T2D measures better with regular GP contact
For people with type 2 diabetes (T2D), regular contact with a GP is associated with higher levels of monitoring tests and a greater likelihood of recording HbA1c results within a healthy range, Australian research shows
An observational longitudinal cohort study using data from almost 23,000 patients with T2D and 193 Australian general found that those with more regular GP visits were less likely to miss out on HbA1c test underuse ( as defined by going 8 months without test). The patient group with most regular GP contact had significantly reduced odds of HbA1c underuse (OR 0.74) but increased odds of HbA1c overuse (two tests within 80 days, OR 1.20) compared to others.
Patients with more regular GP contact also had a modest but non-significant likelihood of having HbA1c measures within the target range (6.5% (47.5 mmol/mol)–7.5% (58.5 mmol/mol)), according to researcher from Curtin University, Perth.
Their study is published in BMJ Open
Fast-acting insulin maintain glycaemic control after exercise
Glucose control after exercise is similar with fast-acting insulin aspart (FiAsp) compared to insulin aspart in people with type 1 diabetes using a patients using a second generation
closed-loop (CL) system, Victorian researchers have shown.
A study led by Dr David Norman O’Neal, MD, an endocrinologist at St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, compared FiAsp versus insulin aspart during medium and high intensity exercise in 16 patients using the MiniMed Advanced hybrid CL system.
They found that in the 24 hours after exercise, the median time in range (TIR, 3.9–10.0 mM) was >81%, time in hypoglycaemia (<3.9 mM) was <4%, and time in hyperglycaemia (>10 mM) was <17% for both exercise conditions and insulin formations, with no significant differences between insulins.
The TIR approached 100% for all conditions in the 2 hours post-exercise and overnight, the researcher reported in Diabetes Technology and Therapeutics.
‘Wonder gas’ may be new treatment for diabetic foot ulcers
A novel aqueous gas-releasing formulation developed by University of South Australia scientists may be an option to treat antimicrobial-resistant bacterial infections in diabetic foot ulcers.
Enhancing cold plasma ionised gas with peracetic acid eradicates bacteria in wounds they report in a paper published in Applied Physics Letters.
UniSA physicist Dr Endre Szili, in collaboration UK researchers, developed a process that generates an aqueous-based antimicrobial formulation comprising a rich mixture of highly oxidizing molecules: peracetic acid, hydrogen peroxide, and other reactive oxygen and nitrogen species.
The synergistic potent oxidative action between these molecules proved to be highly effective at eradicating common wound pathogenic bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus), they reported.
Dr Szili said cold plasma was generally effective at targeting free swimming bacteria, but when antibiotic-resistant bacteria colonise a wound and form a biofilm, they are more resistant to the treatment. Combining the plasma with acetyl donor molecules (ADMs) generates hydrogen peroxide and releases peracetic acid which kills resistant bacteria through a multipronged action.
The technology using plasma without the ADMs killed the first bacteria but had minimal effect on golden staph. The combined treatment eradicated both bacteria.
“This is very significant for diabetic patients who have foot ulcers that are hard to heal,”said Dr Szili, who added that the formulation could be captured in a cream or gel, an aerosol, or a wound dressing.
The latter option is now being trialled with vascular surgeon Professor Rob Fitridge at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and Queen Elizabeth Hospital.