Peripheral effect of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone on fatty acid oxidation in skeletal muscle.

To study the peripheral effects of melanocortin on fuel homeostasis in skeletal muscle, we assessed palmitate oxidation and AMP kinase activity in alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH)-treated muscle cells. After alpha-MSH treatment, carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1 and fatty acid oxidation (FAO) increased in a dose-dependent manner. A strong melanocortin agonist, NDP-MSH, also stimulated FAO in primary culture muscle cells and C2C12 cells.

Decrement of postprandial insulin secretion determines the progressive nature of type-2 diabetes.

Objective: Type-2 diabetes is a progressive disease. However, little is known about whether decreased fasting or postprandial pancreatic beta-cell responsiveness is more prominent with increased duration of diabetes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between insulin secretion both during fasting and 2 h postprandial, and the duration of diabetes in type-2 diabetic patients.

The long-term effects of rosiglitazone on serum lipid concentrations and body weight.

Objective: Although rosiglitazone, an insulin sensitizer, is known to have beneficial effects on high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) concentrations and low density lipoprotein (LDL) particle size, it has unwanted effects on total cholesterol (TC) and LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) concentrations and body weight in some short-term studies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the long-term effects of rosiglitazone on serum lipid levels and body weight.

Design: Open labelled clinical study.

Frequent, aggressive behaviors of thyroid microcarcinomas in korean patients.

The incidence of thyroid microcarcinoma is rising due to the frequent use and improvement of fine-needle aspiration biopsy and ultrasonography. Since the recent update of the TNM (Tumor, Node, Metastasis) staging system for thyroid cancer, the importance of lymph node metastasis became more prominent. In the present study, we evaluated the prognostic factors and extension of thyroid microcarcinomas in Korean patients.

Clinical and biochemical characteristics of nonobese type 2 diabetic patients with glutamic acid decarboxylase antibody in Korea.

We evaluated the prevalence of glutamic acid decarboxylase autoantibody (GADA) in nonobese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in Korea and investigated the characteristics of GADA-positive and GADA-negative patients. Two years later, we assessed the progression of beta-cell function in these patients. Of the 647 nonobese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus enrolled in the study, 10.

Effects of lifestyle modification on metabolic parameters and carotid intima-media thickness in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of a 6-month intensive lifestyle modification intervention on metabolic parameters and carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Fifty-eight subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus were randomly assigned to the intervention group or the control group. The subjects in the intervention group participated in a 16-week intensive lifestyle modification program and subsequent monthly meetings during the 6-month study period.

Adiponectin protects human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells against acetaldehyde-induced cytotoxicity.

Acetaldehyde, an inhibitor of mitochondrial function, has been widely used as a neurotoxin because it elicits a severe Parkinson's disease-like syndrome with elevation of the intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) level and apoptosis. Adiponectin, secreted from adipose tissue, mediates systemic insulin sensitivity with liver and muscle as target organs. In this study, we investigated the protective effects of adiponectin on acetaldehyde-induced apoptosis in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells and attempted to examine its mechanism.

The 11482G >A polymorphism in the perilipin gene is associated with weight gain with rosiglitazone treatment in type 2 diabetes.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the effects of perilipin gene (PLIN) polymorphisms on weight gain with rosiglitazone treatment in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Research Design And Methods: A total of 160 type 2 diabetic patients were treated with rosiglitazone (4 mg/day) for 12 weeks in addition to their previous medications, which were unchanged. Four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at the PLIN locus were genotyped: PLIN 6209T>C, PLIN 11482G>A, PLIN 13041A>G, and PLIN 14995A>T.

A novel 111/121 diplotype in the Calpain-10 gene is associated with type 2 diabetes.

Genetic variations in the Calpain-10 gene, CAPN10, have been reported to be associated with the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in Mexican-Americans and Northern Europeans whereas these variations are not associated with T2DM in other populations. The aim of this study was to determine whether there is an association between specific CAPN10 diplotype (SNP-43, -19, and -63) and T2DM in the Korean population. Overall, 454 Korean patients with T2DM (male 230, female 224) and 236 non-diabetic controls (male 124, female 112) with no family history of diabetes were enrolled in this study.

Effects of growth hormone on insulin resistance and atherosclerotic risk factors in obese type 2 diabetic patients with poor glycaemic control.

Objective: We aimed to evaluate the combined effects of GH treatment and diet restriction on lipolysis and anabolism, insulin resistance and atherosclerotic risk factors in obese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Subjects: This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study included 24 obese T2DM patients (male : female = 12 : 12, mean age 53.7 +/- 7.

The association of total and differential white blood cell count with metabolic syndrome in type 2 diabetic patients.

Aims: We investigated the relation between total and differential white blood cell (WBC) count and metabolic syndrome (MS) in type 2 diabetic patients.

Methods: Eight-hundred and twenty-two patients (males 430, females 392, BMI 25.4+/-3.

Rosiglitazone relieves acute ethanol-induced hangover in Sprague-Dawley rats.

Aims: To assess the efficacy of rosiglitazone in blocking ethanol-induced hangover in rats.

Methods: Rats injected with ethanol (4 g/kg body weight) were subjected to social interaction tests. Levels of aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALD2), involved in an anti-hangover mechanism, were measured by semi-quantitative RT-PCR and western blot analysis.

Adiponectin protects human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells against MPP+-induced cytotoxicity.

1-Methyl-4-phenylpyridinium ion (MPP+), an inhibitor of mitochondrial complex I, has been widely used as a neurotoxin because it elicits a severe Parkinson's disease-like syndrome characterized by elevation of intracellular reactive oxygen species level and apoptotic death. Adiponectin, secreted from adipose tissue, mediates systemic insulin sensitivity with liver and muscle as target organs. Adiponectin can also suppress superoxide generation in endothelial cells.

Haplotype combination of Calpain-10 gene polymorphism is associated with metabolic syndrome in type 2 diabetes.

Patients with metabolic syndrome are at increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease. The combinations of the haplotype created by the alleles of three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs): SNP-43, -19, and -63 of the Calpain-10 gene (CAPN10), have been reported to be associated with the risk of type 2 diabetes in many populations. The aim of this study was to examine the association of the CAPN10 polymorphism with metabolic syndrome in patients with type 2 diabetes in Korea.

The relation between birth weight and insulin resistance in Korean adolescents.

Low birth weight is associated with insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes in adults. The fetal programming hypothesis has shown that insulin resistance and its associated metabolic disturbances result from a poor gestational environment, for which low birth weight is a surrogate. An at-home questionnaire survey was performed on 660 middle school students (12-15 years) in Seoul, Korea, and 152 cases were randomly selected based on their birth weight.

Does birthweight predict adolescent adiponectin levels?

Objective: Low birthweight is associated with insulin resistance later in life, and adiponectin is known to play an important role in insulin resistance. We have investigated whether birthweight has a relationship with adiponectin levels in adolescence.

Patients: An at-home questionnaire survey was completed by 660 middle-school students (aged 12-15 years) in Seoul, Korea, and 152 participants were selected randomly based on their birthweight.

Clinical features of bone metastases resulting from thyroid cancer: a review of 28 patients over a 20-year period.

Bone is the second most frequent site of metastasis resulting from thyroid cancer. Many studies have investigated clinical features and prognostic factors of distant metastases stemming from thyroid cancer in Western countries. The purpose of this study was to review clinical characteristics of Korean patients with bone metastasis originating from thyroid cancer.

Rosiglitazone protects human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells against acetaldehyde-induced cytotoxicity.

Acetaldehyde, an inhibitor of mitochondrial function, has been widely used as a neurotoxin because it elicits a severe Parkinson's disease-like syndrome with elevation of the intracellular reactive oxygen species level and apoptosis. Rosiglitazone, a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma agonist, has been known to show various non-hypoglycemic effects, including anti-inflammatory, anti-atherogenic, and anti-apoptotic. In this study, we investigated the protective effects of rosiglitazone on acetaldehyde-induced apoptosis in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells and attempted to examine its mechanism.

Is high-sensitivity C-reactive protein associated with carotid atherosclerosis in healthy Koreans?

Background: There is a positive association between chronic inflammation and the risk of cardiovascular disease, but whether there is an association between C-reactive protein (CRP) and carotid atherosclerosis is controversial. We investigated the relationship between high-sensitivity CRP (hsCRP) levels and carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) in healthy Koreans.

Design: We measured hsCRP levels, the carotid IMT, and conventional cardiovascular risk factors including obesity parameters, blood pressure, lipid profiles, insulin resistance, and smoking habits in 820 volunteers (35-79 years old) in a cross-sectional study.

Normative values of carotid artery intima-media thickness in healthy Korean adults and estimation of macrovascular diseases relative risk using this data in type 2 diabetes patients.

The objectives of this study were to determine normative values of carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) in healthy Korean subjects and to use these values to estimate the relative risk of macrovascular diseases in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). High-resolution B-mode ultrasonography was performed in 1,229 healthy subjects and 830 T2DM patients. Height, weight, blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose, total cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and fasting insulin level were measured.

Characteristics of type 2 diabetes in terms of insulin resistance in Korea.

The aim of this study was to assess the implications of insulin resistance on the clinical and biochemical profiles of Korean type 2 diabetic patients. 122 patients with type 2 diabetes underwent a short insulin tolerance test to assess insulin resistance. Subjects were classified in tertiles according to ISI (insulin sensitivity index), and the tertile I (the insulin- resistant group) and tertile III (the insulin-sensitive group) clinical and biochemical parameters were compared.

Duodenal somatostatinoma associated with diabetic ketoacidosis presumably caused by somatostatin-28 hypersecretion.

Context: Extrapancreatic somatostatinoma is very rare and clinically distinguished from its pancreatic counterpart because somatostatinoma syndrome with mild diabetes is rare in extrapancreatic somatostatinoma because of poor secretion of somatostatin. Moreover, because somatostatin inhibits the secretion of insulin and glucagon simultaneously, true diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) seldom ensues.

Patient: A 23-yr-old woman presented with DKA and an abdominal mass.

Effects of Pro12Ala polymorphism of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma2 gene on rosiglitazone response in type 2 diabetes.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the effects of the Pro12Ala polymorphism of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) gamma2 gene on the response to rosiglitazone in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Methods: A total of 198 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus were treated with rosiglitazone (4 mg/d) for 12 weeks without a change in previous medications. All patients were genotyped for the PPARgamma2 Pro12Ala polymorphism.

Relationship of serum high sensitivity C-reactive protein to metabolic syndrome and microvascular complications in type 2 diabetes.

The high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) is known to be a sensitive predictor of coronary heart disease and type 2 diabetes. This study evaluated the association between the serum hsCRP and the components of metabolic syndrome (MS) and microvascular complications in type 2 diabetes. Two hundred and sixty-nine patients with type 2 diabetes were enrolled.

The prevalence of the metabolic syndrome in Korean adults: comparison of WHO and NCEP criteria.

The aims of this study were to compare the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome according to the WHO and NCEP ATP III criteria in Korean adults, and to compare the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome with the results in previous Korean studies. The study comprised 1,230 subjects (627 men, 603 women) aged 30-79 years (mean 52.4 +/- 10.