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Obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus are world-wide health problems, and lack of understanding of their linking mechanism is one reason for limited treatment options. We determined if genetic deletion of vimentin, a type 3 intermediate filament, affects obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus.
We fed vimentin-null (
We concluded that vimentin deficiency prevents obesity and insulin resistance in mice fed an HFD and suggest vimentin as a central mediator linking obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus.
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Skeletal muscle is the largest tissue in the human body, and it plays a major role in exerting force and maintaining metabolism homeostasis. The role of muscle transcription factors in the regulation of metabolism is not fully understood. MondoA is a glucose-sensing transcription factor that is highly expressed in skeletal muscle. Previous studies suggest that MondoA can influence systemic metabolism homeostasis. However, the function of MondoA in the skeletal muscle remains unclear.
We generated muscle-specific MondoA knockout (MAKO) mice and analyzed the skeletal muscle morphology and glycogen content. Along with skeletal muscle from MAKO mice, C2C12 myocytes transfected with small interfering RNA against MondoA were also used to investigate the role and potential mechanism of MondoA in the development and glycogen metabolism of skeletal muscle.
MAKO caused muscle fiber atrophy, reduced the proportion of type II fibers compared to type I fibers, and increased the muscle glycogen level. MondoA knockdown inhibited myoblast proliferation, migration, and differentiation by inhibiting the phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN)/phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway. Further mechanistic experiments revealed that the increased muscle glycogen in MAKO mice was caused by thioredoxin-interacting protein (TXNIP) downregulation, which led to upregulation of glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4), potentially increasing glucose uptake.
MondoA appears to mediate mouse myofiber development, and MondoA decreases the muscle glycogen level. The findings indicate the potential function of MondoA in skeletal muscle, linking the glucose-related transcription factor to myogenesis and skeletal myofiber glycogen metabolism.
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Low-dose persistent organic pollutants (POPs), especially organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), have emerged as a new risk factor of many chronic diseases. As serum concentrations of POPs in humans are mainly determined by both their release from adipose tissue to circulation and their elimination from circulation, management of these internal pathways may be important in controlling the serum concentrations of POPs. As habitual physical activity can increase the elimination of POPs from circulation, we evaluated whether chronic physical activity is related to low serum POP concentrations.
A cross-sectional study of 1,850 healthy adults (age ≥20 years) without cardio-metabolic diseases who participated in the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999 to 2004 was conducted. Information on moderate or vigorous leisure-time physical activity was obtained based on questionnaires. Serum concentrations of OCPs and polychlorinated biphenyls were investigated as typical POPs.
Serum concentrations of OCPs among physically active subjects were significantly lower than those among physically inactive subjects (312.8 ng/g lipid vs. 538.0 ng/g lipid,
Physical activity may assist in decreasing serum concentrations of lipophilic chemical mixtures such as OCPs.
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To investigate the performance of the 2013 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Pooled Cohort Equations (PCE) in a large, prospective, community-based cohort in Korea and to compare it with that of the Framingham Global Cardiovascular Disease Risk Score (FRS-CVD) and the Korean Risk Prediction Model (KRPM).
In the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study (KOGES)-Ansan and Ansung study, we evaluated calibration and discrimination of the PCE for non-Hispanic whites (PCE-WH) and for African Americans (PCE-AA) and compared their predictive abilities with the FRS-CVD and the KRPM.
The present study included 7,932 individuals (3,778 men and 4,154 women). The PCE-WH and PCE-AA moderately overestimated the risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) for men (6% and 13%, respectively) but underestimated the risk for women (−49% and −25%, respectively). The FRS-CVD overestimated ASCVD risk for men (91%) but provided a good risk prediction for women (3%). The KRPM underestimated ASCVD risk for men (−31%) and women (−31%). All the risk prediction models showed good discrimination in both men (C-statistic 0.730 to 0.735) and women (C-statistic 0.726 to 0.732). Recalibration of the PCE using data from the KOGES-Ansan and Ansung study substantially improved the predictive accuracy in men.
In the KOGES-Ansan and Ansung study, the PCE overestimated ASCVD risk for men and underestimated the risk for women. The PCE-WH and the FRS-CVD provided an accurate prediction of ASCVD in men and women, respectively.
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Diabetes mellitus is associated with an increased risk of dementia. We aimed to comprehensively analyze the incidence and risk factors for dementia and young-onset dementia (YOD) in diabetic patients in Korea using the National Health Insurance Service data.
Between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2012, a total of 1,917,702 participants with diabetes were included and followed until the date of dementia diagnosis or until December 31, 2015. We evaluated the incidence and risk factors for all dementia, Alzheimer's disease (AD), and vascular dementia (VaD) by Cox proportional hazards analyses. We also compared the impact of risk factors on the occurrence of YOD and late-onset dementia (LOD).
During an average of 5.1 years of follow-up, the incidence of all types of dementia, AD, or VaD was 9.5, 6.8, and 1.3/1,000 person-years, respectively, in participants with diabetes. YOD comprised 4.8% of all dementia occurrence, and the ratio of AD/VaD was 2.1 for YOD compared with 5.5 for LOD. Current smokers and subjects with lower income, plasma glucose levels, body mass index (BMI), and subjects with hypertension, dyslipidemia, vascular complications, depression, and insulin treatment developed dementia more frequently. Vascular risk factors such as smoking, hypertension, and previous cardiovascular diseases were more strongly associated with the development of VaD than AD. Low BMI and a history of stroke or depression had a stronger influence on the development of YOD than LOD.
The optimal management of modifiable risk factors may be important for preventing dementia in subjects with diabetes mellitus.
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The link of diabetes with co-occurring disorders in the brain involves complex and multifactorial pathways. Genetically engineered rodents that express familial Alzheimer's disease-associated mutant forms of amyloid precursor protein and presenilin 1 (
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Mitochondrial function is crucial for the maintenance of cellular homeostasis under physiological and stress conditions. Thus, chronic exposure to environmental chemicals that affect mitochondrial function can have harmful effects on humans. We argue that the concept of hormesis should be revisited to explain the non-linear responses to mitochondrial toxins at a low-dose range and develop practical methods to protect humans from the negative effects of mitochondrial toxins. Of the most concern to humans are lipophilic chemical mixtures and heavy metals, owing to their physical properties. Even though these chemicals tend to demonstrate no safe level in humans, a non-linear dose-response has been also observed. Stress response activation, i.e., hormesis, can explain this non-linearity. Recently, hormesis has reemerged as a unifying concept because diverse stressors can induce similar stress responses. Besides potentially harmful environmental chemicals, healthy lifestyle interventions such as exercise, calorie restriction (especially glucose), cognitive stimulation, and phytochemical intake also activate stress responses. This conceptual link can lead to the development of practical methods that counterbalance the harm of mitochondrial toxins. Unlike chemical hormesis with its safety issues, the activation of stress responses via lifestyle modification can be safely used to combat the negative effects of mitochondrial toxins.
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Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is associated with an increased risk for dementia. The effects of hypoglycemia on dementia are controversial. Thus, we evaluated whether hypoglycemia increases the risk for dementia in senior patients with T2DM.
We used the Korean National Health Insurance Service Senior cohort, which includes >10% of the entire senior population of South Korea. In total, 5,966 patients who had ever experienced at least one episode of hypoglycemia were matched with those who had not, using propensity score matching. The risk of dementia was assessed through a survival analysis of matched pairs.
Patients with underlying hypoglycemic events had an increased risk for all-cause dementia, Alzheimer's dementia (AD), and vascular dementia (VaD) compared with those who had not experienced a hypoglycemic event (hazard ratio [HR], 1.254; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.166 to 1.349;
Our findings suggest that patients with a history of hypoglycemia have a higher risk for dementia. This trend was similar for AD and VaD, the two most important subtypes of dementia.
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Diabetes mellitus (DM) is the most common chronic metabolic disorder with an increasing prevalence worldwide. According to a previous study, physicians' treatment patterns or patients' behaviors change when they become aware of the risk for cardiovascular (CV) disease in patients with DM. However, there exist controversial reports from previous studies in the impact of physicians' behaviors on the patients' quality of life (QoL) improvements. So we investigate the changes in QoL according to physicians and patients' behavioral changes after the awareness of CV risks in patients with type 2 DM.
Data were obtained from a prospective, observational study where 799 patients aged ≥40 years with type 2 DM were recruited at 24 tertiary hospitals in Korea. Changes in physicians' behaviors were defined as changes in the dose/type of antihypertensive, lipid-lowering, and anti-platelet therapies within 6-month after the awareness of CV risks in patients. Changes in patients' behaviors were based on lifestyle modifications. Audit of Diabetes Dependent Quality of Life comprising 19-life-domains was used.
The weighted impact score change for local or long-distance journey (
This study demonstrates that changes in physicians' behaviors, as a result of perceiving CV risks, improve QoL in some domains of life in DM patients. Physicians should recognize the importance of understanding CV risks and implement appropriate management.
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There is limited information regarding the optimal third-line therapy for managing type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) that is inadequately controlled using dual combination therapy. This study assessed the efficacy and safety of pioglitazone or glimepiride when added to metformin plus alogliptin treatment for T2DM.
This multicenter, randomized, active-controlled trial (
Glycosylated hemoglobin levels exhibited similar significant decreases in both groups during the treatment period (pioglitazone: −0.81%,
Among patients with T2DM inadequately controlled using metformin plus alogliptin, the addition of pioglitazone provided comparable glycemic control and various benefits (improvements in lipid profiles, insulin resistance, and hypoglycemia risk) relative to the addition of glimepiride.
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