Relationship of abdominal fat with metabolic disorders in diabetes mellitus patients.

In this study, we examined the relationships of the fat distribution with the clinical parameters, microangiopathy, and coagulation disorders in Japanese diabetic patients, distinguishing between males and females. To investigate these relationships, the clinical parameters of the patients were compared with the total abdominal fat area (TFA), visceral fat area (VFA), subcutaneous fat area (SFA), BMI, and percent body fat. In addition, microangiopathies and coagulation disorders of the patients were also compared with the fat distribution. In the male patients, the insulin level, triglyceride (TG) level, and diastolic blood pressure significantly correlated with both VFA and SFA. The HDL cholesterol (HDL-Chol) level and systolic blood pressure also significantly correlated with VFA, but not with SFA. In the female patients, the insulin level, TG level, HDL-Chol level and systolic blood pressure significantly correlated with VFA. On the other hand, only the systolic and diastolic blood pressures significantly correlated with SFA. The fibrinogen and thrombin-antithrombin III complex (TAT) levels significantly correlated with VFA only in the female patients. The male patients with macroalbuminuria had significantly larger VFA than those with microalbuminuria or normoalbuminuria. However, SFA had no relation with the urinary albumin excretion rate. The multiple regression analysis showed that VFA was an independent variable associated with diabetic nephropathy in the male patients. In conclusion, VFA plays more important role than SFA in the metabolic disorders and diabetic nephropathy in the Japanese diabetic patients. In the female diabetic patients, VFA may be associated with disorders of coagulation and fibrinolysis.

Plasma brain natriuretic peptide levels in normotensive Type 2 diabetic patients without cardiac disease and macroalbuminuria.

To clarify the relationship of the plasma brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels to diabetic complications, we studied plasma BNP levels in 100 normotensive diabetic patients without clinical cardiac disease and macroalbuminuria. The values of plasma BNP levels were not significantly different between patients with microalbuminuria and those with normoalbuminuria (12.2 +/- 2.0 vs. 12.3 +/- 1.3 pg/ml, means +/- S.E.M.), and neither were the BNP levels of patients with and without retinopathy significantly different (15.7 +/- 3.4 vs. 11.4 +/- 1.0 pg/ml). BNP levels of the subjects with cerebral vascular disease (CVD) were not statistically different from those of subjects without CVD (17.5 +/- 5.5 vs. 11.7 +/- 1.0 pg/ml), although mean BNP value of subjects with CVD was higher than that of subjects without it. With regard to peripheral vascular disease (PVD), BNP levels of the subjects with PVD were not statistically different from those of subjects without PVD (13.5 +/- 2.3 vs. 12.1 +/- 1.2 pg/ml). We also studied radial arterial oxygen tension of 45 patients and compared these levels between those with and without diabetic complications. However, we could not find statistical differences between them. In conclusion, our study suggests that BNP and arterial oxygen tension levels will not be affected by retinopathy, microalbuminuria, CVD, and PVD in normotensive diabetic patients without clinical cardiac disease and macroalbuminuria. Therefore, when normotensive diabetic patients without macroalbuminuria show increased plasma level of BNP, we should examine their cardiac function in detail, considering subclinical cardiac disease.

Fecal carriage of CTX-M ß-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae in nursing homes in the Kinki region of Japan.

The detection rate of CTX-M-type ß-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae in Japan has significantly increased. Nursing homes may be a reservoir of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Therefore, we determined the prevalence of, and risk factors associated with, fecal carriage of CTX-M-type ß-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae among nursing home residents. A total of 225 stool samples were collected for phenotypic and genotypic identification of extended-spectrum ß-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Enterobacteriaceae. Multivariate analysis was performed to identify the risk factors associated with fecal carriage of CTX-M producers. The prevalence of CTX-M-type ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae, as confirmed by phenotypic and genotypic methods, was 19.6% (44 of 225 samples). Escherichia coli was the predominant CTX-M-type ESBL-producing bacterium among these isolates (41 of 44 isolates). Genotyping of bla CTX-M gene-positive isolates showed that 30 (68.2%), 13 (29.5%), and 1 (2.3%) of 44 samples belonged to groups CTX-M-9, CTX-M-1 and CTX-M-2, respectively. Among the CTX-M-type ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae found in nursing homes, 95.5% (42 of 44 isolates) were co-resistant to quinolone antibiotics. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, inability to turn over in bed, diabetes, and invasive procedures within the last 2 years were the only variables independently associated with fecal carriage of CTX-M-type ESBL producers. Nursing home residents in Japan exhibit a high prevalence of CTX-M-type ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae carriage, with a high level of co-resistance to quinolones.