Long-term visit-to-visit glycemic variability as predictor of micro- and macrovascular complications in patients with type 2 diabetes: The Rio de Janeiro Type 2 Diabetes Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Long-term visit-to-visit glycemic variability is an additional measure of glycemic control. We aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of several measures of glycemic variability for the occurrence of micro- and macrovascular complications, and all-cause mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS: 654 individuals were followed-up over a median of 9.3 years. Glycemic variability (SDs and coefficients of variation of HbA1c and fasting glycaemia) was measured during the first 12- and 24-months. Multivariate Cox analysis, adjusted for risk factors and mean HbA1c and fasting glycaemia levels, examined the associations between glycemic variability and the occurrence of microvascular (retinopathy, microalbuminuria, renal function deterioration, peripheral neuropathy) and macrovascular complications [total cardiovascular events (CVE), major adverse CVEs (MACE) and cardiovascular mortality], and of all-cause mortality. RESULTS: During follow-up, 128 patients had a CVE (96 MACE), and 158 patients died (67 from cardiovascular diseases); 152 newly-developed or worsened diabetic retinopathy, 183 achieved the renal composite outcome (89 newly developed microalbuminuria and 91 deteriorated renal function), and 96 newly-developed or worsened peripheral neuropathy. Glycemic variability, particularly the 24-month parameters either estimated by HbA1c or by fasting glycemia, predicted all endpoints, except for retinopathy and peripheral neuropathy development/progression, and was a better predictor than mean HbA1c. Glycemic variability predicted retinopathy development/progression in patients with good glycemic control (HbA1c ≤ 7.5%, 58 mmol/mol) and predicted new-incident peripheral neuropathy. CONCLUSIONS: Long-term visit-to-visit glycemic variability is an additional and frequently a better glycemic parameter than mean HbA1c levels for assessing the risk of future development of micro- and macrovascular complications in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Graphene oxide nanoribbons as nanomaterial for bone regeneration: Effects on cytotoxicity, gene expression and bactericidal effect.

Graphene oxide nanoribbons (O-GNR) surges as an interesting nanomaterial for biomedical applications due to feasibility to incorporate functional groups and possible bactericidal properties. Herein, high concentrations of O-GNR were biologically evaluated using human osteoblast cells and gram positive and negative bacteria. Briefly, our goal were to evaluate: (1) synthetic pathway, (2) characterization and (3) effects of O-GNR composition and structural factors as a new approach for biomedical applications. For this, O-GNR were produced combining chemical vapor deposition and oxygen plasma treatment of multiwalled carbon nanotubes. Then, we analyzed the bioactivity, cell viability, osteogenic differentiation, matrix mineralization, mRNA levels of the five genes related direct to bone repair and bactericidal effect of high concentrations of O-GNR (10µgmL-1, 100µgmL-1, 200µgmL-1 and 300µgmL-1). Impressively, O-GNR showed no cytotoxic effects up to a concentration of 100µgmL-1 and no gene expression alteration when used in its dose. We also observed that S. aureus and E. coli bacteria are susceptible to damage when incubated with 100µgmL-1 of O-GNR, showing approximately 50% of bacterial death. We consider that O-GNR displays attractive properties when used at a suitable dose, displaying bactericidal effect and apparently lacking to cause damages in the bone repair process.

Infrared Thermography in Dogs with Mammary Tumors and Healthy Dogs.

BACKGROUND: Infrared thermography is a painless, noninvasive, nonionizing diagnostic imaging exam used in human medicine as an auxiliary tool for breast cancer diagnosis in women. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES: Define thermographic mean temperatures of healthy mammary glands and compare these temperatures with those of mammary glands with tumors in dogs. ANIMALS: Fifty client-owned female dogs were evaluated, including 20 with histopathologically confirmed mammary tumor and 30 clinically healthy (control). METHODS: A randomized study using infrared thermography analyzed each mammary gland of the animals from the control group and mammary glands with tumors from the tumor group, then the thermographic temperatures obtained were compared. Thermographic exam was performed in a temperature-controlled room with a cooled thermographic camera-Flir E-40 (Flir Systems(®) ) RESULTS: There was significantly a higher temperature in the caudal abdominal and inguinal mammary glands than the other glands in the healthy group (P < .05). Dogs with mammary tumors had significantly higher thermographic temperature compared with unaffected glands regardless of the tumor size and the location (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: The technique seems to be able to assess for the presence of neoplasia within the mammary tissue in bitches. Further investigation is necessary to determine the impact of this technique when adopted clinically.

[Prevalence of antibodies to hepatitis C (anti HCV) in blood donors in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Its relation to ALT and anti HBC]. / Prevalência do anticorpo contra hepatite C (anti VHC) em doadores de sangue no Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. Sua relação com ALT e anti HBC.

UNLABELLED: We have studied 933 volunteer blood donors from May to July, 1990. After a interview and screening tests for syphilis, Chagas disease, malaria and HIV, they underwent an enzyme immunoassay for HBsAg, anti HBc and anti HCV antibodies. Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) serum levels were determined by auto analyser. Most blood donors were male with mean age of 33 years (19-65). Anti HCV prevalence was 3.1% (29 from 933 blood donors). Among anti HCV+, blood donors, 44.8% (13/29) had ALT 40 UI/L, 31% (9/29) were anti HBc+ and 17.2% (5/29) had both surrogate markers simultaneously. From 109 donors with ALT 40 UI/L, 13 (11.9%) were anti HCV+, while among 153 anti HBc+ donors, the anti HCV was 5.8%. CONCLUSIONS: 1) we found a higher anti HCV prevalence among our blood donors than previous published reports from other countries; 2) our data show that surrogate assays do not adequately identify anti HCV blood donors, 41.4% of them would not have been excluded by anti HBc and ALT tests alone; 3) there were a correlation between anti HCV positivity with a sample to cutoff optical density ratio equal or greater than 4 and elevated ALT serum levels.