Pharmacotherapy for adults with overweight and obesity: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: Pharmacotherapy provides an option for adults with overweight and obesity to reduce their bodyweight if lifestyle modifications fail. We summarised the latest evidence for the benefits and harms of weight-lowering drugs. METHODS: This systematic review and network meta-analysis included searches of PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library (CENTRAL) from inception to March 23, 2021, for randomised controlled trials of weight-lowering drugs in adults with overweight and obesity. We performed frequentist random-effect network meta-analyses to summarise the evidence and applied the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation frameworks to rate the certainty of evidence, calculate the absolute effects, categorise interventions, and present the findings. The study was registered with PROSPERO, CRD 42021245678. FINDINGS: 14 605 citations were identified by our search, of which 132 eligible trials enrolled 48 209 participants. All drugs lowered bodyweight compared with lifestyle modification alone; all subsequent numbers refer to comparisons with lifestyle modification. High to moderate certainty evidence established phentermine-topiramate as the most effective in lowering weight (odds ratio [OR] of ≥5% weight reduction 8·02, 95% CI 5·24 to 12·27; mean difference [MD] of percentage bodyweight change -7·98, 95% CI -9·27 to -6·69) followed by GLP-1 receptor agonists (OR 6·33, 95% CI 5·00 to 8·00; MD -5·79, 95% CI -6·34 to -5·25). Naltrexone-bupropion (OR 2·69, 95% CI 2·10 to 3·44), phentermine-topiramate (2·40, 1·68 to 3·44), GLP-1 receptor agonists (2·22, 1·74 to 2·84), and orlistat (1·71, 1·42 to 2·05) were associated with increased adverse events leading to drug discontinuation. In a post-hoc analysis, semaglutide, a GLP-1 receptor agonist, showed substantially larger benefits than other drugs with a similar risk of adverse events as other drugs for both likelihood of weight loss of 5% or more (OR 9·82, 95% CI 7·09 to 13·61) and percentage bodyweight change (MD -11·40, 95% CI -12·51 to -10·29). INTERPRETATION: In adults with overweight and obesity, phentermine-topiramate and GLP-1 receptor agonists proved the best drugs in reducing weight; of the GLP-1 agonists, semaglutide might be the most effective. FUNDING: 1.3.5 Project for Disciplines of Excellence, West China Hospital, Sichuan University.

Childhood maltreatment and risk of endocrine diseases: an exploration of mediating pathways using sequential mediation analysis.

BACKGROUND: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), including childhood maltreatment, have been linked with increased risk of diabetes and obesity during adulthood. A comprehensive assessment on the associations between childhood maltreatment and all major endocrine diseases, as well as the relative importance of different proposed mechanistic pathways on these associations, is currently lacking. METHODS: Based on the UK Biobank, we constructed a cohort including 151,659 participants with self-reported data on childhood maltreatment who were 30 years of age or older on/after January 1, 1985. All participants were followed from the index date (i.e., January 1, 1985, or their 30th birthday, whichever came later) until the first diagnosis of any or specific (12 individual diagnoses and 9 subtypes) endocrine diseases, death, or the end of follow-up (December 31, 2019), whichever occurred first. We used Cox models to examine the association of childhood maltreatment, treated as continuous (i.e., the cumulative number of experienced childhood maltreatment), ordinal (i.e., 0, 1 and ≥ 2), or binary (< 2 and ≥ 2) variable, with any and specific endocrine diseases, adjusted for multiple covariates. We further examined the risk of having multiple endocrine diseases using Linear or Logistic Regression models. Then, sequential mediation analyses were performed to assess the contribution of four possible mechanisms (i.e., suboptimal socioeconomic status (SES), psychological adversities, unfavorable lifestyle, and biological alterations) on the observed associations. RESULTS: During an average follow-up of 30.8 years, 20,885 participants received a diagnosis of endocrine diseases. We observed an association between the cumulative number of experienced childhood maltreatment and increased risk of being diagnosed with any endocrine disease (adjusted hazard ratio (HR) = 1.10, 95% confidence interval 1.09-1.12). The HR was 1.26 (1.22-1.30) when comparing individuals ≥ 2 with those with < 2 experienced childhood maltreatment. We further noted the most pronounced associations for type 2 diabetes (1.40 (1.33-1.48)) and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA)-axis-related endocrine diseases (1.38 (1.17-1.62)), and the association was stronger for having multiple endocrine diseases, compared to having one (odds ratio (95% CI) = 1.24 (1.19-1.30), 1.35 (1.27-1.44), and 1.52 (1.52-1.53) for 1, 2, and ≥ 3, respectively). Sequential mediation analyses showed that the association between childhood maltreatment and endocrine diseases was consistently and most distinctly mediated by psychological adversities (15.38 ~ 44.97%), while unfavorable lifestyle (10.86 ~ 25.32%) was additionally noted for type 2 diabetes whereas suboptimal SES (14.42 ~ 39.33%) for HPA-axis-related endocrine diseases. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrates that adverse psychological sequel of childhood maltreatment constitutes the main pathway to multiple endocrine diseases, particularly type 2 diabetes and HPA-axis-related endocrine diseases. Therefore, increased access to evidence-based mental health services may also be pivotal in reducing the risk of endocrine diseases among childhood maltreatment-exposed individuals.

Adverse health consequences of undiagnosed hearing loss at middle age: A prospective cohort study with the UK Biobank.

OBJECTIVES: Hearing impairment is common in the middle-aged population but remains largely undiagnosed and untreated. The knowledge about to what extent and how hearing impairment matters for health is currently lacking. Thus, we aimed to comprehensively examine the adverse health consequences as well as the comorbidity patterns of undiagnosed hearing loss. STUDY DESIGN: Based on the prospective cohort of the UK Biobank, we included 14,620 individuals (median age 61 years) with audiometry-determined (i.e., speech-in-noise test) objective hearing loss and 38,479 individuals with subjective hearing loss (i.e., tested negative but with self-reported hearing problems; median age 58 years) at recruitment (2006-2010), together with 29,240 and 38,479 matched unexposed individuals respectively. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Cox regression was used to determine the associations of both hearing-loss exposures with the risk of 499 medical conditions and 14 cause-specific deaths, adjusting for ethnicity, annual household income, smoking and alcohol intake, exposure to working noise, and BMI. Comorbidity patterns following both exposures were visualized by comorbidity modules (i.e., sets of connected diseases) identified in the comorbidity network analyses. RESULTS: During a median follow-up of 9 years, 28 medical conditions and mortality related to nervous system disease showed significant associations with prior objective hearing loss. Subsequently, the comorbidity network identified four comorbidity modules (i.e., neurodegenerative, respiratory, psychiatric, and cardiometabolic diseases), with the most pronounced association noted for the module related to neurodegenerative diseases (meta-hazard ratio [HR] = 2.00, 95%confidence interval [CI] 1.67-2.39). For subjective hearing loss, we found 57 associated medical conditions, which were partitioned into four modules (i.e., diseases related to the digestive, psychiatric, inflammatory, and cardiometabolic systems), with meta-HRs varying from 1.17 to 1.25. CONCLUSIONS: Undiagnosed hearing loss captured by screening could identify individuals with at greater risk of multiple adverse health consequences, highlighting the importance of screening for speech-in-noise hearing impairment in the middle-aged population, for potential early diagnosis and intervention.

The association between sex hormones and periodontitis among American adults: A cross-sectional study.

Introduction: After adulthood, as a person grows older, the secretion of sex hormones in the body gradually decreases, and the risk of periodontitis increases. But the relationship between sex hormones and periodontitis is still controversial. Methods: We investigated the association between sex hormones and periodontitis among Americans over 30 years old. 4,877 participants containing 3,222 males and 1,655 postmenopausal females who had had periodontal examination and detailed available sex hormone levels, were included in our analysis from the 2009-2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys cycles. We applied multivariate linear regression models to estimate the connection between sex hormones and periodontitis after converting sex hormones into categorical variables through tertile. Additionally, to ensure the stability of the analysis results, we carried out a trend test, subgroup analysis, and interaction test. Results: After fully adjusting the covariates, estradiol levels were not associated with periodontitis in both males and females with a P for trend = 0.064 and 0.064, respectively. For males, we found that sex hormone-binding globulin was positively associated with periodontitis (tertile3 vs tertile1: OR=1.63, 95% CI=1.17-2.28, p = 0.004, P for trend = 0.005). Congruously, free testosterone (tertile3 vs tertile1: OR=0.60, 95% CI=0.43-0.84, p = 0.003), bioavailable testosterone (tertile3 vs tertile1: OR=0.51, 95% CI=0.36-0.71, p < 0.001), and free androgen index (tertile3 vs tertile1: OR=0.53, 95% CI=0.37-0.75, p < 0.001) was found to be negatively associated with periodontitis. Moreover, subgroup analysis of age found a closer relationship between sex hormones and periodontitis in those younger than 50 years. Conclusion: Our research suggested that males with lower bioavailable testosterone levels affected by sex hormone-binding globulin were at a higher risk of periodontitis. Meanwhile, estradiol levels were not associated with periodontitis in postmenopausal women.

Risk prediction models for incident type 2 diabetes in Chinese people with intermediate hyperglycemia: a systematic literature review and external validation study.

BACKGROUND: People with intermediate hyperglycemia (IH), including impaired fasting glucose and/or impaired glucose tolerance, are at higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2D) than those with normoglycemia. We aimed to evaluate the performance of published T2D risk prediction models in Chinese people with IH to inform them about the choice of primary diabetes prevention measures. METHODS: A systematic literature search was conducted to identify Asian-derived T2D risk prediction models, which were eligible if they were built on a prospective cohort of Asian adults without diabetes at baseline and utilized routinely-available variables to predict future risk of T2D. These Asian-derived and five prespecified non-Asian derived T2D risk prediction models were divided into BASIC (clinical variables only) and EXTENDED (plus laboratory variables) versions, with validation performed on them in three prospective Chinese IH cohorts: ACE (n = 3241), Luzhou (n = 1333), and TCLSIH (n = 1702). Model performance was assessed in terms of discrimination (C-statistic) and calibration (Hosmer-Lemeshow test). RESULTS: Forty-four Asian and five non-Asian studies comprising 21 BASIC and 46 EXTENDED T2D risk prediction models for validation were identified. The majority were at high (n = 43, 87.8%) or unclear (n = 3, 6.1%) risk of bias, while only three studies (6.1%) were scored at low risk of bias. BASIC models showed poor-to-moderate discrimination with C-statistics 0.52-0.60, 0.50-0.59, and 0.50-0.64 in the ACE, Luzhou, and TCLSIH cohorts respectively. EXTENDED models showed poor-to-acceptable discrimination with C-statistics 0.54-0.73, 0.52-0.67, and 0.59-0.78 respectively. Fifteen BASIC and 40 EXTENDED models showed poor calibration (P < 0.05), overpredicting or underestimating the observed diabetes risk. Most recalibrated models showed improved calibration but modestly-to-severely overestimated diabetes risk in the three cohorts. The NAVIGATOR model showed the best discrimination in the three cohorts but had poor calibration (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: In Chinese people with IH, previously published BASIC models to predict T2D did not exhibit good discrimination or calibration. Several EXTENDED models performed better, but a robust Chinese T2D risk prediction tool in people with IH remains a major unmet need.

[Iodine Nutritional Status and Prevalence of Thyroid Disorders among Adults in Chengdu].

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of thyroid disorders, iodine nutritional status and relevant risk factors among adults in Chengdu city on the basis of two population-based surveys, one conducted between 2016 and 2017 and the other, between 2019 and 2020, and to provide references for making health-related administrative decisions. Methods: Two population-based sampling surveys were conducted. The first one was done between October 2016 and December 2017, using stratified cluster random sampling to select subjects from 2 urban and 2 rural communities in Chengdu. Then, between December 2019 and February 2020, sequential cluster sampling was used to select subjects from communities in the peripheral regions of Longquanyi District, Chengdu. Both surveys covered natural populations of people who were 18 or older and who met the inclusion criteria. In the first survey, questionnaires, physical examination, thyroid ultrasound, and examinations of serum thyroid biochemical markers and urine iodine were performed, while in the second survey, only questionnaire concerning thyroid disorders and physical examination were performed. Statistical analysis of the nutritional status of iodine, the prevalence of thyroid disorders, and potential risk factor was conducted. Results: A total of 1859 subjects were enrolled for the first survey and 16152 for the second. According to the results of the first survey, the median urine iodine concentration was 172.10 µg/L, and the group with adequate or more than adequate iodine accounted for more than 60% of the surveyed population. The prevalence of thyroid disorders was found to be 0.48% for overt hyperthyroidism, 0.43% for subclinical hyperthyroidism, 0.43% for Grave's disease, 1.34% for overt hypothyroidism, 16.62% for subclinical hypothyroidism, 16.73% for positive thyroid antibody, 12.96% for TPOAb positive, 10.06% for TGAb positive, 0.81% for goiter, 14.85% for single nodule, 14.42% for multi-nodules, and 29.26% for thyroid nodules. Excess iodine is a risk factor for subclinical hypothyroidism ( OR=1.50, 95% confidence interval [ CI]: 1.07-2.10, P<0.05), and iodine deficiency is a risk factor for multiple thyroid nodules ( OR=1.45, 95% CI: 1.02-2.05, P<0.05). The total prevalence of hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism and Hashimoto's thyroiditis in the two surveys was 6.58% and 5.95%, respectively, showing no significant difference. The second survey lacked accurate data on thyroid nodules. Conclusion: The iodine nutritional status of adults in Chengdu in recent years was appropriate. The total prevalence of hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism and Hashimoto's thyroiditis remained stable, while that of thyroid nodule increased in recent years. We should continue with the implementation of the universal salt iodization policy and reinforce efforts in monitoring. Furthermore, we should make an active effort to look into the etiology of thyroid nodules.

Pharmacotherapy for adults with overweight and obesity: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: Pharmacotherapy provides an option for adults with overweight and obesity to reduce their bodyweight if lifestyle modifications fail. We summarised the latest evidence for the benefits and harms of weight-lowering drugs. METHODS: This systematic review and network meta-analysis included searches of PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library (CENTRAL) from inception to March 23, 2021, for randomised controlled trials of weight-lowering drugs in adults with overweight and obesity. We performed frequentist random-effect network meta-analyses to summarise the evidence and applied the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation frameworks to rate the certainty of evidence, calculate the absolute effects, categorise interventions, and present the findings. The study was registered with PROSPERO, CRD 42021245678. FINDINGS: 14 605 citations were identified by our search, of which 143 eligible trials enrolled 49 810 participants. Except for levocarnitine, all drugs lowered bodyweight compared with lifestyle modification alone; all subsequent numbers refer to comparisons with lifestyle modification. High to moderate certainty evidence established phentermine-topiramate as the most effective in lowering weight (odds ratio [OR] of ≥5% weight reduction 8·02, 95% CI 5·24 to 12·27; mean difference [MD] of percentage bodyweight change -7·97, 95% CI -9·28 to -6·66) followed by GLP-1 receptor agonists (OR 6·33, 95% CI 5·00 to 8·00; MD -5·76, 95% CI -6·30 to -5·21). Naltrexone-bupropion (OR 2·69, 95% CI 2·11 to 3·43), phentermine-topiramate (2·40, 1·69 to 3·42), GLP-1 receptor agonists (2·17, 1·71 to 2·77), and orlistat (1·72, 1·44 to 2·05) were associated with increased adverse events leading to drug discontinuation. In a post-hoc analysis, semaglutide, a GLP-1 receptor agonist, showed substantially larger benefits than other drugs with a similar risk of adverse events as other drugs for both likelihood of weight loss of 5% or more (OR 9·82, 95% CI 7·09 to 13·61) and percentage bodyweight change (MD -11·41, 95% CI -12·54 to -10·27). INTERPRETATION: In adults with overweight and obesity, phentermine-topiramate and GLP-1 receptor agonists proved the best drugs in reducing weight; of the GLP-1 agonists, semaglutide might be the most effective. FUNDING: 1.3.5 Project for Disciplines of Excellence, West China Hospital, Sichuan University.

Predicting the risk of developing type 2 diabetes in Chinese people who have coronary heart disease and impaired glucose tolerance.

AIMS: Robust diabetes risk estimates in Asian patients with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and coronary heart disease (CHD) are lacking. We developed a Chinese type 2 diabetes risk calculator using Acarbose Cardiovascular Evaluation (ACE) trial data. METHODS: There were 3105 placebo-treated ACE participants with requisite data for model development. Clinically relevant variables, and those showing nominal univariate association with new-onset diabetes (P < .10), were entered into BASIC (clinical variables only), EXTENDED (clinical variables plus routinely available laboratory results), and FULL (all candidate variables) logistic regression models. External validation was performed using the Luzhou prospective cohort of 1088 Chinese patients with IGT. RESULTS: Over median 5.0 years, 493 (15.9%) ACE participants developed diabetes. Lower age, higher body mass index, and use of corticosteroids or thiazide diuretics were associated with higher diabetes risk. C-statistics for the BASIC (using these variables), EXTENDED (adding male sex, fasting plasma glucose, 2-hour glucose, and HbA1c), and FULL models were 0.610, 0.757, and 0.761 respectively. The EXTENDED model predicted a lower 13.9% 5-year diabetes risk in the Luzhou cohort than observed (35.2%, 95% confidence interval 31.3%-39.5%, C-statistic 0.643). CONCLUSION: A risk prediction model using routinely available clinical variables can be used to estimate diabetes risk in Chinese people with CHD and IGT.

The Effects of DPP-4 Inhibitors, GLP-1RAs, and SGLT-2/1 Inhibitors on Heart Failure Outcomes in Diabetic Patients With and Without Heart Failure History: Insights From CVOTs and Drug Mechanism.

Patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) have a higher risk of heart failure (HF) than healthy people, and the prognosis of patients with diabetes and current or previous HF is worse than that of patients with only diabetes. We reviewed the HF outcomes in recently published cardiovascular outcome trials (CVOTs) of three new classes of anti-diabetic agents, namely, dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP-4is), glucagon-like-peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs), and sodium glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT-2is) or SGLT-2 and SGLT-1 dual inhibitors and divided the patients into two groups based on the history of HF (with or without) and analyzed their risks of HHF based on the receipt of the aforementioned anti-diabetes drug types. Since the follow-up period differed among the trials, we expressed the rate of HHF as events/1,000 person-years to describe the HF outcome. At last we pooled the data and analyzed their different effects and mechanisms on heart failure outcomes. Although DPP-4is did not increase the risk of HHF in T2D patients with a history of HF, they were associated with a significantly higher risk of HHF among patients without history of HF. Some GLP-1RAs reduced the risk of macrovascular events, but none of these drugs reduced the risk of HHF in patients with T2D irrespective of their HF history. It was not clarified whether SGLT-1/2is can improve the prognosis of macrovascular events in patients with T2D, but these drugs reduced the risk of HHF regardless of patients' histories of HF. This information may be useful or referential for the "precise" selection of hyperglycemic medications. Further researches still needed to clarify the mechanisms of these anti-diabetic medications.

Evaluation of the value of diabetes risk scores in screening for undiagnosed diabetes and prediabetes: a community-based study in southwestern China.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the performance and cost-effectiveness of existing diabetes risk scores (DRSs) to screen for undiagnosed diabetes mellitus (UDM) and prediabetes (PD) in a community-based southwestern Chinese population. METHODS: Participants in TIDE-Chengdu survey with requisite data and without known diabetes were included. Five Chinese-derived DRSs and six non-Chinese-derived DRSs were included for evaluation. Their performance in detecting UDM and UMD or PD (UDM/PD) was assessed using the C-statistic. The cost-effectiveness of the optimal DRS was compared with that of capillary fasting blood glucose (CFBG). RESULTS: Of the 1,692 TIDE-Chengdu survey participants included, 177 (10.5%) had UDM and 339 (20.0%) had PD. The rural participants (N = 737) were more likely to have UDM (13.4% vs. 8.2%) and PD (24.8% vs. 16.3%) than their urban counterparts (N = 955) (P < 0.0001). In the full population, the included DRSs all showed good discrimination in detecting UDM (C-statistic: 0.699 to 0.762) and UDM/PD (C-statistic: 0.717 to 0.769), but the New Chinese DRS (NCDRS) performed best for both UDM and UDM/PD. The DRSs evaluated all showed better performance in urban participants than rural participants for both UDM (C-statistic: 0.718 to 0.795 vs. 0.642 to 0.720) and UDM/PD (C-statistic: 0.729 to 0.793 vs. 0.682 to 0.726) (all P < 0.05). The mean cost per UDM/PD case identified was lower with NCDRS at score 25 (¥503.3($71.9)) and 27 (¥490.5 ($70.1)) than CFBG at 5.0, 5.1, 5.2, or 5.3 mmol/L (¥631.7 ($90.2), ¥611.8 ($87.4), ¥579.2 ($82.7) and ¥551.9 ($78.8)), whereas the mean costs per UDM case identified was higher with NCDRS at score 25 (¥1379.3 ($197.0)) and 27 (¥1315.1 ($187.9)) than CFBG at 5.3, 5.4, or 5.5 mmol/L (¥1301.7 ($186.0), ¥1247.7 ($178.2) and ¥1173.3 ($167.6)). CONCLUSION: The NCDRS represents a valid and cost-effective tool for use in southwestern China to identify high-risk patients with UDM or PD who need a diagnostic test.

Impact of Acarbose on Incident Diabetes and Regression to Normoglycemia in People With Coronary Heart Disease and Impaired Glucose Tolerance: Insights From the ACE Trial.

OBJECTIVE: We examined the impact of acarbose, an α-glucosidase inhibitor, on incident diabetes and regression to normoglycemia in 6,522 Acarbose Cardiovascular Evaluation (ACE) trial participants in China who had impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and coronary heart disease (CHD). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Participants were randomly assigned to acarbose or placebo and followed with four monthly fasting plasma glucose (FPG) tests and annual oral glucose tolerance tests. Incident diabetes was defined as two successive diagnostic FPG levels ≥7 mmol/L or 2-h plasma glucose (PG) levels ≥11.1 mmol/L while taking study medication or a masked adjudicated confirmation of this diagnosis. Regression to normoglycemia was defined as FPG <6.1 mmol/L and 2-h PG <7.8 mmol/L. Intention-to-treat and on-treatment analyses were conducted using Poisson regression models, overall and for subgroups (age, sex, CHD type, HbA1c, FPG, 2-h PG, BMI, estimated glomerular filtration rate, for IGT alone, for IGT + impaired fasting glucose, and for use of thiazides, ACE inhibitors [ACEis]/angiotensin receptor blockers [ARBs], ß-blockers, calcium channel blockers, or statins). RESULTS: Incident diabetes was less frequent with acarbose compared with placebo (3.2 and 3.8 per 100 person-years, respectively; rate ratio 0.82 [95% CI 0.71, 0.94], P = 0.005), with no evidence of differential effects within the predefined subgroups after accounting for multiple testing. Regression to normoglycemia occurred more frequently in those randomized to acarbose compared with placebo (16.3 and 14.1 per 100 person-years, respectively; 1.16 [1.08, 1.25], P < 0.0001). This effect was greater in participants not taking an ACEi or ARB (1.36 [1.21, 1.53], P interaction = 0.0006). The likelihood of remaining in normoglycemic regression did not differ between the acarbose and placebo groups (P = 0.41). CONCLUSIONS: Acarbose reduced the incidence of diabetes and promoted regression to normoglycemia in Chinese people with IGT and CHD.

Acarbose With Comparable Glucose-Lowering but Superior Weight-Loss Efficacy to Dipeptidyl Peptidase-4 Inhibitors: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Background: Acarbose and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP-4is) have several similarities regarding their efficacy. Assessing the hypoglycemic and weight-loss effects, as well as the tolerability between them at their optimal dosages, could provide a better management of adult type 2 diabetics. Methods: We performed a systematic review and network meta-analysis (NMA) on randomized controlled trials that were identified from the databases of EMBASE, MEDLINE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Web of Science, Conference Proceedings Citation Index, ClinicalTrials.gov, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wan Fang, and SinoMed. The trials with 300 mg/day of acarbose or the recommended doses of DPP-4is were the most optimal for our NMA. The mean differences (MD) and relative risk (RR) derived from eligible studies were used. Results: Among the 15,411 obtained potential studies, 13 pair-wise trials and 48 monotherapy studies were included in the meta-analysis and NMA, respectively. DPP-4is had a greater glucose-lowering effect, but a weaker weight-loss effect than acarbose in pair-wise meta-analysis (p < 0.05). However, NMA with 11,877 participants showed that, at their optimal doses, acarbose and DPP-4is had similar glucose-lowering effects on the 2-h postprandial glucose (MD 0.96 mmol/L, 95% credible interval -0.56 to 2.54), HbA1c (0.05%, -0.25 to 0.33), fasting plasma glucose reductions (-0.27 mmol/L, -0.76 to 0.24), and HbA1c < 7.0% target goal achievement (RR 1.33, 0.51 to 3.64). Acarbose was superior to DPP-4is regarding weight loss (MD -1.23 kg, -2.08 to -0.33). Acarbose had more withdrawal, gastrointestinal, and overall adverse events than DPP-4is (p < 0.05), but the differences disappeared after longer treatment (p > 0.05). Conclusions: Acarbose and DPP-4is have similar glucose-lowering effects, but the weight-loss effects of acarbose are superior. Therefore, in the use of the most optimal dosages, overweight/obese type 2 diabetics might benefit more from a treatment with acarbose than DPP-4is.

Systemic Delivery of siRNA Specific for Silencing TLR4 Gene Expression Reduces Diabetic Cardiomyopathy in a Mouse Model of Streptozotocin-Induced Type 1 Diabetes.

INTRODUCTION: Diabetic cardiomyopathy is a cardiac dysfunction in patients with diabetes which may lead to overt heart failure and death. Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling triggers diabetic cardiomyopathy through various mechanisms, one of which is the upregulation of TLR4 expression. The aim of this study was to delineate the role of TLR4 in diabetic cardiomyopathy. METHODS: C57BL/6 mice were injected with streptozotocin to induce diabetes. The experimental and control groups were treated with 5 µg of TLR4 small interfering RNA (siRNA) or scrambled siRNA. Cardiac histopathology was evaluated by hematoxylin and eosin, Sirius red, and immunofluorescence staining after treatment with TLR4 siRNA. The myocardial fibrosis and inflammatory factors were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction after treatment with TLR4 siRNA. The myocardial function was evaluated by echocardiography after treatment with TLR4 siRNA. RESULTS: Compared with non-diabetic mouse hearts, hypertrophy, fibrosis, inflammation of cardiomyocytes, and myocardial dysfunction were significantly increased in diabetic mice (p < 0.05). Knockdown of TLR4 decreased hypertrophy, fibrosis, inflammation of cardiomyocytes, and myocardial dysfunction (p < 0.05). Cardiomyocytic cross-sectional areas in hearts of TLR4 siRNA-treated diabetic mice were similar to those of the sham-treated mice (p > 0.05). The induction of expression of cardiac fetal genes, beta-myosin heavy chain (ß-MHC) and atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), which are two markers of cardiac hypertrophy, was significantly reduced in TLR4 siRNA-treated hearts compared with controls (p < 0.05). Moreover, siRNA-mediated silencing of TLR4 reduced diabetes-induced collagen deposition (p < 0.05). Paralleled with changes in collagen deposition and the expression of collagen I and collagen III, knockdown of TLR4 also reduced the expression of transforming growth factor-ß1 (TGFß1) mRNA (p < 0.05). The increased expression of intercellular cell adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1) was significantly attenuated by TLR4 siRNA treatment in the hearts of diabetic mice (p < 0.05). Furthermore, both fractional shortening (FS) and ejection fraction (EF) values were preserved in TLR4 siRNA-treated diabetic mice compared with control siRNA-treated mice (31.80% ± 2.82% vs. 28.50% ± 5.83% for FS, p < 0.05) (57.95% ± 6.48% vs. 45.34% ± 4.25% for EF, p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our study used siRNA to specifically silence TLR4 gene expression in the diabetic mouse heart in vivo and to investigate the role that TLR4 plays in diabetic cardiomyopathy. It is likely that silencing of the TLR4 gene through siRNA could prevent the development of diabetic cardiomyopathy.

Activated PPARß/δ Protects Pancreatic ß Cells in Type 2 Diabetic Goto-Kakizaki Rats from Lipoapoptosis via GPR40.

GW501516-activated peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) ß/δ and G-protein-coupled receptor (GPR) 40 were shown to protect pancreatic ß cells against lipoapoptosis. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate whether activated PPARß/δ could protect type 2 diabetic rats from lipoapoptosis through regulation of GPR40 and to compare the protective effects of activated PPARß/δ and PPARγ. We made an animal model of type 2 diabetic lipoapoptosis by feeding spontaneously type 2 diabetic Goto-Kakizaki (GK) rats with a high-fat diet (HFD) to evaluate the effects of PPARß/δ on islet ß cell apoptosis. And, treated INS-1 cells with 0.5 mM palmitate (PAM) in the absence/presence of GW501516 (a specific agonist of PPAR ß/δ) and with/without transfection of GPR40 siRNA to explore the underlying molecular mechanism. HFD aggravated GK rats' poorer INSR30, lower mass, greater apoptosis of ß cells, lower mass, and lower expression of GPR40, which were similarly improved by GW501516 at 3 or 6 mg/kg day and pioglitazone. Compared with pioglitazone, GW501516 caused more weight loss and had no effect on insulin resistance. GW501516 protected INS-1 cells from PAM-induced apoptosis by upregulating GPR40 and activating Akt/Bcl-2/caspase-3. Activated extracellular regulated protein kinases (ERK) was relevant to the lipoapoptosis in INS-1 cells, but was not involved in the antilipoapoptotic effect of GW501516. These results showed that the PPARß/δ agonist GW501516 protected ß cells from lipoapoptosis and improved ß cell mass by upregulating GPR40 and activating the Akt/Bcl-2/caspase-3 pathway, but not the ERK-signaling pathway.

Pheochromocytoma crisis presenting with hypotension, hemoptysis, and abnormal liver function: A case report.

RATIONALE: Pheochromocytomas are rare catecholamine-secreting tumors arising from adrenomedullary chromaffin cells, usually causing hypertension, palpitation and headache. However, pheochromocytoma crisis, on the contrary, might present with hypotension, multiple organ dysfunction or even mimicking other diseases, leaving physician with diagnostic difficulties. In this study, we present a case featured hypotension, shock and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome on admission, which nearly lead us to miss the diagnosis of pheochromocytoma. PATIENT CONCERNS: A 14-year-old female student presented with cough, hemoptysis and dyspnea for one week was reported. DIAGNOSES: The laboratory test showed significantly increase in plasma norepinephrine and 24-hour urine norepinephrine, the enhanced CT of bilateral adrenal gland showed two round-like masses (left: 4 × 5 × 3 cm; right: 6 × 4 × 3 cm) with soft tissue density in each adrenal gland. The post-surgical pathology confirmed the diagnosis of pheochromocytoma. INTERVENTIONS: The resection of bilateral adrenal tumors was conducted after the preoperative medical treatment of phenoxybenzamine for two weeks. OUTCOMES: The patient underwent follow-up for a year and a half and showed no signs of recurrence. LESSONS: The diagnosis and treatment process of the patient in this study indicates us that when we meet a patient with hypotension and multiple organ dysfunctions in a relatively short time, the suspicion of pheochromocytoma should not be missed.

Cardiovascular effects of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor in diabetic patients with and without established cardiovascular disease: a meta-analysis and systematic review.

OBJECTIVES: We aim to conduct a meta-analysis, by stratifying diabetic patients with or without clinical cardiovascular diseases (CVD), to explore whether there are different cardiovascular effects of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP-4is) on these two different classes of diabetic patients. METHODS: We searchedMedline,Embase, theCochrane Libraryand ClinicalTrials.gov for relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The included trials are divided into CVD (+) trials (subjects with established CVD), and CVD (-) trials (subjects with no CVD). We use all-cause mortality and cardiovascular outcomes as primary endpoints. RESULTS: (1) Three CVD (+) trials were included and 36,895 subjects were enrolled with a mean follow-up duration of 127.1 weeks. The pooled results showed that DPP-4is treatment, compared with the placebo, did not significantly affect all-cause mortality (RR, 1.03; 95% CI, 0.95 to 1.11), cardiovascular death (1.01, 0.91 to 1.12), myocardial infarction (0.98, 0.88 to 1.08) or stroke (1.02, 0.88 to 1.18) in diabetic patients with coexisting CVD history; however, it significantly increased the risk of heart failure (1.14, 1.01 to 1.27) in this population. 2) Thirty-five CVD (-) trials were included, and 29,600 patients were enrolled with a mean follow-up duration of 77.8 weeks. The analysis comparing DPP-4is with the placebo control showed that DPP-4is treatment did not significantly affect the risk of all-cause mortality or cardiovascular outcomes in diabetic patients free of CVD history. However, when compared with the active control, the pooling data showed that DPP-4is had a significant reduction on the risk of stroke (0.58, 0.34 to 0.99) but did not significantly affect the risk of all-cause mortality and other cardiovascular outcomes. CONCLUSION: DPP-4is may have no cardiovascular protective effects in diabetic patients with coexisting CVD, while there is a lack of definitive evidence supporting the cardiovascular benefits of DPP-4is treatment among diabetic patients free of CVD history.