Disparities in diabetes management by race or ethnicity in a primary care clinic in central Texas.

We determined the nature and magnitude of extant health disparities in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) by race and ethnicity. Data were abstracted from the electronic medical records and charts of all patients 18 years or older who had been diagnosed with T2DM and seen over a 1-year period in one primary care clinic. Data abstracted included patient demographics; provision of counseling on smoking cessation, diet, exercise, and home blood glucose monitoring (HBGM); health care utilization; laboratory measures; and clinical outcomes.

Provision of counseling on diabetes self-management: are there any age disparities?

Objective: To determine whether there are any age-related disparities in the frequency of provision of counseling and education for diabetes care in a large HMO in Central Texas.

Methods: EMR search from 13 primary care clinics on patients aged ≥18 years (n=1300) who had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

Results: There were no significant age differences in the frequency of provision of counseling about HBGM, diet, smoking or diabetes education.

Antifungal activity of fluconazole in combination with lovastatin and their effects on gene expression in the ergosterol and prenylation pathways in Candida albicans.

The sterol pathway in Candida albicans is the target for several classes of antifungal drugs. Intermediates in the sterol pathway are involved in ergosterol synthesis, prenylation and dolichol synthesis. This study examines gene expression of the sterol pathway in response to lovastatin, an inhibitor of HMG-CoA reductase (Hmg1p), and fluconazole, an inhibitor of 14 alpha-lanosterol demethylase (Erg11p).

Resistance mechanisms in clinical isolates of Candida albicans.

Resistance to azole antifungals continues to be a significant problem in the common fungal pathogen Candida albicans. Many of the molecular mechanisms of resistance have been defined with matched sets of susceptible and resistant clinical isolates from the same strain. Mechanisms that have been identified include alterations in the gene encoding the target enzyme ERG11 or overexpression of efflux pump genes including CDR1, CDR2, and MDR1.