Gestational diabetes and the incidence of diabetes in the 5 years following the index pregnancy in South Indian women

This study was carried out to examine the incidence of diabetes and the factors associated with this in a cohort of South Indian women 5 years after they were examined for gestational diabetes (GDM). Women (N=630) whose GDM status was determined (Carpenter-Coustan criteria; GDM: N=41) delivered live babies without major anomalies at the Holdsworth Memorial Hospital, Mysore. Of these, 526 women (GDM: N=35) available for follow-up after 5 years underwent a 2-h oral glucose tolerance test and detailed anthropometry. Diabetes was determined using WHO criteria, and Metabolic Syndrome using IDF criteria recommended for south Asian women. The incidence of diabetes (37% versus 2%) and Metabolic Syndrome (60% versus 26%) was considerably higher in women with previous GDM compared to non-GDM women. GDM women who developed diabetes had lower gestational insulin area-under-the-curve (P=0.05). They had larger waist-to-hip ratio, skinfolds, body mass index, and lower 30-min insulin increment at follow-up than other GDM women. In all, history of diabetes in first-degree relatives was independently associated with higher incidence of diabetes (P<0.001). Our findings suggest high diabetes and cardiovascular risks in women with previous GDM. Follow-up of these women after delivery would provide opportunities to modify adverse lifestyle factor

The neurochemical profile quantified by in vivo 1H NMR spectroscopy.

Proton NMR spectroscopy is emerging from translational and preclinical neuroscience research as an important tool for evidence based diagnosis and therapy monitoring. It provides biomarkers that offer fingerprints of neurological disorders even in cases where a lesion is not yet observed in MR images. The collection of molecules used as cerebral biomarkers that are detectable by (1)H NMR spectroscopy define the so-called "neurochemical profile". The non-invasive quality of this technique makes it suitable not only for diagnostic purposes but also for therapy monitoring paralleling an eventual neuroprotection. The application of (1)H NMR spectroscopy in basic and translational neuroscience research is discussed here

Initial invasive or conservative strategy for stable coronary disease

BACKGROUND Among patients with stable coronary disease and moderate or severe ischemia, whether clinical outcomes are better in those who receive an invasive intervention plus medical therapy than in those who receive medical therapy alone is uncertain. METHODS We randomly assigned 5179 patients with moderate or severe ischemia to an initial invasive strategy (angiography and revascularization when feasible) and medical therapy or to an initial conservative strategy of medical therapy alone and angiography if medical therapy failed. The primary outcome was a composite of death from cardiovascular causes, myocardial infarction, or hospitalization for unstable angina, heart failure, or resuscitated cardiac arrest. A key secondary outcome was death from cardiovascular causes or myocardial infarction. RESULTS Over a median of 3.2 years, 318 primary outcome events occurred in the invasive-strategy group and 352 occurred in the conservative-strategy group. At 6 months, the cumulative event rate was 5.3% in the invasive-strategy group and 3.4% in the conservative-strategy group (difference, 1.9 percentage points; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.8 to 3.0); at 5 years, the cumulative event rate was 16.4% and 18.2%, respectively (difference, 121.8 percentage points; 95% CI, 124.7 to 1.0). Results were similar with respect to the key secondary outcome. The incidence of the primary outcome was sensitive to the definition of myocardial infarction; a secondary analysis yielded more procedural myocardial infarctions of uncertain clinical importance. There were 145 deaths in the invasive-strategy group and 144 deaths in the conservative-strategy group (hazard ratio, 1.05; 95% CI, 0.83 to 1.32). CONCLUSIONS Among patients with stable coronary disease and moderate or severe ischemia, we did not find evidence that an initial invasive strategy, as compared with an initial conservative strategy, reduced the risk of ischemic cardiovascular events or death from any cause over a median of 3.2 years. The trial findings were sensitive to the definition of myocardial infarction that was used