Current medical research and opinion
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Alogliptin plus voglibose in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with an open-label, long-term extension.
To compare the efficacy and safety of alogliptin and placebo as add-on therapy in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes who experienced inadequate glycemic control on voglibose plus diet/exercise therapy. ⋯ Addition of once daily alogliptin to voglibose monotherapy in Japanese patients with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes produced clinically significant improvements in glycemic control, and was well tolerated.
-
This ongoing pan-European patient survey is being conducted to explore how chronic pain patients perceive their condition and the coping strategies they use to help deal with the pain. ⋯ High levels of dissatisfaction, which increase proportionately with the intensity of pain, could adversely affect the chances of successful outcomes.
-
Abstract In January 2011 the American Diabetes Association (ADA) published the latest guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of diabetes mellitus (DM)(1,2). Despite some controversies, glycated hemoglobin A(1c) (HbA(1c)), an established marker of long-term glycemia traditionally used to assess the quality of DM management, remained an independent criterion for the diagnosis of DM, and indeed now appears to be well established in the USA. This has far-reaching implications for clinical practice worldwide.
-
Understanding of the damaging effects of significance testing has steadily grown. Reporting p values without dichotomizing the result to be significant or not, is not the solution. Confidence intervals are better, but are troubled by a non-intuitive interpretation, and are often misused just to see whether the null value lies within the interval. ⋯ The reluctance to abandon this practice might be both preference of clinging to old habits as well as the unfamiliarity with better methods. Authors might question if using less commonly exercised, though superior, techniques will be well received by the editors, reviewers and the readership. A joint effort will be needed to abandon significance testing in clinical research in the future.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study
The impact of blood glucose monitoring on depression and distress in insulin-naïve patients with type 2 diabetes.
To test whether a structured self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) protocol reduces depressive symptoms and diabetes distress. ⋯ Using well standardised measures, collaborative, structured SMBG leads to reductions, not increases, in depressive symptoms and diabetes distress over time, for the large number of moderately depressed or distressed type 2 patients in poor glycaemic control. Changes in affective status are independent of improvements in glycaemic control and changes in SMBG frequency for these patients.