Current diabetes reports
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Current diabetes reports · Mar 2015
ReviewChallenges of inpatient blood glucose monitoring: standards, methods, and devices to measure blood glucose.
Glucose control in the hospital setting is very important. There is a high incidence of hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia, and glycemic variability in hospitalized patients. Safe insulin delivery and glucose control is dependent on reliable glucose meters and monitoring systems in the hospital. ⋯ It is important for clinicians to be aware that there are limitations of specific point-of-care (POC) glucose meters and that situations exist whereby POC glucose meters as the sole measurement device should be avoided. POC meter devices are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in critical care, although POC meter devices are commonly used in critical care settings and elsewhere. This review focuses on glucose assay principles, instrument technology, influences on glucose measurement, standards for glucose measurement, and an evaluation of different methods to measure blood glucose in the hospital setting.
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Current diabetes reports · Oct 2014
ReviewThe role of sodium channels in painful diabetic and idiopathic neuropathy.
Painful neuropathies are frequently encountered in clinical practice as an early or late complication of several systemic disorders. Among them, diabetes is one of the most important due to its epidemiology and the relevance for regulatory agencies in the assessment of efficacy of new analgesics. ⋯ Voltage-gated sodium channel genes are among the most relevant, due to the key role of these membrane proteins in the physiology of nociception and their involvement in the pathogenesis of idiopathic painful small fiber neuropathies. These compelling features make sodium channel candidate targets for a novel approach to painful diabetic and idiopathic neuropathies, which will hopefully allow a new classification of patients and more effective targeted treatments.
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Current diabetes reports · Oct 2014
ReviewWeight loss and physical activity for disease prevention in obese older adults: an important role for lifestyle management.
Weight loss in older adults has been a controversial topic for more than a decade. An obesity paradox has been previously described and the issue of weight status on health outcomes remains a highly debated topic. ⋯ In this review, we offer a critical view to clarify misunderstandings regarding the obesity paradox, particularly as it relates to obese older adults. We also review the evidence on PA and lifestyle interventions for the improvement of cardiorespiratory fitness, which can prevent disease and provide benefits to obese older adults, independent of weight changes.
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Current diabetes reports · Jan 2014
ReviewMicrovascular dysfunction in the context of diabetic neuropathy.
Microvascular dysfunction in diabetes plays a crucial role in the development of diabetic complications. The skin, as one of the most accessible organs, serves as a model for the investigation of microvascular dysfunction. ⋯ Microvascular functional changes occur even in the prediabetic state and become more complex with overt diabetes, being exacerbated by the presence of peripheral and/or autonomic diabetic neuropathy. The present article aims at shedding light on the implication of endothelial and neurovascular dysfunction in microvascular changes in diabetes, highlighting the contribution of different forms of diabetic neuropathy.
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Current diabetes reports · Aug 2013
ReviewNew and developing drugs for the treatment of neuropathic pain in diabetes.
A number of agents from diverse pharmacological classes are used to treat neuropathic pain associated with diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Only three of these have regulatory approval for this indication in the U. ⋯ These will include agonists and antagonists of the transient receptor potential channels, a family of receptor proteins that play a role in the transduction of physical stress; sodium channel isoform specific antagonists; a recently approved dual-action opioid receptor agonist-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor; gene therapy for neuropathic pain; and anti-nerve growth factor molecules. Mechanisms of action, preclinical supporting data, clinical trial evidence, and adverse effects will be reviewed.