Casual serum triglyceride as a predictor of premature type 2 diabetes mellitus: an 8-year cohort study of middle-aged Japanese workers.

BACKGROUND: The utility of casual serum triglyceride (TG) as a predictor of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is unclear, especially during the most productive years. METHODS: Participants were 3271 workers (913 men and 2358 women, age 20-57) without DM at baseline. They underwent consecutive annual medical check-ups for 8 years. The association between newly diagnosed DM and casual serum TG level was determined by classifying the participants into 4 groups according to casual serum TG level at baseline: below 50 mg/dL (group A), 50-100 mg/dL (group B), 100-150 mg/dL (group C), and ≥150 mg/dL (group D). The effects of casual serum TG level in combination with sex, obesity, or serum glucose level on newly diagnosed DM were also evaluated. RESULTS: A total of 222 newly diagnosed type 2 DM cases with a mean age of 50 years old were observed during the follow-up period, i.e., 10/406 in group A, 66/1534 in group B, 58/712 in group C, and 88/619 in group D. Compared with group A, the odds ratio (ORs) for newly diagnosed DM (after adjusting for DM-associated factors) was found to increase with casual serum TG level: 1.38 (group B), 1.79 (group C), and 2.36 (group D). Moreover, the OR for newly diagnosed DM was higher in participants with high casual serum TG levels who were also male (OR 2.46), obese (OR 4.18), or had a high serum glucose level (OR 6.96) than in the reference group. CONCLUSIONS: Serum TG level ≥150 mg/dL when fasting or nonfasting is a significant predictor of type 2 diabetes in middle-aged Japanese workers.

Three cases of suspected sugammadex-induced hypersensitivity reactions.

Neuromuscular blocking agents have been implicated in 60-70% of anaphylactic events associated with anaesthesia. We report two cases of probable hypersensitivity reaction to sugammadex and an additional suspected but less supported case of possible immune-mediated reaction or other adverse reaction. The patients were given a bolus of sugammadex 100 mg immediately before extubation. In all three patients, a possible allergic reaction was suspected within 4 min of sugammadex administration, but with different degrees of severity. Skin testing was positive in two of these patients. Hypersensitivity to sugammadex unaccompanied by cardiovascular or respiratory symptoms might be missed during the course of anaesthesia. Careful monitoring for possible allergic responses is required in patients who have received sugammadex.

[Clinical significance of serum and urinary neopterins after transcatheter arterial embolization for hepatocellular carcinoma].

To elucidate the immunological effects of transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), serum and urinary neopterins were measured using the radioimmunoassay in patients with HCC before and after TAE (n = 11), and compared with one shot arterial injection (AI)(n = 8). At the third day after TAE, serum and urinary neopterin levels were maximally elevated up to 164% and 158% from their respective baselines (p < 0.01). By contrast, these levels were unaffected after AI. In considering the changes of natural killer cell activity, C-reactive protein, transaminase and alpha-fetoprotein, these results suggest that the determination of neopterin levels after TAE may be not only valuable to assess the necrotic effect of TAE, but also be useful for evaluating cellular immunity after TAE.

Reduced glomerular hypertrophy by somatostatin analog, SMS 201-995, in the subtotal nephrectomized rats fed high-protein meals.

The chronic effects of SMS 201-995 (SMS), a long-acting somatostatin analog, on the progression of renal failure in 3/4 subtotal nephrectomized rats (NPX) fed high protein meals (40% protein) were investigated. Rats were divided into four groups, [i.e., normal control (C) (n = 6), NPX control (NPX-C) (7), NPX treated with SMS 1.0 micrograms/day (SMS-1.0) (7) and SMS-10.0 (7)]. SMS was continuously administered s.c. via an osmotically driven pump for 8 weeks. SMS had no significant changes in either body weight or hematocrit levels for NPX groups. Systolic blood pressure in NPX rats showed similar elevations, but SMS had no distinct effect on it for them. Significant changes in urine volume, creatinine clearance, and urinary protein excretion were not obtained among the NPX rats. No significant changes of glomerular sclerosis index was found among the NPX rats. Mean planar area of glomeruli in NPX rats was significantly larger than in normal control rats. NPX treated with both 1.0 and 10.0 micrograms/day SMS had statistically smaller values compared with NPX control rats. It was concluded that the chronic administration of SMS reduced glomerular hypertrophy without altering renal functions in this experimental model.

Clinical significance of serum and urinary neopterins in patients with chronic renal disease.

To determine the clinical significance of serum and urinary neopterins in patients with chronic renal disease, we measured these values using IMMUtest Neopterin RIA kits. Serum neopterin levels in patients with chronic glomerulonephritis (CGN) (10.2 +/- 8.1 nmol/l) and in those with chronic renal failure (CRF) (109 +/- 90) were significantly increased compared with the control subjects (C) (4.2 +/- 2.4) (p less than 0.001). The levels of serum neopterins in patients on chronic hemodialysis (HD) (212 +/- 106) were increased almost twofold compared with CRF (p less than 0.001). In CGN and CRF, a strong positive correlation was demonstrated between serum neopterin levels and serum creatinine concentrations (r = 0.95, p less than 0.001). In HD patients, neopterin levels and serum were not correlated with the length of time on dialysis. The urinary neopterin excretion ratios (urinary neopterin/urinary creatinine level) in CRF (227 +/- 114 mumols/molCr) were significantly increased compared with C (116 +/- 43) (p less than 0.01). A significantly negative correlation was observed between the urinary neopterin levels and the creatinine clearance in CGN and CRF (p less than 0.01). These data suggest that, in patients with chronic renal disease, the neopterin levels in serum are closely linked with glomerular filtration rate and yet the urinary neopterin/creatinine ratios may reflect the predominance of increased tubular secretion of neopterin over the renal injury per se.

Effects of chronic administration of somatostatin analogue SMS 201-995 on the progression of chronic renal failure in subtotal nephrectomized rats.

The recent study has demonstrated the presence of somatostatin (SRIF) secretory cells in the rat glomerulus. Because of the polyvalent actions of this peptide, SRIF may play some roles in the evolution of chronic renal failure. The present study evaluated the effects of a long acting SRIF analogue, SMS 201-995 on the progression of renal failure in 3/4 nephrectomized (NPX) rats. Animals were divided into four groups; (1) normal control (C) (n = 9), (2) NPX-C (n = 10), (3) NPX treated with SMS 201-995 (0.5 micrograms/day) (NPX-0.5) (n = 9) and (4) NPX with SMS 201-995 (5.0 micrograms/day) (NPX-5.0) (n = 9). This drug was subcutaneously given daily for 6 weeks. Periodic observations were done at 0, 3 and 6 weeks. Both hematocrit and systolic blood pressure showed significant fall and rise, respectively, in NPX rats compared with C at 3 and 6 weeks. Also both serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen in these groups elevated significantly at 3 and 6 weeks compared with C. Not significant changes were observed in the 24-h urine volume among the NPX rats. At 6 weeks, the urinary protein excretion in NPX-5.0 was significantly less than those in NPX-C and NPX-0.5 rats. Urinary sodium excretion in NPX-5.0 was significantly lower than that in NPX-C. Histologic examination of the kidney showed less proliferation of mesangial cells in NPX-5.0 than NPX-C. These results suggest that SMS 201-995 may limit the rate of progression of chronic renal failure in this experimental model.