Plasma levels and dietary intake of minerals in patients with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease: A case-control study.

Background And Aim: Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is the primary cause of chronic kidney disease (CKD) worldwide. Altered mineral levels leading to adverse outcomes are widely reported in diabetes but limited in DKD, in the Indian scenario, hence this study was taken up to address this issue.

Methods: A hospital-based case-control study was taken up with 54 healthy controls (C) and 140 subjects with type 2 diabetes wherein 74 subjects with diabetes and CKD formed the DKD group, and 66 subjects with diabetes but no CKD formed the diabetic no-chronic kidney disease (DNCKD) group.

Telomere length and vitamin B12.

Telomeres are non-coding nucleoprotein structures consisting of a highly conserved tandem repeat DNA sequence that caps the ends of chromosomes in eukaryotes. Telomeres confer chromosomal stability, protect the genome from nucleolytic degradation, avoid aberrant recombination and improper repair, and prevent random fusion of chromosomes. The end-replication problem results in telomere shortening with every cell division, eventually leading to cellular senescence and aging.

Relative telomere length and mitochondrial DNA copy number variation with age: Association with plasma folate and vitamin B12.

Telomere attrition and mitochondrial DNA variations are implicated in the biological aging process and genomic stability can be influenced by nutritional factors. This study aims to analyze the relative telomere length (rTL) and mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtCN) in aged individuals and their association with plasma folate and vitamin B12 levels. This community-based cross-sectional study involves 428 subjects (<60 years: 242 & ≥60 years: 186).

Micronutrient intakes and status assessed by probability approach among the urban adult population of Hyderabad city in South India.

Purpose: To assess the dietary inadequacies of micronutrients and the associated factors among the apparently healthy urban adults.

Methods: This community-based cross-sectional study involved 300 urban adults (distributed into age groups: 21-40, 41-60, and > 60 years) residing in Hyderabad city, South India. Hemoglobin in whole blood, ferritin, folate, and vitamin B12 (B12) in plasma was estimated.

Circulating levels of Hsp27 in microvascular complications of diabetes: Prospects as a biomarker of diabetic nephropathy.

Aim: Heat shock protein 27 (Hsp27) is a small heat shock protein known to protect the cells from apoptosis under stress. In the present study, we determined the plasma Hsp27 levels in type 2 diabetes subjects without and with microvascular complications- diabetic retinopathy (DRe), diabetic nephropathy (DNe), and diabetic neuropathy (DNu) to understand if it could serve as a marker for these complications.

Methods: This is a hospital-based case-control study with 754 subjects including 247 controls, 195 subjects with diabetes, 123 with DRe, 80 with DNe and 109 with DNu.

Status of B-vitamins and homocysteine in diabetic retinopathy: association with vitamin-B12 deficiency and hyperhomocysteinemia.

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a common cause of blindness. Although many studies have indicated an association between homocysteine and DR, the results so far have been equivocal. Amongst the many determinants of homocysteine, B-vitamin status was shown to be a major confounding factor, yet very little is known about its relationship to DR.