Effect of biphasic insulin aspart on glucose and lipid control in patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the efficacy and safety of biphasic insulin aspart 30 (BIAsp 30) monotherapy in insulin-naive patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: In this 12-week, open-labelled, uncontrolled, clinical-experience study involving 71 patients with secondary oral antidiabetic agent failure, patients received BIAsp 30 after discontinuing oral antidiabetic drugs (OADs). Glucose and lipid concentrations, hypoglycaemic episodes and adverse events were assessed before and after treatment. Patient data were categorised according to previous OADs into the biguanides (BI) plus sulfonylureas/meglitinides (SU/MEG) and SU-only groups. RESULTS: After treatment, glucose and lipid control was significantly improved in both groups, with a greater improvement in the SU-only group. Mean glycated haemoglobin, fasting blood glucose and postprandial blood glucose excursion improved by 2.15 +/- 1.24%, 3.70 +/- 3.18 mmol/l and 1.26 +/- 2.65 mmol/l in the BI plus SU/MEG group, and by 3.09 +/- 1.62%, 6.11 +/- 5.02 mmol/l and 2.06 +/- 2.33 mmol/l in the SU-only group, respectively. Mean high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides improved by 0.09 +/- 0.18 mmol/l and 0.94 +/- 1.17 mmol/l in the BI plus SU/MEG group and by 0.09 +/- 0.18 mmol/l and 1.04 +/- 2.72 mmol/l in the SU-only group, respectively. No major hypoglycaemic episodes or serious treatment-related adverse events were reported. CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed that BIAsp 30 treatment safely improved glucose and lipid control in insulin-naive patients with Type 2 diabetes poorly controlled on BI plus SU/MEG and SU-only. Key limitations were the lack of a comparator group and the short study duration.

[Inhibin and its characteristics]. / Inhibin i njegova svojstva.

On the basis of data from current literature a survey of the new hormone, inhibin, and its characteristics, is given, particularly with respect to its role in the regulation of fertility. There were also enumerated its other features and possibilities of its use in diagnostical and other practical purposes.

[Acute painful neuropathy--2 case reports]. / Akutna bolna neuropatija--povodom dva slucaja.

Diabetic neuropathy, clinically established, occurs in up to 50% of diabetics, sometimes even prior to detection of diabetes mellitus. Distal symmetric polyneuropathy is the most frequent clinically established lesion of the nervous system. Other clinical entities, however, are not so rare, if they are studied with attention using differential diagnostic procedure. In this paper authors present two patients with sub-types of one of the rare forms of diabetic peripheral neuropathy--so called acute painful neuropathy: the first case associated with unregulated diabetes mellitus and in the second patient it occurred as a consequence of abrupt normalization of glycemic control with so-called insulin neuritis. The authors described the most important clinical characteristics of patients, differential diagnosis, therapy and the course of the disease.

[The metabolic syndrome and hyper-Lp(a)-lipoproteinemia in peripheral obliterative atherosclerosis: 2 case reports]. / Metabolicki sindrom i hiper-Lp(a)-lipoproteinemija u perifernoj obliterantnoj aterosklerozi: povodom dva slucaja.

One of the characteristics of peripheral vascular disease in diabetic patients is that it occurs at the time of detection of diabetes mellitus. As one of the possible pathogenic mechanisms, in non-smokers, is the sol-called metabolic syndrome (obesity, disorders in regard to metabolism of lipids and carbohydrates and hypertension). Lipoprotein Lp(a) is the most atherogenic among lipoproteins. While data on coronary arterial disease exist, although contradictory, there is a small number of those which document the same for peripheral vascular occlusive disease in diabetics. Two patients, non-smokers, with characteristic constellation of risk factors, are described as possible models for further epidemiologic examinations.