Correlation between serum interleukin-6 level and type 1 diabetes mellitus: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: This report aimed to explore the association between the change of circulating interleukin-6 (IL-6) in patients and the development of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). METHODS: Four databases (PubMed, CNKI, WanFang and Civip) were used to search and list all clinical case-control studies about serum IL-6 level in T1DM patients between Jan 1, 2000 and Aug 31, 2016. RESULTS: A total of 20 case-control studies with 1238 T1DM patients and 742 healthy controls were included in this study. Compared to healthy controls, the serum content of IL-6 in patients with T1DM was significantly greater (overall: SMD, 1.49; 95% CI, 1.04 to 1.93; p<0.001), and notably increased in all subgroup with different age, ethnic and disease duration (all p<0.001). Furthermore, the analysis in subgroup exhibited that serum levels of IL-6 in the age greater than 20-year old (SMD, 1.64; 95% CI, 0.57-2.71; p<0.001), the diseased duration among 0-10years (SMD, 2.43; 95% CI, 1.42-3.44; p<0.001) and the sorted American group (SMD, 1.68; 95% CI, 0.85-2.51; p<0.001) were higher than those in control groups. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with T1DM were found to be linked to elevated level of serum IL-6, which the age, ethnic and disease durations in T1DM patients had no effect on the serum IL-6 levels for promoting diabetes mellitus.

Amyloids in Site-Specific Autoimmune Reactions and Inflammatory Responses.

Amyloid deposition is a histological hallmark of common human disorders including Alzheimer's disease (AD) and type 2 diabetes. Although some reports highlight that amyloid fibrils might activate the innate immunity system via pattern recognition receptors, here, we provide multiple lines of evidence for the protection by site-specific amyloid protein analogs and fibrils against autoimmune attacks: (1) strategies targeting clearance of the AD-related brain amyloid plaque induce high risk of deadly autoimmune destructions in subjects with cognitive dysfunction; (2) administration of amyloidogenic peptides with either full length or core hexapeptide structure consistently ameliorates signs of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis; (3) experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis is exacerbated following genetic deletion of amyloid precursor proteins; (4) absence of islet amyloid coexists with T-cell-mediated insulitis in autoimmune diabetes and autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome; (5) use of islet amyloid polypeptide agonists rather than antagonists improves diabetes care; and (6) common suppressive signaling pathways by regulatory T cells are activated in both local and systemic amyloidosis. These findings indicate dual modulation activity mediated by amyloid protein monomers, oligomers, and fibrils to maintain immune homeostasis. The protection from autoimmune destruction by amyloid proteins offers a novel therapeutic approach to regenerative medicine for common degenerative diseases.

Climates on incidence of childhood type 1 diabetes mellitus in 72 countries.

We are aimed to systematically assess the worldwide trend in incidence of childhood type 1 diabetes mellitus (CT1DM) from 1965 to 2012 and to discuss whether climate affect incidence of CT1DM. We searched the relevant literatures in detail to judge the effect of different climates on incidence of CT1DM. The climates included Mediterranean, monsoon, oceanic, continental, savanna, and rainforest. According to different climates, we further researched relevant factor such as sunshine durations and latitudes. The overall incidence of CT1DM in 72 countries was 11.43 (95% CI 10.31-12.55) per 100,000 children/yr. The incidence of CT1DM in Oceanic climate [10.56 (8.69-12.42)] is highest compared with other climates; the incidence in 40°-66°34'N/S [14.71 (12.30-17.29)] is higher than other latitude groups; the incidence in sunshine durations with 3-4 hours per day [15.17 (11.14-19.20)] is highest compared with other two groups; the incidence of CT1DM from 2000 to 2012 [19.58 (14.55-24.60)] is higher than other periods; all p < 0.01. Incidence of CT1DM was increasing from 1965 to 2012, but incidence in Oceanic climate is higher than other climates. Furthermore, it is higher in centers with higher latitude and lower sunshine durations. The climates might play a key role in inducing CT1DM.

Family history and renin-angiotensin system gene polymorphisms in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

A positive family history is recognized as an important risk factor for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), but the association of family history with rennin-angiotensin system (RAS) gene polymorphisms has not been reported yet, thus we aim to investigate it.Family history records, clinical and biochemical data were obtained from 1239 T2DM patients. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed for angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) genotyping and PCR-restricted fragment length polymorphism was used for angiotensinogen (AGT) genotyping.Patients with a negative family history had higher level of triglyceride and blood pressure, whereas those with a positive family history showed younger onset age and lower body mass index value (All P < .05), these findings were age-dependent. The percentage of hypertension was lower with a higher percentage of overweight among the patients with a positive family history (All P < .05). Patients with a positive family history and those with a negative family history had comparable genotype and allele distribution of ACE gene insertion/deletion polymorphisms and AGT gene M/T polymorphisms.A positive family history of diabetes was not associated with the RAS gene polymorphisms.

Morning breathing exercises prolong lifespan by improving hyperventilation in people living with respiratory cancer.

Disturbance of oxygen-carbon dioxide homeostasis has an impact on cancer. Little is known about the effect of breath training on cancer patients. Here we report our 10-year experience with morning breathing exercises (MBE) in peer-support programs for cancer survivors.We performed a cohort study to investigate long-term surviving patients with lung cancer (LC) and nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) who practiced MBE on a daily basis. End-tidal breath holding time (ETBHT) after MBE was measured to reflect improvement in alveolar O2 pressure and alveolar CO2 pressure capacity.Patients (female, 57) with a diagnosis of LC (90 patients) and NPC (32 patients) were included. Seventy-six of them were MBE trainees. Average survival years were higher in MBE trainees (9.8 ±â€Š9.5) than nontrainees (3.3 ±â€Š2.8). The 5-year survival rate was 56.6% for MBE trainees and 19.6% for nontrainees (RR = 5.371, 95% CI = 2.271-12.636, P < 0.001). Survival probability of the trainees further increased 17.9-fold for the 10-year survival rate. Compared with the nontrainees, the MBE trainees shows no significant differences in ETBHT (baseline, P = 0.795; 1-2 years, P = 0.301; 3-4 years, P = 0.059) at baseline and within the first 4 years. From the 5th year onwards, significant improvements were observed in ETBHT, aCO2%, PaCO2, and PaO2 (P = 0.028). In total, 18 trainees (40.9%) and 20 nontrainees (74.1%) developed new metastasis (RR = 0.315, 95% CI = 0.108-0.919, P = 0.031).MBE might benefit for the long-term survival in patients with LC and NPC due to improvement in hyperventilation.

Serum TNF-α concentrations in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients and diabetic nephropathy patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate whether the concentrations of serum tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), a pro-inflammatory cytokine, increased in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and type 2 diabetic nephropathy (T2DN) patients. METHODS: The four databases (PubMed, CNKI, WanFang and Chinese-Cqvip) were searched from Jan 1, 1999 to October 1, 2016 for all clinical case-control studies about the serum TNF-α concentrations in T2DM and T2DN patients. All relevant data were extracted from published reports. The meta-analysis was performed to compare the changes of serum TNF-α concentrations of T2DN and T2DM patients in Eastern and Western with healthy controls. We further evaluated concentrations of serum TNF-α in T2DN patients with mincroalbuminuria or macroalbuminuria. Random-effects models were adopted to assess the pooling data among various variations. RESULTS: In total of 6 studies (744 patients and 277 healthy controls) were included in this study. Compared with healthy controls (both p<0.01), the groups of different albuminuria levels and ethnicities both showed that the serum TNF-α levels were significantly elevated in T2DN patients as well as in eastern T2DN patients (p=0.001), but not significant changed in western T2DN patients (p=0.081). The results were stable through sensitivity analysis and no significant publications bias existed in this meta-analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Serum TNF-α concentrations are obviously increased in T2DN and T2DM patients, but higher in T2DN patients, suggesting an elevated inflammatory burden in T2DN patients.

ACE Gene I/D Polymorphism and Obesity in 1,574 Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

Association between ACE gene I/D polymorphism and the risk of overweight/obesity remains controversial. We investigated the possible relationship between ACE gene I/D polymorphism and obesity in Chinese type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients. In this study, obesity was defined as a body mass index (BMI) value ≥ 25 kg/m2 and subjects were classified into 4 groups (lean, normal, overweight, and obese). PCR (polymerase chain reaction) was used to detect the ACE gene I/D polymorphism in T2DM patients. Metabolic measurements including blood glucose, lipid profile, and blood pressure were obtained. Frequencies of the ACE genotypes (DD, ID, and II) were not significant among the 4 groups of BMI-defined patients (P = 0.679) while ACE II carriers showed higher systolic blood pressure (SBP) and pulse pressure (PP) (all P < 0.050). Hyperglycemia, hypertension, and dyslipidemia in these T2DM patients were found to be significantly associated with BMI. In conclusion, the relationship of ACE gene I/D polymorphism with obesity is insignificant in Chinese patients with T2DM. SBP and PP might be higher in the ACE II carriers than in the DD and ID carriers.