Diabetes Control

Bio: Diabetes Control is an academic researcher from Harvard University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Type 1 diabetes & Diabetes mellitus. The author has an hindex of 13, co-authored 17 publications receiving 24935 citations.

The effect of intensive treatment of diabetes on the development and progression of long-term complications in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

Abstract: Background Long-term microvascular and neurologic complications cause major morbidity and mortality in patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). We examined whether intensive treatment with the goal of maintaining blood glucose concentrations close to the normal range could decrease the frequency and severity of these complications. Methods A total of 1441 patients with IDDM--726 with no retinopathy at base line (the primary-prevention cohort) and 715 with mild retinopathy (the secondary-intervention cohort) were randomly assigned to intensive therapy administered either with an external insulin pump or by three or more daily insulin injections and guided by frequent blood glucose monitoring or to conventional therapy with one or two daily insulin injections. The patients were followed for a mean of 6.5 years, and the appearance and progression of retinopathy and other complications were assessed regularly. Results In the primary-prevention cohort, intensive therapy reduced the adjusted mean risk for the development of retinopathy by 76 percent (95 percent confidence interval, 62 to 85 percent), as compared with conventional therapy. In the secondary-intervention cohort, intensive therapy slowed the progression of retinopathy by 54 percent (95 percent confidence interval, 39 to 66 percent) and reduced the development of proliferative or severe nonproliferative retinopathy by 47 percent (95 percent confidence interval, 14 to 67 percent). In the two cohorts combined, intensive therapy reduced the occurrence of microalbuminuria (urinary albumin excretion of > or = 40 mg per 24 hours) by 39 percent (95 percent confidence interval, 21 to 52 percent), that of albuminuria (urinary albumin excretion of > or = 300 mg per 24 hours) by 54 percent (95 percent confidence interval 19 to 74 percent), and that of clinical neuropathy by 60 percent (95 percent confidence interval, 38 to 74 percent). The chief adverse event associated with intensive therapy was a two-to-threefold increase in severe hypoglycemia. Conclusions Intensive therapy effectively delays the onset and slows the progression of diabetic retinopathy, nephropathy, and neuropathy in patients with IDDM.

Retinopathy and nephropathy in patients with type 1 diabetes four years after a trial of intensive therapy.

Abstract: BACKGROUND Among patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus, intensive therapy (with the aim of achieving near-normal blood glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin concentrations [hemoglobin A1c]) markedly reduces the risk of microvascular complications as compared with conventional therapy. To assess whether these benefits persist, we compared the effects of former and intensive conventional therapy on the recurrence and severity of retinopathy and nephropathy for four years after the end of the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT). METHODS At the end of the DCCT, the patients in the conventional-therapy group were offered intensive therapy, and the care of all patients was transferred to their own physicians. Retinopathy was evaluated on the basis of centrally graded fundus photographs in 1208 patients during the fourth year after the DCCT ended, and nephropathy was evaluated on the basis of urine specimens obtained from 1302 patients during the third or fourth year, approximately half of whom were from each treatment group. RESULTS The difference in the median glycosylated hemoglobin values between the conventional-therapy and intensive-therapy groups during the 6.5 years of the DCCT (average, 9.1 percent and 7.2 percent, respectively) narrowed during follow-up (median during 4 years, 8.2 percent and 7.9 percent, respectively, P<0.001). Nevertheless, the proportion of patients who had worsening retinopathy, including proliferative retinopathy, macular edema, and the need for laser therapy, was lower in the intensive-therapy group than in the conventional-therapy group (odds reduction, 72 percent to 87 percent, P<0.001). The proportion of patients with an increase in urinary albumin excretion was significantly lower in the intensive-therapy group. CONCLUSIONS The reduction in the risk of progressive retinopathy and nephropathy resulting from intensive therapy in patients with type 1 diabetes persists for at least four years, despite increasing hyperglycemia.

Intensive diabetes therapy and carotid intima-media thickness in type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Abstract: Background Cardiovascular disease causes severe morbidity and mortality in type 1 diabetes, although the specific risk factors and whether chronic hyperglycemia has a role are unknown. We examined the progression of carotid intima-media thickness, a measure of atherosclerosis, in a population with type 1 diabetes. Methods As part of the Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications (EDIC) study, the long-term follow-up of the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT), 1229 patients with type 1 diabetes underwent B-mode ultrasonography of the internal and common carotid arteries in 1994-1996 and again in 1998-2000. We assessed the intima-media thickness in 611 subjects who had been randomly assigned to receive conventional diabetes treatment during the DCCT and in 618 who had been assigned to receive intensive diabetes treatment. Results At year 1 of the EDIC study, the carotid intima-media thickness was similar to that in an age- and sex-matched nondiabetic population. After six years, the intima-media thickness was significantly greater in the diabetic patients than in the controls. The mean progression of the intima-media thickness was significantly less in the group that had received intensive therapy during the DCCT than in the group that had received conventional therapy (progression of the intima-media thickness of the common carotid artery, 0.032 vs. 0.046 mm; P=0.01; and progression of the combined intima-media thickness of the common and internal carotid arteries, -0.155 vs. 0.007; P=0.02) after adjustment for other risk factors. Progression of carotid intima-media thickness was associated with age, and the EDIC base-line systolic blood pressure, smoking, the ratio of low-density lipoprotein to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and urinary albumin excretion rate and with the mean glycosylated hemoglobin value during the mean duration (6.5 years) of the DCCT. Conclusions Intensive therapy during the DCCT resulted in decreased progression of intima-media thickness six years after the end of the trial.

Modern-Day Clinical Course of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus After 30 Years’ Duration: The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial/Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications and Pittsburgh Epidemiology of Diabetes Complications Experience (1983-2005)

Abstract: Background: Clinical treatment goals of type 1 diabetesmellitus(T1DM)havechangedsincetheDiabetesControl and Complications Trial (DCCT) demonstrated reduced long-term complications with intensive diabetes therapy. There have been few longitudinal studies to describe the clinical course of T1DM in the age of intensive therapy. Our objective was to describe the currentday clinical course of T1DM. Methods: An analysis of the cumulative incidence of long-term complications was performed. The DCCT (1983-1993) assigned patients to conventional or intensive therapy. Since 1993, the DCCT has been observational, and intensive therapy was recommended for all patients.ThePittsburghEpidemiologyofDiabetesComplications (EDC) study is an observational study of patients with T1DM from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. The study population comprised the DCCT T1DM cohort(N=1441)andasubsetoftheEDCcohort(n=161) selected to match DCCT entry criteria. In the DCCT, intensive therapy aimed for a near-normal glycemic level with3ormoredailyinsulininjectionsoraninsulinpump. Conventional therapy, with 1 to 2 daily insulin injections, was not designed to achieve specific glycemic targets. Main outcome measures included the incidences of proliferative retinopathy, nephropathy (albumin excretion rate 300 mg/24 h, creatinine level 2 mg/dL [to convert to micromoles per liter, multiply by 88.4], or renal replacement), and cardiovascular disease. Results: After 30 years of diabetes, the cumulative incidences of proliferative retinopathy, nephropathy, and cardiovascular disease were 50%, 25%, and 14%, respectively, in the DCCT conventional treatment group, and 47%,17%,and14%,respectively,intheEDCcohort.The DCCT intensive therapy group had substantially lower cumulativeincidences(21%,9%,and9%)andfewerthan 1% became blind, required kidney replacement, or had an amputation because of diabetes during that time. Conclusion: The frequencies of serious complications in patients with T1DM, especially when treated intensively, are lower than that reported historically. Trial Registration: clinicaltrials.gov Identifiers: NCT00360815 and NCT00360893

Long-term effect of diabetes and its treatment on cognitive function.

Abstract: BACKGROUND Long-standing concern about the effects of type 1 diabetes on cognitive ability has increased with the use of therapies designed to bring glucose levels close to the nondiabetic range and the attendant increased risk of severe hypoglycemia. METHODS A total of 1144 patients with type 1 diabetes enrolled in the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) and its follow-up Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications (EDIC) study were examined on entry to the DCCT (at mean age 27 years) and a mean of 18 years later with the same comprehensive battery of cognitive tests. Glycated hemoglobin levels were measured and the frequency of severe hypoglycemic events leading to coma or seizures was recorded during the follow-up period. We assessed the effects of original DCCT treatment-group assignment, mean glycated hemoglobin values, and frequency of hypoglycemic events on measures of cognitive ability, with adjustment for age at baseline, sex, years of education, length of follow-up, visual acuity, self-reported sensory loss due to peripheral neuropathy, and (to control for the effects of practice) the number of cognitive tests taken in the interval since the start of the DCCT. RESULTS Forty percent of the cohort reported having had at least one hypoglycemic coma or seizure. Neither frequency of severe hypoglycemia nor previous treatment-group assignment was associated with decline in any cognitive domain. Higher glycated hemoglobin values were associated with moderate declines in motor speed (P=0.001) and psychomotor efficiency (P<0.001), but no other cognitive domain was affected. CONCLUSIONS No evidence of substantial long-term declines in cognitive function was found in a large group of patients with type 1 diabetes who were carefully followed for an average of 18 years, despite relatively high rates of recurrent severe hypoglycemia. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00360893.)

Bias in meta-analysis detected by a simple, graphical test

Abstract: Objective: Funnel plots (plots of effect estimates against sample size) may be useful to detect bias in meta-analyses that were later contradicted by large trials. We examined whether a simple test of asymmetry of funnel plots predicts discordance of results when meta-analyses are compared to large trials, and we assessed the prevalence of bias in published meta-analyses. Design: Medline search to identify pairs consisting of a meta-analysis and a single large trial (concordance of results was assumed if effects were in the same direction and the meta-analytic estimate was within 30% of the trial); analysis of funnel plots from 37 meta-analyses identified from a hand search of four leading general medicine journals 1993-6 and 38 meta-analyses from the second 1996 issue of the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews . Main outcome measure: Degree of funnel plot asymmetry as measured by the intercept from regression of standard normal deviates against precision. Results: In the eight pairs of meta-analysis and large trial that were identified (five from cardiovascular medicine, one from diabetic medicine, one from geriatric medicine, one from perinatal medicine) there were four concordant and four discordant pairs. In all cases discordance was due to meta-analyses showing larger effects. Funnel plot asymmetry was present in three out of four discordant pairs but in none of concordant pairs. In 14 (38%) journal meta-analyses and 5 (13%) Cochrane reviews, funnel plot asymmetry indicated that there was bias. Conclusions: A simple analysis of funnel plots provides a useful test for the likely presence of bias in meta-analyses, but as the capacity to detect bias will be limited when meta-analyses are based on a limited number of small trials the results from such analyses should be treated with considerable caution. Key messages Systematic reviews of randomised trials are the best strategy for appraising evidence; however, the findings of some meta-analyses were later contradicted by large trials Funnel plots, plots of the trials9 effect estimates against sample size, are skewed and asymmetrical in the presence of publication bias and other biases Funnel plot asymmetry, measured by regression analysis, predicts discordance of results when meta-analyses are compared with single large trials Funnel plot asymmetry was found in 38% of meta-analyses published in leading general medicine journals and in 13% of reviews from the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews Critical examination of systematic reviews for publication and related biases should be considered a routine procedure

2007 Guidelines for the Management of Arterial Hypertension : The Task Force for the Management of Arterial Hypertension of the European Society of Hypertension (ESH) and of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).

Abstract: 2007 Guidelines for the Management of Arterial Hypertension : The Task Force for the Management of Arterial Hypertension of the European Society of Hypertension (ESH) and of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).

Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes

Abstract: XI. STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING DIABETES CARE D iabetes is a chronic illness that requires continuing medical care and patient self-management education to prevent acute complications and to reduce the risk of long-term complications. Diabetes care is complex and requires that many issues, beyond glycemic control, be addressed. A large body of evidence exists that supports a range of interventions to improve diabetes outcomes. These standards of care are intended to provide clinicians, patients, researchers, payors, and other interested individuals with the components of diabetes care, treatment goals, and tools to evaluate the quality of care. While individual preferences, comorbidities, and other patient factors may require modification of goals, targets that are desirable for most patients with diabetes are provided. These standards are not intended to preclude more extensive evaluation and management of the patient by other specialists as needed. For more detailed information, refer to Bode (Ed.): Medical Management of Type 1 Diabetes (1), Burant (Ed): Medical Management of Type 2 Diabetes (2), and Klingensmith (Ed): Intensive Diabetes Management (3). The recommendations included are diagnostic and therapeutic actions that are known or believed to favorably affect health outcomes of patients with diabetes. A grading system (Table 1), developed by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and modeled after existing methods, was utilized to clarify and codify the evidence that forms the basis for the recommendations. The level of evidence that supports each recommendation is listed after each recommendation using the letters A, B, C, or E.

Intensive Insulin Therapy in Critically Ill Patients

Abstract: Background Hyperglycemia and insulin resistance are common in critically ill patients, even if they have not previously had diabetes. Whether the normalization of blood glucose levels with insulin therapy improves the prognosis for such patients is not known. Methods We performed a prospective, randomized, controlled study involving adults admitted to our surgical intensive care unit who were receiving mechanical ventilation. On admission, patients were randomly assigned to receive intensive insulin therapy (maintenance of blood glucose at a level between 80 and 110 mg per deciliter) or conventional treatment (infusion of insulin only if the blood glucose level exceeded 215 mg per deciliter and maintenance of glucose at a level between 180 and 200 mg per deciliter). Results At 12 months, with a total of 1548 patients enrolled, intensive insulin therapy reduced mortality during intensive care from 8.0 percent with conventional treatment to 4.6 percent (P<0.04, with adjustment for sequential analyses). The ...