Poor Glycemic Control Increases Dental Risk in a Sri Lankan Population.

Introduction: The aim of our study was to investigate the impact of diabetes-related factors on the dental disease outcomes of diabetes patients in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka. Materials and Methods: Dental data were collected from 80 type-2-diabetic individuals. A dental risk score was calculated based on the frequency of dental outcomes observed and categorized as low risk (≤3 dental outcomes) and high risk (>3 dental outcomes). Results: In this cohort of men and women with type 2 diabetes, there was a high frequency of periodontal related outcomes, including missing teeth (70%), gingival recessions (40%), tooth mobility (41%), and bleeding (20%). Thirty-nine (39%) of participants had high dental risk, while forty-nine (61%) had low risk. Conclusions: After controlling for age, participants with higher capillary blood glucose levels had 3-fold greater odds of a high dental risk score (OR = 2.93, 95%CI = 1.13, 7.61). We found that poor glycemic control indicated by elevated capillary blood glucose was associated with increased dental risk.

Effective Treatment of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Using a Community-Based Weight Management Program.

Introduction Obesity-related gastrointestinal disorders including nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) are more frequent and usually present earlier than type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and cardiovascular disorders. This provides an opportunity for the gastroenterologist to intervene early with an effective weight-loss therapy. We evaluated the outcomes of a multifaceted, community-based gastroenterologist-supervised weight management program compared with patient-directed weight-loss efforts after physician advice. The program is aimed at achieving a 10% total body weight (TBW) loss at three months, a known determinant for NAFLD regression. Methods This is a retrospective pre- and post-intervention study of NAFLD patients, who participated in a medically supervised weight management program in the period between May 2017 and May 2019. The program is comprised of a very-low-calorie (800 kcal/day) meal replacement diet, a recommended medical fitness program, and weekly behavioral support groups. Patients are followed on monthly basis and slowly transitioned to a whole food plant-based or Mediterranean diet after three months of participation. Patients' weight trends driven by self-directed efforts to lose weight after physician advice were collected based on historical data up to two years prior to program participation. The primary outcome was defined as percentage TBW loss at three months under medical supervision (post-intervention) compared with patient-directed weight-loss efforts (pre-intervention). The secondary outcomes included percentage TBW loss in relation to behavioral support group attendance and improvement in GERD and T2DM disease status after program participation. Linear mixed and linear regression models were used to assess for a statistically significant difference in percentage TBW loss. Statistical significance was defined as p < 0.05. Results A total of 114 NAFLD patients (mean age 55 years, mean BMI 39 kg/m2, 77 females, and 37 males) completed at least three months of follow-up and were included in the study. Of those, 89 patients had a documented three-month office visit. At three months, 65% of patients had lost at least 10% of their TBW. Percentage TBW loss under medical supervision was noted to be significantly higher and occurred at a faster rate over three months when compared with patient-directed efforts after physician advice (p < 0.001). Patients who attended the behavioral support groups ≥ 50% of the time had a 3% higher TBW loss at three months compared with patients who attended <50% of the time (p = 0.006). Approximately, 52% of patients with GERD and 38% of patients with T2DM had symptoms improvement and/or medication reduction at their three-month follow-up visit. Conclusion A multifaceted, community-based, gastroenterologist supervised weight management program is effective in achieving a clinically significant TBW loss of at least 10% within three months of participation. This weight loss was greater and occurred at a faster rate when compared with patient-directed efforts. Additionally, improvement in GERD and T2DM disease status was noted in 52% and 38% of patients with these conditions, respectively. Further community-based studies of a larger scale are needed to determine the sustainability of this weight loss over one year.

High Frequency Activity in the Orbital Frontal Cortex Modulates with Mismatched Expectations During Gambling in Humans.

During gambling, humans often begin by making decisions based on expected rewards and expected risks. However, expectations may not match actual outcomes. As gamblers keep track of their performance, they may feel more or less lucky, which then influences future betting decisions. Studies have identified the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) as a brain region that plays a significant role during risky decision making in humans. However, most human studies infer neural activation from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), which has a poor temporal resolution. In particular, fMRI cannot detect activity from neuronal populations in the OFC, which may encode specific information about how a subject reacts to mismatched outcomes. In this preliminary study, four human subjects participated in a gambling task while local field potentials (LFPs), captured at a millisecond resolution, were recorded from the OFC. We analyzed high-frequency activity (HFA: >70 Hz) in the LFPs, as HFA has been shown to correlate to activation of neuronal populations. In 3 out of 4 subjects, HFA in OFC modulated between matched and mismatched trials as soon as the outcome of each bet was revealed, with modulations occurring at different times and directions depending on the anatomical location within the OFC.