The role of diabetes and aging in the determinism of hypertension and the related cerebrovascular complications

Effects of vildagliptin, a DPP-4 inhibitor, in elderly diabetic patients with mild cognitive impairment

INTRODUCTION

There is an unclear association between type 2 diabetes and mild cognitive impairment in the elderly. Both diseases are more prevalent in the older adults compared to the younger counterpart. Some anti-diabetic drugs seem to influence positively the evolution of mild cognitive impairment. This retrospective study investigated the effect of vildagliptin, an inhibitor of the enzyme dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4), on the cognitive functioning of elderly diabetic patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) documented at mini mental state examination (MMSE).

METHODS

We included 60 diabetic elderly people which were divided in 2 groups: Group A, 30 patients with HbA₁c (glycated hemoglobin) ≤7.5% and treated with metformin, and Group B, 30 patients with HbA₁c >7.5%, and treated with metformin plus vildagliptin. We collected data on MMSE, fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and HbA₁c at baseline and after 180 ± 10 days from the beginning of treatment.

RESULTS

The two groups exhibited significantly different values in FPG (P < 0.05) and HbA₁c (P < 0.01) at baseline, and in MMSE score (P < 0.001) after treatment. The intragroup comparison showed a significant (P < 0.05) reduction in MMSE score in group A, and in HbA1c (P = 0.01) in group B.

CONCLUSION

Vildagliptin in addition to metformin resulted in the maintenance of MMSE score, showing a protecting role on cognitive functioning compared to the metformin only group.

Comparison of Age of Onset and Frequency of Diabetic Complications in the Very Elderly Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

BACKGROUND

The prevalence of type 2 diabetes in elderly people has increased dramatically in the last few decades. This study was designed to clarify the clinical characteristics of type 2 diabetes in patients aged ≥80 years according to age of onset.

METHODS

We reviewed the medical records of 289 patients aged ≥80 years with type 2 diabetes at the outpatient diabetes clinics of Kangwon National University Hospital from September 2010 to June 2014. We divided the patients into middle-age-onset diabetes (onset before 65 years of age) and elderly-onset diabetes (onset at 65+ years of age).

RESULTS

There were 141 male and 148 female patients. The patients had a mean age of 83.2±2.9 years and the mean duration of diabetes was 14.3±10.4 years. One hundred and ninety-nine patients had elderly-onset diabetes. The patients with elderly-onset diabetes had a significantly lower frequency of diabetic retinopathy and nephropathy, lower serum creatinine levels, lower glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels, and similar coronary revascularization and cerebral infarction rates compared to those with middle-age-onset diabetes. There was no frequency difference in coronary revascularization and cerebral infarction and HbA1c levels between three subgroups (<5, 5 to 15, and ≥15 years) of diabetes duration in elderly onset diabetes. However, both in the elderly onset diabetes and middle-age-onset diabetes, the cumulative incidence of retinopathy was increasing rapidly according to the duration of diabetes.

CONCLUSION

We report that individuals with elderly-onset diabetes have a lower frequency of diabetic retinopathy and nephropathy and similar cardiovascular complications compared to those with middle-age-onset diabetes.

Aging, the metabolic syndrome, and ischemic stroke: redefining the approach for studying the blood-brain barrier in a complex neurological disease

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) has many important functions in maintaining the brain's immune-privileged status. Endothelial cells, astrocytes, and pericytes have important roles in preserving vasculature integrity. As we age, cell senescence can contribute to BBB compromise. The compromised BBB allows an influx of inflammatory cytokines to enter the brain. These cytokines lead to neuronal and glial damage. Ultimately, the functional changes within the brain can cause age-related disease. One of the most prominent age-related diseases is ischemic stroke. Stroke is the largest cause of disability and is third largest cause of mortality in the United States. The biggest risk factors for stroke, besides age, are results of the metabolic syndrome. The metabolic syndrome, if unchecked, quickly advances to outcomes that include diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and obesity. The contribution from these comorbidities to BBB compromise is great. Some of the common molecular pathways activated include: endoplasmic reticulum stress, reactive oxygen species formation, and glutamate excitotoxicity. In this chapter, we examine how age-related changes to cells within the central nervous system interact with comorbidities. We then look at how comorbidities lead to increased risk for stroke through BBB disruption. Finally, we discuss key molecular pathways of interest with a focus on therapeutic targets that warrant further investigation.

Is there a link between neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio and microvascular complications in geriatric diabetic patients?

BACKGROUND

Chronic inflammation plays an important role on development and progression of Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) through immunologic inflammatory mechanisms. Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a new, simple and cheap marker of subclinical inflammation. NLR has recently been used as a systemic inflammation marker in chronic diseases as well as a predictor of prognosis in cardiovascular diseases and malignancies.

AIM

The objective of the present study was to investigate the relationship between NLR and microvascular complications of diabetes mellitus (DM) in elderly population.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

Two hundred and forty-two patients with DM (145 diabetic patients with complications, 97 diabetic patients without complications) and 218 control subjects were enrolled in this study. NLR and microvascular complications because of DM were evaluated and compared with other inflammatory markers.

RESULTS

NLR was higher in the diabetic group (2.21±1.14) than in the controls (2.18±0.76). Furthermore, there was a statistically significant difference between NLR levels in diabetic patients with and without complications (2.46±1.26 vs 2.04±0.51, respectively; p<0.001). The results of themultiple logistic regression analysis depicted that NLR is also an independent predictor for microvascular complications (odds ratio 2.217; 95%confidence interval 1.086-4.526, p=0.029). Receiver operating curve analysis suggested that the optimum NLR cutoff point for microvascular complication was 2.89 with 96.72% specificity, 94.4% positive predictive value.

CONCLUSION

Increased NLR levels may be associated with microvascular complications of DM in the elderly population.