Healthy-Living Partnerships to Prevent Diabetes (HELP PD) Project

Prevention Study (FDPS) demonstrated that weight loss from lifestyle change reduces type 2 diabetes incidence in patients with prediabetes, the translation into community settings has been difficult. The objective of this study is to report the first-year results of a community-based translation of the DPP lifestyle weight loss (LWL) intervention on fasting glucose, insulin re-sistance, and adiposity. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—We randomly assigned 301 overweight and obese volunteers (BMI 25–40 kg/m2) with fasting blood glucose values between 95 and 125 mg/dL to a group-based translation of the DPP LWL intervention administered through a di-abetes education program (DEP) and delivered by community health workers (CHWs) or to an enhanced usual-care condition. CHWs were volunteers with well-controlled type 2 diabetes. A total of 42.5 % of participants were male, mean age was 57.9 years, 26 % were of a race/ethnicity other than white, and 80 % reported having an education beyond high school. The primary outcome is mean fasting glucose over 12 months of follow-up, adjusting for baseline glucose. RESULTS—Compared with usual-care participants, LWL intervention participants experi-enced significantly greater decreases in blood glucose (24.3 vs.20.4 mg/dL; P, 0.001), insulin (26.5 vs.22.7 mU/mL; P, 0.001), homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (21.

Physico-chemical and toxicological characterization of iron-containing albumin nanoparticles as platforms for medical imaging

Iron oxide-containing magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) have certain advantages over currently used contrast agents for tumor imaging by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as they offer the possibility of functionalization with ligands and tracers. Functionalized MNPs also may be used for targeted tumor therapy. In the current study nanoparticles (NPs) consisting of recombinant human serum albumin (rHSA) with incorporated hydrophilic (NH4)2Ce(IV)(NO3)6-γ-Fe2O3 particles (CAN maghemite particles) for medical imaging were produced and characterized. For this purpose CAN maghemite particles were incorporated into an rHSA matrix to yield rHSA-NPs. The resulting NPs were analyzed by transmission electron microscopy, photon correlation spectroscopy, and atomic absorption. The sizes of the manufactured NP were 170±10nm, and the zeta-potential was -50±3mV. The NPs remained stable when stored after lyophilization with sucrose 3% [w/v] as a cryoprotector. They showed pro-inflammatory properties without cell and animal toxicity in vivo and were highly contrasting in MRI. In conclusion, this report introduces novel rHSA NP with favorable properties containing iron oxide for detection by MRI.publisher: Elsevier articletitle: Physico-chemical and toxicological characterization of iron-containing albumin nanoparticles as platforms for medical imaging journaltitle: Journal of Controlled Release articlelink: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jconrel.2014.08.017 content_type: article copyright: Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.status: publishe