The evaluation of tactile dysfunction in the hand in type 1 diabetes: a novel method based on haptics

AIMS

We present an innovative method based on haptics for the evaluation of the sense of touch in the hand, in people affected by type 1 diabetes.

METHODS

Forty individuals affected by diabetes and 20 healthy controls took part in the study; the diabetes group was further divided into two subgroups based on vibration sensitivity in the lower limb. By means of a novel haptic device, tactile sensitivity in the fingertip was measured as the ability of the participants to discriminate slip motion speed.

RESULTS

Tactile sensitivity was significantly lower in individuals affected by diabetes as compared to controls. Depending on the subgroup, the difference from the controls was equal to 0.11 (95% CI from 0.029 to 0.186) and to 0.267 (95% CI from 0.198 to 0.336). Within the diabetes group, tactile sensitivity correlated with vibration sensitivity in the upper (p = 0.001) and lower limb (p = 0.003). A significant relationship between nerve conduction parameters and tactile sensitivity was found (p = 0.03). Finally, we combined the different predictors (clinical, vibratory and electroneurography data) by using cluster analysis; tactile sensitivity was found to be significantly different between different clusters (p = 0.004).

CONCLUSIONS

Early signs of tactile dysfunction in the hand were found in individuals affected by diabetes, even in absence of diabetic neuropathy. The protocol presented in this study is a promising tool for the assessment of tactile dysfunction in the hand in people affected by type 1 diabetes.

Baseline interleukin1beta expression in peripheral blood monocytes predicts the extent of weight loss and nonalcoholic fatty liver improvement in obese subjects with prediabetes or type 2 diabetes

Background

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) represents a hallmark of metabolic syndrome. Interleukin-1β (IL-1β), a well-studied cytokine involved in obesity-related systemic inflammation as well as in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes (T2D), promotes hepatic steatosis by stimulating triglycerides and cholesterol accumulation in primary liver hepatocytes and lipid droplets formation. The most compelling evidence for a major role for IL-1β in metabolic imbalance and inflammation comes from the recent Canakinumab Anti-inflammatory Thrombosis Outcome (CANTOs)trial, where inhibition of IL-1β pathway was associated with a reduction of cardiovascular events in high-risk patients.

Purpose

The present study was designed to determine: i)whether an equal degree of weight loss by liraglutide or lifestyle changes has a different impact on NAFLD extent and IL-1β expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from obese subjects with prediabetes or early T2D; ii)whether baseline IL-1β levels may predict the extent of weight loss and related metabolic changes.

Methods

Thirty-two metformin-treated obese subjects with prediabetes [impaired fasting glucose (IFG) or impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) or both (n=16)] or newly diagnosed T2D (n=16), were randomized to the glucagon-like peptide receptor agonist (GLP-RA) liraglutide (1.8 mg/d) or lifestyle counselling until achieving a modest and comparable weight loss (−7% of initial body weight). Visceral (VAT) and adipose tissue distribution were assessed by magnetic resonance. Gene expression of IL-1β in peripheral blood mononuclear cells was assessed by real time PCR.

Results

At baseline, IL-1β positively correlated to body mass index (BMI) (rho=0.421, p=0.016), fasting plasma glucose (rho=0.415, p=0.018), HbA1c (rho=0.349, p=0.050), VAT (rho=0.388, p=0.028), NAFLD (rho=0.454, p=0.009), platelet count (rho=0.510, p=0.003), chemerin (rho=0.455, p=0.009) and interleukin-1 receptor agonist (IL1-RA) (rho=0.519, p=0.002). After achievement of the weight loss target in the two groups, a comparable reduction of IL-1 β (p<0.001 lifestyle changes; p=0.029 liraglutide treatment) was observed in both arms, in parallel with a comparable improvement in glycaemic control, C-reactive protein (CRP),BMI and NAFLD. Furthermore, basal levels of IL-1β correlated directly with delta BMI (p=0.015) and delta NAFLD (p=0.002) (Figure 1).

Conclusion

In obese patients with initial impairment of glucose metabolism, IL-β-driven inflammation correlates with glycaemic control, adipose tissue distribution and platelet count. Successful weight loss, achieved with either lifestyle changes or an incretin-based therapy, is associated with a significant reduction of both IL-1β levels and NAFLD degree. Of interest, basal levels of IL-1β predicts the extent of weight loss and NAFLD improvement, regardless of the intervention. Our results may set the stage for ad-hoc studies investigating the usefulness of baseline IL-1β a levels as a drug-response biomarker.

Figure 1

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding source: Public Institution(s). Main funding source(s): This study was supported by a grant from the Italian Ministry of University and Research (PRIN no. 2010JS3PMZ to F.S.).

Enhanced recovery pathways in colorectal surgery: a consensus paper by the Associazione Chirurghi Ospedalieri Italiani (ACOI) and the PeriOperative Italian Society (POIS)

Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) pathway is a multi-disciplinary, patient-centered protocol relying on the implementation of the best evidence-based perioperative practice. In the field of colorectal surgery, the application of ERAS programs is associated with up to 50% reduction of morbidity rates and up to 2.5 days reduction of postoperative hospital stay. However, widespread adoption of ERAS pathways is still yet to come, mainly because of the lack of proper information and communication. Purpose of this paper is to support the diffusion of ERAS pathways through a critical review of the existing evidence by members of the two national societies dealing with ERAS pathways in Italy, the PeriOperative Italian Society (POIS) and the Associazione Italiana Chirurghi Ospedalieri (ACOI), showing the results of a consensus development conference held at Matera, Italy, during the national ACOI Congress on June 10, 2019.

Touch as an auxiliary proprioceptive cue for movement control

Recent studies extended the classical view that touch is mainly devoted to the perception of the external world. Perceptual tasks where the hand was stationary demonstrated that cutaneous stimuli from contact with objects provide the illusion of hand displacement. Here, we tested the hypothesis that touch provides auxiliary proprioceptive feedback for guiding actions. We used a well-established perceptual phenomenon to dissociate the estimates of reaching direction from touch and musculoskeletal proprioception. Participants slid their fingertip on a ridged plate to move toward a target without any visual feedback on hand location. Tactile motion estimates were biased by ridge orientation, inducing a systematic deviation in hand trajectories in accordance with our hypothesis. Results are in agreement with an ideal observer model, where motion estimates from different somatosensory cues are optimally integrated for the control of movement. These outcomes shed new light on the interplay between proprioception and touch in active tasks.

Antenatal post-hemorrhagic ventriculomegaly: a prospective follow-up study

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence and the severity of neurological and cognitive impairment at 2 years of age in 16 infants (9 term born, 7 preterm of mean gestation 33.6 weeks) with cerebral ventriculomegaly of antenatal onset associated with intraventricular haemorrhage.

METHODS

Ventricular dilatation, with or without associated lesions, was, with one exception, not identified on the antenatal routine scan at approximately 22 weeks but was obvious on the scans performed between weeks 27 and 33. In 8 of the 16 cases there were signs of parenchymal involvement or of abnormalities of the corpus callosum or cerebellum. In all patients the diagnosis of antenatal IVH was confirmed by early neonatal imaging. Outcome was measured using the Hammersmith infant neurological examination and the Griffiths developmental scales at 2 years.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

At 2 years, 8 infants had normal motor outcome and 8 had cerebral palsy. The presence and severity of cerebral palsy or neurodevelopmental delay was not always related to the magnitude or symmetry of the ventricular dilatation per se. The presence of associated lesions was a negative prognostic marker. The early development of epilepsy was also associated with an abnormal outcome.