Relationship between adherence to diet, glycemic control and cardiovascular risk factors in patients with type 1 diabetes: a nationwide survey in Brazil.

BACKGROUND: To determine the relationship between adherence to the diet reported by patients with type 1 diabetes under routine clinical care in Brazil, and demographic, socioeconomic status, glycemic control and cardiovascular risk factors. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional, multicenter study conducted between December 2008 and December 2010 in 28 public clinics in 20 Brazilian cities. The data was obtained from 3,180 patients, aged 22 ± 11.8 years (56.3% females, 57.4% Caucasians and 43.6% non-Caucasians). The mean time since diabetes diagnosis was 11.7 ± 8.1 years. RESULTS: Overall, 1,722 (54.2%) of the patients reported to be adherent to the diet without difference in gender, duration of diabetes and socioeconomic status. Patients who reported adherence to the diet had lower BMI, HbA1c, triglycerides, LDL-cholesterol, non HDL-cholesterol and diastolic blood pressure and had more HbA1c at goal, performed more frequently self-monitoring of blood glucose (p < 0.001), and reported less difficulties to follow specific schedules of diet plans (p < 0.001). Less patients who reported to be adherent were obese or overweight (p = 0.005). The quantity of food and time schedule of the meals were the most frequent complaints. Logistic regression analysis showed that ethnicity, (Caucasians, (OR 1.26 [1.09-1.47]), number of medical clinical visits in the last year (OR 1.10 [1.06-1.15]), carbohydrate counting, (OR 2.22 [1.49-3.30]) and diets recommended by diabetes societies', (OR 1.57 [1.02-2.41]) were related to greater patients' adherence (p < 0.05) and age, [adolescents (OR 0.60 [0.50-0.72]), high BMI (OR 0.58 [0.94-0.98]) and smoking (OR 0.58 [0.41-0.84]) with poor patients' adherence (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that it is necessary to rethink medical nutrition therapy in order to help patients to overcome barriers that impair an optimized adherence to the diet.

Health-related quality of life in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus in the different geographical regions of Brazil: data from the Brazilian Type 1 Diabetes Study Group.

BACKGROUND: In type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) management, enhancing health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is as important as good metabolic control and prevention of secondary complications. This study aims to evaluate possible regional differences in HRQoL, demographic features and clinical characteristics of patients with T1DM in Brazil, a country of continental proportions, as well as investigate which variables could influence the HRQoL of these individuals and contribute to these regional disparities. METHODS: This was a retrospective, cross-sectional, multicenter study performed by the Brazilian Type 1 Diabetes Study Group (BrazDiab1SG), by analyzing EuroQol scores from 3005 participants with T1DM, in 28 public clinics, among all geographical regions of Brazil. Data on demography, economic status, chronic complications, glycemic control and lipid profile were also collected. RESULTS: We have found that the North-Northeast region presents a higher index in the assessment of the overall health status (EQ-VAS) compared to the Southeast (74.6 ± 30 and 70.4 ± 19, respectively; p < 0.05). In addition, North-Northeast presented a lower frequency of self-reported anxiety-depression compared to all regions of the country (North-Northeast: 1.53 ± 0.6; Southeast: 1.65 ± 0.7; South: 1.72 ± 0.7; Midwest: 1.67 ± 0.7; p < 0.05). These findings could not be entirely explained by the HbA1c levels or the other variables examined. CONCLUSIONS: Our study points to the existence of additional factors not yet evaluated that could be determinant in the HRQoL of people with T1DM and contribute to these regional disparities.

[Muscle infarction: do you think when dealing with a diabetic patient?]. / Você pensa em infarto muscular no paciente diabético?

Diabetic muscle infarction (DMI) is an uncommon complication of long standing diabetes (DM). This abnormal condition may occur in poorly controlled patients with type 1 and 2 DM with established microangiopathy. Clinical presentation is usually acute with severely painful swelling of the affected muscle, which persists for many weeks and has spontaneous recovery. Albeit uncertain, its etiology is associated with microangiopathy with occlusion of small arteries. This condition is diagnosed by biopsy although results from T2 -- weight magnetic resonance are typical. Pain management, bed rest and careful metabolic control are the treatment of choice. We report 3 cases of DMI admitted to a general hospital who were initially misdiagnosed and led to inadequate treatment and management at onset of the condition. We emphasize the clinical, image and histological aspects of DMI in order to allow early awareness of this uncommon condition, avoiding unnecessary delay as well as hastening appropriate treatment.

Brain schistosomiasis in mice experimentally infected with Schistosoma mansoni.

INTRODUCTION: Human neuroschistosomiasis has been reported in the literature, but the possibility of modeling neuroschistosomiasis in mice is controversial. METHODS: In two research laboratories in Brazil that maintain the Schistosoma mansoni life cycle in rodents, two mice developed signs of brain disease (hemiplegia and spinning), and both were autopsied. RESULTS: S. mansoni eggs, both with and without granuloma formation, were observed in the brain and meninges of both mice by optical microscopy. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first description of eggs in the brains of symptomatic mice that were experimentally infected with S. mansoni. An investigation of experimental neuroschistosomiasis is now feasible.

Economic status and clinical care in young type 1 diabetes patients: a nationwide multicenter study in Brazil.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the influence of economic status on clinical care provided to Brazilian youths with type 1 diabetes in daily practice, according to the American Diabetes Association's guidelines. This was a cross-sectional, multicenter study conducted between 2008 and 2010 in 28 public clinics in Brazil. Data were obtained from 1,692 patients (55.3 % female, 56.4 % Caucasian), with a mean age of 13 years (range, 1-18), a mean age at diagnosis of 7.1 ± 4 years and diabetes duration of 5 ± 3.7 years. Overall, 75 % of the patients were of a low or very low economic status. HbA1c goals were reached by 23.2 %, LDL cholesterol by 57.9 %, systolic blood pressure by 83.9 % and diastolic blood pressure by 73.9 % of the patients. In total, 20.2 % of the patients were overweight and 9.2 % were obese. Patients from very low economic status were less likely to attend tertiary care level when compared with those from low, medium and high economic status, 64.2 % versus 75.5 % versus 78.3 % and 74.0 %; p < 0.001, respectively. The rate of annual screening for retinopathy, nephropathy and for foot alterations was 66.2, 69.7 and 62.7 %, respectively. Insulin dose, age, very low economic status, daily frequency of self-blood glucose monitoring and female gender were independently associated with poor glycemic control. Screening for diabetic complications and attaining glucose, lipid and blood pressure goals present a challenge for young Brazilian type 1 diabetes patients. The low economic status of the majority of our patients may represent a barrier to reaching these goals.

Brain schistosomiasis in mice experimentally infected with Schistosoma mansoni

Introduction Human neuroschistosomiasis has been reported in the literature, but the possibility of modeling neuroschistosomiasis in mice is controversial. Methods In two research laboratories in Brazil that maintain the Schistosoma mansoni life cycle in rodents, two mice developed signs of brain disease (hemiplegia and spinning), and both were autopsied. Results S. mansoni eggs, both with and without granuloma formation, were observed in the brain and meninges of both mice by optical microscopy. Conclusions This is the first description of eggs in the brains of symptomatic mice that were experimentally infected with S. mansoni. An investigation of experimental neuroschistosomiasis is now feasible. .

Você pensa em infarto muscular no paciente diabético? / Muscle infarction: do you think about it in a diabetic patient?

O infarto muscular diabético (IMD) é uma complicação incomum do diabetes (DM) de longa duração. Esta condição pode ocorrer em pacientes com DM tipo 1 ou 2 mal controlados, com presença de microangiopatia. O quadro clínico é de dor aguda e intensa com edema do músculo afetado, que persiste por muitas semanas e tem melhora espontânea. Apesar de incerta, a etiologia é atribuída à microangiopatia com oclusão das pequenas artérias. É diagnosticado por biópsia, embora os achados em T2 na ressonância magnética sejam típicos. O tratamento de escolha é analgesia apropriada, repouso no leito e cuidadoso controle metabólico. Relatamos 3 casos de IMD admitidos em um hospital geral que não foram de imediato diagnosticados, levando a conduta e tratamentos inadequados. Enfatizamos os aspectos clínico, de imagem e histológico do IMD, permitindo o diagnóstico precoce desta condição incomum, evitando tratamento inapropriado.

Avaliação da presença de neuropatia autonômica cardiovascular em diabetes tipo 1 / Evaluation of the presence of cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy in type 1 diabetics

Objetivo: Investigar a presença de neuropatia autonômica cardiovascular em diabéticos tipo 1 com maior ou igual a 5 anos de doença. Métodos: Foram avaliados 33 diabéticos, que responderam a questionários sobre sintomas de neuropatia autonômica e foram submetidos a 3 testes de função autonômica cardiovascular: resposta da freqüência cardíaca à manobra de Valsalva e à respiração, e da pressão arterial à posição ortostática. Foram obtidos dados dos prontuários sobre níveis de hemoglobina glicosilada e presença de complicações crônicas. Variáveis contínuas foram analisadas através do teste t de Student e as categóricas através do qui-quadrado. Resultados: a idade dos pacientes foi de 29 maior ou menor que 8 anos e a duração do diabetes, 19 maior ou menor 6 anos. Quinze pacientes (46 por cento) apresentavam neuropatia e 20 (61 por cento) retinopatia. A prevalência de queixas geniturinárias foi de 6 por cento; gastrintestinais 33 por cento; sudomotoras, 10 por cento; cardiovasculares, 21 por cento. Testes anormais foram encontrados em 17 pacientes (52 por cento). Anormalidades em maior ou igual a 2 testes correlacionaram-se com nefropatia (75 por cento, p igual a 0,03), retinopatia (83 por cento, p igual a 0,05) e disfunção sudomotora (33 por cento, p igual a 0,006). Pacientes com 2 ou mais testes alterados apresentaram maiores níveis de hemoglobina glicosilada do que os normais (12 maior ou menor que 3 vs 9 maior ou menor que 2 por cento; p igual a 0,01)...