Emirates consensus recommendations on cardiovascular risk management in type 2 diabetes.

Background: The combination of cardiovascular disease and diabetes is a highly prevalent condition in the United Arab Emirates. Development and dissemination of evidence-based regional recommendations for optimal screening, treatment and referrals of people with diabetes and high cardiovascular risk is an important priority.

Consensus Panel: An expert panel of diabetologists, endocrinologists and cardiologists from the Emirates Cardiac Society and Emirates Diabetes and Endocrine Society as well as different entities in the UAE, discussed and reviewed evidence and also a consensus report from the American Diabetes Association to formulate contextualized recommendations that could be applied for optimal management of cardiovascular risk in people with diabetes in the UAE.

Alterations in β-Cell Sphingolipid Profile Associated with ER Stress and iPLAβ: Another Contributor to β-Cell Apoptosis in Type 1 Diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) development, in part, is due to ER stress-induced β-cell apoptosis. Activation of the Ca-independent phospholipase A beta (iPLAβ) leads to the generation of pro-inflammatory eicosanoids, which contribute to β-cell death and T1D. ER stress induces iPLAβ-mediated generation of pro-apoptotic ceramides via neutral sphingomyelinase (NSMase).

Energy Metabolism and Intermittent Fasting: The Ramadan Perspective.

Intermittent fasting (IF) has been gaining popularity as a means of losing weight. The Ramadan fast (RF) is a form of IF practiced by millions of adult Muslims globally for a whole lunar month every year. It entails a major shift from normal eating patterns to exclusive nocturnal eating.

Trimester specific reference ranges for serum TSH and Free T4 among United Arab Emirates pregnant women.

Background: The American Thyroid Association (ATA) recommended the establishment of population specific reference ranges for thyroid hormones during pregnancy. Initial studies conducted in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2003 and 2004 on pregnant women published a considerably higher upper limit for thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) than that proposed by ATA. The UAE was classified as a country with mild iodine deficiency at the time of this initial study.

Indeterminate Thyroid Nodules: A Pragmatic Approach.

Background: Fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytology fails to provide a conclusive diagnosis in a subset of thyroid lesions labeled as "indeterminate" (Thy3). In this study, we aimed at ascertaining the prevalence of Thy3 thyroid nodules in a hitherto unreported ethnic group (residents of the United Arab Emirates).

Methods: We retrospectively examined 688 FNA of the thyroid performed on 584 patients.

Management of prolactinomas: a survey of physicians from the Middle East and North Africa.

Background: Prolactinomas are the commonest functional tumors of the pituitary gland. There are still controversies regarding medical therapy in specific clinical situations. Patients may be managed by different specialists in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and no data exist on patterns of clinical management.

Genetic characteristics, clinical spectrum, and incidence of neonatal diabetes in the Emirate of AbuDhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Neonatal diabetes mellitus (NDM) can be transient (TNDM) or permanent (PNDM). Data on NDM from the Gulf region are limited to few studies on PNDM.The objective of this study was to describe the genetic and clinical spectrum of NDM and estimate its incidence in AbuDhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirate (UAE).