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Impaired insulin secretion following the ingestion of glucose may cause excessive levels of glucose in the blood of individuals with impaired glucose intolerance. The excess glucose would in turn cause increased insulin secretion. Thus, hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) rather than insulin resistance may cause the delay in insulin secretion in these individuals. Compared to 16 healthy individuals, 15 individuals with impaired glucose tolerance had greater concentrations of glucose in their blood after drinking a glucose solution. This was true in nonobese as well as obese individuals. The increase was due to glucose production by the liver, which in healthy individuals is normally suppressed. Glucose production by the liver was only suppressed 28% in those with glucose intolerance compared to 48% in the healthy individuals. This in turn was caused by impaired insulin secretion in the individuals with glucose intolerance, whose increase in insulin was smaller than the healthy individuals.

Purpose: To evaluate the prevalence and epidemiological characteristics of diabetic retinopathy (DR) in Slovakian patients with Type 1 and 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) in the DIARET SK study. Patients and methods: An epidemiological multi-center survey that included 4,078 adult patients (aged ≥18 years) from 51 diabetologists and 47 ophthalmologists. Data were collected from February to December 2015. Results: The final data set consisted of 4,014 patients; 3,700 were enrolled (Type 2 DM = 3,405, Type 1 DM = 295) using a quasi-random approach; 16 (Type 2 DM = 15, Type 1 DM = 1) patients in the pre-specified group had DM duration of <5 years with a history of DR while 298 patients (Type 2 DM = 204, Type 1 DM = 94) had DM duration of ≥ 20 years. The mean (standard deviation [SD]) age of patients at diagnosis for Types 2 and 1 DM was 53.4 (9.5) and 27.6 (12.9) years, respectively. The mean (SD) glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) was 7.5 (1.4) and 8.5 (1.6) in Types 2 and 1 DM patients, respectively, whereas a slightly higher proportion of patients had >11.0 HbA1c in Type 1 DM (5.8%) than Type 2 (2.0%). The mean (SD) duration of Type 2 DM was shorter compared with Type 1 (7.5 [5.2] vs 10.3 [6.9] years). In Type 2 DM patients, there were 516 (15.5%) cases of DR, 19 (0.56%) of proliferative DR (PDR), and 106 (3.11%) of diabetic macular edema (DME). In Type 1 DM patients, there were 86 (29.15%) cases of DR, 10 (3.39%) PDR, and 12 (4.07%) DME. Conclusions: In Slovakian patients with DM, the duration of disease and higher HbA1c were the most prevalent factors that contributed to the development of DR and DME. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The availability of direct oral anticoagulants has caused a paradigm shift in the management of thrombosis. Rivaroxaban and apixaban are 2 direct oral anticoagulants whose target specificity is activated factor X (FXa). However, it is still not fully understood if and how xabans impact platelet function. This observational study aimed to assess the in vitro platelet function in patients with atrial fibrillation receiving xabans. This was a single-center study quantifying platelet aggregation in 41 patients treated with apixaban or rivaroxaban by light transmission aggregometry. The thrombin receptor activating peptide (TRAP)-induced platelet aggregation was significantly lower 2 hours after taking rivaroxaban or apixaban compared to baseline value (56.15% [8.53%] vs 29.51% [12.9%]; P = .000). Moreover, concomitant use of angiotensin-converting enzyme blockers, proton pump inhibitors, and statins reduces the efficiency of xabans. The TRAP-induced platelet aggregation was reduced in patients with cardiovascular disease 2 hours after receiving xabans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a letter to the editor discussing Sweet's syndrome in a patient with squamous cell carcinoma in terminal stage of an agnogenic myeloid bone marrow metaplasia, published in January 1997 issue of "Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Vernereology."

Treatment of retroperitoneal fibrosis usually involves corticosteroids with or without other immunomodulating medications or tamoxifen.  Rituximab, a monoclonal antibody that specifically targets CD20 on the surface of B-cells, is effective in achieving complete remission of proteinuria in patients with idiopathic membranous nephropathy. We describe a case of a 45 years old man with idiopathic membranous glomerulonephritis (with proteinuria of more than 30 grams/24 hours) and simultaneously with idiopathic retroperitoneal fibrosis (with large number of cells CD20 in the histologic image). The patient did not tolerate the treatment by cyclophosphamide, and as rescue therapy, administration of rituximab was indicated with excellent effect. We recorded promptreduction of proteinuria and significant reduction of retroperitoneal fibrosis. Rituximab is effective in treatment of idiopathic retroperitonea lfibrosis with positivity of CD20 cells, as well as in treatment of idiopathic membranous glomerulonephritis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]