The Pyramid of Transgender Health Therapeutics

Transgender care needs a multidisciplinary team approach. The awareness about transgender health has increased over the past few years in India. The pyramid of transgender health helps to demystify the care of transgender individuals. The 7 S's of lifestyle modification need to be followed in the routine clinical care of transgender individuals. The individuals also need psychological care and support, metabolic and medical care, endocrine management, and later surgery in some cases. The policy makers can use the pyramid to decide about financial help to the community for their holistic care. The physicians involved in the care of transgender individuals can also take guidance about comprehensive care and management of transgender and gender diverse individuals.

Insulin Initiation with Insulin Degludec/Insulin Aspart versus Insulin Glargine in Oral Antidiabetic Drugs Failure Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Real-World Study from India

Context: Oral antidiabetic drug (OAD) failure is an indication for starting insulin therapy, but there is still a dilemma as to whether basal insulin or a premixed/co-formulation analog should be the choice. Aim: To compare the safety and efficacy of once daily (OD) insulin degludec/insulin aspart (IDegAsp) to OD insulin glargine (IGlar U100) in insulin-naïve Indian subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), inadequately controlled with OADs alone. Setting and design: Retrospective study. Methods and material: Data was retrieved from the author’s clinic database of OAD failure patients (18-80 years), who were started either with (IGlar U100, n = 120) or IDegAsp (n = 89) OD over and above the standard of care. Data of fasting plasma glucose (FPG), postprandial plasma glucose (PPG) and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) from baseline and at last follow-up visits were collected. Statistical analysis used: Baseline characteristics and change in study parameters during the follow-up period were computed between two groups (IGlar U100 vs. IDegAsp) by unpaired t-test and paired t-test, respectively. ANCOVA test was used to compute percentage reduction in body weight, body mass index (BMI), FPG, PPG and HbA1c in between two groups (IGlar U100 vs. IDegAsp). Results: IDegAsp caused a significantly greater reduction in FPG, PPG and HbA1c as compared to the IGlar U100 arm. There was no significant difference in the proportion of patients with hypoglycemia between IDegAsp and IGlar U100 groups (p = 0.208). No episodes of severe hypoglycemia were reported. Conclusion: Comparison of IDegAsp and IGlar U100 OD in T2DM patients indicated that both were relatively safe but the former controlled FPG and PPG levels more effectively.

Early treatment with low fixed dose (5 mCi) radioiodine therapy is effective in Indian subjects with Graves' disease.

There is little consensus regarding the most appropriate dosage regimen for radioiodine treatment in Graves' disease. The authors evaluated the efficacy of low fixed dose (5mCi) of radioiodine therapy, in terms of its cure rate and promptness of control, as well possible factors influencing the outcome. One hundred and twenty five consecutive patients with Graves' disease with persistent disease activity despite receiving carbimazole were treated with 5 mCi fixed dose of I131. Patients, who remained hyperthyroid at 1 year, received a second dose of 7.5 mCi of I113. After first dose 73.6% were cured (36.8% hypothyroid and 36.8% euthyroid), while 26.4% patients did not respond. Those who achieved cure had significantly lesser goiter size (84.6% with grade I goiter and 70.7% with grade II) and had received significantly shorter duration of prior carbimazole therapy (22 +/- 10 months versus 63 +/- 27 months) (p < 0.01). Age, sex, baseline T3, T4, 24 hour I131 uptake did not affect the cure rate. Mean time to response was 7 +/- 4 months. One hundred and three (82.4%) patients were cured after 2 doses while only 22 (17.6%) were nonresponsive. Hence, low fixed dose (5mCi) radio active iodine (RAI) therapy seems to be effective in Graves' disease particularly in patients with small sized goiter and short duration of pretherapy with thionamides.