Current paradigms in the treatment of type 2 diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is an expanding epidemic worldwide, with recent data indicating at least 415 million adults with diabetes worldwide with an expected increase to 642 million by 2040 mainly in developing countries.

Multiple worldwide efforts are being undertaken to prevent diabetes by mitigating its risk factors– mainly obesity, reduced physical activity, increased consumption of salt, sugar and processed foods and reduced consumption of fruits and vegetables–yet these efforts are met with limited success. New approaches and medications to better improve the care of patients with established diabetes and reduce its resultant complications are being continuously developed, and these will be the focus of our current article.

Multiple studies have established the fact that early tight glycemic control reduces the risk of diabetes complications – microvascular, as well as macro vascular if initiated early in disease onset. Furthermore, addressing multiple cardiovascular risk factors, including lipids, blood pressure and anti-platelet therapy, has been shown to be crucial in the prevention of macro vascular complications.

c.+62G>A and g.-420C>G RETN Polymorphisms and the Risk of Developing Type 2 Diabetes and Obesity: Original Research on a Mexican Population and Meta-analysis

To determine the association between the c.+62G>A and g.-420C>G polymorphisms and Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) or obesity susceptibility for Mexicans. Additionally, we examined their overall effect across different populations by a systematic review. Methods: 164 Mexicans were classified as Healthy, Obese, or T2D. Genotypes were determined and associated risk for the heterozygous, homozygous, dominant, recessive, and allelic genetic models were determined by calculating the Odds Ratios (OR).

For the meta-analysis, original publications that had determined RETN polymorphisms in T2D or obese subjects were searched for in PubMed, Scopus, EBSCO, Ovid, and Wiley databases until November 2015, using the search terms: T2D, obesity, RETN, and polymorphism. Pooled ORs were computed using a random-effects or fixed-effects models.

Results: For our cohort, no associations were observed between the polymorphisms and obesity or T2D. The metaanalysis indicates an increased risk of obesity among carriers of the g.-420G allele for the heterozygous and dominant models (OR=1.33 and OR=1.30, p<0.05, respectively).

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