OBJECTIVE To investigate the association between type 2 diabetes, glucose-lowering therapies (monotherapy with either metformin, sulphonylurea or insulin) and cancer risk in Taiwan. METHODS Using Taiwan's National Health Research Institutes database of 1,000,000 random subjects from 2000-2008, we found 61777 patients with type 2 diabetes (age ≥20 years) and 677378 enrollees with no record of ...

An investigation of serum immunoreactive trypsin concentration and pancreatic isoamylase activity in patients with diabetes mellitus has shown that exocrine pancreatic deficit is maximal in insulin dependent diabetics, intermediate in those controlled with sulphonylureas, and absent in patients controlled with biguanides or diet or both. A significant correlation between the serum concentration...

Incretin-based therapies offer a new approach for the management of type 2 diabetes, with a mechanism of action distinct from any existing class of glucose-lowering agents. These drugs improve the body's ability to control blood glucose by increasing active concentrations of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1). Two approaches have been used to enhance the action of GLP-1. First, incretin mimetics (...

The availability of potent combination antiretroviral regimens has resulted in a dramatic reduction in HIV-1 associated morbidity and mortality in the developed world. However, HIV infection and treatment has been associated with the development of insulin resistance, glucose intolerance and diabetes. Besides, there can be co-morbid situations of HIV infection and diabetes. Safe pharmacological...

Recent work has established membrane phospholipids such as phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate (PIP(2)) as potent regulators of K(ATP) channels controlling open probability and ATP sensitivity. We here investigated the effects of phospholipids on the pharmacological properties of cardiac type K(ATP) (Kir6.2/SUR2A) channels. In excised membrane patches K(ATP) channels showed considerable varia...

OBJECTIVE Activating mutations in the KCNJ11 gene, encoding the Kir6.2 subunit of the KATP channel, result in permanent neonatal diabetes mellitus. They also may cause neurologic symptoms such as mental retardation and motor problems (iDEND syndrome) and epilepsy (DEND syndrome). Sulphonylurea (SU) treatment is reported to alleviate both the neurologic symptoms and diabetes in such cases. The s...

AIMS To assess, in a real-world setting, the effect of vildagliptin compared with sulphonylurea (SU) treatment on hypoglycaemia in Muslim patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) fasting during Ramadan. METHODS This multinational, non-interventional study, conducted in Asia and the Middle East, included Muslim adult patients with T2DM who received treatment with vildagliptin or SU as add...

Type 2 diabetes is a heterogeneous disease resulting from a dynamic interaction between defects in insulin secretion and insulin action. As most subjects are overweighted or obese, the initial treatment is optimization of the meal plan and enhancement of physical activity in order to obtain sustained weight reduction. In case of failure of life-style changes, various oral antihyperglycaemic age...

Personalized medicine, otherwise called stratified or precision medicine, aims to better target intervention to the individual to maximize benefit and minimize harm. This review discusses how diabetes aetiology, pathophysiology and patient genotype influence response to or side effects of the commonly used diabetes treatments. C-peptide is a useful biomarker that is underused to guide treatment...

Thiazolidinediones or glitazones specifically target insulin resistance. They have proven efficacy for reducing plasma glucose levels of type 2 diabetic patients treated with diet alone, sulphonylureas, metformin or insulin. In addition, they may be associated to some improvement of cardiovascular risk profile. However, troglitazone, the first compound approved by the FDA in the US, proved to b...