The growth of epidemiology in diabetes research

Protective Effect of Coptis chinensis Polysaccharide Against Renal Injury by Suppressing Oxidative Stress and Inflammation in Diabetic Rats

Our previous studies confirmed that Coptis chinensis polysaccharide (CCPW) had a good antidiabetic activity and could improve insulin resistance. However, whether CCPW has a protective effect against the renal injury caused by diabetes has not been reported. In this study, the protective effect of CCPW against the renal injury of diabetic rats and its underlying mechanisms were investigated. The results showed that in CCPW-treated groups, the body mass of rats increased significantly, while the ratio of kidney weight to body weight decreased significantly; the 24-hour urine protein and the serum BUN and serum creatinine (Scr) levels decreased significantly, and pathological changes of the renal tissue were improved; superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activities in the renal tissue were significantly higher, and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents in the renal tissue, and tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and hypersensitive c-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels in the serum were significantly lower; the expressions of phosphorylated tyrosine kinase 2 (p-JAK2) and activators of transcription 3 (p-STAT3) decreased significantly. The results indicate that CCPW should have a protective effect against the renal injury in diabetic rats, which may be associated with its inhibition on oxidative stress and inflammation.

The evaluation of nailfold videocapillaroscopy findings in patients with type 2 diabetes with and without diabetic retinopathy

OBJECTIVE:

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic hyperglycemic state and is associated with microvascular structural alterations. This study aimed to investigate the diameters of capillary loops and morphostructural changes using nailfold video capillaroscopy (NVC) in patients with type 2 DM with and without diabetic retinopathy (DR).

METHODS:

This cross-sectional, single-center study was conducted in patients with type 2 DM who were followed in outpatient clinics of ophthalmology and internal medicine. General demographic data were collected from patients. An ophthalmologist examined all patients in terms of DR. A rheumatologist blinded to the clinical data performed NVC. The diameters of apical, arterial, and venous loop of capillaries were measured, and the microvascular changes of capillaries were scored.

RESULTS:

In this study, 44 patients with type 2 DM with DR (47.7% males) and 20 patients with type 2 DM without DR (55% males) were included. In our study, patients with type 2 DM with DR had more frequent capillary hemorrhage, more frequent ectasia, more frequent giant capillary, and more frequent neo-angiogenesis than patients with type 2 DM without DR. However, these findings were not statistically significant.

CONCLUSION:

Further controlled studies with large sample size are needed to determine the characteristic NVC findings of DR in patients with type 2 DM.