Determinants of urinary albumin excretion within the normal range in patients with type 2 diabetes: the Randomised Olmesartan and Diabetes Microalbuminuria Prevention (ROADMAP) study

In contrast to microalbuminuric type 2 diabetic patients, the factors correlated with urinary albumin excretion are less well known in normoalbuminuric patients. This may be important because even within the normoalbuminuric range, higher rates of albuminuria are known to be associated with higher renal and cardiovascular risk. At the time of screening for the Randomised Olmesartan and Diabetes Microalbuminuria Prevention (ROADMAP) Study, the urinary albumin/creatinine ratio (UACR) was 0.44 mg/mmol in 4,449 type 2 diabetic patients. The independent correlates of UACR were analysed. Independent correlates of UACR during baseline were (in descending order): night-time systolic BP (r (s) = 0.19); HbA(1c) (r (s) = 0.18); mean 24 h systolic BP (r (s) = 0.16); fasting blood glucose (r (s) = 0.16); night-time diastolic BP (r (s) = 0.12); office systolic BP, sitting (r (s) = 0.11), standing (r (s) = 0.10); estimated GFR (r (s) = 0.10); heart rate, sitting (r (s) = 0.10); haemoglobin (r (s) = -0.10); triacylglycerol (r (s) = 0.09); and uric acid (r (s) = -0.08; all p a parts per thousand currency signaEuro parts per thousand 0.001). Significantly higher albumin excretion rates were found for the following categorical variables: higher waist circumference (more marked in men); presence of the metabolic syndrome; smoking (difference more marked in males); female sex; antihypertensive treatment; use of amlodipine; insulin treatment; family history of diabetes; and family history of cardiovascular disease (more marked in women). Although observational correlations do not prove causality, in normoalbuminuric type 2 diabetic patients the albumin excretion rate is correlated with many factors that are potentially susceptible to intervention. ClinicalTrials.gov ID no.: NCT00185159 This study was sponsored by Daichii-Sankyo.Nephrolog

Transgenic Brassica chinensis plants expressing a bacterial codA gene exhibit enhanced tolerance to extreme temperature and high salinity*

Transgenic Brassica compestris L. spp. chinensis plants expressing a choline oxidase (codA) gene from Arthrobacter globiformis were obtained through Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation. In the transgenic plants, codA gene expression and its product transportation to chloroplasts were detected by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) examination, immunogold localization, and 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR). Stress tolerance was evaluated in the T3 plants under extreme temperature and salinity conditions. The plants of transgenic line 1 (L1) showed significantly higher net photosynthetic rate (P n) and P n recovery rate under high (45 °C, 4 h) and low temperature (1 °C, 48 h) treatments, and higher photosynthetic rate under high salinity conditions (100, 200, and 300 mmol/L NaCl, respectively) than the wild-type plants. The enhanced tolerance to high temperature and high salinity stresses in transgenic plants is associated with the accumulation of betaine, which is not found in the wild-type plants. Our results indicate that the introduction of codA gene from Arthrobacter globiformis into Brassica compestris L. spp. chinensis could be a potential strategy for improving the plant tolerance to multiple stresses

The dose–response effect of insulin sensitivity on albuminuria in children according to diabetes type

BACKGROUND: Insulin resistance is associated with microalbuminuria among youth with diabetes mellitus. We sought to determine the dose-response effect of insulin sensitivity (IS) on the magnitude of albuminuria and whether there is a threshold below which urine albumin excretion increases. METHODS: These analyses included participants from the SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study with incident diabetes who completed a baseline study visit (N = 2988). We estimated IS using a validated equation incorporating waist circumference, HbA1C and fasting serum triglycerides. Multivariate regression analyses were performed to assess the effect of IS on urine albumin creatinine ratio (UACR), stratified by diabetes type. The IS threshold was then determined using segmented regressions within each diabetes type and incorporated into the multivariate model. RESULTS: There was an association between IS and UACR in type 2 diabetes only (beta = −0.39; p <0.001). There was strong statistical evidence for a threshold effect of IS score on UACR in the group of youth with type 2 (beta = 0.40; p <0.001) but not type 1 diabetes (p = 0.3). CONCLUSIONS: In cross-sectional analyses, there is a negative association between IS and UACR in youth with type 2 but not type 1 diabetes, and this association likely includes a threshold effect of IS on UACR