Transient increase in glucose variability during Ramadan fasting in patients with insulin-treated type 2 diabetes: A preliminary study.

AIM: We aimed to examine the effect of Ramadan fasting on interstitial glucose control and variability before, during, and after Ramadan in type 2 diabetes patients receiving insulin therapy. METHODS: Participants received a flash glucose monitoring (FGM) system one week before Ramadan that was removed on the sixth or seventh day (pre- and early Ramadan periods) of Ramadan and a second FGM system one week before the end of Ramadan that was removed one week after the end of Ramadan (late and post-Ramadan periods). Fasting blood samples were collected during the pre-, early, and late Ramadan study visits and tested for HbA1c, serum creatinine, and plasma glucose levels. RESULTS: Thirty-four patients were prospectively included. The standard deviation and coefficient of variation of glucose concentrations were higher in the early Ramadan period than in the pre-Ramadan period, but did not differ in the late or post-Ramadan periods. Changes in the early Ramadan period were restricted to males and patients aged <55 years. No significant changes were observed in the average glucose level, glucose management indicator, time in range, time in hyperglycemia, or time in hypoglycemia at any time point. CONCLUSIONS: Ramadan fasting in patients with insulin-treated type 2 diabetes is associated with an initial increase in glucose variability that quickly returned to pre-Ramadan levels. Ramadan fasting was not associated with any significant changes in glycemic control measures.

Can Vitamin D Therapy Contribute to the Conservative Resolution of Osteolytic Lesions of the Jaws?

Osteolytic lesions of the jaw are not uncommon. Such lesions usually arise from local pathologies, but some have systemic backgrounds. We describe a 12-year-old girl who presented with an asymptomatic left mandibular swelling. The bony swelling was corresponding to a radiolucent lesion in the left premolar/molar region. This lesion could have represented an inflammatory and developmental odontogenic jaw cyst, giant cell lesion, and odontogenic tumor. However, the workup investigations revealed secondary hyperparathyroidism due to vitamin D deficiency. A vitamin D replacement was initiated with a single I.M. injection of 300,000 I.U followed by 10,000 I.U orally, weekly. Six weeks later, her Vitamin D and parathyroid hormone were normalized, and she showed significant clinical and radiological improvement of the jaw lesion. At 18 months, follow-up the panoramic image revealed complete resolution of the radiolucency and stable normal parathyroid hormone and vitamin D levels. In conclusion, Jaw bone lesions can develop secondary to hyperparathyroidism due to vitamin D deficiency, and this should be ruled out before any surgical intervention. Treatment of such lesions lies in the correction of parathyroid excess with a careful and systematic approach. This may prevent unnecessary surgical intervention in such patients.

Telemedicine for diabetic retinopathy screening using an ultra-widefield fundus camera.

OBJECTIVE: Telemedicine reporting of diabetic retinopathy (DR) screening using ultra-widefield (UWF) fundus camera. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cross-sectional study of diabetic patients who visited the endocrinology department of a private multi-specialty hospital in United Arab Emirates between April 2015 and January 2017 who underwent UWF fundus imaging. Fundus pictures are then accessed at the Retina Clinic in the Department of Ophthalmology. Primary outcome measure was incidence of any form of DR detected. The secondary outcome measure was failure to take good image and inability to grade. RESULTS: A total of 1,024 diabetic individuals were screened for DR from April 2015 to January 2017 in the department of Endocrinology. Rate of DR was 9.27%; 165 eyes of 95 individuals were diagnosed to have some form of DR. Mild non-proliferative DR (NPDR) was seen in 114 of 165 eyes (69.09%), moderate NPDR in 32 eyes (19.39%), severe NPDR in six eyes (3.64%), and proliferative DR (PDR) in 13 eyes (7.88%). The secondary outcome measure of poor image acquisition was seen in one individual who had an image acquired in one eye that could not be graded due to bad picture quality. CONCLUSIONS: The present study has shown the effectiveness of DR screening using UWF fundus camera. It has shown the effectiveness of trained nursing personnel taking fundus images. This model can be replicated in any private multi-specialty hospital and reduce the burden of DR screening in the retina clinic and enhance early detection of treatable DR.