Glycemic control and adherence to basal insulin therapy in Taiwanese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Aims/introduction: The aim of the present study was to assess the glycemic control, adherence and treatment satisfaction in a real-world setting with basal insulin therapy in type 2 diabetes patients in Taiwan.

Materials And Methods: This was a multicenter, prospective, observational registry. A total of 836 patients with type 2 diabetes taking oral antidiabetic drugs with glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) >7% entered the study.

Volume changes in remnant thyroid tissue after thyroidectomy in Graves disease.

Background/purpose: Surgery is one of the treatment choices for Graves disease. The residual thyroid tissue may shrink or become larger. The object of this study was trying to find out what factors affect the residual thyroid gland volume change after thyroidectomy in Graves disease.

Correlation of Circulating Acid-Labile Subunit Levels with Insulin Sensitivity and Serum LDL Cholesterol in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: Findings from a Prospective Study with Rosiglitazone.

Silencing of acid-labile subunit (ALS) improved glucose metabolism in animal models. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of rosiglitazone (RSG) on ALS levels in individuals with type 2 diabetes. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted.

Safety and efficacy of twice-daily exenatide in Taiwanese patients with inadequately controlled type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Background/purpose: Exenatide has been predominantly studied in non-Asian populations. The purpose of this study was to investigate the safety and efficacy of twice-daily (BID) exenatide versus placebo in a subpopulation of Taiwanese patients from a larger study on Asian patients.

Methods: Patients unable to achieve glycemic control with metformin alone or metformin in combination with sulfonylurea were randomly assigned to self-administer either 5 μg exenatide or placebo BID for 4 weeks, then 10 μg exenatide or placebo BID for an additional 12 weeks, in addition to their regular oral therapy.

A misdiagnosed Riedel's thyroiditis successfully treated by thyroidectomy and tamoxifen.

Riedel's thyroiditis, known as invasive fibrous thyroiditis, is a very rare form of chronic thyroiditis. It is hard to make the diagnosis without surgical biopsy. We present a case of Riedel's thyroiditis in a 52-year-old female with past history of Hashimoto's thyroiditis.

Inertia on hypoglycemia: highlight from a Taiwan subgroup analysis of Real-Life Effectiveness and Care Patterns of Diabetes Management (RECAP-DM) study.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a global health issue. Patients with poor glycemic control often suffer from cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, neuropathic, and nephropathic complications as well as other chronic conditions. Therapeutic guidelines recommend that diabetic patients should maintain their HbA(1c) level below a certain target in order to minimize the risk of developing complications.

Metabolic outcome for diabetes shared care program outpatients in a veterans hospital of southern Taiwan.

Background: To evaluate the metabolic outcomes of the Diabetes Shared Care Program (DSCP) for Type 2 diabetes after completion of 1 year and 3 years of intervention.

Methods: Total 162 Type 2 diabetes (average age 67.14 years with 62.

Justifying the high prevalence of microalbuminuria for type 2 diabetic patients in Taiwan with conditional probability approach--a DEMAND II study.

Background: To examine the prevalence of microalbuminuria (MAU) and chronic kidney disease as well as the correlation between MAU and renal and cardiovascular risks of Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients for public health policy making in Taiwan.

Methods: This was a multicenter, hospital-based, randomly selected, and cross-sectional study. T2DM patients aged 18-80 years without a known diagnosis of proteinuria were eligible.

Neck ultrasound for prediction of right nonrecurrent laryngeal nerve.

Background: Nonrecurrent laryngeal nerve (NRLN) is 1 of the important causes for nerve damage during neck surgery. The anomaly is almost associated with congenital vascular abnormally. Most neck vascular anomalies can be detected by ultrasound.

Amiodarone-induced thyrotoxicosis in a patient with autonomously functioning nodular goiter.

Objective: To report on adverse reactions associated with amiodarone and propylthiouracil.

Case Summary: A 64-year-old female with atrial fibrillation and nodular goiter progressed to overt thyrotoxicosis after receiving therapy with amiodarone 200 mg/day for less than 12 weeks. Thyroid scan revealed a hyperfunctioning nodule in the left lobe, while immunologic studies were negative for both thyroid peroxidase and thyroglobulin antibodies.

Efficacy and safety of exenatide in patients of Asian descent with type 2 diabetes inadequately controlled with metformin or metformin and a sulphonylurea.

Aims: To evaluate the efficacy of exenatide in Asian patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) inadequately controlled with oral agents.

Methods: Patients taking metformin (MET) alone or with a sulphonylurea (SU) were randomly assigned to exenatide 5 microg then 10 microg twice-daily for 4 and 12 weeks, respectively, or placebo. The primary endpoint was baseline to endpoint HbA(1c) change.

Tumor-associated Hypercalcemia in a patient with Paget's disease.

Paget's disease of the bone, which is characterized by a focal region of highly exaggerated bone remodeling, is very rare in Asia. Most patients with Paget's disease are asymptomatic; they are normocalcemic and show elevated alkaline phosphatase levels. Hypercalcemia in patients with Paget's disease has rarely been reported.

Decrease in inflammatory cardiovascular risk markers in hyperlipidemic diabetic patients treated with fenofibrate.

The goal was to investigate the effect of micronized fenofibrate, a hypolipidemic drug, on inflammatory markers and proinsulin in patients with type 2 diabetes who had hyperlipidemia. Thirty-nine patients were treated with micronized fenofibrate (200 mg/day for 12 wk). Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), fibrinogen, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs CRP), and proinsulin levels were measured at baseline and after 12 wk of therapy.

Glycopeptide-induced neutropenia: cross-reactivity between vancomycin and teicoplanin.

Objective: To report teicoplanin-related neutropenia that developed after an episode of neutropenia induced by vancomycin therapy.

Case Summary: A 57-year-old female suffered from osteomyelitis of the left humerus, with a white blood cell (WBC) count of 2.8 x 10(3)/mm3 and absolute neutrophil count (ANC) of 0.

A novel method of encapsulating and cultivating adherent mammalian cells within collagen microcarriers.

A novel method of preparing collagen microcarriers was developed and used to entrap adherent cells for cell culturing. This new technique involved seeding of cells in micro gel beads comprised of collagen fibrils dispersed in alginate. The gel beads were washed with phosphate buffered saline (PBS) to remove alginate and the resulting microspheres, about 300-500 microm in diameter, contained evenly distributed collagen fibrils which provided a 3D biomimetic environment for cell growth.

Serum C-reactive protein as a marker for wellness assessment.

C-reactive protein (CRP), a nonspecific inflammatory marker, is widely used to monitor treatment of cardiovascular diseases (high serum CRP levels indicate poor outcome of heart disease). A healthy lifestyle decreases serum CRP levels, while obesity, physical inactivity, and smoking increase them. CRP, a stable pentameric protein, has a half-life of 19 hr, is not subject to diurnal variation, and can serve as a marker of wellness and a candidate for future direct access testing for people monitoring their health after adopting a healthier lifestyle.

Hepatotoxicity associated with acarbose therapy.

Objective: To report a case of acarbose-induced hepatotoxicity and compare other reported cases from the literature.

Case Summary: A 57-year-old woman with type 2 diabetes mellitus for about 10 years had been treated with insulin glargine 20 units/day since December 19, 2002. Acarbose 100 mg 3-times-daily add-on therapy for inadequate glycemic control was started on June 5, 2003.

Hypophosphatasia in Taiwan: report of two cases.

Hypophosphatasia is a rare inherited metabolic disease characterized by rickets with reduced plasma and tissue alkaline phosphatase activity. It may be present in infancy, childhood, or adulthood. Various clinical manifestations reflect different forms of alkaline phosphatase gene expression.

Acute rhabdomyolysis associated with ofloxacin/levofloxacin therapy.

Objective: To report a case of ofloxacin/levofloxacin-induced rhabdomyolysis and to compare other reported cases from the literature.

Case Summary: A 19-year-old male patient developed ofloxacin/levofloxacin-induced rhabdomyolysis during admission for periorbital cellulitis. Symptoms of myalgia, weakness, and swelling of the arms developed after 3 days of treatment with ofloxacin 800 mg/day.

Development of hyperthyroidism following primary hypothyroidism: a case report.

Development of hyperthyroidism following primary hypothyroidism is uncommon, and only a few documented cases have been reported. Alterations in thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor antibodies in serum are currently considered to play the main role in the pathophysiology, but the exact mechanism is still unknown. Here, we report the case of a 60-year-old man with disturbed consciousness due to hyponatremia.

Spironolactone-induced agranulocytosis: a case report.

A 43-year-old woman with liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma was admitted for the chief problem of ascites. Laboratory data revealed a leukocyte count of 3.8 x 10(9)/L on the second day of admission.

Studies on the microspheres comprised of reconstituted collagen and hydroxyapatite.

Microspheres comprised of hydroxyapatite particles, dispersed in reconstituted fibrous collagen, were prepared and characterized. The hydroxyapatite particles distributed evenly throughout the collagen matrix of the microsphere. Diameters of the reconstituted collagen fibers ranged from 30 to 90 nm, and exhibited a regular banding pattern with cross-striation of 50-60 nm under transmission electron microscope, suggesting that the reconstitution of collagen was not hindered by the hydroxyapatite particulates.

Thyroxine effects on serum insulin-like growth factor I levels, anthropometric measures, and body composition in patients after thyroidectomy.

Thyroxine is an important hormone related to growth. To study the effects of thyroxine on serum levels of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), anthropometric measures, and body composition, we studied 28 patients who were receiving thyroxine therapy after thyroidectomy for well-differentiated thyroid cancer. Serum IGF-I levels decreased from 38.

Variability of clinical presentations in three cases of parathyroid carcinoma.

Parathyroid carcinoma accounts for 0.5 to 4.0% of cases of primary hyperparathyroidism.