of breakthrough infection. Older individuals, especially those who were anti-Nucleocapside IgG negative, displayed an impaired capacity to neutralize the BA.5 variant strain. Spike specific T-cell responses, able to sustain immunity and maintain the ability to fight the infection, were present in most of older and younger subjects assayed at T1

Amniotic fluid insulin and C peptide levels in diabetic and non diabetic women during early pregnancy

Thanks to the widespread use of amniocentesis, glucose, insulin, and C peptide have often been measured in amniotic fluid (AF) during late gestation, but little is known about their concentrations during early pregnancy. To better understand early fetal β-cell function under normal conditions and in the presence of maternal diabetes, we measured glucose, insulin, and C peptide in the AF collected during weeks 15-22 in 77 healthy and 9 diabetic women undergoing amniocentesis for clinical indications and compared the results with those obtained during late pregnancy (weeks 34- 36). The AF C peptide concentration was higher in diabetic women (102 ± 53 vs. 38 ± 2 pmol/L), in the women with a family history of diabetes (41 ± 6 vs. 35 ± 2 pmol/L), after the 19th week of gestation (46 ± 5 vs. 35 ± 2 pmol/L; in the presence of lower glucose concentrations), and in the presence of maternal plasma glucose levels greater than 5.56 mmol/L (42 ± 3.5 vs. 34 ± 2 pmol/L). The comparison between early and late gestation showed decreasing glucose and increasing C peptide concentrations in both healthy and diabetic women (in the latter, C peptide values were always 3 times higher), whereas the insulin concentration was increased in late gestation only in diabetic women. The AF C peptide/insulin molar ratio increased throughout pregnancy in both healthy (from 0.97 ± 0.06 to 4.3 ± 1.2) and diabetic (from 2.9 ± 1.1 to 13.2 ± 1.6) women. These parallel changes suggest that the fetal clearance and/or degradation of insulin and C peptide may greatly change during both normal and diabetic gestation

"Retinopatia Diabetica (R.D.): correlazioni tra fattori di rischio ed incidenza su un gruppo di 305 diabetici.

correlazioni tra fattori di rischio ed incidenza su un gruppo di 305 diabetici

Fetal pancreatic function in infants of diabetic and rhesus-isoimmunized mothers

Objective: To measure insulin and glucagon concentrations in amniotic fluid (AF) collected near term in basal conditions and after an arginine test in diabetic, rhesus-isoimmunized, and control pregnant women. Methods: At baseline, AF was collected from 44 diabetic, 32 rhesus-isoimmunized, and 27 control pregnant women at 25-39 weeks. Fifty-two diabetic, six rhesus-isoimmunized, and nine control pregnant women had amniocentesis 2 hours after arginine infusion (30 g intravenous/30 minutes) at 33-36 weeks.Results: Baseline AF glucose concentrations were significantly greater in diabetic women than the other conditions, and they related to the gestational age in the women with hemolytic disease of the newborn. Insulin and glucagon AF content of isoimmunized pregnancies overlapped controls, whereas insulin and insulin/glucagon molar ratios were significantly higher, and glucagon values lower, in diabetic pregnancies compared with isoimmunized and control pregnancies. In isoimmunized pregnancies, the AF concentrations of glucose, insulin, and glucagon were correlated with gestational age (less than 34, 34 weeks or more). The samples collected after arginine infusion, compared with those collected at baseline, showed significantly greater insulin and insulin/glucagon molar ratio values in diabetic (28 ± 5 versus 11 ± 1 μU/mL, P = .001; 29.4 ± 1.7 versus 12.0 ± 2.8, P = .001) and in Rh pregnant women (18 ± 6 versus 7.7 ± 0.7 μU/mL, P = .001; 30 ± 9 versus 3.4 ± 0.4 I/G, P = .001), whereas no significant difference was observed in the controls.Conclusion: Basal islet hormone concentrations in AF are modified by maternal diabetes and further influenced by arginine administration. Arginine produces an AF response that is similar in pregnancies complicated by diabetes mellitus and rhesus-isoimmunization, despite different (hyperglycemia and euglycemia) maternal blood glucose levels