Vitamin B12 Deficiency in Patients Taking Metformin: Pathogenesis and Recommendations.

Metformin is a cornerstone therapy for type 2 diabetes mellitus due to its glucose-lowering efficacy and additional benefits such as reducing cardiovascular mortality. However, accumulating evidence suggests an association between long-term metformin use and vitamin B12 deficiency, which can lead to serious clinical consequences. This review aims to synthesize current knowledge on the pathogenesis, prevalence, clinical implications, and management of metformin-induced vitamin B12 deficiency. Given the significant clinical implications, it is crucial to monitor and manage vitamin B12 levels in patients using metformin. This review emphasizes the importance of early detection and supplementation to prevent adverse outcomes. By analyzing the current evidence, the review aims to inform healthcare professionals about best practices for managing vitamin B12 deficiency in patients on metformin, offering insights to guide future clinical practices and research directions.

Exploiting oxadiazole-sulfonamide hybrids as new structural leads to combat diabetic complications via aldose reductase inhibition.

A series of oxadiazole-sulfonamide hybrids was synthesized through multistep reaction and for the formation of targeted thioethers 6(a-l), a much facile route was adopted through which S-alkylation was successfully carried out at room temperature. These novel thioethers 6(a-l) were later screened against aldehyde reductase (ALR1) and aldose reductase (ALR2). Beside the enzyme inhibition studies, the compounds were also tested against cervical cancer cell lines (HeLa). The results suggested the significant inhibition pattern towards ALR2, while few compounds were active against ALR1. The synthesized derivatives have shown weak to moderate cytotoxicity. The most potent inhibitors (6b, 6e, 6f and 6l) were selected for molecular docking studies and the binding interactions were reported.

Is Political Activism on Social Media an initiator of Psychological Stress?

OBJECTIVE: To find out the association of psychological stress with political activism on social networking sites (SNS) in adults. To find association of psychological stress and political activism with age, gender and occupational status. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study of 8 months (Aug 2014 to March 2015) was conducted on young adults between age group of 20-40 years of different universities of Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Closed ended standardized questionnaires (i.e. Cohen Perceived Stress-10) were distributed via non-probability convenient sampling among a total sample size of 237. Sample size was calculated using WHO sample size calculator and data was analyzed in STATA version 12. RESULTS: The mean age of participants was 21.06±1.425 years. Out of the 237 participants, 150 (63.3%) were males and 87 (36.7%) females. Regarding their occupation, 13 (51.9%) were military cadets, 8 (3.4%) were consultant, 47 (19.8%) medical officer, 3 (1.3%) PG students and 56 (23.6%) MBBS students. Significant association of occupation was established with both political activism and psychological stress (p=0.4 and p=0.002 respectively). Among 237 individuals, 91 (38.4%) were stressed out and 146 (61.6%) were not. Among whole sample, political activists on SNS were found to be 23 (9.7%). Out of these 23 individuals who were politically active, 15 (65.2%) were stressed out and 8 (34.7%) were not. A significant association between stress and political activism was established (p=0.005). CONCLUSION: Political activism via social networking sites is playing significant role on adult person's mental health in terms of stress among different occupation.