OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the genotoxic risk among children who exposed to pesticides and measure DNA damage due to pesticides exposure.
METHODS: In a cross-sectional study 180 Orang Asli Mah Meri children aged between 7 and 12 years were studied. They were all living in an agricultural island in Kuala Langat, Selangor, Malaysia. The data for this study were collected via modified validated questionnaire and food frequency questionnaire, which consisted of 131 food items. 6 urinary organophosphate metabolites were used as biomarkers for pesticides exposure. For genotoxic risk or genetic damage assessment, the level of DNA damage from exfoliated buccal mucosa cells was measured using the comet assay electrophoresis method.
RESULTS: Out of 180 respondents, 84 (46.7%) showed positive traces of organophosphate metabolites in their urine. Children with detectable urinary pesticide had a longer tail length (median 43.5; IQR 30.9 to 68.1 μm) than those with undetectable urinary pesticides (median 24.7; IQR 9.5 to 48.1 μm). There was a significant association between the extent of DNA damage and the children's age, length of residence in the area, pesticides detection, and frequency of apple consumption.
CONCLUSION: The organophosphate genotoxicity among children is associated with the amount of exposure (detectability of urinary pesticide) and length of residence in (exposure) the study area.
Methods: The Iraqi Anti-Diabetic Medication Adherence Scale (IADMAS) consists of eight items. The face and content validity of the IADMAS were established via an expert panel. For convergent validity, the IADMAS was compared with the Medication Adherence Questionnaire (MAQ). For concurrent validity, the IADMAS was compared with glycosylated hemoglobin. A total of 84 patients with types 2 diabetes were recruited from a diabetes center in Baghdad, Iraq. Test-retest reliability was measured by readministering the IADMAS to the same patients 4 weeks later.
Results: Only 80 patients completed the study (response rate: 95%). Reliability analysis of the IADMAS showed a Cronbach's alpha value of 0.712, whereas that of the MAQ was 0.649. All items in the IADMAS showed no significant difference in the test-retest analysis, indicating that the IADMAS has stable reliability. There was no difference in the psychometric properties of the IADMAS and the MAQ. The sensitivity and specificity of the IADMAS were higher than that of the MAQ (100% vs 87.5% and 33.9% vs 29.7%, respectively).
Conclusion: The IADMAS developed in this study is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing antidiabetic medication adherence among Iraqi patients.
METHODS: A cross-sectional investigation was conducted at General Penang Hospital, Malaysia. Demographic criteria and laboratory tests of patients were investigated. Controlled glycemia (CG) was recognized as glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) ≤7% depending on American Diabetes Association guidelines 2018. Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) was used to estimate the confounding influence of co-morbidities and predict ES-10Y. Data was managed by IBM-SPSS 23.0.
RESULTS: A total of 400 cases categorized to (44.25%) patients with CG, and (55.75%) cases had uncontrolled glycemia (UCG). HbA1c mean in CG and UCG group was (6.8 ± 0.9 vs 9.5 ± 1.6, P-value: 0.001). Fasting blood glucose was (7 ± 2.3 vs. 9.9 ± 4.3, P-value: 0.001) in CG and UCG group. CCI was (3.38 ± 2.38 vs. 4.42 ± 2.70, P-value: 0.001) and, ES-10Y was (62% vs 46.2%, p-value: 0.001) in CG vs. UCG respectively. Spearman test indicates a negative correlation between CG and CCI (r: 0.19, p-value: 0.001). Logistic regression confirmed HbA1c as a significant predictor of CCI (r2: 0.036, P-value: 0.001). CG has a positive correlation with survival (r: 0.16, P-value: 0.001) and logistic regression of survival (r2: 0.26, P-value: 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS: More than one-half of the investigated persons had UCG. Controlled HbA1c was associated with lower co-morbidities and higher ES-10Y.
METHODS: This is a controlled, intervention based study. It was run on three phases: before, during, and after Ramadan on 262 type 2 diabetes patients. The intervention group (n = 140) received RFEP on medications doses & timing adjustment before and after Ramadan, while the control group (n = 122) received standard care.
RESULTS: The dose of insulin glargine was reduced from 42.51 ± 22.16 at the baseline to 40.11 ± 18.51-units during Ramadan (p = 0.002) in the intervention group while it remained the same in the control group before Ramadan and during Ramadan (38.51 ± 18.63 and 38.14 ± 18.46, P = 0.428, respectively). The hypoglycemia score was 14.2 ± (8.5) pre-Ramadan in the intervention and reduced to 6.36 ± 6.17 during Ramadan (p
METHODS: DIAMOND was a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial done at six hospitals in Canada, Malaysia, and the Netherlands. Eligible participants were adult patients (aged 18-75 years) with chronic kidney disease, without a diagnosis of diabetes, with a 24-h urinary protein excretion greater than 500 mg and less than or equal to 3500 mg and an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of at least 25 mL/min per 1·73 m2, and who were on stable renin-angiotensin system blockade. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive placebo and then dapagliflozin 10 mg per day or vice versa. Each treatment period lasted 6 weeks with a 6-week washout period in between. Participants, investigators, and study personnel were masked to assignment throughout the trial and analysis. The primary outcome was percentage change from baseline in 24-h proteinuria during dapagliflozin treatment relative to placebo. Secondary outcomes were changes in measured GFR (mGFR; via iohexol clearance), bodyweight, blood pressure, and concentrations of neurohormonal biomarkers. Analyses were done in accordance with the intention-to-treat principle. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03190694.
FINDINGS: Between Nov 22, 2017, and April 5, 2019, 58 patients were screened, of whom 53 (mean age 51 years [SD 13]; 32% women) were randomly assigned (27 received dapagliflozin then placebo and 26 received placebo then dapagliflozin). One patient discontinued during the first treatment period. All patients were included in the analysis. Mean baseline mGFR was 58·3 mL/min per 1·73 m2 (SD 23), median proteinuria was 1110 mg per 24 h (IQR 730-1560), and mean HbA1c was 5·6% (SD 0·4). The difference in mean proteinuria change from baseline between dapagliflozin and placebo was 0·9% (95% CI -16·6 to 22·1; p=0·93). Compared with placebo, mGFR was changed with dapagliflozin treatment by -6·6 mL/min per 1·73 m2 (-9·0 to -4·2; p<0·0001) at week 6. This reduction was fully reversible within 6 weeks after dapagliflozin discontinuation. Compared with placebo, bodyweight was reduced by 1·5 kg (0·03-3·0; p=0·046) with dapagliflozin; changes in systolic and diastolic blood pressure and concentrations of neurohormonal biomarkers did not differ significantly between dapagliflozin and placebo treatment. The numbers of patients who had one or more adverse events during dapagliflozin treatment (17 [32%] of 53) and during placebo treatment (13 [25%] of 52) were similar. No hypoglycaemic events were reported and no deaths occurred.
INTERPRETATION: 6-week treatment with dapagliflozin did not affect proteinuria in patients with chronic kidney disease without diabetes, but did induce an acute and reversible decline in mGFR and a reduction in bodyweight. Long-term clinical trials are underway to determine whether SGLT2 inhibitors can safely reduce the rate of major clinical kidney outcomes in patients with chronic kidney disease with and without diabetes.
FUNDING: AstraZeneca.
AIMS: This study intended to assess the association of peripheral neuropathy with statins therapy amongst Type 2 diabetic patients.
METHODS: At Penang General Hospital, 757 cases were categorized into two groups (564 with statins therapy and 193 without statins therapy). The diagnosis of PN was investigated retrospectively for a period of 10 years (2006-2016). Confounding risk factors as age, diabetes period, hypertension, glycemic control, other co-morbidity, and prescriptions were matched.
RESULTS: About 129 (22.9%) cases from 564 statins users had PN. Only 30 (15.5%) subjects had PN from 193 statins non-users. Chi-square test showed a significant variance among statins treatment cohort and statin-free cohort in the occurrence of PN (P-value: 0.001). Spearman's investigation presented a positive correlation (r: 0.078, p-value: 0.031) among statins use and PN prevalence. Binary logistic regression was statistically significant for statins therapy as a predictor of peripheral neuropathy incidence (r2: 0.006, p-value: 0.027) amid diabetic patients. The relative risk of peripheral neuropathy connected with statins therapy is (RR: 1.47, 95% CI: 1.02-2.11). The excess relative risk is 47.1%. While the absolute risk (AR) is 7.3% and the number needed to harm (NNH) is 14.
CONCLUSIONS: The study indicated a positive association between peripheral neuropathy and statins utilization. Peripheral neuropathy was higher amongst statins users than the statins-free group.