1,720,998 research outputs found
Phenotype of insulin-dependent diabetes in chronic undernutrition: beta cell stress and immune dysfunction—a rural sub-Saharan perspective on type 5 diabetes
No full textIn economically developed countries most lean individuals presenting with insulin-dependent diabetes have autoimmune type 1 diabetes. However, in many rural areas of low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), 40–50% of individuals with a similar clinical presentation are negative for diabetes-associated autoantibodies at initial clinical presentation. The phenotype differs from the classical presentation of type 1 diabetes even in those with evidence of an autoimmune process: altered autoantibody profile; later peak age of onset; and, in those with post-pubertal clinical presentation, more marked male predominance. The incidence of insulin-dependent diabetes in LMIC is low, even when assessing those with and without autoantibodies together. A framework of possible pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the observed phenotypic differences is presented to explain how chronic undernutrition and micronutrient deficiencies might alter the presentation of insulin-dependent diabetes. Inhabitants of rural sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) depend almost entirely on staple foods grown locally in nutrient-deficient soil. The resulting chronic undernutrition, often intergenerational, affects linear growth and body morphology, and has direct immune and non-immune effects on beta cell development and function. Undernutrition directly affects thymic function, alters the autoimmune profile and is often associated with social deprivation and parasitic infection, both of which can delay and modify the (auto)immune response. Non-immune effects of undernutrition include beta cell stress, associated with apoptosis and formation of neoantigens. That environmental effects of undernutrition and social deprivation affect the altered insulin-dependent diabetes phenotype is shown by the movement back towards a classical type 1 diabetes phenotype in offspring of emigrants from SSA who are born in and develop insulin-dependent diabetes in an economically developed country. The degree of phenotype change depends on how long the parents have lived in their adopted country. It has recently been proposed that insulin-dependent diabetes in those who are mal/undernourished be called type 5 diabetes. There is need for clinician recognition of the altered phenotype(s) of insulin-dependent diabetes resulting from chronic undernutrition in rural LMIC. Additionally, changes in agricultural practice are needed to improve the nutrient content of food consumed by the rural population.<br/
Type 1 diabetes mellitus in the context of high levels of rural deprivation: differences in demographic and anthropometric characteristics between urban and rural cases in NW Ethiopia
No full textBackground: While there is increasing evidence for an altered clinical phenotype of Type 1 diabetes in several low-and middle-income countries, little is known about urban-rural differences and how the greater poverty of rural environments may alter the pattern of disease. Objective: Investigation of urban-rural differences in demographic and anthropometric characteristics of type 1 diabetes in a resource-poor setting. Research design and methods: Analysis of a unique case register, comprising all patients (rural and urban) presenting with Type 1 diabetes over a 20 yr. period in a poor, geographically defined area in northwest Ethiopia. The records included age, sex, place of residence, together with height and weight at the clinical onset. Results: A total of 1682 new cases of Type 1 diabetes were registered with a mean age of onset of 31.2 (SD 13.4) yr. The patients were thin with 1/3 presenting with a body mass index (BMI) <17kg/m
2. There was a striking male predominance of cases when clinical onset was between 20 and 35 yr., this was more marked in the very poor rural dwellers compared to the urban population. While most patients with Type 1 diabetes presented with low BMIs and reduced height, stunting preferentially affected rural men. Conclusions: These data have led to the hypothesis that complex interactions among poor socioeconomic conditions in early life affect both pancreatic function and the development of autoimmunity and provide a possible explanation of the unusual phenotype of Type 1 diabetes in this very poor community.</p
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Type 1 Diabetes in a Resource-Poor Setting: Malnutrition Related, Malnutrition Modified, or Just Diabetes?
No full textPURPOSE OF REVIEW: Very little is known about the occurrence of type 1 diabetes (T1DM) in resource-poor countries and particularly in their rural hinterlands.RECENT FINDINGS: Studies of the epidemiology of T1DM in Ethiopia and similar countries in sub-Saharan Africa show that the pattern of presenting disease differs substantially from that in the West. Typically, the peak age of onset of the disease is more than a decade later with a male excess and a low prevalence of indicators of islet-cell autoimmunity. It is also associated with markers of undernutrition. These findings raise the question as to whether the principal form of T1DM seen in these resource-poor communities has a different pathogenesis. Whether the disease is a direct result of malnutrition or whether malnutrition may modify the expression of islet-cell autoimmunity is unclear. However, the poor prognosis in these settings underlines the urgent need for detailed clinical and epidemiological studies.</p
The “Cairo Accord”- Towards the Eradication of RHD: An Update
Full text linkRheumatic heart disease (RHD) is the most common cause of acquired heart disease in children and young adults. It continues to be prevalent in many low- and middle-income countries where it causes significant morbidity and mortality. Following the 2017 Cairo conference “Rheumatic Heart Disease: from Molecules to the Global Community,” experts from 21 countries formulated an approach for addressing the problem of RHD: “The Cairo Accord on Rheumatic Heart Disease.” The Accord attempts to set policy priorities for the eradication of acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and RHD and builds on a recent series of policy initiatives and calls to action. We present an update on the recommendations of the Cairo Accord and discuss recent progress toward the eradication of RHD, including contributions from our own Aswan Rheumatic Heart Disease Registry (ARGI)
Scaling up noncommunicable disease care in a resource-limited context: lessons learned and implications for policy
No full textBACKGROUND: Although primary care models for the care of common non-communicable diseases (NCD) have been developed in sub-Saharan Africa, few have described an integrated, decentralized approach at the community level. We report the results of a four-year, Ethiopian project to expand this model of NCD care to 15 primary hospitals and 45 health centres encompassing a wide geographical spread and serving a population of approximately 7.5 million people.METHODS: Following baseline assessment of the 60 sites, 30 master trainers were used to cascade train a total of 621 health workers in the diagnosis, management and health education of the major common NCDs identified in a scoping review (hypertension, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease and epilepsy). Pre- and post-training assessments and regular mentoring visits were carried out to assess progress and remedy supply or equipment and medicines shortages and establish reporting systems. The project was accompanied by a series of community engagement activities to raise awareness and improve health seeking behaviour.RESULTS: A total of 643,296 people were screened for hypertension and diabetes leading to a new diagnosis in 24,313 who were started on treatment. Significant numbers of new cases of respiratory disease (3,986) and epilepsy (1,925) were also started on treatment. Mortality rates were low except among patients with hypertension in the rural health centres where 311 (10.2%) died during the project. Loss to follow up (LTFU), defined as failure to attend clinic for > 6 months despite reminders, was low in the hospitals but represented a significant problem in the urban and rural health centres with up to 20 to 30% of patients with hypertension or diabetes absenting from treatment by the end of the project. Estimates of the population disease burden enrolled within the project, however, were disappointing; asthma (0.49%), hypertension (1.7%), epilepsy (3.3%) and diabetes (3.4%).CONCLUSION: This project demonstrates the feasibility of scaling up integrated NCD services in a variety of locations, with fairly modest costs and a methodology that is replicable and sustainable. However, the relatively small gain in the detection and treatment of common NCDs highlights the huge challenge in making NCD services available to all.</p
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Predicting cardiovascular risk factors from plasma cortisol measured during oral glucose tolerance tests
No full textIncreasing evidence suggests that activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis may contribute to the pathogenesis of the metabolic syndrome and obesity. The mechanisms are unknown but may involve alterations in the metabolic responses to feeding that interact with the HPA axis. As it is known that plasma cortisol falls during an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), changes in cortisol measured during an OGTT may be altered in the metabolic syndrome. We measured changes in plasma cortisol during OGTTs in a large study of 593 men and women to determine correlates of changes in cortisol with features of the metabolic syndrome and the extent to which these relationships are confounded by obesity. In men and women, higher cortisol area under the curve (AUC) during the OGTT was associated with higher glucose AUC and higher systolic blood pressure. Higher cortisol AUC was associated with reduced insulin increment in men, but higher 2-hour insulin and insulin AUC in women. However, the decline in plasma cortisol after glucose administration was poorly predictive of features of the metabolic syndrome. Obesity was associated with lower cortisol AUC but not with percentage decline in cortisol. Plasma cortisol and obesity had independent effects on plasma glucose and were the strongest predictors of plasma glucose in multiple regression analysis. Measurements of plasma cortisol during the OGTT reinforce the previously observed relationships of activation of the HPA axis in the metabolic syndrome. However, the altered HPA response to feeding does not appear to be primarily responsible for HPA activation in subjects with the metabolic syndrome
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