Elevated whole blood viscosity is associated with an impaired insulin-stimulated myocardial glucose metabolism.

Background: Increased whole blood viscosity (WBV) was associated with impaired peripheral glucose metabolism, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Impaired myocardial glucose metabolism is a risk factor for CVD. Whether an increased WBV is associated with impaired myocardial glucose metabolism is still undefined.

Differences in target organ damage in individuals with intermediate hyperglycemia and type 2 diabetes identified by 1-hour plasma glucose during an oral glucose tolerance test.

Aims: The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) has recently recommended determination of 1-hour glucose during an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) to diagnose intermediate hyperglycemia (IH) and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Herein, we investigated the implications of IDF recommendation for characterizing the risk of cardiovascular target organ damage including left ventricular mass normalized by body surface area (LVM index [LVMI]), and myocardial mechano-energetic efficiency normalized by LVM (MEEi) in individuals with IH and T2D.

Methods: LVMI, and MEEi were assessed in 1847 adults classified on the basis of fasting, 1-hour and 2- hour glucose during an OGTT according to the IDF recommendation as having normal glucose tolerance (NGT, n = 736), isolated impaired fasting glucose (iIFG, n = 105), IH (n = 676), and newly diagnosed T2D (n = 330).

Compromised cardiac autonomic function in non-diabetic subjects with 1 h post-load hyperglycemia: a cross-sectional study.

Background: A compromised cardiac autonomic function has been found in subjects with insulin resistance related disorders such as obesity, impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and type 2 diabetes and confers an increased risk of adverse cardiovascular outcomes. Growing evidence indicate that 1 h plasma glucose levels (1hPG) during an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) ≥ 155 mg/dl identify amongst subjects with normal glucose tolerance (NGT) a new category of prediabetes (NGT 1 h-high), harboring an increased risk of cardiovascular organ damage. In this study we explored the relationship between 1 h post-load hyperglycemia and cardiac autonomic dysfunction.

Profiles of sulfonylurea use in Diabetes Mellitus type 2: an analysis of clinical practice over the last 10 years.

Aims: Describing the evolution over time in the use of sulfonylureas (SUs) and the characteristics of patients at first prescription and at interruption of treatment with SUs.

Methods: Retrospective evaluation of data from the Italian Association of Diabetologists (AMD) Annals registry (2010-2020), about T2D patients who started treatment with SUs. The longitudinal probability of remaining on SUs was estimated by Kaplan Meier survival curves.

Association between augmented levels of the gut pro-hormone Proneurotensin and subclinical vascular damage.

Elevated levels of the gut pro-hormone Proneurotensin (proNT) have been found to predict development of cardiovascular disease. However, it is still unknown whether higher proNT levels are associated with subclinical vascular damage. Herein, we investigated the relationship between higher proNT concentrations and augmented pulse pressure (PP) and carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT), indicators of increased arterial stiffness and subclinical atherosclerosis, respectively.

Glucagon kinetics assessed by mathematical modelling during oral glucose administration in people spanning from normal glucose tolerance to type 2 diabetes.

Background/objectives: Glucagon is important in the maintenance of glucose homeostasis, with also effects on lipids. In this study, we aimed to apply a recently developed model of glucagon kinetics to determine the sensitivity of glucagon variations (especially, glucagon inhibition) to insulin levels ("alpha-cell insulin sensitivity"), during oral glucose administration.

Subjects/methods: We studied 50 participants (spanning from normal glucose tolerance to type 2 diabetes) undergoing frequently sampled 5-hr oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT).

Myocardial mechano-energetic efficiency is not impaired in patients with metabolically healthy overweight and obesity.

Objective: Reduced myocardial mechano-energetic efficiency (MEE) was associated with BMI. Subgroups of individuals with increased BMI but favorable cardiovascular risk profile were identified as individuals with "metabolically healthy overweight" (MHOW) and "metabolically healthy obesity" (MHO), respectively. We aim to investigate whether those with MHOW/MHO, defined as those having none of the components of metabolic syndrome, exhibit impaired MEE compared with their unhealthy counterparts.

One-hour post-load glucose levels are associated with hepatic steatosis assessed by transient elastography.

Aim: To examine the association between 1-hour plasma glucose (PG) concentration and markers of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) assessed by transient elastography (TE).

Methods: We performed TE in 107 metabolically well-characterized non-diabetic White individuals. Controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) was used to quantify liver steatosis, while liver stiffness marker (LS) was used to evaluate fibrosis.

Liver fibrosis is associated with an increased risk of non-fatal myocardial infarction.

Introduction: Liver fibrosis is a risk factor for liver-related adverse outcomes and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Recently, the non-invasive Hepamet fibrosis score (HFS) has been validated as a tool capable to identify with good diagnostic accuracy subjects with advanced liver fibrosis. It is unsettled whether HFS is capable to identify individuals at higher risk of CVD.

Analysis of age-dependent gene-expression in human tissues for studying diabetes comorbidities.

The study of the relationship between type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) disease and other pathologies (comorbidities), together with patient age variation, poses a challenge for medical research. There is evidence that patients affected by T2DM are more likely to develop comorbidities as they grow older. Variation of gene expression can be correlated to changes in T2DM comorbidities insurgence and progression.

Metabolic Syndrome and C-reactive Protein are Associated With a Reduced Myocardial Mechano-energetic Efficiency.

Context: Metabolic syndrome and elevated high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) levels are associated with risk of cardiovascular diseases. A reduced myocardial mechano-energetic efficiency (MEE) has been found to be an independent predictor of cardiovascular disease.

Objective: To evaluate the association between metabolic syndrome and hsCRP levels with impaired MEE.

The Triglycerides and Glucose (TyG) Index Is Associated with 1-Hour Glucose Levels during an OGTT.

Background And Objectives: Among individuals with normal glucose tolerance (NGT), subjects with high levels of plasma glucose (≥155 mg/dL) at sixty minutes during an oral glucose tolerance test (1h-OGTT) are at an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes. We investigated the association between the triglycerides and glucose (TyG) index, a novel marker of insulin resistance, with 1h-OGTT glucose plasma concentrations.

Material And Methods: 1474 non-diabetic Caucasian subjects underwent a 75 g OGTT and were divided into two groups according to the cutoff 1h-OGTT plasma glucose < 155 mg/dL (NGT-1h-low) and ≥ 155 mg/dL (NGT-1h-high).

Chemical Compounds and Ambient Factors Affecting Pancreatic Alpha-Cells Mass and Function: What Evidence?

The exposure to different substances present in the environment can affect the ability of the human body to maintain glucose homeostasis. Some review studies summarized the current evidence about the relationships between environment and insulin resistance or beta-cell dysfunction. Instead, no reviews focused on the relationships between the environment and the alpha cell, although in recent years clear indications have emerged for the pivotal role of the alpha cell in glucose regulation.

Glucagon induces the hepatic expression of inflammatory markers in vitro and in vivo.

Glucagon exerts multiple hepatic actions, including stimulation of glycogenolysis/gluconeogenesis. The liver plays a crucial role in chronic inflammation by synthesizing proinflammatory molecules, which are thought to contribute to insulin resistance and hyperglycaemia. Whether glucagon affects hepatic expression of proinflammatory cytokines and acute-phase reactants is unknown.

Contribution of rare variants in monogenic diabetes-genes to early-onset type 2 diabetes.

Aim: This study investigated whether rare, deleterious variants in monogenic diabetes-genes are associated with early-onset type 2 diabetes (T2D).

Methods: A nested case-control study was designed from 9712 Italian patients with T2D. Individuals with age at diabetes onset ≤35 yrs (n = 300; cases) or ≥65 yrs (n = 300; controls) were selected and screened for variants in 27 monogenic diabetes-genes by targeted resequencing.

Oxidative Stress and Left Ventricular Performance in Patients with Different Glycometabolic Phenotypes.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the possible correlation between oxidative stress and subclinical myocardial damage, assessed with speckle tracking echocardiography (STE), in normal glucose tolerance (NGT) patients with one-hour plasma glucose values ≥ 155 mg/dL (NGT ≥ 155), comparing them to NGT < 155 subjects, impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) newly diagnosed patients. We enrolled 100 Caucasian patients. All subjects underwent OGTT.

The Functional Polymorphism of rs9267551 Is an Independent Determinant of Arterial Stiffness.

The association of circulating asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) levels with cardiovascular risk and arterial stiffness has been reportedly demonstrated, although the causal involvement of ADMA in the pathogenesis of these conditions is still debated. Dimethylaminohydrolase 2 (DDAH2) is the enzyme responsible for ADMA hydrolysis in the vasculature, and carriers of the polymorphism rs9267551 C in the 5'-UTR of have been reported to have higher expression and reduced levels of serum ADMA. We genotyped rs9267551 in 633 adults of European ancestry and measured their carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV), the gold-standard method to estimate arterial stiffness.

Vitamin D Serum Levels in Subjects Tested for SARS-CoV-2: What Are the Differences among Acute, Healed, and Negative COVID-19 Patients? A Multicenter Real-Practice Study.

Vitamin D might play a role in counteracting COVID-19, albeit strong evidence is still lacking in the literature. The present multicenter real-practice study aimed to evaluate the differences of 25(OH)D serum levels in adults tested for SARS-CoV-2 (acute COVID-19 patients, subjects healed from COVID-19, and non-infected ones) recruited over a 6-month period (March-September 2021). In a sample of 117 subjects, a statistically significant difference was found, with acute COVID-19 patients demonstrating the lowest levels of serum 25(OH)D (9.

Metabolites Profiling of Melanoma Interstitial Fluids Reveals Uridine Diphosphate as Potent Immune Modulator Capable of Limiting Tumor Growth.

Tumor interstitial fluid (TIF) surrounds and perfuses tumors and collects ions, metabolites, proteins, and extracellular vesicles secreted by tumor and stromal cells. Specific metabolites, accumulated within the TIF, could induce metabolic alterations of immune cells and shape the tumor microenvironment. We deployed a metabolomic approach to analyze the composition of melanoma TIF and compared it to the plasma of C57BL6 mice, engrafted or not with B16-melanoma cells.

Neutrophil degranulation biomarkers characterize restrictive echocardiographic pattern with diastolic dysfunction in patients with diabetes.

Objective: To investigate the potential association between neutrophil degranulation and patterns of myocardial dysfunction in a cohort of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Background: Two distinct phenotypes of diabetic cardiomyopathy have been described: a restrictive phenotype with diastolic dysfunction (restrictive/DD) and a dilative phenotype with systolic dysfunction (dilative/SD). However, the underlying determinants of these two patterns are not yet recognized.

The TRIB3 R84 variant is associated with increased left ventricular mass in a sample of 2426 White individuals.

Background: Prior studies in animal models showed that increased cardiac expression of TRIB3 has a pathogenic role in inducing left ventricular mass (LVM). Whether alterations in TRIB3 expression or function have a pathogenic role in inducing LVM increase also in humans is still unsettled. In order to address this issue, we took advantage of a nonsynonymous TRIB3 Q84R polymorphism (rs2295490), a gain-of-function amino acid substitution impairing insulin signalling, and action in primary human endothelial cells which has been associated with insulin resistance, and early vascular atherosclerosis.