Results of the application of the American Diabetes Association guidelines regarding tobacco dependency in subjects with diabetes mellitus.

The objective of the study was to evaluate the stages of change for cessation in smoking after the application of American Diabetes Association recommendations in diabetic patients who smoke. This longitudinal descriptive study involved smokers with diabetes mellitus (DM) who were attended for their DM between September 2003 and December 2006. Intervention used was dependent on the stage of change for cessation (according to Prochaska and Di Clemente). For precontemplation subjects, a brief session was carried out where information regarding the risks of smoking in conjunction with DM was given. Patients at the contemplation stage of smoking cessation were offered the chance to participate in a cessation program. Later evaluation was carried out after a follow-up of more than 6 months. Seven hundred thirty-three subjects with DM were evaluated, including 156 smokers (21.28%): 103 (66.02%) in the precontemplation stage, 25 (16.02%) in the contemplation stage, 12 (7.69%) in the preparation stage, 12 (7.69%) in the action stage, and 4 (2.56%) in the maintenance stage. By the last follow-up, 65 (41.6%) subjects had quit smoking (36 ex-smokers), of whom 20 (30.77%) had subsequently relapsed. The use of the American Diabetes Association recommendations for the treatment of tobacco dependence in diabetes treatment results in an increased change of smoking cessation stages in subjects with DM as well as a higher overall percentage in abstinence.

Epidemiology, clinical characteristics, outcome, morbidity and mortality in acromegaly based on the Spanish Acromegaly Registry (Registro Espanol de Acromegalia, REA).

OBJECTIVE: To undertake a multicentre epidemiological study reflecting acromegaly in Spain. DESIGN: Voluntary reporting of data on patients with acromegaly to an online database, by the managing physician. METHODS: Data on demographics, diagnosis, estimated date of initial symptoms and diagnosis, pituitary imaging, visual fields, GH and IGF-I concentrations (requested locally), medical, radiotherapy and neurosurgical treatments, morbidity and mortality were collected. RESULTS: Data were included for 1219 patients (60.8% women) with a mean age at diagnosis of 45 years (s.d. 14 years). Reporting was maximal in 1997 (2.1 cases per million inhabitants (c.p.m.) per year); prevalence was globally 36 c.p.m., but varied between 15.7 and 75.8 c.p.m. in different regions. Of 1196 pituitary tumours, most were macroadenomas (73%); 81% of these patients underwent surgery, 45% received radiotherapy and 65% were given medical treatment (somatostatin analogues in 68.3% and dopamine agonists in 31.4%). Cures (GH values (basal or after an oral glucose tolerance test) <2 ng/ml, normal IGF-I, or both) were observed in 40.3% after surgery and 28.2% after radiotherapy. Hypertension (39.1%), diabetes mellitus (37.6%), hypopituitarism (25.7%), goitre (22.4%), carpal tunnel syndrome (18.7%) and sleep apnoea (13.2%) were reported as most frequent morbidities; 6.8% of the patients had cancer (breast in 3.1% of the women and colon in 1.2% of the cohort). Fifty-six patients died at a mean age of 60 years (s.d. 14 years), most commonly of a cardiovascular cause (39.4%); mortality was greater in patients given radiotherapy (hazard ratio 2.29; 95% confidence interval 1.03 to 5.08; P=0.026), and in those in whom GH and IGF-I concentrations were never normal (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This acromegaly registry offers a realistic overview of the epidemiological characteristics, treatment outcome and morbidity of acromegaly in Spain. As active disease and treatment with radiotherapy are associated with an increase in mortality, efforts to control the disease early are desirable.

Neuromuscular dysfunction in adult growth hormone deficiency.

BACKGROUND: Adult growth hormone deficiency (AGHD) is associated with fatigue, tiredness and myalgias, which improve after initiating recombinant human GH (rhGH) therapy. AIM: To conduct an extensive neuromuscular investigation of patients with AGHD in an attempt to explain their neuromuscular symptoms. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Twenty adult patients (11 males) with untreated GHD of whom 10 were childhood-onset (CO) underwent a prospective neurological protocol, including physical examination and a neurophysiological study that comprised sensory and motor neurography, repetitive stimulation, electromyogram (EMG) and interference pattern analysis (IPA). In the first seven patients (four CO), a biceps muscle biopsy was also performed for histochemical analysis and Western blot, and investigation of signal transducers and activators of transcription (STATs)-1 and -3 and the two isoforms STAT-5a and -5b. RESULTS: Neuromuscular examination, sensory and motor neurography and repetitive stimulation were normal in 20/20 patients. Fourteen [seven CO and seven adult-onset (AO)] of the 20 patients had abnormal EMG and/or IPA suggestive of a neurogenic involvement. In those seven patients with initially abnormal results, who also remained on regular rhGH for at least 1 year, repeated IPA was normal in six and improved in the remaining patient (P=0.004). The biceps muscle biopsy disclosed abnormal groupings in the seven cases tested, indicative of a neurogenic pattern. No changes in skeletal muscle STAT-1 and -3 were seen compared to controls, but a marked increase in both STAT-5 isoforms was observed in all seven patients. CONCLUSION: Skeletal muscle of patients with both adult-onset and childhood-onset adult GH deficiency shows a neuromuscular dysfunction, indicated by the muscle biopsy and the neurophysiological study, which in the subgroup of treated patients responds positively to rhGH therapy. The results obtained suggest that the STAT-5 signal transduction pathway in muscle is abnormal in adult GH deficiency.