Objective: To examine the effects of a quality improvement intervention comprising information and communications technology and contact with nonphysician personnel on the care and cardiometabolic risk factors of patients with type 2 diabetes in 8 Asia-Pacific countries.
Design, Setting, and Participants: This 12-month multinational open-label randomized clinical trial was conducted from June 28, 2012, to April 28, 2016, at 50 primary care or hospital-based diabetes centers in 8 Asia-Pacific countries (India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam). Six countries were low and middle income, and 2 countries were high income. The study was conducted in 2 phases; phase 1 enrolled 7537 participants, and phase 2 enrolled 13 297 participants. Participants in both phases were randomized on a 1:1 ratio to intervention or control groups. Data were analyzed by intention to treat and per protocol from July 3, 2019, to July 21, 2020.
Interventions: In both phases, the intervention group received 3 care components: a nurse-led Joint Asia Diabetes Evaluation (JADE) technology-guided structured evaluation, automated personalized reports to encourage patient empowerment, and 2 or more telephone or face-to-face contacts by nurses to increase patient engagement. In phase 1, the control group received the JADE technology-guided structured evaluation and automated personalized reports. In phase 2, the control group received the JADE technology-guided structured evaluation only.
Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was the incidence of a composite of diabetes-associated end points, including cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, visual impairment or eye surgery, lower extremity amputation or foot ulcers requiring hospitalization, all-site cancers, and death. The secondary outcomes were the attainment of 2 or more primary diabetes-associated targets (glycated hemoglobin A1c <7.0%, blood pressure <130/80 mm Hg, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol <100 mg/dL) and/or 2 or more key performance indices (reduction in glycated hemoglobin A1c≥0.5%, reduction in systolic blood pressure ≥5 mm Hg, reduction in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol ≥19 mg/dL, and reduction in body weight ≥3.0%).
Results: A total of 20 834 patients with type 2 diabetes were randomized in phases 1 and 2. In phase 1, 7537 participants (mean [SD] age, 60.0 [11.3] years; 3914 men [51.9%]; 4855 patients [64.4%] from low- and middle-income countries) were randomized, with 3732 patients allocated to the intervention group and 3805 patients allocated to the control group. In phase 2, 13 297 participants (mean [SD] age, 54.0 [11.1] years; 7754 men [58.3%]; 13 297 patients [100%] from low- and middle-income countries) were randomized, with 6645 patients allocated to the intervention group and 6652 patients allocated to the control group. In phase 1, compared with the control group, the intervention group had a similar risk of experiencing any of the primary outcomes (odds ratio [OR], 0.94; 95% CI, 0.74-1.21) but had an increased likelihood of attaining 2 or more primary targets (OR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.21-1.49) and 2 or more key performance indices (OR, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.04-1.34). In phase 2, the intervention group also had a similar risk of experiencing any of the primary outcomes (OR, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.83-1.25) and had a greater likelihood of attaining 2 or more primary targets (OR, 1.25; 95% CI, 1.14-1.37) and 2 or more key performance indices (OR, 1.50; 95% CI, 1.33-1.68) compared with the control group. For attainment of 2 or more primary targets, larger effects were observed among patients in low- and middle-income countries (OR, 1.50; 95% CI, 1.29-1.74) compared with high-income countries (OR, 1.20; 95% CI, 1.03-1.39) (P = .04).
Conclusions and Relevance: In this 12-month clinical trial, the use of information and communications technology and nurses to empower and engage patients did not change the number of clinical events but did reduce cardiometabolic risk factors among patients with type 2 diabetes, especially those in low- and middle-income countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01631084.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: The antioxidant effect of these compounds was initially performed in vitro using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2-azinobis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) assay methods before subjecting them to in vivo experiments. Compounds showing potent antioxidant activity (CS-1 and CS-2) were investigated further for their antidepressant activity using the forced swim test (FST) and tail suspension test (TST). Ascorbic acid (AA) and fluoxetine (20 mg/kg, p.o) were used as reference drugs for comparison in the antioxidant and antidepressant experiments, respectively.
RESULTS: It was observed that CS-2 and CS-3 exhibited highest DPPH (half maximal inhibitory concentration [IC50]: 16.22 and 25.18 μg/mL) and ABTS (IC50: 17.2 and 28.86 μg/mL) radical scavenging activity, respectively, compared to AA (IC50: 15.73 and 16.79 μg/mL) and therefore, both CS-2 and CS-3 were tested for their antidepressant effect using FST and TST as experimental models. Pretreatment of CS-2 and CS-3 (20 mg/kg) for 10 days considerably decreased the immobility time in both the FST and TST models.
CONCLUSION: The antioxidant and antidepressant effect of CS-2 and CS-3 may be attributed to the presence of azomethine linkage in the molecule.
METHODS: The synthesized compounds were evaluated for their acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) inhibitory potential by modified Ellman's method. The molecular interactions between the most active compound and the enzyme were analyzed by molecular docking.
RESULTS: Among them, 3j displayed higher inhibitory activities than reference drug, galanthamine, with IC50 values of 2.05 and 5.77 µM, for AChE and BChE, respectively. Interestingly, all the compounds except 3b displayed higher BChE inhibitions than galanthamine with IC50 values ranging from 5.77 to 18.52 µM. Molecular docking of compound 3j inside the TcAChE and hBChE completely coincided with the inhibitory activities observed. The compound forms strong hydrogen bonding at the peripheral anionic site of AChE whereas on BChE, it had hydrophobic and mild polar interactions.
CONCLUSION: An efficient and eco-friendly synthetic methodology has been developed to synthesize Schiff bases in a very short reaction time and excellent yields in ionic solvent, whereby the compounds from series 3 showed promising cholinesterase inhibitory activity.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to assess if tranexamic acid is safe, reduces haematoma expansion and improves outcomes in adults with spontaneous intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH).
DESIGN: The TICH-2 (Tranexamic acid for hyperacute primary IntraCerebral Haemorrhage) study was a pragmatic, Phase III, prospective, double-blind, randomised placebo-controlled trial.
SETTING: Acute stroke services at 124 hospitals in 12 countries (Denmark, Georgia, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the UK).
PARTICIPANTS: Adult patients (aged ≥ 18 years) with ICH within 8 hours of onset.
EXCLUSION CRITERIA: Exclusion criteria were ICH secondary to anticoagulation, thrombolysis, trauma or a known underlying structural abnormality; patients for whom tranexamic acid was thought to be contraindicated; prestroke dependence (i.e. patients with a modified Rankin Scale [mRS] score > 4); life expectancy 4.5 hours after stroke onset. Pragmatic inclusion criteria led to a heterogeneous population of participants, some of whom had very large strokes. Although 12 countries enrolled participants, the majority (82.1%) were from the UK.
CONCLUSIONS: Tranexamic acid did not affect a patient's functional status at 90 days after ICH, despite there being significant modest reductions in early death (by 7 days), haematoma expansion and SAEs, which is consistent with an antifibrinolytic effect. Tranexamic acid was safe, with no increase in thromboembolic events.
FUTURE WORK: Future work should focus on enrolling and treating patients early after stroke and identify which participants are most likely to benefit from haemostatic therapy. Large randomised trials are needed.
TRIAL REGISTRATION: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN93732214.
FUNDING: This project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment programme and will be published in full in Health Technology Assessment; Vol. 23, No. 35. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information. The project was also funded by the Pragmatic Trials, UK, funding call and the Swiss Heart Foundation in Switzerland.
Methods: VA leaves were extracted using sequential extraction assisted with ultrasound using three different solvents: ethanol, 50% ethanol, and deionized water. The silver nanoparticles were synthesised with VA aqueous extract.
Results: The ethanol extract and VA silver nanoparticles inhibit MCF-7 cell proliferation with an average half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) value of 67µg/mL and 6.11µg/mL, respectively, after 72 hours of treatment. The ethanol extract and VA silver nanoparticles also caused G1 phase cell cycle arrest, induced apoptosis and nuclear fragmentation in MCF-7 cells.
Conclusion: VA ethanol extracts and VA silver nanoparticles decreased the cell viability in MCF-7 cells in a time and dose-dependent manner by inducing apoptosis and causing DNA damage. Further research is needed to elucidate the mechanism of action of VA leaf extracts and VA silver nanoparticles. This study is the first to report on the anticancer activity of VA silver nanoparticles in MCF-7 cells.
METHODS: We evaluated the performance characteristics of the LMA Protector™ in 30 unparalysed, moderately obese patients. First attempt insertion rate, time for insertion, oropharyngeal leak pressure (OLP), and incidence of complications were recorded.
RESULTS: We found high first and second attempt insertion rates of 28(93%) and 1(33%) respectively, with one failed attempt where no capnography trace could be detected, presumably from a downfolded device tip. The LMA Protector™ was inserted rapidly in 21.0(4.0) seconds and demonstrated high OLP of 31.8(5.4) cmH2O. Fibreoptic assessment showed a clear view of vocal cords in 93%. The incidence of blood staining on removal of device was 48%, postoperative sore throat 27%, dysphagia 10% and dysphonia 20% (all self-limiting, resolving a few hours postoperatively).
CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that the LMA Protector™ was associated with easy, expedient first attempt insertion success, demonstrating high oropharyngeal pressures and good anatomical position in the moderately obese population, with relatively low postoperative airway morbidity.
TRIAL REGISTRATION: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12617001152314 . Registered 7 August 2017.