The Influence of Ethnicity on the Development of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Women with Gestational Diabetes: A Prospective Study and Review of the Literature

As the worldwide prevalence of type 2 diabetes continues to rise at an alarming rate, the search for susceptible populations likely to benefit from preventative measures becomes more important. One such population is women with a previous history of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). In this prospective study of 101 women who had GDM in Australia, ethnicity was a major risk factor for the development of diabetes following a diagnosis of GDM. With a mean followup of 5.5 years after GDM, South Asian women had a significantly higher risk of developing abnormal glucose tolerance (AGT) (69%) than women of all other ethnicities (P < 0.05). The prevalence of diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance was also very high amongst other groups: South East and East Asian (11/27, 41%), Middle-Eastern (8/18, 44%), South European backgrounds (5/12, 42%), and Australian-born women 39% (11/28). A review of the literature supports the role of ethnicity in the development of diabetes amongst these women. These findings have implications for South Asian countries and countries such as Australia where there is a population from diverse ethnic backgrounds and where the implementation of targeted measures to stem the growing tide of diabetes is needed

Associations between nutrients and foot ulceration in diabetes : a systematic review

We reviewed the literature to evaluate potential associations between vitamins, nutrients, nutritional status or nutritional interventions and presence or healing of foot ulceration in diabetes. Embase, Medline, PubMed, and the Cochrane Library were searched for studies published prior to September 2020. We assessed eligible studies for the association between nutritional status or interventions and foot ulcers. Fifteen studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in this review. Overall, there is a correlation between poor nutritional status and the presence of foot ulceration or a delay in healing. However, there is not enough data to reach conclusions about whether the rela-tionships are causal or only association. Further research is required to test whether any forms of nutritional supplementation improve foot ulcer healing

Mice Deficient in GEM GTPase Show Abnormal Glucose Homeostasis Due to Defects in Beta-Cell Calcium Handling

Glucose-stimulated insulin secretion from beta-cells is a tightly regulated process that requires calcium flux to trigger exocytosis of insulin-containing vesicles. Regulation of calcium handling in beta-cells remains incompletely understood. Gem, a member of the RGK (Rad/Gem/Kir) family regulates calcium channel handling in other cell types, and Gem over-expression inhibits insulin release in insulin-secreting Min6 cells. The aim of this study was to explore the role of Gem in insulin secretion. We hypothesised that Gem may regulate insulin secretion and thus affect glucose tolerance in vivo

First World Consensus Conference on pancreas transplantation: Part II - recommendations.

Funder: Fondazione Pisa, Pisa, Italy; Id: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100007368Funder: Tuscany Region, Italy; Id: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100009888Funder: Pisa University Hospital, Pisa, ItalyFunder: University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy; Id: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100007514The First World Consensus Conference on Pancreas Transplantation provided 49 jury deliberations regarding the impact of pancreas transplantation on the treatment of diabetic patients, and 110 experts' recommendations for the practice of pancreas transplantation. The main message from this consensus conference is that both simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantation (SPK) and pancreas transplantation alone can improve long-term patient survival, and all types of pancreas transplantation dramatically improve the quality of life of recipients. Pancreas transplantation may also improve the course of chronic complications of diabetes, depending on their severity. Therefore, the advantages of pancreas transplantation appear to clearly surpass potential disadvantages. Pancreas after kidney transplantation increases the risk of mortality only in the early period after transplantation, but is associated with improved life expectancy thereafter. Additionally, preemptive SPK, when compared to SPK performed in patients undergoing dialysis, appears to be associated with improved outcomes. Time on dialysis has negative prognostic implications in SPK recipients. Increased long-term survival, improvement in the course of diabetic complications, and amelioration of quality of life justify preferential allocation of kidney grafts to SPK recipients. Audience discussions and live voting are available online at the following URL address: http://mediaeventi.unipi.it/category/1st-world-consensus-conference-of-pancreas-transplantation/246

Vitamin D and muscle

Vitamin D is increasingly recognised to play an important role in normal muscle function. Low vitamin D status is associated with an increased risk of falls and proximal weakness. Since vitamin D deficiency is very common, and the signs are non-specific, it is important to maintain a high index of suspicion of vitamin D deficiency in patients with muscle pain and weakness, and it is simple to measure serum 25(OH) vitamin D. Therapy is cheap, safe and effective, but sometimes a larger dose may be needed, and, as shown in our case report, willingness of people to pay for an over the counter medication can be an issue. Following a striking case report that demonstrates muscle defects in severe vitamin D deficiency, we discuss clinical studies examining specific effects of vitamin D on physical performance, muscle strength and falls. Finally, we present an overview of molecular mechanisms that explain vitamin D's biological effects on muscle. Keywords: Vitamin D, Muscle, Myopathy, Myalgia, Sarcopeni

Effects of vitamin D in skeletal muscle: falls, strength, athletic performance and insulin sensitivity. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf

ABSTRACT Accompanying the high rates of vitamin D deficiency observed in many countries, there is increasing interest in the physiological functions of vitamin D. Vitamin D is recognised to exert extra-skeletal actions in addition to its classic roles in bone and mineral homeostasis

Inducible UCP1 silencing: A lentiviral RNA-interference approach to quantify the contribution of beige fat to energy homeostasis.

Energy consuming, heat-producing beige adipocytes, located in classic white adipose tissue (WAT), hold promise for the treatment of obesity. Few reports have quantitatively assessed the contribution of browned 'WAT' to energy expenditure. There is a need for methods to examine beige-fat thermogenesis, independently of classical brown fat. The aim of this study is to optimize an inducible lentiviral shRNA to conditionally knock-down Ucp1 and assess the effects on 'browned' WAT. Primary adipocytes from mouse inguinal WAT converted into thermogenic adipocytes when stimulated with β-adrenergic agonist and thiazolidinedione. There was increased UCP1 protein and importantly increases in various indicators of mitochondrial bioenergetics. Next, we determined optimal transfection conditions for the UCP1-shRNA lentiviral system and subsequently applied this to 'browned' WAT. UCP1 knockdown decreased the brown/beige-fat gene profile and decreased mitochondrial respiration. In summary, this study optimizes lentiviral UCP1-shRNA technology in vitro. This technique could be applied to inguinal fat depots in vivo. This would allow investigation of contribution of depots to whole-body metabolism to help elucidate the physiological relevance of beige fat