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Bone disease as a consequence of diabetes mellitus (DM) is not fully understood. The effects of high glucose (30 mM), high insulin (50 nM), or mannitol (30 mM; osmotic control) were evaluated on MC3T3-E1 cells (osteoblasts) in vitro. The mRNA and protein levels of parathyroid hormone (PTH) receptor (PTH1R), collagen I, RANKL, osteoprotegerin (OPG), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and glucose transporter (GLUT1) were estimated by real-time polymerase chain reaction or Western blotting. The mineralization capacity was analyzed by von Kossa staining. High glucose induced overexpression of RANKL (2×) and OPG (30×), suggesting that RANKL-induced osteoclast activity might not be a dominant mechanism of bone disease in DM, since this increase was followed by increased OPG. Collagen I increased by 12×, indicating an excess of organic matrix production. The expression of ALP decreased by 50%, indicating a deficit in mineralization capacity, confirmed by von Kossa staining. Mannitol induced similar effects as glucose suggesting that extracellular hyperosmolarity was able to stimulate organic matrix production. GLUT1 expression was not altered, and insulin did not reverse most of the effects of glucose, suggesting that glucose uptake by osteoblasts was not altered by high glucose. The data suggest that the bone fragility typical of DM is not a consequence of excessive bone reabsorption but is instead attributable to a defect in organic matrix mineralization. The heightened increase in OPG versus RANKL might cause a decrease in the bone-remodeling cycle. Osteoblasts appear to be more sensitive to extracellular hypertonicity than to the intracellular metabolic effects of hyperglycemia.

Objective: The present study investigated the prevalence of the IL-28B polymorphisms rs12979860 and rs8099917 in chronic hepatitis B patients from a case study in Eastern Amazonia., Methods: In total, 65 chronically infected HBV patients and 97 healthy subjects who were anti-HBc and anti-HBs positive (control group) were evaluated between May 2011 and December 2012. The groups of patients were designated as inactive carriers, chronic hepatitis without cirrhosis, and chronic hepatitis with cirrhosis based on clinical, pathological, biochemical, hematological, and virological variables. The patients were genotyped using quantitative real-time PCR., Results: The frequencies of the rs12979860 polymorphism were similar between the infected group (32.3% CC, 41.5% CT, and 26.2 TT) and the control population (35% CC, 47.4% CT, and 17.6% TT), and the frequencies of the rs8099917 polymorphism (7.7% GG, 35.4% GT, and 56.9% TT versus 7.2% GG, 35.1% GT, and 57.7% TT) were also similar in both groups. The associations between the rs12979860 and rs8099917 polymorphisms and the clinical manifestations were not statistically significant., Conclusion: In conclusion, these polymorphisms had a similar distribution between infected and control groups, indicating that they were not associated with susceptibility and the clinical evolution of hepatitis B in the examined population.

Control beliefs and social relationships have been individually assessed in relation to adaptation to chronic illness, although only rarely together. Further, some control scales show psychometric limitations in older adult samples. To address these concerns, a scale assessing external control was created by factor analyzing the items from Levenson's (1974) control subscales. We tested the association of external control beliefs, measured with the new formulation of items, and two social relations variables (support and strain) to well-being measures in a sample of older adults reporting osteoarthritis (OA; N = 95, 72% female). We also compared the new formulation of items to the original subscales. The Levenson measures were significantly related to life satisfaction after controlling for social relations. However, the new externality scale was a stronger correlate than the chance subscale (though not different from powerful others). Only the new scale was related to depressive symptoms once social relations were controlled. In addition, social support was significantly associated with both outcomes.