Bringing an end to diabetes stigma and discrimination: an international consensus statement on evidence and recommendations.

People with diabetes often encounter stigma (ie, negative social judgments, stereotypes, prejudice), which can adversely affect emotional, mental, and physical health; self-care, access to optimal health care; and social and professional opportunities. To accelerate an end to diabetes stigma and discrimination, an international multidisciplinary expert panel (n=51 members, from 18 countries) conducted rapid reviews and participated in a three-round Delphi survey process. We achieved consensus on 25 statements of evidence and 24 statements of recommendations.

Impact of elobixibat on liver tumors, microbiome, and bile acid levels in a mouse model of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.

Background: Elevated bile acid levels have been associated with liver tumors in fatty liver. Ileal bile acid transporter inhibitors may inhibit bile acid absorption in the distal ileum and increase bile acid levels in the colon, potentially decreasing the serum and hepatic bile acid levels. This study aimed to investigate the impact of these factors on liver tumor.

Feasibility, acceptability, and effects of a self-stigma reduction pilot program for Japanese individuals with type 2 diabetes.

Objective: To examine the feasibility, acceptability, and effects of a self-stigma reduction program for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Methods: We adopted a within-subjects pre-post study design, measuring self-stigma among T2DM patients who received treatment at a tertiary-level hospital.

Results: Of the 17 participants, 11 participants completed the program (mean age: 54.

Longitudinal study of the vaginal microbiome in pregnancies involving preterm labor.

Objectives: Alterations in the vaginal bacterial flora reflect the status of various obstetric conditions and are associated with mechanisms that underlie certain pregnancy-associated complications. These changes are also a predictive biomarker for clinical outcomes of these adverse events.

Methods: We examined the vaginal microbiome in samples from pregnant Japanese women with preterm labor.

Astaxanthin Attenuates Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis with Downregulation of Osteoprotegerin in Ovariectomized Mice Fed Choline-Deficient High-Fat Diet.

Background: Postmenopausal estrogen decline increases the risk of developing nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and it might accelerate progression to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.

Aims: This study aimed to investigate a novel therapy for postmenopausal women who are diagnosed with NASH.

Methods: Seven-week-old female C57BL/6 J mice were divided into three experimental groups as follows: (1) sham operation (SHAM group), (2) ovariectomy (OVX group), and (3) ovariectomy + 0.

Associations between diabetes duration and self-stigma development in Japanese people with type 2 diabetes: a secondary analysis of cross-sectional data.

Objectives: To examine the associations between self-stigma and diabetes duration in a sample of Japanese people with type 2 diabetes.

Design: A secondary analysis of a cross-sectional study.

Setting: Two university hospitals, one general hospital and one clinic in Tokyo, Japan.

Conditioned medium from stem cells derived from human exfoliated deciduous teeth ameliorates NASH via the Gut-Liver axis.

Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) occurrence has been increasing and is becoming a major cause of liver cirrhosis and liver cancer. However, effective treatments for NASH are still lacking. We examined the benefits of serum-free conditioned medium from stem cells derived from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED-CM) on a murine non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) model induced by a combination of Western diet (WD) and repeated administration of low doses of carbon tetrachloride intraperitoneally, focusing on the gut-liver axis.

Amino Acid Polymorphism in Hepatitis B Virus Associated With Functional Cure.

Background & Aims: To provide an adequate treatment strategy for chronic hepatitis B, it is essential to know which patients are expected to have a good prognosis and which patients do not require therapeutic intervention. Previously, we identified the substitution of isoleucine to leucine at amino acid 97 (I97L) in the hepatitis B core region as a key predictor among patients with stable hepatitis. In this study, we attempted to identify the point at which I97L affects the hepatitis B virus (HBV) life cycle and to elucidate the underlying mechanisms governing the stabilization of hepatitis.

Altered serum soluble furin and prorenin receptor levels in pregnancies with pre-eclampsia and fetal growth restriction.

Objective: The proprotein convertase furin is known to be involved in the processing of pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (proBNP) and prorenin receptor (PRR), suggesting that it has a potential function in blood pressure regulation. We investigated the role of furin in the etiology of pre-eclampsia and its related disorder, unexplained fetal growth restriction (FGR) without hypertension.

Methods: We evaluated serum and placental furin levels in pre-eclampsia, FGR and uncomplicated pregnancy.

Microbiome, fibrosis and tumor networks in a non-alcoholic steatohepatitis model of a choline-deficient high-fat diet using diethylnitrosamine.

Background & Aims: Hepatocellular carcinoma in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis is caused by the complex factors of inflammation, fibrosis and microbiomes. We used network analysis to examine the interrelationships of these factors.

Methods: C57Bl/6 mice were categorized into groups: choline-sufficient high-fat (CSHF, n = 8), choline-deficient high-fat (CDHF, n = 9), and CDHF+ diethylnitrosamine (DEN, n = 8).

An aggressive systemic mastocytosis preceded by ovarian dysgerminoma.

Background: Aggressive systemic mastocytosis (ASM) is a rare malignant disease characterized by disordered mast cell accumulation in various organs. We here describe a female ASM patient with a previous history of ovarian dysgerminoma.

Methods: Molecular cytogenomic analyses were performed to elucidate an etiological link between the ASM and dysgerminoma of the patient.

Placental Genetic Variants in the Upstream Region of the FLT1 Gene in Pre-eclampsia.

Background: Soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt-1) is believed to be a prominent component in the pathogenesis of pre-eclampsia, although the precise etiology has remained elusive. In this study, the etiological role of FLT1 variant was further validated in pre-eclampsia by examining this association in a Japanese sample population.

Methods: The genotypes of three variants (rs4769613, rs12050029 and rs149427560) were examined in the upstream region of the FLT1 gene in placentas from pre-eclamptic (n=47) or normotensive control (n=49) pregnancy samples.

Understanding the experiences of long-term maintenance of self-worth in persons with type 2 diabetes in Japan: a qualitative study.

Objective: Persons with type 2 diabetes are often stigmatised for having what is considered a lifestyle-related disease. Accordingly, some blame themselves for their condition, resulting in feelings of low self-worth that ultimately impact their self-management behaviours. However, there are no studies examining why some do not blame themselves for their condition and manage to maintain their self-worth in relation to their illness.

The involvement of U-type dicentric chromosomes in the formation of terminal deletions with or without adjacent inverted duplications.

An inverted duplication with a terminal deletion (inv-dup-del) is one of the complex constitutional structural rearrangements that can occur in a chromosome. Although breakages of dicentric chromosome have been suggested, the precise mechanism of this is yet to be fully understood. In our present study, we investigated the genomic structure of 10 inv-dup-del cases to elucidate this mechanism.

How self-stigma affects patient activation in persons with type 2 diabetes: a cross-sectional study.

Objectives: Self-stigma is associated with lower patient activation levels for self-care in persons with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, the causal pathway linking self-stigma with patient activation for self-care has not been shown. In order to determine how self-stigma affects patient activation for self-care, we tested a two-path hypothetical model both directly and as mediated by self-esteem and self-efficacy.

A closer inspection of diabetes-related stigma: why more research is needed.

In the past few years, diabetes-related stigma has rapidly gained attention around the world. Many studies, including our study, show that a diabetes population is globally impacted by disease-specific stigma across age, gender, educational levels, employment status, and race/ethnicity. However, it still remains unclear whether some of these socioeconomic factors are more influential in terms of the social vulnerability of the exposed individuals with type 2 diabetes.

Effect of Schisandrae Fructus on glycyrrhizin content in Kampo extracts containing Glycyrrhizae Radix used clinically in Japan.

Glycyrrhizae Radix is an important crude drug in Japan and is the most frequently prescribed drug in Kampo medicines for the treatment of a wide range of diseases. Glycyrrhizin (GL), the major active ingredient of Glycyrrhizae Radix, has various pharmacological actions but causes adverse effects such as pseudoaldosteronism. In a previous study, the GL content of shoseiryuto was found to be unexpectedly low, and Schisandrae Fructus in shoseiryuto reduced the pH value of the decoction and drastically decreased the extraction efficiency of GL from Glycyrrhizae Radix.

Inositol hexaphosphate-induced cellular response in myeloid leukemia cells is mediated by nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase activation.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to identify the role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase, in inositol hexaphosphate (IP6)-induced metabolic disruption in human leukemia PLB-985 cells.

Methods: PLB-985 and X chromosome linked gene knockout (X-CGD) cells were treated with 5, 10, or 20 mM IP6 for 24 to 72 h. Cell growth was assayed using a highly water-soluble tetrazolium salt.

Potentially effective method for fetal gender determination by noninvasive prenatal testing for X-linked disease.

Examination of maternal plasma cell-free DNA (cfDNA) for noninvasive prenatal testing for fetal trisomy is a highly effective method for pregnant women at high risk. This can be also applied to fetal gender determination in female carriers of severe X-linked disease. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis is a relatively simpler and less expensive method of detecting Y chromosome-specific repeats (Y-specific PCR; YSP), but is limited by the risk of false-negative results.

Multiplex PCR in noninvasive prenatal diagnosis for FGFR3-related disorders.

Thanatophoric dysplasia and achondroplasia are allelic disorders caused by a constitutively active mutation in the FGFR3 gene. Because thanatophoric dysplasia is a lethal disorder and achondroplasia is non-lethal, they need to be distinguished after ultrasound identification of fetal growth retardation with short limbs. Accordingly, we have developed a noninvasive prenatal test using cell-free fetal DNA in the maternal circulation to distinguish thanatophoric dysplasia and achondroplasia.

Psychological and behavioural patterns of stigma among patients with type 2 diabetes: a cross-sectional study.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to test the psychological and behavioural patterns of stigma (self-esteem and social participation) and their relationship to self-stigma, patient activation for engaging in self-care and glycaemic control among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Design: A cross-sectional study.

Setting: 2 tertiary-level hospitals and 2 secondary-level hospitals in Japan.

Development of a rapid in vitro tissue deadhesion system using the thermoresponsive sol-gel transition of hydroxybutyl chitosan.

In regenerative medicine, it has become increasingly important to collect cultured tissues using non-invasive methods. Enzymatic deadhesion is normally used to collect cells, but this method cannot be used when trying to collect whole tissues in order to avoid damaging cell-cell interactions. In order to resolve this issue, a thermoresponsive culture dish with poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide) (PNIPAAm) has been employed.

A qualitative study on the impact of internalized stigma on type 2 diabetes self-management.

Objective: To explore how patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) psychologically and behaviorally respond to internalized stigma through social stigma.

Methods: A qualitative study with semi-structured interviews was recorded on audiotapes, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using a grounded theory approach. Participants were adults aged 30-64 years and diagnosed with T2DM.

Single ingestion of soy β-conglycinin induces increased postprandial circulating FGF21 levels exerting beneficial health effects.

Soy protein β-conglycinin has serum lipid-lowering and anti-obesity effects. We showed that single ingestion of β-conglycinin after fasting alters gene expression in mouse liver. A sharp increase in fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) gene expression, which is depressed by normal feeding, resulted in increased postprandial circulating FGF21 levels along with a significant decrease in adipose tissue weights.