Body composition in patients with primary neuromuscular disease assessed by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and three different bioimpedance devices.

BACKGROUND: Patients with primary neuromuscular disease have reduced muscle mass, and use of body mass index to assess nutritional status and body composition can therefore be questioned. Dual emission X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) can estimate muscle mass, but is not always readily available. Bioimpedance is a simple, portable and "easy to use" method for the assessment of body composition. OBJECTIVES: To assess muscle mass by DXA in 143 patients with primary neuromuscular disease and validate three bioimpedance devices; Impedimed SFB7, (BISIMPEDIMED), Xitron4200 (BISXITRON) and Tanita MC180MA (MFBIATANITA). METHODS: Body composition was assessed by DXA in 143, by BISIMPEDIMED in 116, by MFBIATANITA in 104 and by BISXITRON in 35 patients. RESULTS: Muscle mass assessed by DXA, and phase angle (PhA) were below reference values in all female and 96% of male patients. BISIMPEDIMED underestimated muscle mass by 6.5 ± 14.2 kg (p < 0.001), but this could be corrected after exclusion of resistance (Ri) values > 3500 Ohm (p = 0.84). MFBIATANITA overestimated muscle mass by 30.8 ± 9.1 kg (p < 0.001) with systematic bias, whereas BISXITRON was in agreement with DXA, and without systematic bias. Muscle mass was strongly correlated to PhA (rPEARSON = 0.75, p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Patients with primary neuromuscular disease have proportionally more fat and less muscle mass than the population in general, despite normal BMI. Muscle mass can be assessed by bioimpedance in these patients, but performance and bias depends on device. Phase angle by bioimpedance correlates to muscle mass, and could therefore potentially be used a surrogate measure of muscle mass during follow up.

Overweight, hyperglycemia and tobacco use are modifiable risk factors for onset of retinopathy 9 and 17years after the diagnosis of diabetes - A retrospective observational nation-wide cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The aims of this study were to estimate the risk for diabetic retinopathy (DR) and to identify risk factors. We investigated a nationwide population-based cohort with diabetes diagnosed at age 15-34years. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Of 794 patients registered 1987-1988 in the Diabetes Incidence Study in Sweden (DISS) 444 (56%) patients with retinal photos available for classification of retinopathy participated in a follow-up study 15-19 (median 17) years after diagnosis. Mean age was 42.3±5.7years, BMI 26.1±4.1kg/m2, 62% were male and 91% had type 1 diabetes. A sub-study was performed in 367 patients with retinal photos from both the 9 and 17year follow up and the risk for development of retinopathy between 9 and 17years of follow up was calculated. RESULTS: After median 17years 324/444 (73%, 67% of T1D and 71% of T2D), had developed any DR but only 5.4% proliferative DR. Male sex increased the risk of developing retinopathy (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.2-2.9). In the sub-study obesity (OR 1.2, 95% CI 1.04-1.4), hyperglycemia (OR 2.5, 95% CI 1.6-3.8) and tobacco use (OR 2.9, 95% CI 1.1-7.3) predicted onset of retinopathy between 9 and 17years after diagnosis of diabetes. CONCLUSION: The number of patients with severe retinopathy after 17years of diabetes disease was small. The risk of developing retinopathy with onset between 9 and 17years after diagnosis of diabetes was strongly associated to modifiable risk factors such as glycemic control, obesity and tobacco use.

The risk for diabetic nephropathy is low in young adults in a 17-year follow-up from the Diabetes Incidence Study in Sweden (DISS). Older age and higher BMI at diabetes onset can be important risk factors.

AIMS: The main objective of this study was to estimate the occurrence of diabetic nephropathy in a population-based cohort of patients diagnosed with diabetes as young adults (15-34 years). METHODS: All 794 patients registered 1987-1988 in the Diabetes Incidence Study in Sweden (DISS) were invited to a follow-up study 15-19 years after diagnosis, and 468 (58%) participated. Analysis of islet antibodies was used to classify type of diabetes. RESULTS: After median 17 years of diabetes, 15% of all patients, 14% T1DM and 25% T2DM, were diagnosed with diabetic nephropathy. Ninety-one percent had microalbuminuria and 8.6% macroalbuminuria. Older age at diagnosis (HR 1.05; 95% CI 1.01-1.10 per year) was an independent and a higher BMI at diabetes diagnosis (HR 1.04; 95% CI 1.00-1.09 per 1 kg/m²), a near-significant predictor of development of diabetic nephropathy. Age at onset of diabetes (p = 0.041), BMI (p = 0.012) and HbA1c (p < 0.001) were significant predictors of developing diabetic nephropathy between 9 and 17 years of diabetes. At 17 years of diabetes duration, a high HbA1c level (OR 1.06; 95% CI 1.03-1.08 per 1 mmol/mol increase) and systolic blood pressure (OR 1.08; 95% CI 1.05 1.12 per 1 mmHg increase) were associated with DN. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with T2DM diagnosed as young adults seem to have an increased risk to develop diabetic nephropathy compared with those with T1DM. Older age and higher BMI at diagnosis of diabetes were risk markers for development of diabetic nephropathy. In addition, poor glycaemic control but not systolic blood pressure at 9 years of follow-up was a risk marker for later development of diabetic nephropathy.

A case report of improved metabolic control after conversion from everolimus to cyclosporin A: role of adipose tissue mechanisms?

BACKGROUND: New-onset diabetes after transplantation is associated with an increase in risk of graft failure, cardiovascular disease, and mortality. Therefore, it compromises the overall beneficial outcome of organ transplantation. CASE REPORT: A patient with new-onset diabetes after renal transplantation showed glucose and lipid metabolism improvements after switching immunosuppressant from everolimus to cyclosporin A. A subcutaneous adipose tissue biopsy displayed changes in gene and protein expression that could contribute to the clinical improvement of hyperglycemia and dyslipidemia.

Assessment of beta-cell function in young patients with type 2 diabetes: arginine-stimulated insulin secretion may reflect beta-cell reserve.

OBJECTIVE: Simple methods for the evaluation of dynamic b-cell function in epidemiological and clinical studies of patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) are needed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the dynamic beta-cell function in young patients with T2D with different disease durations and treatments. METHODS: Overall, 54 subjects with T2D from the Diabetes Incidence Study in Sweden (DISS) and 23 healthy control participants were included in this cross-sectional study. Beta-cell function was assessed by intravenous (i.v.) administration of arginine followed by i.v. glucose. The acute insulin and C-peptide responses to arginine (AIRarg and Ac-pepRarg, respectively) and to glucose (AIRglu and Ac-pepRglu, respectively)were estimated.Homeostasis model assessment of b-cell function(HOMA-b) andCpeptide assessments were also used for comparisons between patients with T2D and control participants. RESULTS: AIRarg and Ac-pepRarg, but not AIRglu and Ac-pepRglu, could differentiate between patients with different disease durations. AIRglu values were 89% (P < 0.001) lower and AIRarg values were 29% (P < 0.01) lower in patients with T2D compared with control participants. HOMA-b and fasting plasma C-peptide levels did not differ between the T2D and control groups. CONCLUSION: In young patients with T2D, the insulin secretory response to i.v. glucose is markedly attenuated, whereas i.v. arginine-stimulated insulin release is better preserved and can distinguish between patients with different disease duration and antidiabetic therapies. This suggests that the i.v. arginine stimulation test may provide an estimate of functional beta-cell reserve.

Differences between men and women in the regulation of adipose 11ß-HSD1 and in its association with adiposity and insulin resistance.

This study explored sex differences in 11ß-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11ß-HSD1) activity and gene expression in isolated adipocytes and adipose tissue (AT), obtained via subcutaneous biopsies from non-diabetic subjects [58 M, 64 F; age 48.3 ± 15.3 years, body mass index (BMI) 27.2 ± 3.9 kg/m²]. Relationships with adiposity and insulin resistance (IR) were addressed. Males exhibited higher 11ß-HSD1 activity in adipocytes than females, but there was no such difference for AT. In both men and women, adipocyte 11ß-HSD1 activity correlated positively with BMI, waist circumference, % body fat, adipocyte size and with serum glucose, triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein:high-density lipoprotein (LDL:HDL) ratio. Positive correlations with insulin, HOMA-IR and haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) and a negative correlation with HDL-cholesterol were significant only in males. Conversely, 11ß-HSD1 activity in AT correlated with several markers of IR and adiposity in females but not in males, but the opposite pattern was found with respect to 11ß-HSD1 mRNA expression. This study suggests that there are sex differences in 11ß-HSD1 regulation and in its associations with markers of obesity and IR.

Dual PPAR α / γ Agonism Normalizes Lipoprotein Profile of Renal Dyslipidemia.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is characterised by specific lipoprotein abnormalities and insulin resistance. Dual activation of the peroxisome proliferators-activated receptors (PPAR) α and γ can significantly improve insulin sensitivity. The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of a dual PPAR α / γ agonist on lipoprotein abnormalities in patients with CKD. One mg of the dual PPAR α / γ agonist tesaglitazar was given once daily during six weeks to CKD patients, and to healthy subjects. Plasma lipids, apolipoproteins (apo) and discrete lipoprotein subclasses were measured at baseline and end of treatment. In the CKD patients apoA-I increased significantly by 9%, and apoB decreased by 18%. There was an increase of apoC-III in HDL by 30%, and a parallel decrease of apoC-III in VLDL + LDL by 13%. Both the apoB-containing cholesterol-rich and the triglyceride-rich subclasses decreased significantly. With the exception of ApoC-III,all plasma lipids apolipoproteins and lipoprotein subclasses were reduced by treatment down to similar levels as the baseline levels of a healthy group of reference subjects. This study suggests that by improving insulin sensitivity a dual PPAR α / γ agonist has the potential to normalise most of the lipoprotein abnormalities in patients with CKD.

Atropine improves insulin sensitivity in both lean and abdominally obese subjects.

BACKGROUND: Dysregulated autonomic nerve activity may contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of an anticholinergic agent, atropine, and a cholinergic agent, physostigmine, on insulin sensitivity in lean and abdominally obese subjects. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: In a single-blinded three-way crossover study, six lean and six abdominally obese nondiabetic subjects [three males and three females in each group; age, 43.8 ± 14.8 vs. 46.8 ± 4.8 yr (mean ± sd); body mass index, 22.6 ± 1.7 vs. 28.8 ± 1.3 kg/m(2); and waist circumference, 85 ± 2 vs. 99 ± 6 cm, respectively] were given iv infusions with atropine (15 µg/kg bolus, 4 µg/kg · h infusion), physostigmine (0.12 µg/kg · min) or saline (0.9% NaCl) in a randomized treatment order. Infusions were started 30 min before and continued throughout a 120-min euglycemic (5.6 mm) hyperinsulinemic (40 mU/m(2) · min) clamp. RESULTS: Insulin sensitivity (M-value, i.e. glucose infusion rate divided by lean body mass) during the last 60 min of the clamp was higher during infusion with atropine than saline (9.2 ± 1.0 vs. 7.6 ± 1.0 mg/kg lean body mass · min, mean ± sem; P = 0.015) in all subjects. Physostigmine did not differ significantly from saline (8.2 ± 1.0). M-values were significantly higher in lean vs. obese [atropine, 11.6 ± 1.4 vs. 7.6 ± 1.3; physostigmine, 10.8 ± 1.3 vs. 6.3 ± 1.3; and saline, 9.1 ± 1.4 vs. 6.4 ± 1.3, respectively (all P < 0.05)], but the incremental effect of atropine vs. saline did not differ consistently between groups. CONCLUSION: Insulin sensitivity was higher during a short-term atropine infusion compared with saline in both lean and abdominally obese subjects. This insulin-sensitizing effect of cholinergic blockade is unexpected, and the underlying mechanisms should be further investigated.

Change in the amount of body fat and IL-6 levels is related to altered insulin sensitivity in type 1 diabetes patients with or without diabetic nephropathy.

Insulin resistance (IR) is found early-on in renal disease. The aim of this study was to prospectively evaluate if a change in glomerular filtration rate (GFR) or in endocrine and inflammatory factors over time alters insulin sensitivity in patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) or without diabetic nephropathy (DN) at baseline. 20 T1D with (DN+, n = 12) or without DN (DN-, n = 8) were re-examined after 5.0 ± 0.4 years. GFR was determined by 5¹Cr-EDTA clearance. Insulin sensitivity was assessed by hyperinsulinemic (56 mU/m²/min), euglycemic clamp (M-value at steady state during clamp) and calculated per lean body mass. Body composition was determined by bioimpedance. No association was found between change in GFR and change in M-value over time. Instead, change in M-value was associated to change in fat mass (%) and change in IL-6 levels in all subjects taken together (r = -0.55, p = 0.012 and r = -0.62, p = 0.006). These association were verified in the multivariate regression analyses. Findings were similar in DN - and DN +, respectively, but the change in IL-6 was only significantly associated with altered M-value in DN+ subjects. This prospective study indicates that change in amount body fat and levels of inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-6, contribute to change in insulin resistance over time in type 1 diabetes patients with and without diabetic nephropathy.

Factors in serum from type 2 diabetes patients can cause cellular insulin resistance.

This pilot study was aimed to investigate whether there are humoral factors in serum from type 2 diabetic subjects that, in addition to glucose, insulin and free fatty acids are able to induce or contribute to peripheral insulin resistance with respect to glucose transport. Isolated subcutaneous adipocytes from 11 type 2 diabetic subjects and 10 nondiabetic controls were incubated for 24-h in medium supplemented with 25 % serum from a control or a type 2 diabetic donor, in the presence of a low (5 mM) or a high (15 mM) glucose concentration, respectively. After the incubation period glucose uptake capacity was assessed. Serum from type 2 diabetic donors, compared to serum from controls, significantly reduced the maximal insulin eff ect to stimulate glucose uptake (approximately 40 %, p < 0.05) in adipocytes from control subjects, independent of surrounding glucose concentrations. Glucose uptake capacity in adipocytes isolated from type 2 diabetic subjects was similar regardless of culture condition. No significant alterations were found in cellular content of key proteins in the insulin signaling cascade (insulin receptor substrate-1 and -2, and glucose transporter 4) that could explain the impaired insulin-stimulated glucose transport in control adipocytes incubated with serum from type 2 diabetic donors. The present findings indicate the presence of biomolecules in the circulation of type 2 diabetic subjects, apart from glucose, insulin, and free fatty acids with the ability to induce peripheral insulin resistance. This further implies that even though normoglycemia is achieved other circulating factors can still negatively affect insulin sensitivity in type 2 diabetic patients.