Insulin resistance is a heterogenous condition with high prevalence in medical practice. As diabesity reaches epidemic levels worldwide, the role of insulin resistance is getting great importance. Contribution of risk factors like sedentary lifestyle, diets high in saturated fats and refined carbohydrates leads to this state with significant consequences. Besides its role in diabetes, insulin resistance is also associated with other several endocrine diseases, having not only a role in their development, but also to their treatment approach, evolution and even prognosis. The present review summarizes the current literature on the clinical significance of insulin resistance, as well as the possible underlying mechanisms and treatment options in order to achieve a high quality of life of these categories of patients. Deepening the role of inflammatory cytokines involved in insulin resistance paves the way for future research findings in this continuously evolving field.
Tag Archives: type 2 diabetes
Prevalence of Depression, Anxiety and Cognitive Impairment in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes from the Central Part of Romania
Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of depression, anxiety and cognitive impairment in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D).
Material and methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study in patients with T2D. Depression and anxiety were assessed by questionnaires (PHQ-9, CES-D and GAD-7 respectively), cognitive function by the MoCA test. Additionally, 503 patients’ clinic charts were separately analyzed in order to compare the data recorded in the charts with that resulted from the active assessment.
Results: In the screening study 216 subjects with T2D were included (62.2 ± 7.8 years old). 34.3% of them had depression and 7.4% presented major depression. 44.9% of patients with T2D had anxiety (9.2% major anxiety) and this was highly correlated with depression (OR: 21.139, 95%CI: 9.767-45.751; p<0.0001). Women had significantly higher prevalence of depression and anxiety compared to men (42.1% vs. 21.7%; p: 0.0021 and 51.1% vs. 34.9%; p: 0.02), but severe depression was similar between genders (9.0% vs. 4.8%; p: 0.29). Significantly more patients had depression and anxiety than recorded in their charts (34.3% vs. 13.9% and 44.9% vs. 9.3%,respectively; p<0.0001 for both). 69.0% of T2D patients had mild, 6.0% had moderate and none had severe cognitive dysfunction, respectively. Significantly more patients with depression and anxiety had mild and moderate cognitive impairment (p: 0.03 and p: 0.04, respectively).
Conclusions: Patients with T2D had a high prevalence of comorbid depression, anxiety and cognitive impairment. Depression and anxiety were significantly more frequent in women. These conditions were under-evaluated and/or under-reported.
Arylsulfatase A: An Important Metabolic Factor in Pathophysiology of Different Diseases
Arylsulfatase A (ARSA) is a lysosomal enzyme that plays an important role in catalysis of degradation of cerebrosidesulphate. The deficiency of this lysosomal enzyme causes an autosomal recessive disorder, called metachromatic leucodystrophy. However, a low ARSA activity can be observed in clinically healthy people, called ARSA pseudodeficiency. In our study we investigated the possible linkage between ARSA activity and sulfatide deficiency causing characteristic aspects of degenerative diseases, such as end stage kidney disease, type 2 Diabetes mellitus, Parkinson syndrome, prostate cancer and HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) infection. We used a spectrophotometric method to determine the activity of ARSA. This method of enzyme dosage is based on a 4 hour long hydrolysis of the ARSA enzyme on 4-nitrocatechol sulfate (p-NCS) substrate. The unit of this measurement is nmol/ml/4h. Our findings show significant values in type 2 diabetes, Parkinson syndrome and chronic kidney disease. The importance of sulfatide in these diseases is well-known, thus presumably the variation of the ARSA’s activity might play an important role in the pathophysiology of these diseases, involving a vicious cycle between sulfatide degradation andthese diseases.