Antidiabetic agents from medicinal plants.

Currently available therapeutic options for non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, such as dietary modification, oral hypoglycemics, and insulin, have limitations of their own. Many natural products and herbal medicines have been recommended for the treatment of diabetes. The present paper reviews medicinal plants that have shown experimental or clinical antidiabetic activity and that have been used in traditional systems of medicine; the review also covers natural products (active natural components and crude extracts) isolated from the medicinal plants and reported during 2001 to 2005.

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.

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.

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.

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 influence of adiponectin gene polymorphism on the rosiglitazone response in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the effects of rosiglitazone on adiponectin and plasma glucose levels in relation with common adiponectin gene (ACDC) polymorphisms.

Research Design And Methods: A total of 166 patients with type 2 diabetes were treated with rosiglitazone (4 mg/day) for 12 weeks without changing any of their previous medications. In all, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)45 and SNP276 of ACDC were examined.

Hypercalcemia in hepatic tuberculosis: a case report in Korea.

Although primary hyperparathyroidism and malignant diseases account for approximately 90% of the causes of hypercalcemia, they could occur in association with granulomatous diseases such as tuberculosis or sarcoidosis, especially in developing countries. Hepatic tuberculosis is difficult to diagnosis without suspicion in cases with normal findings on chest radiographs. We report a 70-year-old woman who presented with hypercalcemia due to hepatic tuberculosis.

Limitation of the validity of the homeostasis model assessment as an index of insulin resistance in Korea.

Homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) is a less invasive, inexpensive, and less labor-intensive method to measure insulin resistance (IR) as compared with the glucose clamp test. The aim of this study was to evaluate the validity of HOMA-IR by comparing it with the euglycemic clamp test in determining IR. We assessed the validity of HOMA-IR by comparing it with the total glucose disposal rate measured by the 3-hour euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp in subjects with type 2 diabetes (n = 47), impaired glucose tolerance (n = 21), and normal glucose tolerance (n = 22).

[The effects of short term comprehensive life style modification program on glycemic metabolism, lipid metabolism and body composition in type 2 diabetes mellitus].

Purpose: This study was to evaluate the effects of a short term comprehensive life style modification program on glycemic metabolism, lipid metabolism and body composition in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients.

Method: A nonequivalent control group with a pre post test was designed. Data collection was done from October 2003 to June, 2004 at a hospital.

Serum high sensitivity C-reactive protein is associated with carotid intima-media thickness in type 2 diabetes.

Background: High sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) is more sensitive than standard C-reactive protein (CRP) assay in evaluating the risk of coronary heart disease and other atherosclerotic events. By this time, there are several reports that type 2 diabetic subjects have higher serum levels of hsCRP than those of non-diabetic subjects. However, there are few reports about factors which have influence upon the level of serum hsCRP in type 2 diabetic subjects.