Continuous positive airway pressure effect on visual acuity in patients with type 2 diabetes and obstructive sleep apnoea: a multicentre randomised controlled trial.

We sought to establish whether continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) for obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) in people with type 2 diabetes and diabetic macular oedema (DMO) improved visual acuity.We randomly assigned 131 eligible patients aged 30-85 years from 23 UK centres with significant DMO causing visual impairment (LogMAR letters identified ≥39 and ≤78, score 0.92-0.

A novel postal-based approach to diagnosing obstructive sleep apnoea in a high-risk population.

Objective: More than 50% of patients with diabetic macular oedema (DMO) have obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), but the majority remain undiagnosed. We used a four-channel device (ApneaLink [AL], ResMed, UK) to establish a remote postal-based diagnostic service for patients with DMO. Here we describe our experience.

Sleepiness and Sleep-related Breathing Disorders in Myotonic Dystrophy and Responses to Treatment: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Objective: We conducted prospective assessments in people with myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) with daytime sleepiness, provided targeted therapies and assessed response.

Methods: Patients had overnight sleep assessments. Treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) for OSA, non-invasive ventilation (NIV) for respiratory failure, modafinil for excessive daytime sleepiness were commenced.

Improving retention of very old participants in longitudinal research: experiences from the Newcastle 85+ study.

Background: People aged 85 and over are often excluded from research on the grounds of being difficult to recruit and problematic to retain. The Newcastle 85+ study successfully recruited a cohort of 854 85-year-olds to detailed health assessment at baseline and followed them up over 3 phases spanning 5 years. This paper describes the effectiveness of its retention strategies.

Engaging the oldest old in research: lessons from the Newcastle 85+ study.

Background: Those aged 85 and over, the oldest old, are now the fastest growing sector of the population. Information on their health is essential to inform future planning; however, there is a paucity of up-to-date information on the oldest old, who are often excluded from research. The aim of the Newcastle 85+ Study is to investigate the health of a cohort of 85-year-olds from a biological, medical and psychosocial perspective.

Riboflavin lowers homocysteine in individuals homozygous for the MTHFR 677C->T polymorphism.

Background: Meta-analyses predict that a 25% lowering of plasma homocysteine would reduce the risk of coronary heart disease by 11% to 16% and stroke by 19% to 24%. Individuals homozygous for the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) 677C-->T polymorphism have reduced MTHFR enzyme activity resulting from the inappropriate loss of the riboflavin cofactor, but it is unknown whether their typically high homocysteine levels are responsive to improved riboflavin status.

Methods And Results: From a register of 680 healthy adults 18 to 65 years of age of known MTHFR 677C-->T genotype, we identified 35 with the homozygous (TT) genotype and age-matched individuals with heterozygous (CT, n=26) or wild-type (CC, n=28) genotypes to participate in an intervention in which participants were randomized by genotype group to receive 1.

Protocol for the production of concentrated extracts of food folate for use in human bioavailability studies.

To provide a tool to study folate bioavailability under controlled conditions, a methodology was developed to produce extracts representative of natural food folates but removed from their matrix and sufficiently concentrated so as to elicit a response in biomarkers of folate status without distorting usual dietary intake patterns. Egg, spinach, and yeast were selected to represent the wide range in extent of folate conjugation found in foods (0, 60, and 100% polyglutamyl folate, respectively). The protocol, which was based on extracting food folates using only reagents safe for human consumption, was optimized in the laboratory (thermal extraction for 10 min in a 2% ascorbate solution at pH 5) and then adapted for industrial scale production in a food-processing facility.

The effect of different cooking methods on folate retention in various foods that are amongst the major contributors to folate intake in the UK diet.

Folate intake is strongly influenced by various methods of cooking that can degrade the natural forms of the vitamin in foods. The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of different cooking methods on folate retention in various foods that contribute to folate intake in the UK diet. Typical purchasing and cooking practices of representative food folate sources were determined from a questionnaire survey of local shoppers (n 100).