The efficacy of self-monitoring of blood glucose in the management of patients with type 2 diabetes treated with a gliclazide modified release-based regimen. A multicentre, randomized, parallel-group, 6-month evaluation (DINAMIC 1 study).

AIM: To determine if therapeutic management programmes for type 2 diabetes that include self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) result in greater reductions in glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) compared with programmes without SMBG in non-insulin requiring patients. METHODS: Multicentre, randomized, parallel-group trial. A total of 610 patients were randomized to SMBG or non-SMBG groups. Patients in both groups received the same oral antidiabetic therapy using a gliclazide modified release (MR)-based regimen for 27 weeks. The primary efficacy end-point was the difference between groups in HbA1c at the end of observation. RESULTS: A total of 610 patients were randomized: 311 to the SMBG group and 299 to the non-SMBG group. HbA1c decreased from 8.12 to 6.95% in the SMBG group and from 8.12 to 7.20% in the non-SMBG group; between-group difference was 0.25% (95% CI: 0.06, 1.03; p = 0.0097). Symptoms suggestive of mild to moderate hypoglycaemia was the most commonly reported adverse event, reported by 27 (8.7%) and 21 (7.0%) patients in the SMBG and non-SMBG groups, respectively; the incidence of symptomatic hypoglycaemia was lower in the SMBG group. CONCLUSION: In patients with type 2 diabetes, the application of SMBG as an adjunct to oral antidiabetic agent therapy results in further reductions in HbA1c.

[Hyperglycemia and atherosclerosis. Causal relation or association?]. / Hyperglykémia a ateroskleróza. Kauzálny vzt'ah, ci asociácia?

Hyperglycemia may lead to atherosclerosis by different pathogenic mechanisms. Nonenzymatic glycation and oxidation of LDL may increase its atherogenicity. Glycation may modify some arterial wall structural proteins. Increased blood glucose leads to hypertriglyceridemia which results in decrease of HDL-cholesterol level and in increase of atherogenic dense LDL particles. Hyperglycemia also adversely affects processes of platelet aggregation, hemocoagulation and fibrinolysis. It accelerates the development of diabetic nephropathy--a condition with a high prevalence of macrovascular diseases. Prospective epidemiologic studies have shown that diabetic patients in worse metabolic control had an increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Therapeutic randomized studies in type 1 (DCCT) and type 2 (UKPDS) diabetic patients have shown that better diabetes control had a preventive effect against development of microvascular complications. The incidence of macrovascular complications both in type 1 diabetic patients on intensive insulin or sulfonylurea treatment has been decreased on the level of borderline statistical significance. Metformin lead to a significant decrease in myocardial infarction incidence in the subgroup of obese type 2 diabetic patients. In conclusion, maximal possible metabolic control of diabetes prevents the development of microvascular complication, but more impressive decrease in macrovascular disease incidence probably requires to affect another important risk factors for atherosclerosis, such as dyslipidemia and hypertension.

[Functional cardiovascular disorders in patients with neuroses at rest and during physical loading]. / Funkcné kardiovaskulárne poruchy chorých s neurózou v pokoji a pri fyzickom zatazení.

The authors examined using selected non-invasive cardiological examination methods 33 patients with neurosis. Four were eliminated on account of organic heart disease. From the group of 29 patients 12 had ECG changes (41%)--of those 5 (17%) had an incomplete right bundle branch block and 1 (3%) had a left anterior fascicular block; 2 (7%) had the syndrome of early repolarization and 4 (14%) had changes of the T wave. The polycardiogram did not reveal a statistically significant difference in the investigated indicators (PEPc, LVETc, WI, PVR) between the group of sick and healthy patients at rest. Ambulatory 24-hour monitoring of the ECG was done in 21 patients--in 2 (10%) it revealed a sinoatrial block, in 10 (50%) episodic sinus tachycardia, in 6 (30%) occasional supraventricular extrasystoles, in 5 (25%) rare ventricular extrasystoles. The echocardiographic examination confirmed the statistically significantly increased systolic function of the left ventricle (P less than 0.05) in all investigated parameters (%D, Vcf, MNSER, EF), as compared with healthy subjects. After a loading ECG test of 28 patients 2 (7%) had ST-T changes. Statistical comparison with the group of healthy subjects revealed in the patients with neurosis a significantly reduced value of systolic (P less than 0.005) and median blood pressure (P less than 0.01), as well as of the inner cardiac work at the peak of the submaximum load (P less than 0.05) and an increase of the diastolic blood pressure (P less than 0.05) during the 10th minute of recovery. The orthostatic test in 20 patients with neurosis revealed a significantly higher heart rate at rest and during the 30th and 60th second after rising (P less than 0.05) and a significantly lower orthostatic index (P less than 0.001) on statistical comparison with healthy subjects.