Association between the rs1534649 gene polymorphism in intron one with Body Mass Index and High Density Lipoprotein-Cholesterol.

Lipoprotein lipase (LPL) is an enzyme involved in lipid metabolism and distribution of fatty acids hence its role in the initiation and development of dyslipidemia and adiposity. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) across the gene have been associated with dyslipidemia, however, the association with obesity has been limited towards specific populations. This study examined the association between gene polymorphisms with plasma lipid levels and body mass index (BMI) in the Kuwaiti population.

Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin as a biomarker of nephropathy in sickle cell disease.

Sickle cell nephropathy (SCN) develops via altered hemodynamics and acute kidney injury, but conventional screening tests remain normal until advanced stages. Early diagnostic biomarkers are needed so that preventive measures can be taken. This study evaluates the role of neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) as a biomarker of SCN in steady state and vaso-occlusive crisis (VOC).

Corrigendum to "Vitamin D-Binding Protein Clearance Ratio Is Significantly Associated with Glycemic Status and Diabetes Complications in a Predominantly Vitamin D-Deficient Population".

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1155/2018/6239158.].

Clinical Applications of Adiponectin Measurements in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Screening, Diagnosis, and Marker of Diabetes Control.

Background: Adipose tissue-derived adiponectin has pleiotropic protective effects with suppression of inflammatory and metabolic derangements that may result in insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate adiponectin as a diagnostic marker of T2DM and diabetes control.

Methods: Fasting adiponectin, insulin, glucose, and HbA1c were determined in 376 patients with known T2DM and 575 subjects with undiagnosed diabetes but with family history of T2DM.

Vitamin D-Binding Protein Clearance Ratio Is Significantly Associated with Glycemic Status and Diabetes Complications in a Predominantly Vitamin D-Deficient Population.

Introduction: Studies have shown increased urine excretion of vitamin D-binding protein (VDBP) in patients with diabetic nephropathy (DN) resulting from postulated mechanisms linked to renal tubular damage. In this study, we evaluate the utility of VDBP clearance ratio as a novel determinant of glycemic status, DN, and other diabetes-associated complications.

Methods: Levels of vitamin D, HbA1c, serum, urine concentrations of VDBP, and creatinine were measured in 309 subjects.

Association of FTO rs9939609 with Obesity in the Kuwaiti Population: A Public Health Concern?

Objective: To investigate the effect of the common fat mass and obesity-associated (FTO) gene polymorphism rs9939609 on body mass index (BMI) in one of the most obese populations worldwide.

Subjects And Methods: Genotypic data for FTO rs9939609 were available for 1,034 unrelated Kuwaiti adults obtained from Kuwait's Dasman Diabetes Institute and Kuwait University. The association between the FTO polymorphism with BMI as continuous and categorical (normal BMI [< 25] vs.

Prospective evaluation of the effect of short-term oral vitamin d supplementation on peripheral neuropathy in type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Objective: We aimed to assess the efficacy of short-term oral vitamin D supplementation on peripheral neuropathy in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Materials And Methods: This prospective, placebo-controlled trial included 112 type 2 diabetic patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) and vitamin D [25(OH)D] deficiency. Patients were sequentially assigned to a treatment group (n = 57) and a placebo group (n = 55).

Study of leptin and adiponectin as disease markers in subjects with obstructive sleep apnea.

Background: Published studies showed conflicting results of the associations between adiponectin and leptin levels and obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). In obese patients, plasma leptin is elevated and adiponectin is decreased, and we postulate that these adipokines could be potential markers of clinical and metabolic perturbations in patients with OSA.

Methods: 147 patients with suspected OSA had polysomnography to determine the Respiratory Disturbance Index (RDI).

Transthoracic echocardiography and 6-minute walk test in Kuwaiti sickle cell disease patients.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate cardiac abnormalities in Kuwaiti sickle cell disease (SCD) patients using markers such as tricuspid regurgitant jet velocity (TRJV), pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP), and the 6-minute walk (6MW) test and correlate these findings with clinical, hematological, and biochemical parameters.

Materials And Methods: Seventy-three patients with SCD and 70 matched controls were studied. The cardiac status was investigated using transthoracic echocardiography in 57 patients; the 6MW test was carried out in patients and controls.

Musculoskeletal pain: should physicians test for vitamin D level?

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate vitamin D levels using a reliable method in patients with regional and generalized musculoskeletal (MSK) pain in comparison to healthy controls.

Methods: A consecutive prospective case control cohort was recruited. Patients with generalized MSK pain, for example, fibromyalgia (FM), and regional MSK pain, for example, nonspecific low back pain (LBP) and knee osteoarthritis (OA) were screened for 25 hydroxy-vitamin D [25(OH)D₃ ] levels over a period of 9 months in a hospital-based setting.

Associations of adipokines & insulin resistance with sex steroids in patients with breast cancer.

Background & Objectives: Several studies have suggested an important, but conflicting and controversial role for adipose tissue mass in breast cancer risk. Factors such as insulin-like growth factors, sex steroids, adipokines and obesity-related inflammatory markers have been postulated as potential effectors of the mechanisms by which obesity and associated metabolic disorders influence breast cancer risk. In this study we evaluated the associations between obesity indices, insulin resistance, circulating adipokines, sex steroids and breast cancer.

Putative roles of circulating resistin in patients with asthma, COPD and cigarette smokers.

Aims: To investigate the hypothesis that circulating resistin reflects the degree of pulmonary inflammation, this study explores putative roles of resistin in patients with acute and stable inflammatory obstructive airway diseases and cigarette smokers.

Methods: We determined complements C3, C4, fasting resistin, insulin, glucose and lipid profile; calculated insulin resistance (homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR) in patients with acute asthma exacerbation (n=34); stable asthma (n=26) and stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD; n=26), cigarette smokers (n=81), and healthy control subjects (n=42). We determined the associations between these variables and pulmonary function tests.

Associations of single nucleotide polymorphisms in the adiponectin gene with adiponectin levels and cardio-metabolic risk factors in patients with cancer.

Objectives: The aims of this study are to (1) study the influence of polymorphisms in adiponectin gene on adiponectin levels and potential associations with breast, prostate and colon cancer; (2) investigate the associations of adiponectin levels with other adipokines and breast, prostate and colon cancers.

Subjects: We measured fasting adiponectin, leptin, insulin, Sex steroids in 132 (66 females, 66 males) cancer patients and 68 age and sex matched apparently healthy subjects. Body Mass Index (BMI) and waist circumference were used as indices of obesity.

Computational methods are significant determinants of the associations and definitions of insulin resistance using the homeostasis model assessment in women of reproductive age.

Background: Insulin resistance (IR) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), but identification of insulin-resistant individuals is difficult. The homeostasis model assessment (HOMA), a surrogate marker of IR, is available in 2 computational models: HOMA1-IR (formula) and HOMA2-IR (computer program), which differ in incorporated physiological assumptions. This study evaluates the associations of the 2 models as markers of IR, the metabolic syndrome (MS), and PCOS.

Variations in alanine aminotransferase levels within the normal range predict metabolic and androgenic phenotypes in women of reproductive age.

Background And Aims: Obesity plays pathogenetic roles in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and hyperandrogenic states like polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). We tested the hypothesis that alanine aminotransferase (ALT), a marker of NAFLD, is associated with endocrine and metabolic abnormalities in women with normal ALT.

Methods And Results: Fasting glucose, insulin, total testosterone, DHEA-S, 17-hydroxyprogesterone, prolactin, leptin, soluble leptin receptor, free leptin index (FLI), lipid profile, ALT, gonadotropins, and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) were measured in 200 women aged 18-48 years.

Effect of homeostasis model assessment computational method on the definition and associations of insulin resistance.

Background: Homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) is a surrogate index widely used to study the role of insulin sensitivity or resistance in associated disease states. However, reported values for the definition of insulin resistance (the top 25% of the distribution in non-diabetic subjects) vary widely. This study evaluates the effect of HOMA computational methods [original HOMA model formula (HOMA1) and online calculator computer model (HOMA2)] on the associations and cut-off limits for insulin resistance.

Higher levels of alanine aminotransferase within the reference range predict unhealthy metabolic phenotypes of obesity in normoglycemic first-degree relatives of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Obesity is a heterogeneous disorder with metabolically healthy and unhealthy phenotypes and varying degrees of cardiometabolic complications. To evaluate whether alanine aminotransferase (ALT) could be used for identification of obese phenotypes, the authors measured ALT, adiponectin, leptin, leptin receptor, free leptin index, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, fasting insulin, glucose, and full lipid profile in 486 (176 men and 310 women) normoglycemic first-degree relatives of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus with negative medication history and hepatitis screen. Patients were classified into obesity phenotypes on the basis of the degree of adiposity and the International Diabetes Federation criteria for the metabolic syndrome.

Which obesity index best explains the link between adipokines, coronary heart disease risk and metabolic abnormalities in type 2 diabetes mellitus?

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine, which of: body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) and waist circumference (WC) correlates best with adipokines and is, therefore, the most suitable for the assessment of insulin resistance (IR), metabolic syndrome (MS), type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and coronary heart disease (CHD) risk.

Subjects And Methods: We studied 248 T2DM patients classified by gender, IR, MS and CHD. Fasting adiponectin, leptin, resistin, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP), insulin, glucose, IR (HOMA), and lipid profile were measured.

Antioxidant therapy is associated with a reduction in the serum levels of mediators of renal injury following lithotripsy for renal calculi.

Objective: To investigate the effects of antioxidant therapy on the levels of mediators of shock wave induced renal injury in patients with renal calculi treated with extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL).

Patients And Methods: One hundred and twenty patients with renal calculi were divided into three treatment groups: Group A patients (n = 39) served as a control group; Group B patients (n = 41) were given 2 capsules of Nature Made((R)) antioxidants 2 hours before, and 2 and 8 hours after ESWL and Group C patients (n = 40) were given 2 capsules of the antioxidants at 2 and 8 hours after ESWL. Blood and urine samples were obtained from all patients just before the start of treatment with ESWL, and at 2 and 24 hours and on day 7 and 28 after ESWL.

Bone mineral density in premenopausal Arab women with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Introduction: This study compares an ethnically uniform group of premenopausal type 2 diabetic (T2DM) Arab women with a matched control group of nondiabetic subjects, in terms of their bone mineral density (BMD) and anthropometric measurements.

Methods: The study included 252 premenopausal Arab women. Their age ranged from 26 to 50 yr with a mean+/-SD of 43.

Effect of smoking habit on circulating adipokines in diabetic and non-diabetic subjects.

Background: Despite the well-known inverse association between smoking and body weight, there have been conflicting reports on the association between smoking and adipokines such as leptin and adiponectin.

Aim: To determine and compare whether tobacco smoking (cigarettes or sheesha) affects circulating levels of adiponectin and/or influences leptin and leptin receptor (sOb-R) concentrations and free leptin in diabetic and non-diabetic subjects.

Methods And Subjects: Fasting plasma adiponectin, leptin, sOb-R, glucose, insulin, and lipid profile were determined in 236 subjects grouped as control subjects (n = 53); non-diabetic cigarette smokers (n = 34), non-diabetic sheesha smokers (n = 38), diabetic nonsmokers (n = 75) and diabetic smokers (n = 36).

Determinants and associations of homocysteine and prothrombotic risk factors in Kuwaiti patients with cerebrovascular accident.

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the determinants and associations of some prothrombotic risk factors in patients with cerebrovascular accidents (CVAs).

Subjects And Methods: In this case-control study, plasma total homocysteine (tHcy), lupus anticoagulant, protein C, protein S, activated protein C resistance (APC-R) and antithrombin were measured in 102 patients (60 males and 42 females) and 167 controls (87 males, 80 females). Serum vitamin B(12), folate, red cell folate, creatinine, lipid profile and glucose were also determined.

Treatment of renal calculi by lithotripsy: minimizing short-term shock wave induced renal damage by using antioxidants.

Treatment with extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL), the preferred method of treating kidney stones <3 cm in size, has been shown to induce silent and often self-limiting acute and chronic lesions in the kidneys and adjacent organs. We conducted a randomized clinical trial to determine whether ESWL produces ischaemia and reperfusion injury in the kidneys and whether oral administration of antioxidants reduces the degree of short-term renal injury in patients treated with ESWL. The study included 120 patients with renal stones (1-3 cm in size) treated with ESWL.

Body iron stores in relation to the metabolic syndrome, glycemic control and complications in female patients with type 2 diabetes.

Background And Aim: Studies suggest that iron plays a significant role in the development of diabetes and its complications. This study evaluates the associations of iron metabolism parameters with the metabolic syndrome (MS), control and complications in female patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Methods And Results: Ferritin, soluble Transferrin Receptor (sTfR), sTfR/Log ferritin ratio (sTfR-F index), iron, full blood count and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) were determined in 110 female patients with T2DM.