Post-COVID-19 Changes in Appetite-An Exploratory Study.

In this analysis, we aimed to investigate the effect of COVID-19 disease on eating behavior. A total of 55 right-handed adults, <50 years of age, without overweight or obesity, from two cross-sectional studies were included. The first one enrolled subjects between September 2018 and December 2019 (non-COVID-19 group). The second one included subjects enrolled between March 2022 and May 2023; for this analysis, 28 with a history of COVID-19 (COVID-19 group) were retained. Hunger, TFEQ-18, plasma ghrelin, neuropeptide Y (NPY) and resting-state fMRI were assessed during fasting. Intraregional neuronal synchronicity and connectivity were assessed by voxel-based regional homogeneity (ReHo) and degree of centrality (DC). Significantly higher ghrelin and NPY levels were observed in the COVID-19 group than in the non-COVID-19 group (ghrelin 197.5 pg/mL vs. 67.1 pg/mL, p < 0.001; NPY 128.0 pg/mL vs. 84.5 pg/mL, p = 0.005). The NPY levels positively correlated with the DC and ReHo in the left lingual (r = 0.67785 and r = 0.73604, respectively). Similar scores were noted for cognitive restraint, uncontrolled eating and emotional eating in both groups according to the TFEQ-18 questionnaire results (p > 0.05 for all). Our data showed increased levels of appetite-related hormones, correlated with activity in brain regions involved in appetite regulation, persisting long after COVID-19 infection.

The effect of Dulaglutide on glycemic and weight control in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Background and aims: The objectives of type 2 diabetes treatment are to achieve adequate long-term glycemic control and to reduce the risk associated with comorbidities and complications. Once-weekly Dulaglutide showed a reduction in cardiovascular risk associated with diabetes in addition to improved glycemic control and bodyweight reduction in several clinical trials. We aimed to investigate the effect of Dulaglutide 1.5 mg on glycemic and weight control in type 2 diabetes patients inadequately controlled by antihyperglycemic treatment in real-world clinical practice. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 50 patients with type 2 diabetes inadequately controlled by previous treatment and newly initiated on Dulaglutide. The data were collected at 6 months (n=50) and 12 months (n=40) after Dulaglutide therapy initiation. Results: Dulaglutide treatment resulted in significant improvement of glycated hemoglobin (-1.3 %; p<0.001) after 6 months and after 12 months (-2.0 %; p<0.001). Significant bodyweight reduction was found after 6 months (-2.0 kg; p=0.002) and 12 months (-3.5 kg; p=0.001) of Dulaglutide treatment initiation. In addition, a reduction in insulin dose was observed. Conclusions: Our clinical data showed that Dulaglutide 1.5 mg significantly improved glycemic and bodyweight control at 6 and 12 months after treatment initiation in patients with type 2 diabetes inadequately controlled by previous antihyperglycemic treatment.

Body size influences heart rate in children aged 6 to 18 years old.

Previous research established age-related normal limits for children's heart rates (HRs). However, children of the same age can have significantly different HRs, depending on whether they are overweight or underweight, tall or short. Studies on children HR have failed to find a clear correlation between HR and body size. The goal of our study was to create Z scores for HR based on weight (W), height (H), body mass index (BMI), and body surface area (BSA) and compare them to normal age-related HR limits. Electrocardiograms were recorded from a total of 22,460 healthy children ranging in age from 6 to 18 years old using BTL machines. A comparison was made between different age groups, in function of W, H, BMI, and BSA, based on the HR that was automatically detected by using the digitally stored electrocardiogram. Z scores were computed for each of the categories that were mentioned. Incremental Z score values between -2.5 and 2.5 were calculated to establish upper and lower limits of HR. The BSA's estimation of HR is the most accurate of the available methods and can be utilized with accuracy in clinical practice. Z scores for HR in children differ in function of the age, W, H, BMI and BSA. The best estimation is based on BSA. The novelty of our study is that we developed Z scores for HR in relation to body size, age and sex, producing a standardized, consistent, and reproducible result without requiring practitioners to learn and remember cutoff values for a wide range of variables across age groups and sexes. Z scores minimize observer and institutional bias, hence generating uniform and reproducible standards.

Variability in Sleep Timing and Dietary Intake: A Scoping Review of the Literature.

The objective of this scoping review was to summarize previous studies which examined the effect of day-to-day variability in sleep timing and social jetlag (SJL) on dietary intake. A systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed, Embase, and Clarivate Analytics Web of Science and we identified 22 records. No difference in caloric and macronutrient intake between SJL groups was observed in studies that enrolled healthy young adults. However, studies that enrolled participants with obesity and obesity-related chronic conditions reported a higher caloric intake and a higher intake of carbohydrates, total fat, saturated fats, and cholesterol in participants with SJL than in those without. Most studies reported a lower quality of diet, a delayed mealtime, and eating jetlag in participants with SJL vs. those without SJL. No correlation of day-to-day variability in sleep timing with average caloric intake was observed, but bed-time variability was negatively associated with diet quality. Methodological issues have been identified in sources assessed including study design, power calculation, population enrolled, and tools/metrics used for sleep timing variability assessment. Future well powered longitudinal studies, with clear protocols, standardized metrics, including all age groups from general population are needed to clarify the dietary intake consequences of variability in sleep timing.

Low Atrial Rhythm in a Large Cohort of Children from Transylvania, Romania.

Low atrial rhythm (LAR) is an ectopic rhythm originating in the lower part of the right or left atrium. Prior observational studies attempted to quantify the prevalence of low atrial rhythm in the pediatric population, but the observed prevalence was highly variable with relatively small sample sizes. We aimed to characterize low atrial rhythm and determine its prevalence in a large population of 24,316 asymptomatic children from northwestern Transylvania. We found a prevalence of 0.6% (145 children) for low atrial rhythm. Children with LAR had a significantly lower heart rate (mean 78.6 ± 8.3 bpm), than the control sinus rhythm group (85.02 ± 4.5 bpm). Furthermore, a shorter PR interval was seen in children with LAR (132.7 ± 12.7 ms) than in the children from the control group (141.7 ± 5.4; p = 0.0001).There was no significant association between gender and the presence of left LAR (LLAR) or right LAR (RLAR) (p = 0.5876). The heart rate of children with LLAR was significantly higher (81.7 ± 11.6 bpm) than that of the children with LRAR (77.6 ± 11.1 bpm) (p = 0.037). Pediatric cardiologists should recognize low atrial rhythm and be aware that asymptomatic, healthy children can exhibit this pattern, which does not require therapeutic intervention.

Clustering and Correlations amongst NEFA, Selected Adipokines and Morphological Traits-New Insights into Equine Metabolic Syndrome.

Obesity is a common feature in horses suffering from metabolic syndrome. While adipokines involvement as biomarkers is better established in human pathology, little data are available on horses. This study aimed to investigate the possible association and relationship between selected metabolic parameters and morphological traits in equine metabolic syndrome. Adiposity was evaluated using body condition score (BCS) and cresty neck score (CNS). Plasma levels of total cholesterol, insulin, NEFA, and adipokines (omentin and chemerin) were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Spearman correlation, univariate linear regression analysis and hierarchical clustering were performed. Significant positive correlations were observed between NEFA and bodyweight (r = 0.322; p = 0.006), BCS (r = 0.295; p = 0.013), and CNS (r = 0.267; p = 0.024), total cholesterol and bodyweight (r = 0.262; p = 0.027), and omentin and CNS (r = 0.234; p = 0.049). Cluster analysis supported these results and provided more details on the relationships between studied variables within and between the four resulting groups. These findings highlight NEFA, chemerin, and omentin as valuable biomarkers that could be further analyzed in other horse breeds for a better understanding of equine metabolic pathology.

E-Selectin Is Associated with Daytime and 24-Hour Diastolic Blood Pressure Variability in Type 2 Diabetes.

E-selectin is an endothelial cell adhesion molecule involved in vascular inflammation. Elevated E-selectin has been reported in patients with high blood pressure and diabetes. Given the increasing clinical relevance of parameters derived from ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, further investigation of their relationships with E-selectin is of interest. In this study, we aimed to investigate the association between serum E-selectin, office blood pressure and 24 h ambulatory blood pressure parameters in patients with type 2 diabetes. Blood pressure variability was assessed by computing the standard deviation of mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure separately for daytime and nighttime during 24 h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in a cohort of patients with type 2 diabetes (n = 132). Additionally, were assessed nighttime systolic dipping and pulse pressure separately for daytime, nighttime, and 24 h. Serum E-selectin was measured using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technique. We found that E-selectin was consistently associated with 24 h diastolic blood pressure variability (r = 0.238; p = 0.019) and daytime diastolic blood pressure variability (r = 0.258; p = 0.012), after adjustment for confounding factors. No association of E-selectin with office blood pressure and other 24 h ambulatory blood pressure parameters was observed. In conclusion, endothelial activation indicated by elevated serum E-selectin is associated with increased ambulatory diastolic blood pressure variability in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Clinical Utility of Boston-CTS and Six-Item CTS Questionnaires in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Associated with Diabetic Polyneuropathy.

Diabetic polyneuropathy (DPN) is the most frequent complication of diabetes. Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), one of the most common neuropathies, is a chronic compression of the median nerve at the wrist. In our prospective cross-sectional study, we enrolled patients with type 2 diabetes presenting with signs and symptoms suggestive of DPN (n = 53). We aimed to compare two clinical scales: the Boston Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Questionnaire (BCTQ) and the six-item CTS symptoms scale (CTS-6), with nerve conduction studies (NCS) for detecting CTS in patients with DPN. Carpal tunnel syndrome and DPN were clinically evaluated, and the diagnosis was confirmed by NCS. Depending on the NCS parameters, the study group was divided into patients with and without DPN. For each group, we selected patients with CTS confirmed through NCS, and the results were compared with the BCTQ and CTS-6 scales. The clinical evaluation of CTS performed through BCTQ and CTS-6 was statistically significantly different between patients with and without CTS. When comparing the BCTQ questionnaire with the NCS tests, we found area under the curve (AUC) = 0.76 (95% CI 0.65-0.86) in patients with neuropathy and AUC = 0.72 (95% CI 0.55-0.88) in patients without neuropathy. At the same time, the AUC values of the CTS-6 scale were 0.76 (95% CI 0.61-0.88) in patients with neuropathy and 0.70 (95% CI 0.51-0.86) in patients without neuropathy. Using multiple logistic regression, we demonstrated that DPN increased the chances of detecting CTS using the two questionnaires. The Boston Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and CTS-6 questionnaires can be used in the diagnosis of CTS in diabetic patients with and without DPN but with moderate AUC. The presence of DPN increased the chances of detecting CTS using the BCTQ questionnaire and the CTS-6 scale.

Vitamin D and Its Role in the Lipid Metabolism and the Development of Atherosclerosis.

Vitamin D, a crucial hormone in the homeostasis and metabolism of calcium bone, has lately been found to produce effects on other physiological and pathological processes genomically and non-genomically, including the cardiovascular system. While lower baseline vitamin D levels have been correlated with atherogenic blood lipid profiles, 25(OH)D supplementation influences the levels of serum lipids in that it lowers the levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, and LDL-cholesterol and increases the levels of HDL-cholesterol, all of which are known risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Vitamin D is also involved in the development of atherosclerosis at the site of the blood vessels. Deficiency of this vitamin has been found to increase adhesion molecules or endothelial activation and, at the same time, supplementation is linked to the lowering presence of adhesion surrogates. Vitamin D can also influence the vascular tone by increasing endothelial nitric oxide production, as seen in supplementation studies. Deficiency can lead, at the same time, to oxidative stress and an increase in inflammation as well as the expression of particular immune cells that play a pivotal role in the development of atherosclerosis in the intima of the blood vessels, i.e., monocytes and macrophages. Vitamin D is also involved in atherogenesis through inhibition of vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation. Furthermore, vitamin D deficiency is consistently associated with cardiovascular events, such as myocardial infarction, STEMI, NSTEMI, unstable angina, ischemic stroke, cardiovascular death, and increased mortality after acute stroke. Conversely, vitamin D supplementation does not seem to produce beneficial effects in cohorts with intermediate baseline vitamin D levels.

Glycated albumin is correlated with glycated hemoglobin in type 2 diabetes.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) retrospectively evaluates mean glycemia in the preceding 2-3 months and is the gold standard for assessing glycemic control, while glycated albumin (GA) is currently considered a short to intermediate term integrated glycemic control marker, since it reflects glycemic status over the last 3 weeks. We aimed to investigate the levels of GA, HbA1c and fasting glycemia in a group of patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS: The observational study included adult type 2 diabetes patients (n=135) according to inclusion and exclusion criteria, randomly selected from Clinical Centre of Diabetes, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Fasting glycemia, GA, HbA1c and creatinine were measured using commercially available methods. RESULTS: Of the whole group, 62 (45.9%) were men. Mean age was 62.1±8.6 years old, body mass index was 31.8±6.1 kg/m2 and diabetes duration was 10.0 (4.0; 15.0) years. Fasting glycemia was 162±13.7 mg/dl, GA was 28.0 (21.0; 40.0)% and HbA1c 8.9±2.3%. We found GA was significantly correlated with HbA1c (r=0.19; p=0.029) and fasting glycemia (r=0.32; p<0.001), while HbA1c was significantly correlated with fasting glycemia (r=0.40; p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: GA was significantly correlated with both HbA1c and fasting glycemia in our patients with type 2 diabetes. While HbA1c is recognized as being the reference test for diabetes control monitoring, GA might a useful biomarker for assessing short to intermediate term glycemic control, particularly important in situations when HbA1c test cannot be reliable or earlier clinical decision making is mandatory.

Pulse pressure is more relevant than systolic and diastolic blood pressure in patients with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The parameters evaluated during 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring were reported to be predictors of cardiovascular events. We aimed to investigate mean blood pressure, blood pressure variability and pulse pressure during 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in type 2 diabetes patients and to establish their relationship with the presence of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD). METHODS: The observational study included type 2 diabetes patients randomly selected and distributed in 2 study groups depending on the presence of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease: CVD(-), n=90, and CVD(+), n=87. Daytime, nighttime and 24-hour systolic and diastolic blood pressure were monitored and mean blood pressure, blood pressure variability and pulse pressure were calculated. RESULTS: The study groups were comparable as age, gender ratio, smoking status, body mass index and abdominal circumference. Diabetes and hypertension duration were significantly higher in the CVD(+) group. Mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure, blood variability, dipper prevalence did not differ between study groups. Pulse pressure was significantly higher in the CVD(+) group compared to CVD(-) group (daytime pulse pressure 56.2±13.1 vs. 50.6±11.3 mmHg, p=0.003; nighttime pulse pressure 56.5±14.2 vs. 50.7±12.4 mmHg, p=0.005; 24-hour pulse pressure 54.7±13.6 vs. 49.0±12.0 mmHg, p=0.003). CONCLUSIONS: Ambulatory pulse pressure was significantly higher in patients with type 2 diabetes and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease compared to those without cardiovascular disease, although mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure and blood pressure variability were similar.

The association study of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, pentraxin 3, nitrotyrosine, and insulin dose in patients with insulin-treated type 2 diabetes mellitus.

PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to examine the association between insulin dose and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), nitrotyrosine, and pentraxin 3 in patients with insulin-treated type 2 diabetes. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Eighty patients with type 2 diabetes treated with insulin for >6 months and with stable insulin doses (±10%) within 3 months before inclusion were enrolled in this study. Medical history, including use of insulin and insulin doses, concomitant diseases and medication, and anthropometric and routine biochemical parameters were collected for each patient. hsCRP, nitrotyrosine, and pentraxin 3 were measured in fasting conditions. Comparison analysis was performed according to the distribution in tertiles of insulin dose/kg of body weight, and linear regression adjusted for confounding factors was used to examine the associations between markers of inflammation, oxidative stress, and insulin dose. RESULTS: In the comparison analysis, no statistically significant difference was found between hsCRP, nitrotyrosine, and pentraxin 3 levels across tertiles of insulin dose expressed as IU/kg of body weight (p for trend >0.05 for all comparisons) except a significantly higher hsCRP level in tertile 3 compared to tertile 1 (3.9±3.6 vs 6.1±3.8 mg/dL, p=0.035). In regression analysis, after adjustment for age, gender, smoking, body mass index, glycated hemoglobin, C-peptide, metformin, antiplatelet, and statin use, only hsCRP levels were statistically significant associated with insulin dose/kg of body weight (ß=0.237, p=0.043). CONCLUSION: In this sample of patients with type 2 diabetes treated with insulin for >6 months, hsCRP was positively associated with insulin doses. No such association was found for pentraxin 3, a more specific marker of vascular inflammation, and for nitrotyrosine as a marker of oxidative stress.

Resistant hypertension in type 2 diabetes: prevalence and patients characteristics.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Resistant hypertension is defined as failure to achieve blood pressure lower than 140/90 mmHg when using three antihypertensive agents or controlled blood pressure with four or more drugs. We aimed at assessing the prevalence of resistant hypertension and to describe a type 2 diabetes population with resistant hypertension. METHODS: The retrospective observational study included (n=73) type 2 diabetes subjects with resistant hypertension selected from (n=728) subjects admitted to the Centre of Diabetes, Cluj, Romania. RESULTS: The subjects (70% women) had a mean age of 65.0±8.9 yrs. and diabetes duration 11(6-19) yrs. Prevalence of resistant hypertension was 10%. Chronic diabetes complications and cardiovascular disease were present in 77% and 56% of subjects respectively. On admission, antihypertensive drugs used were: angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin II receptors blockers 93%, ß-blockers 88%, diuretics 78%, calcium channels blockers 59%, adrenergic α-antagonists 11%. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure were lower in the last compared to first admission day. Diuretics and calcium channels blockers were the most frequently newly added antihypertensive agents. CONCLUSION: Although the prevalence of resistant hypertension in type 2 diabetes did not differ from the general population, we observed that these patients had increased frequency of chronic diabetic complications. Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin II receptors and ß-blockers were the most used antihypertensive drugs, while the most frequently newly prescribed drugs were diuretics and calcium channel blockers.