Cardiovascular risk assessment in prediabetic patients in a hypertensive population: The role of cystatin C

Caution may be required in using l-theanine in diabetes mellitus: A study on the rats

BACKGROUND

The study aimed to identify the effects of l-theanine on kidney and heart tissues in diabetic rats. 24 male rats included in the study were divided into 4 groups (n = 6/group): SHAM, LTEA, DM and DM + LTEA. For 28 days, drinking water was given to SHAM and DM, and LTEA (200 mg/kg/day) to LTEA and DM + LTEA groups, intragastrically. DM was induced by 120 mg/kg nicotinamide (NA) + 60 mg/kg streptozotocin (STZ). The levels of cystatin C (CysC) and angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) were determined by ELISA kits, homocysteine, electrolytes and iron by an autoanalyzer, the ratio of oxidized/total reduced glutathione (GSSG/TGSH) by assay kits. The tissues were histopathologically analyzed.

RESULTS

LTEA alleviated histopathological degenerations. However, it decreased significantly serum iron and homocysteine levels (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

LTEA did not exhibit significant protective effects on kidney and heart tissues; it may have affected the homocysteine and iron metabolisms in diabetics.

High cardiovascular disease risk-associated with the incidence of Type 2 diabetes among prediabetics

BACKGROUND

Prediabetes is a risk factor for developing Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D). We report on the first cohort study of the association between high cardiovascular diseases (CVD) risk with the incidence of T2D in prediabetics. First, estimate the direct effect of developing T2D on patients with prediabetes who have high CVDs risk; and 2) assess the potential increased risk of developing T2D mediated by statins.

METHODS

We conducted a population-based cohort study using a subset of data from the Canadian Primary Care Sentinel Surveillance Network (CPCSSN) from 2000 to 2015. Cox proportional hazards (PH) regressions were conducted to estimate our primary outcome, which is the time to T2D among patients with prediabetes.

RESULTS

From the 4995 filtered prediabetic participants identified between 2000 and 2015, 2800 participants were diagnosed with high CVDs risk scores as measured by the Framingham risk score. 2195 participants were non-high CVDs risk controls. The covariate-adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of 1.24 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.10-1.31] for T2D by CVDs risk among prediabetics was observed. The total effect of CVDs risk on developing T2D was decomposed to a natural direct effect of high CVDs risk HR= 1.18 [95% CI, 1.01-1.48] and an indirect effect through statin therapy of HR= 1.06 [95% CI, 0.97-1.30].

CONCLUSION

Patients with prediabetes and high CVDs risk had a 24% higher chance of developing T2D. The high CVDs risk effect was mediated by statin therapy. Regular monitoring and counselling of prediabetics using statins is likely warranted to prevent the incidence of T2D.

Prognostic value of NT-proBNP in patients with chronic coronary syndrome and normal left ventricular systolic function according to glucose status: a prospective cohort study

Background

The prognostic value of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) with different glucose status has not been established. This study sought to evaluate the significance of NT-proBNP in predicting major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) in patients with chronic coronary syndrome (CCS) and normal left-ventricular systolic function (LVSF) according to different glucose status, especially in those with abnormal glucose metabolism.

Methods

A total of 8062 patients with CCS and normal LVSF were consecutively enrolled in this prospective study. Baseline plasma NT-proBNP levels were measured. The follow-up data of all patients were collected. Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analyses were used to assess the risk of MACEs according to NT-proBNP tertiles stratified by glucose status.

Results

Over an average follow-up of 59.13 ± 18.23 months, 569 patients (7.1 %) suffered from MACEs, including cardiovascular death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, and non-fatal stroke. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that high NT-proBNP levels had a significant association with MACEs in subjects with prediabetes mellitus (pre-DM) or DM, but not in patients with normoglycemia. Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that NT-proBNP remained an independent predictor of MACEs in patients with pre-DM [hazard ratio (HR): 2.56, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.34–4.91] or DM (HR: 2.34, 95% CI: 1.32–4.16). Moreover, adding NT-proBNP to the original Cox model including traditional risk factors significantly increased the C-statistic by 0.035 in pre-DM and DM, respectively.

Conclusions

The present study indicated that NT-proBNP could well predict worse outcomes in dysglycemic patients with CCS and normal LVSF, suggesting that NT-proBNP may help with risk stratification in this population.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12933-021-01271-0.

Effects of insulin combined with metformin on serum cystatin C, homocysteine and maternal and neonatal outcomes in pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus

Effects of insulin combined with metformin on serum cystatin C (Cys C), homocysteine (Hcy) and maternal and neonatal outcomes in pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) were investigated. In total, 80 cases of pregnant women diagnosed with GDM in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Liaocheng Third People's Hospital from July 2015 to July 2017 were selected and divided into a study group (42 cases) and a control group (38 cases). The study group was treated with insulin combined with metformin, and the control group was treated with insulin. Fasting blood glucose (FBG) and postprandial blood glucose after 2 h (2hPG) of the two groups were compared before and after treatment. Levels of serum Cys C, Hcy, urinary protein (UmAlb), postpartum maternal outcomes and adverse reactions during pregnancy were compared in the two groups before and after treatment. After treatment, the level of FBG and 2hPG in the control group was higher than that in the treatment group (P<0.05). After treatment, the level of serum Cys C and Hcy in both groups were lower than that before the treatment, and the level in the study group was lower than that in the control group (P<0.05). The total incidence of neonatal adverse outcomes and the number of adverse pregnancies in GDM patients in the study group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). There were no significant differences in adverse reactions during pregnancy between the two groups (P>0.05). In conclusion, insulin combined with metformin is more effective than insulin alone in reducing serum Cys C and Hcy levels, with significant effect on the improvement of maternal and neonatal outcomes.

Impact of fibrates on circulating cystatin C levels: a systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials

AIMS

To assess the effect of fibrates on circulating cystatin C levels.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Clinical studies evaluating the effect of a fibrate on circulating cystatin C levels were searched in PubMed-Medline, SCOPUS, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases. A random-effect model and generic inverse variance method were used for quantitative data synthesis, sensitivity analysis conducted using the leave-one-out method, and weighted random-effects meta-regression performed to evaluate potential confounders on cystatin C levels.

RESULTS

This meta-analysis of data from nine published studies (16 treatment arms) involved a total of 2195 subjects. In a single-arm analysis of clinical trials (without control group; eight studies comprising 14 treatment arms), fibrate therapy increased circulating cystatin C concentrations (WMD: 0.07 mg/dL, 95% CI: 0.04, 0.10, p < .001; I² = 82.66%). When the analysis was restricted to randomized controlled trials (four studies comprising six treatment arms), again elevation of circulating cystatin C levels was observed (WMD: 0.06 mg/L, 95% CI: 0.03, 0.09, p < .001; I² = 42.98%). Elevated cystatin C levels were only seen with fenofibrate and not with other fibrates.

CONCLUSIONS

The results suggest that fenofibrate treatment adversely affects cystatin C levels and might partially explain the limited efficacy of fenofibrate in reducing cardiovascular events. Key message Fenofibrate treatment adversely affects cystatin C levels and might partially explain the limited efficacy of fenofibrate in reducing cardiovascular events.