A randomized trial on the effect of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulator on glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulator (TENS) has been demonstrated to be beneficial in glycemic control in animal models, but its application in humans has not been well studied. We randomly assigned 160 patients with type 2 diabetes on oral antidiabetic drugs 1:1 to the TENS study device (n = 81) and placebo (n = 79). 147 (92%) randomized participants (mean [SD] age 59 [10] years, 92 men [58%], mean [SD] baseline HbA1c level 8.1% [0.6%]) completed the trial. At week 20, HbA1c decreased from 8.1% to 7.9% in the TENS group (- 0.2% [95% CI - 0.4% to - 0.1%]) and from 8.1% to 7.8% in the placebo group (- 0.3% [95% CI - 0.5% to - 0.2%]) (P = 0.821). Glycemic variability, measured as mean amplitude of glycemic excursion (MAGE) at week 20 were significantly different in the TENS group vs. the placebo group (66 mg/dL [95% CI 58, 73] vs. 79 mg/dL [95% CI 72, 87]) (P = 0.009). Our study provides the clinical evidence for the first time in humans that TENS does not demonstrate a statistically significant HbA1c reduction. However, it is a safe complementary therapy to improve MAGE in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Conundrum of vitamin D on glucose and fuel homeostasis.

As an endocrine hormone, vitamin D plays an important role in bone health and calcium homeostasis. Over the past two decades, the non-calcemic effects of vitamin D were extensively examined. Although the effect of vitamin D on beta cell function were known for some time, the effect of vitamin D on glucose and fuel homeostasis has attracted new interest among researchers. Yet, to date, studies remain inconclusive and controversial, in part, due to a lack of understanding of the threshold effects of vitamin D. In this review, a critical examination of interventional trials of vitamin D in prevention of diabetes is provided. Like use of vitamin D for bone loss, the benefits of vitamin D supplementation in diabetes prevention were observed in vitamin D-deficient subjects with serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D < 50 nmol/L (20 ng/mL). The beneficial effect from vitamin D supplementation was not apparent in subjects with serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D > 75 nmol/L (30 ng/mL). Furthermore, no benefit was noted in subjects that achieved serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D > 100 nmol/L (40 ng/mL). Further studies are required to confirm these observations.

Ten days of levofloxacin-containing concomitant therapy can achieve effective Helicobacter pylori eradication in patients with type 2 diabetes.

BACKGROUND: This study investigated whether levofloxacin-containing concomitant therapy can effectively eradicate Helicobacter pylori infection in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). METHODS: A total of 797 T2DM patients were screened for anti-H. pylori IgG antibodies, and the presence of H. pylori infection was confirmed by 13C-urea breath test. We prospectively randomized 114 of these patients to receive either 10 d of levofloxacin-concomitant therapy (n = 55) or sequential therapy (n = 59). Antimicrobial resistance of H. pylori isolates collected from the patients with T2DM (n = 109) and dyspeptic controls without DM (n = 110) was determined using the E-test. This study was approved by our Institutional Review Board (A-BR-103-021). RESULTS: The H. pylori eradication rates with concomitant therapy were higher than sequential therapy in both intention-to-treat (96.4% versus 81.4%, p = 0.012) and per-protocol (100% versus 85.4%, p = 0.006) analysis. The adverse effects in both groups were similarly mild. In the patients who received sequential therapy, clarithromycin resistance was significantly associated with eradication failure (p = 0.02). There were no significant differences in the antibiotic-resistant rates to amoxicillin, clarithromycin, metronidazole, tetracycline, and levofloxacin between the patients with and without T2DM. CONCLUSIONS: Ten days of levofloxacin-containing concomitant therapy is an effective and well-tolerated treatment to eradicate H. pylori infection for T2DM patients. Key messages Ten days of levofloxacin-containing concomitant therapy is well tolerated and superior to clarithromycin-containing sequential therapy for first-line H. pylori eradication in patients with type 2 diabetes. Clarithromycin resistance to H. pylori is the main factor associated with eradication failure in clarithromycin-containing sequential therapy in diabetic patients.

Association of insulin resistance with serum ferritin and aminotransferases-iron hypothesis.

AIM: To investigate the relationship of iron indices with diabetes mellitus (DM) in those without hemochromatosis. METHODS: This cross-sectional study examined data collected during the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III). Only those who fasted properly and were not anemic with transferrin saturation < 45% were included (n = 6849). Insulin sensitivity and beta cell function were calculated from fasting glucose and insulin concentrations. Indices of iron metabolism were examined in the presence or absence of DM. We examined the relationship of insulin sensitivity and beta cell function with serum ferritin concentration. The influence of C-reactive protein and liver enzymes was also investigated. RESULTS: Serum ferritin concentration was significantly higher in diabetic subjects (P = 0.0001 to < 0.000001). The difference remained significant after adjustment for age, body mass index, alcohol consumption, and mineral/iron supplement (P = 0.03 to < 0.000001). In those who did not take insulin, serum ferritin concentration was negatively associated with insulin sensitivity (P = 0.05 to 0.00001), but not with beta cell function. The alanine aminotransferase was correlated with serum ferritin concentration (P = 0.02 to < 0.000001) but not with insulin sensitivity, suggesting the role of the liver in iron-associated insulin resistance. CONCLUSION: As most of diabetes is type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance is a cardinal feature of type 2 diabetes, disordered iron metabolism could play a role in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes through its effect on liver function.

In vivo and in vitro anti-tumor effects of fungal extracts.

Fungal extracts are extensively used as nutritional supplements in Far-Eastern Asia. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the anti-cancer activities of some different fungal species against different cancer cell lines. The water or ethanol extracts of Fomitopsis pinicola (F. pinicola), Ganoderma sinense, Fomitopsis officinalis, Polyporus melanopus, and Taiwanofungus camphorates were used to evaluate the anti-cancer activities in various cancer cells. We found that all of the fungi ethanol extracts used in this study exert anti-cancer activities in vitro, whereas water extracts show lower inhibitory activities as determined by 3-(4,5-methylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assays. Among the tested fungi species, F. pinicola ethanol extract exerts the most significant anti-cancer activity (growth inhibitory ratio 82.8%, p < 0.001) by increasing cell apoptosis. Moreover, F. pinicola ethanol extract significantly decreased tumor size (tumor growth inhibitory ratio 54%, p < 0.05) and increased the lifespan in mice bearing sarcoma-180 tumors. Taken together, this is the first study indicating the anti-tumor effect of F. pinicola in vivo and in vitro. F. pinicola ethanol extract induces cell apoptosis to exert a significant anti-tumor activity, with potential to be a new alternative anti-tumor medicine.