High left ventricular mass associated with increased risk of incident diabetes.

Evidence for the role of electrocardiography or echocardiography in determining left ventricular hypertrophy for the risk of diabetes is still controversial. We aimed to explore whether left ventricular mass, as measured by these methods, is associated with the risk of diabetes in a community population. We recruited 2696 participants aged 35 years or older without diabetes who had undergone screening with electrocardiography and echocardiography.

Comparison of two titration programmes for adding insulin detemir to oral antidiabetic drugs in patients with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Aim: To explore the effect of active insulin titration versus usual titration on glycaemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus uncontrolled with oral antidiabetic drugs (OADs).

Methods: In a 24-week, prospective and randomized study, 172 patients with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes were randomly assigned to either active titration or usual titration. Efficacy and safety outcomes included changes in glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and fasting plasma glucose, percentage of individuals achieving HbA1c<53 mmol/mol, and hypoglycaemic events.

Loss of Integrase Interactor 1 (INI1) Expression in a Subset of Differentiated Thyroid Cancer.

Alterations in the switching defective/sucrose non-fermenting (SWI/SNF) chromatin-remodeling complex are enriched in advanced thyroid cancer. Integrase interactor 1 (INI1), encoded by the gene on the long arm of chromosome 22, is one of the core subunits of the SWI/SNF complex. INI1 immunohistochemistry is frequently used for the diagnosis of malignant rhabdoid neoplasms.

Diabetic status and the relationship of blood glucose to mortality in adults with carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii complex bacteremia.

Background/purpose: Diabetes is associated with increased mortality in Acinetobacter baumannii (AB) complex infection. This study investigated the risk factors and relationship of diabetic status and glycemic indices to mortality in patients with carbapenem-resistant (CR) AB complex bacteremia.

Methods: Relationship of glycemic indices to mortality were compared in adult diabetes (DM) and nondiabetes (non-DM) patients with CRAB complex bacteremia hospitalized from January 2010 to December 2015 in MacKay Memorial Hospital, Taiwan.

Is papillary thyroid microcarcinoma a biologically different disease? A propensity score-matched analysis.

Background: Papillary thyroid microcarcinoma exhibits an indolent clinical course and could be a candidate for active surveillance in the appropriate setting. It remains unknown whether papillary microcarcinoma is biologically different from larger papillary carcinoma >1 cm.

Methods: We analyzed clinicopathological information and transcriptome data of papillary thyroid cancer samples from The Cancer Genome Atlas.

An Increased Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio Predicts Incomplete Response to Therapy in Differentiated Thyroid Cancer.

: Previously we have shown that an elevated baseline neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) was associated with a high risk of recurrence in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer. The clinical significance of the longitudinal changes in NLR following treatment remained unestablished. : Adults patients with differentiated thyroid cancer were included in the study if the follow-up NLR data at 6 to 18 months after initial treatment were available.

Emergence of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii ST787 in clinical isolates from blood in a tertiary teaching hospital in Northern Taiwan.

Background/purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the predominant clones of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) in our hospital in Taiwan by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) technique.

Methods: We collected 108 non-duplicate A. baumannii clinical blood isolates from January 2012 to December 2013 in MacKay Memorial Hospital.

Dipeptidyl Peptidase IV as a Prognostic Marker and Therapeutic Target in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma.

Context: Dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP4) is overexpressed in thyroid cancer and certain malignancies. Furthermore, DPP4 has been identified as a discriminatory marker for thyroid cancer. However, it remains unclear whether DPP4 expression plays a prognostic role.

CD74 expression and its therapeutic potential in thyroid carcinoma.

CD74, the invariant chain of major histocompatibility complex class II, is also a receptor for macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF). CD74 and MIF have been associated with tumor progression and metastasis in hematologic and solid tumors. In this study, we found that 60 and 65% of papillary thyroid cancers were positive for CD74 and MIF immunohistochemical staining respectively.

Efficacy and safety of adding pioglitazone or sitagliptin to patients with type 2 diabetes insufficiently controlled with metformin and a sulfonylurea.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of add-on pioglitazone versus sitagliptin in patients with type 2 diabetes inadequately controlled on metformin and a sulfonylurea (SU).

Methods: This 24-week, randomized, open-label study compared pioglitazone (30 mg daily, n = 59) and sitagliptin (100 mg daily, n = 60) in patients with inadequate glycemic control (glycosylated hemoglobin [HbA1c] ≥7.0% to <11.

Clinical and microbiological analysis of adult perianal abscess.

Background: In Taiwan, Klebsiella pneumoniae is the predominant pathogen causing pyogenic liver abscess in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). The purpose of our hospital-based study was to determine the predominant bacterial species causing perianal abscess in hospitalized patients with and without DM in Taiwan.

Methods: Data on patients admitted and then operated on for perianal abscess during the period of March 2001 to December 2008 were reviewed.

Antimicrobial therapy and control of multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteremia in a teaching hospital in Taiwan.

Background And Purpose: The emergence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a challenging clinical problem. This study investigated the source of an outbreak of MDR P. aeruginosa infections and the role of combination therapy in its management.

Safety and effectiveness of rosiglitazone in type 2 diabetes patients with nonalcoholic Fatty liver disease.

Background/purpose: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common chronic liver disease ranging in severity from steatosis to cirrhosis. Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a cause of primary NAFLD. Thiazolidinediones have been shown to enhance insulin sensitivity, improve glycemic control in type 2 diabetes patients and to improve the histologic markers of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.