[Diabetic retinopathy in type 1 diabetes of short duration]

Diabetic retinopathy is the most specific complication related to diabetes. The position statement about diabetic retinopathy postulates that initial retinal exanimation should be performed within 5 years after the initial diagnosis. We report the case of a 26 years old type 1 diabetic woman with a severe non proliferative diabetic retinopathy discovered 10 months after the onset of clinical diabetes, The hypothesis of a Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in adults [LADA] seems to he plausible. This case report indicates again that a severe form of diabetic retinopathy can occur at the onset of type 1 diabetes and suggests that systematic ophthalmic examination should be performed at the onset of type 1 diabetes

Poly unsasturated fatty acids, omega-3 and omega-6 structure role and alimentary sources

Long chain poly unsaturated fatty acids have structural and functional biological properties controlling many essential processes. Omega-3 with long chain acids constitute a class of fragile natural compounds which are active in prevention of age related diseases [cardiovascular, neurodegenerative and retinal affections]

Microvascular complications in the type 2 diabetes: impact of the insulin therapy

When oral antidiabetics at optimal dosage have failed to maintain good diabetic control, insulin treatment has to be considered. The aim of this retrospective study is to evaluate over a 5 years period the incidence of progression in microvascular complications in 35 type 2 diabetes patients treated with insulin and compared to 35 controls treated with oral hypoglycemic agents. By 3-5 years, the "insulin" group had lower risks of progression in both complications: retinopathy [p=0,005] and neuropathy [p<0,05]. However, the incidence of progression in nephropathy was quite similar between the two groups. Our study confirms the long term results found in the literature about effects of insulin therapy on microvascular complications in diabetic patients

[Hyperlipemia and lymphoma]

While the concept of developing hypocholesterolemia during myeloma or lymphoma is not unusual, the existence of developing hyperlipemia is rare. The authors report the case of a sixty-one year old diabetic patient treated by oral medication. This patient does not have a family history of hyperlipemia. He was hospitalized for degradation of his general condition, and a pain of the right shoulder and bilateral pleural effusion. A major hyperlipidemia [total cholesterol = 13.5 mmol/l, triglycerides = 16.8 mmol/l] was noted during his hospitalization and persisted in spite of a fibrate treatment and a controlled diabetes. The radiography of the upper right limb showed lytic images of the extremity of the humerus. The thoracic CT scan showed bilateral pleural effusion and a hyperdense paravertebral image of ganglion metastasis. The myelograme and the pleural biopsies showed a malignant non hodgkin lymphoma. An immunosuppressor treatment was prescribed resulting in a spectacular improvement of the hyperlipidemia since the first chemotherapy. This is probably an autoimmune hyperlipidemia associated with a lymphoma. Further investigations like the study of the lipoprotein lipase activity, the search of antibodies related to the apo E or the apo B would be useful in order to confirm this assumption

[The diabetic diet of Tunisia: lived and recommendations]

Diet is essential for diabetes treatment. It must provide a balanced nutritional intake with adaptation to each patient. The aim of this study is to evaluate the spontaneous food consumption in a group of 150 type 2 diabetic Tunisian patients. Main food consumption abnormalities are an excessive caloric intake, an excess in glucid consumption, a saturated, fatty acids intake accounting for 26 +/- 6% of the lipid ration which is positively correlated with high LDL cholesterol levels [p=0,04], a ratio animal/vegetable proteins greater than I and an insufficiency in anti-oxidant vitamins. Thus, the qualitative analysis of the, food intake shows several anomalies which exposes our diabetic patients to a high cardiovascular risk; adapted recommendations appear to be necessary