22 research outputs found
Canagliflozin and Renal Outcomes in Type 2 Diabetes and Nephropathy
BACKGROUND Type 2 diabetes mellitus is the leading cause of kidney failure worldwide, but few effective long-term treatments are available. In cardiovascular trials of inhibitors of sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2), exploratory results have suggested that such drugs may improve renal outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS In this double-blind, randomized trial, we assigned patients with type 2 diabetes and albuminuric chronic kidney disease to receive canagliflozin, an oral SGLT2 inhibitor, at a dose of 100 mg daily or placebo. All the patients had an estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of 30 to 300 to 5000) and were treated with renin–angiotensin system blockade. The primary outcome was a composite of end-stage kidney disease (dialysis, transplantation, or a sustained estimated GFR of <15 ml per minute per 1.73 m 2), a doubling of the serum creatinine level, or death from renal or cardiovascular causes. Prespecified secondary outcomes were tested hierarchically. RESULTS The trial was stopped early after a planned interim analysis on the recommendation of the data and safety monitoring committee. At that time, 4401 patients had undergone randomization, with a median follow-up of 2.62 years. The relative risk of the primary outcome was 30% lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group, with event rates of 43.2 and 61.2 per 1000 patient-years, respectively (hazard ratio, 0.70; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.59 to 0.82; P=0.00001). The relative risk of the renal-specific composite of end-stage kidney disease, a doubling of the creatinine level, or death from renal causes was lower by 34% (hazard ratio, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.53 to 0.81; P<0.001), and the relative risk of end-stage kidney disease was lower by 32% (hazard ratio, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.54 to 0.86; P=0.002). The canagliflozin group also had a lower risk of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke (hazard ratio, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.67 to 0.95; P=0.01) and hospitalization for heart failure (hazard ratio, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.47 to 0.80; P<0.001). There were no significant differences in rates of amputation or fracture. CONCLUSIONS In patients with type 2 diabetes and kidney disease, the risk of kidney failure and cardiovascular events was lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group at a median follow-up of 2.62 years
Improved Constraints on Models of Glacial Isostatic Adjustment: A Review of the Contribution of Ground-based Geodetic Observations
The provision of accurate models of Glacial Isostatic Adjustment (GIA) is
presently a priority need in climate studies, largely due to the potential of the Gravity
Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) data to be used to determine accurate and
continent-wide assessments of ice mass change and hydrology. However, modelled GIA isuncertain due to insufficient constraints on our knowledge of past glacial changes and to
large simplifications in the underlying Earth models. Consequently, we show differences
between models that exceed several mm/year in terms of surface displacement for the two
major ice sheets: Greenland and Antarctica. Geodetic measurements of surface displacement
offer the potential for new constraints to be made on GIA models, especially when
they are used to improve structural features of the Earth’s interior as to allow for a more
realistic reconstruction of the glaciation history. We present the distribution of presently
available campaign and continuous geodetic measurements in Greenland and Antarctica
and summarise surface velocities published to date, showing substantial disagreement
between techniques and GIA models alike. We review the current state-of-the-art in
ground-based geodesy (GPS, VLBI, DORIS, SLR) in determining accurate and precise
surface velocities. In particular, we focus on known areas of need in GPS observation level
models and the terrestrial reference frame in order to advance geodetic observation precision/
accuracy toward 0.1 mm/year and therefore further constrain models of GIA and
subsequent present-day ice mass change estimates