Stroke incidence increases with diabetic retinopathy severity and macular edema in type 1 diabetes.

Background: As the retina is suggested to mirror the brain, we hypothesized that diabetic retinopathy and macular edema are indicative of stroke risk in type 1 diabetes and sought to assess this association in individuals with type 1 diabetes.

Methods: We included 1,268 adult FinnDiane Study participants with type 1 diabetes (age 38.7 ± 11.

Retinal artery to vein ratio is associated with cerebral microbleeds in individuals with type 1 diabetes.

Objectives: A third of asymptomatic individuals with type 1 diabetes (T1D) show signs of cerebrovascular disease in brain MRI. These signs associate with advanced stages of diabetic retinal disease, but not in mild or moderate retinopathy. We aimed to evaluate a wider spectrum of retinal changes by exploring the relationship between quantitative measures of retinal vessel parameters (RVP) and cerebrovascular changes in T1D.

Atrophy of the optic chiasm is associated with microvascular diabetic complications in type 1 diabetes.

Introduction: Diabetic neuropathy and diabetic eye disease are well known complications of type 1 diabetes. We hypothesized that chronic hyperglycemia also damages the optic tract, which can be measured using routine magnetic resonance imaging. Our aim was to compare morphological differences in the optic tract between individuals with type 1 diabetes and healthy control subjects.

Retinal vessel diameters and microvascular abnormalities in patients with carotid stenosis before and 6 months after carotid endarterectomy: A prospective study.

Purpose: To assess retinal findings in patients with severe carotid stenosis (CS) before and after carotid endarterectomy (CEA) compared to those in controls.

Methods: This study is based on 70 patients (male 81%, mean age 69) scheduled for CEA in Helsinki University Hospital and 41 healthy nonmedicated controls (male 76%, mean age 68). Our examinations included fundus photographs.

Retinopathy risk calculators in the prediction of sight-threatening diabetic retinopathy in type 2 diabetes: A FIELD substudy.

Aims: To evaluate the risk algorithm by Aspelund et al. for predicting sight-threatening diabetic retinopathy (STDR) in Type 2 diabetes (T2D), and to develop a new STDR prediction model.

Methods: The Aspelund et al.

Flicker-induced retinal vascular dilation in ipsi- and contralateral eyes of patients with carotid stenosis before and after carotid endarterectomy: a prospective study.

Purpose: Retinal vascular function was assessed in patients with carotid stenosis (CS) before and six months after carotid endarterectomy (CEA) and in controls at a six-month interval.

Methods: We studied 68 patients (81% male, mean age 69) and 41 healthy non-medicated controls (77%, 68) from March 2015 to December 2018. Our ophthalmological examination included flicker-induced arteriolar and venular measurements with a Dynamic Vessel Analyser in both eyes.

Ocular signs of carotid stenosis in ipsi- and contralateral eyes before and after carotid endarterectomy: a prospective study.

Purpose: We describe hypoperfusion-related and embolic ocular signs of carotid stenosis (CS) before and six months after carotid endarterectomy (CEA) in a CS population.

Methods: We enrolled prospectively 70 CEA patients (81% male, mean age 69) and 41 non-medicated control subjects (76%, 68), from March 2015 to December 2018, assessing intraocular pressure (IOP), best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) in logMAR units and performing a bio-microscopy examination.

Results: Main index symptoms included amaurosis fugax (Afx) (29, 41%) and hemispheric TIA (17, 24%), and 17 (24%) were asymptomatic.

Cerebral small-vessel disease is associated with the severity of diabetic retinopathy in type 1 diabetes.

Introduction: Cerebral small-vessel disease is common in neurologically asymptomatic individuals with type 1 diabetes. The retinal vasculature is thought to mirror the brain's vasculature, but data on this association are limited in type 1 diabetes. Our aim was to study associations between diabetic retinopathy severity and cerebral small-vessel disease in type 1 diabetes.

Subfoveal choroidal thickness in ipsi- and contralateral eyes of patients with carotid stenosis before and after carotid endarterectomy: a prospective study.

Purpose: To compare subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) and associated clinical variables in patients with carotid stenosis (CS) before and 6 months after carotid endarterectomy (CEA).

Methods: The prospective non-randomized Helsinki Carotid Endarterectomy Study - Brain and Eye Sub-sTudy included seventy patients (81% male, mean age 69 years) and 40 control subjects (77% male, 68 years), from March 2015 to December 2018. Ophthalmological examination included SFCT measured with enhanced-depth imaging-optical coherence tomography.

Comparison of Manual Cross-Sectional Measurements and Automatic Volumetry of the Corpus Callosum, and Their Clinical Impact: A Study on Type 1 Diabetes and Healthy Controls.

Degenerative change of the corpus callosum might serve as a clinically useful surrogate marker for net pathological cerebral impact of diabetes type 1. We compared manual and automatic measurements of the corpus callosum, as well as differences in callosal cross-sectional area between subjects with type 1 diabetes and healthy controls. This is a cross-sectional study on 188 neurologically asymptomatic participants with type 1 diabetes and 30 healthy age- and sex-matched control subjects, recruited as part of the Finnish Diabetic Nephropathy Study.

Frequent physical activity is associated with reduced risk of severe diabetic retinopathy in type 1 diabetes.

Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate whether leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) is associated with the development of severe diabetic retinopathy in individuals with type 1 diabetes.

Methods: Prospective observational analysis as part of the Finnish diabetic nephropathy (FinnDiane) Study with a mean follow-up time of 10.7 years was performed.

Is a Novel Susceptibility Gene for Diabetic Retinopathy in Type 1 Diabetes.

Diabetic retinopathy is a common diabetes complication that threatens the eyesight and may eventually lead to acquired visual impairment or blindness. While a substantial heritability has been reported for proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR), only a few genetic risk factors have been identified. Using genome-wide sib pair linkage analysis including 361 individuals with type 1 diabetes, we found suggestive evidence of linkage with PDR at chromosome 10p12 overlapping the gene (logarithm of odds = 2.

Clinical and MRI Features of Cerebral Small-Vessel Disease in Type 1 Diabetes.

Objective: To assess the prevalence of cerebral small-vessel disease (SVD) in subjects with type 1 diabetes compared with healthy control subjects and to characterize the diabetes-related factors associated with SVD.

Research Design And Methods: This substudy was cross-sectional in design and included 191 participants with type 1 diabetes and median age 40.0 years (interquartile range 33.

Prebiotic Potential and Chemical Composition of Seven Culinary Spice Extracts.

The objective of this study was to investigate prebiotic potential, chemical composition, and antioxidant capacity of spice extracts. Seven culinary spices including black pepper, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, ginger, Mediterranean oregano, rosemary, and turmeric were extracted with boiling water. Major chemical constituents were characterized by RP-HPLC-DAD method and antioxidant capacity was determined by measuring colorimetrically the extent to scavenge ABTS radical cations.

Detection of Clostridium perfringens toxin genes in the gut microbiota of autistic children.

We studied stool specimens from 33 autistic children aged 2-9 years with gastrointestinal (GI) abnormalities and 13 control children without autism and without GI symptoms. We performed quantitative comparison of all Clostridium species and Clostridium perfringens strains from the fecal microbiota by conventional, selective anaerobic culture methods. We isolated C.

Pomegranate ellagitannins stimulate the growth of Akkermansia muciniphila in vivo.

Results from our previous human pomegranate extract (POM extract) intervention study demonstrated that about seventy percent of participants were able to form urolithin A from ellagitannins in the intestine (urolithin A producers). Urolithin A formation was associated with a high proportion of Akkermansia muciniphila in fecal bacterial samples as determined by 16S rRNA sequencing. Here we investigated whether A.

Fundus Photography as a Screening Method for Diabetic Retinopathy in Children With Type 1 Diabetes: Outcome of the Initial Photography.

Purpose: To determine the success rate of the initial fundus photography session in producing gradable images for screening diabetic retinopathy in children <18 years of age with type 1 diabetes (T1D), and to analyze outcome-associated factors.

Design: Retrospective observational cohort study.

Methods: Mydriatic red-free monochromatic 60-degree digital fundus images centered on the macula and optic disc of 213 patients were graded.

Improving visual prognosis of the diabetic patients during the past 30 years based on the data of the Finnish Register of Visual Impairment.

Purpose: To evaluate changes in visual impairment (VI) due to diabetic retinopathy (DR) recorded in the Finnish Register of Visual Impairment (RVI) during the past 30 years.

Methods: Data from the visually impaired diabetic persons included in the RVI were analysed using three 10-year cohorts (1982-90, 1991-2000, 2001-10). Information on the age at the time of the first VI registration, severity of VI determined according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) definition, and the age at death was collected.

Xylooligosaccharide supplementation alters gut bacteria in both healthy and prediabetic adults: a pilot study.

Background: It has been suggested that gut microbiota is altered in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) patients.

Objective: This study was to evaluate the effect of the prebiotic xylooligosaccharide (XOS) on the gut microbiota in both healthy and prediabetic (Pre-DM) subjects, as well as impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) in Pre-DM.

Subjects/methods: Pre-DM (n = 13) or healthy (n = 16) subjects were randomized to receive 2 g/day XOS or placebo for 8-weeks.

Inability of polymerase chain reaction, pyrosequencing, and culture of infected and uninfected site skin biopsy specimens to identify the cause of cellulitis.

Background: The cause of cellulitis is unclear. Streptococcus pyogenes, and to a lesser extent, Staphylococcus aureus, are presumed pathogens.

Methods: We conducted a study of adults with acute cellulitis without drainage presenting to a US emergency department research network.

[Update on Current Care Guideline: Diabetic retinopathy].

Good treatment of diabetes decreases the risk of diabetic retinopathy. The goals of the treatment are adequate glucose balance, blood pressure and prevention of metabolic syndrome. Every patient with diabetes should regularly be screened for diabetic retinopathy.

Pomegranate extract induces ellagitannin metabolite formation and changes stool microbiota in healthy volunteers.

The health benefits of pomegranate (POM) consumption are attributed to ellagitannins and their metabolites, formed and absorbed in the intestine by the microbiota. In this study twenty healthy participants consumed 1000 mg of POM extract daily for four weeks. Based on urinary and fecal content of the POM metabolite urolithin A (UA), we observed three distinct groups: (1) individuals with no baseline UA presence but induction of UA formation by POM extract consumption (n = 9); (2) baseline UA formation which was enhanced by POM extract consumption (N = 5) and (3) no baseline UA production, which was not inducible (N = 6).