METHODS: Wistar rats employed for this study consisted of normoglycaemic and diabetic rats in nine experimental groups. The normoglycaemic and diabetic rats were either treated with metformin (500 mg/kg b.w.), quercetin (10 mg/kg b.w.), or ethanol extract of H. verticillata leaf (250 mg/kg b.w. and 500 mg/kg b.w.) administered orally for 28 days.
KEY FINDINGS: Results revealed that H. verticillata significantly lowered blood glucose level, attenuated dyslipidaemia, decreased atherogenic coefficient, atherogenic and coronary risk indices, and increased cardioprotective index in diabetic rats. Also, H. verticillata significantly decreased serum urea, creatinine, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase and unconjugated bilirubin levels, relative to untreated diabetic rats. Further, H. verticillata increased serum superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase activities and glutathione level, and decreased malondialdehyde level in diabetic rats in a manner similar to metformin and quercetin. Histopathological investigation of the liver and kidney revealed restored hepatocytes and amelioration of congested interstitial blood vessel of the Bowman's space of the kidneys upon intervention with H. verticillata.
SIGNIFICANCE: H. verticillata in addition to its anti-hyperglycaemic activity ameliorates oxidative stress, dyslipidaemia, atherogenicity and hepatorenal lesions in DM.
OBJECTIVE: This study analyses the effect of estimating EGP for ICU patients with very low SI (severe insulin resistance) and its impact on identified, model-based insulin sensitivity identification, modeling accuracy, and model-based glycemic clinical control.
METHODS: Using clinical data from 717 STAR patients in 3 independent cohorts (Hungary, New Zealand, and Malaysia), insulin sensitivity, time of insulin resistance, and EGP values are analyzed. A method is presented to estimate EGP in the presence of non-physiologically low SI. Performance is assessed via model accuracy.
RESULTS: Results show 22%-62% of patients experience 1+ episodes of severe insulin resistance, representing 0.87%-9.00% of hours. Episodes primarily occur in the first 24 h, matching clinical expectations. The Malaysian cohort is most affected. In this subset of hours, constant model-based EGP values can bias identified SI and increase blood glucose (BG) fitting error. Using the EGP estimation method presented in these constrained hours significantly reduced BG fitting errors.
CONCLUSIONS: Patients early in ICU stay may have significantly increased EGP. Increasing modeled EGP in model-based glycemic control can improve control accuracy in these hours. The results provide new insight into the frequency and level of significantly increased EGP in critical illness.
METHODS: We conducted a randomised, double blinded, two-armed parallel study comparing 20 g/day of Tualang Honey versus 20 g/day Honey Cocktail among postmenopausal women aged 45-65 years. The cardiovascular parameters and anthropometrics measurements were assessed at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months of the intervention.
RESULTS: 100 subjects were successfully randomised into the groups. There was a significant decrease in the diastolic blood pressure from 77.92 mmHg at baseline to 73.45 mmHg at 12 months (F-statistic = 2.55, p-value = 0.047) in the Tualang Honey group compared to Honey Cocktail. There was also a significant decrease in the fasting blood sugar from 6.11 mmol/L at baseline to 5.71 mmol/L at 12 months (F-statistic = 4.03, p-value = 0.021) in the Tualang Honey group compared to the Honey Cocktail group. The body mass index remained unchanged at 27 kg/m2 (F-statistic = 1.60, p-value = 0.010) throughout 12 months of the intervention in the Honey Cocktail group.
CONCLUSION: Subjects who received Honey Cocktail showed remarkable effects on body mass index. However, Tualang Honey supplementation showed superior effect in lowering diastolic blood pressure and fasting blood sugar compared to Honey Cocktail. Further studies are required to ascertain the underlying mechanism(s) of Tualang Honey and Honey Cocktail on each observed parameter.