Publications by authors named "Emanuele Muraca"
Aims: To compare medication persistence and efficacy of oral and subcutaneous semaglutide, in a real-world setting.
Materials And Methods: This is a single-center, retrospective observational cohort study. Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) starting treatment with either formulation of semaglutide between January 1 2019 and July 31 2023 and with at least one follow-up visit were included.
Article Synopsis
- The review discusses the pharmacological treatment options for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), highlighting their link to obesity and type 2 diabetes.
- It outlines the challenges faced in clinical trials, such as issues with liver biopsies, patient recruitment, and variable placebo responses, while comparing regulatory requirements from the FDA and EMA.
- The study emphasizes the potential of repurposing existing diabetes and obesity medications and introduces drug candidates in Phase 3 trials, suggesting that combination therapies may enhance treatment effectiveness, especially in different disease stages.
Article Synopsis
- A recent consensus defined metabolic dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and introduced MetALD, a new condition where steatotic liver disease, metabolic dysfunction, and moderate alcohol intake occur together.
- A systematic review and meta-analysis of 5 studies with nearly 10 million participants examined the links between MASLD and MetALD with serious health outcomes.
- Findings showed both conditions were linked to higher rates of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease, with MetALD presenting even greater risks, particularly for cancer-related and cardiovascular mortality.
Background & Aim: Liver fibrosis is the strongest predictor of liver-related mortality in many chronic liver diseases. NT-ProBNP is independently associated with cardiovascular mortality in general population settings. Here, we evaluate the relative contribution of non-invasively identified liver fibrosis and NT-ProBNP on all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in patients with metabolic (dysfunction)-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Aims: Several studies reported an association between liver stiffness measurement (LSM) obtained through vibration-controlled transient elastography (VCTE) and all-cause mortality in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to summarize available evidence on the nature and magnitude of this association.
Methods: We systematically searched PubMed-MEDLINE and Scopus up to April 2023 for observational cohort studies in which LSM was measured with VCTE in patients with NAFLD or in general population settings, with a follow-up ≥1 year and with available data on all-cause mortality.
Sex hormones impact body composition. Data on the specific impact of each hormone on different body depots in men and women are scarce. The aim of this study is to evaluate the association between testosterone, estradiol and body fat distribution in the general population.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Serum neurofilament light chain (sNfL) levels are biomarkers of neuro-axonal injury in multiple neurological diseases. Little is known on their potential role as prognostic markers in people without known neurological conditions.
Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the association between sNfL levels and all-cause mortality in a general population setting.
Aims: Evidence on the role of 25-Hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) in the occurrence and progression of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is conflicting and population-based data are scarce. Here, we assess the association between 25(OH)D levels, NAFLD and liver fibrosis in the general population.
Materials And Methods: This is an analysis of data from the 2017-2018 cycle of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
Article Synopsis
- Hyperglycemia is a known risk factor for cardiovascular issues, but the level of risk can vary widely among individuals with different blood glucose levels; this study examines if NT-ProBNP can help determine who is at higher cardiovascular risk regardless of their glucose levels.
- The research included 5,502 people aged 45-79, categorizing them into groups based on glycemic status and measuring NT-ProBNP levels to see how they relate to mortality rates over a median follow-up of 13 years.
- Findings reveal that higher NT-ProBNP levels are linked to greater risks of both overall and cardiovascular mortality, suggesting this biomarker could help identify patients who might need intensified treatment to lower their cardiovascular risk.
Context: Serum neurofilament light chain (sNfL) levels are biomarkers of neuroaxonal injury in multiple neurological diseases.
Objective: Given the paucity of data on the distribution of sNfL levels in the general population, in the present study we identified predictors of sNfL levels in a community setting and investigated the association between diabetes and sNfL.
Methods: sNfL levels were measured in 2070 people aged 20 to 75 years from the general US population (275 with and 1795 without diabetes) that participated in the 2013-2014 cycle of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
Background: Few population-based studies have investigated the association between body fat distribution and the risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and significant liver fibrosis.
Objectives: We aimed to evaluate the relations of total body fat and body fat distribution with NAFLD in the general US population.
Methods: This is a cross-sectional, population-based study based on the 2017-2018 cycle of the NHANES.
Purpose: Obesity represents a well-known risk factor for metabolic-dysfunction associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) and its progression towards cirrhosis. The aim of this study is to estimate the proportion of potential candidates to a bariatric surgery intervention that has an elevated liver stiffness on vibration-controlled transient elastography (VCTE).
Materials And Methods: This is a cross-sectional study performed using data obtained during the 2017-2018 cycle of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
Context: It is still debated whether nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) may be a risk factor for reduced bone mineral density (BMD), and it is not known whether liver fibrosis, the major predictor of future development of liver-related events in NAFLD, has an influence on BMD.
Objective: To assess whether liver steatosis and fibrosis are associated with reduced BMD in the general US population.
Methods: We performed a cross-sectional analysis of the population-based 2017-2018 cycle of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), in which vibration-controlled transient elastography (VCTE) and dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) of the femoral neck were simultaneously available.
Background And Aims: Seasonal variations in several risk factors for cardiovascular events (CVD) were described. Here, we evaluate the impact of seasonal variations in blood pressure (BP), lipid profile and glycemic control on estimated CVD risk in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D).
Methods And Results: Retrospective monocentric study of patients with T2D who were visited at least once in the winter period and once in the summer period, less than 8 months apart, for which data related to systolic (S) BP, diastolic (D) BP, body mass index, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and smoking habit were available on both occasions.
Context: Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) is a recognized effective procedure of bariatric surgery, but a poor response in weight loss may still represent a clinical problem. To date there are no validated predictors useful to better perform patient selection.
Objective: To establish the association of baseline anthropometric, metabolic, and psychologic features with the percent total weight loss (%TWL) and percent excess weight loss (%EWL) 12 months after surgery.
Background: Bariatric surgery is a valuable therapeutic option in the treatment of obesity but the outcomes show a large subject-to-subject variability yet to be explained. Thyroid function may represent an involved factor and we have only few controversial data about its influence.
Subjects/methods: We retrospectively assessed using a longitudinal approach the relation between baseline TSH levels and short-term (6 and 12 months) weight loss in 387 euthyroid patients who underwent laparoscopic gastric banding (LAGB; n = 187) or sleeve gastrectomy (SG; n = 200).
Aims: Hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis hyperactivity was suggested to be associated with the metabolic syndrome (MS), obesity and diabetes. The aim of this study was to test whether hypercortisolism was associated with altered glucose homeostasis and insulin resistance, hypertension and dyslipidemia in a homogeneous population of obese patients.
Materials/methods: In retrospective analysis of a set of data about obese patients attending the outpatient service of a single obesity centre between January 2013 and January 2020, 884 patients with BMI >30 kg/m were segregated in two subgroups: patients with urinary free cortisol (UFC) higher than normal (UFC+; n = 129) or within the normal range (UFC-; n = 755).
Objective: Visit-to-visit variability in SBP is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in type 2 diabetes (T2DM) but little is known on whether in T2DM this differs according to presence or absence of previous CVD.
Methods: We retrospectively assessed the coefficient of variation (standard deviation/mean) of mean SBP (SBP-CV) in 970 patients (44% with established CVD) attending at least four times our secondary care diabetes clinic in 2015-2016 to estimate their risk of CVD-related events using the 10-year UKPDS Risk Engine.
Results: Patients with established CVD had a higher SBP-CV (10.
Context: Insulin resistance and diabetes may influence separately or in combination whole body energy metabolism.
Objective: To assess the impact of insulin resistance and/or overt type 2 diabetes on resting energy expenditure (REE) in class 3 obese individuals.
Design And Setting: Retrospective, cross-sectional analysis of a set of data about individuals attending the outpatients service of a single center of bariatric surgery between January 2015 and December 2017.
Context: Growing evidence suggests that appropriate levothyroxine (LT4) replacement therapy may not correct the full set of metabolic defects afflicting individuals with hypothyroidism.
Objective: To assess whether obese subjects with primary hypothyroidism are characterized by alterations of the resting energy expenditure (REE).
Design: Retrospective analysis of a set of data about obese women attending the outpatients service of a single obesity center from January 2013 to July 2019.
Objective: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is prevalent in patients with type 2 diabetes. Here, we estimate the proportion of patients with type 2 diabetes that should be referred to hepatologists according to the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL)-European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD)-European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO) Guidelines and evaluate the association between non-invasive biomarkers of steatosis and fibrosis and diabetic complications.
Research Design And Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of type 2 diabetes patients who attended on a regular basis our diabetes clinic between 2013 and 2018 (n=2770).