Gastric Bypass May Lead To Better Rate Of Diabetes Remission.

MedPage Today  (6/13, Kaiser) reports, "Although two bariatric surgery techniques resulted in similar weight loss, the one that shaved more belly fat led to a better rate of diabetes remission," according to research presented at the American Diabetes Association meeting. "Moderately obese patients with uncontrolled diabetes who underwent Roux-en-Y gastric bypass or sleeve gastrectomy had similar weight loss as judged by their body mass index (BMI) at two years: 27.4 versus 28.2 kg/m2," the study found. However, there was a "significantly larger decrease in abdominal fat by those who had bypass surgery, compared with sleeve gastrectomy (15.9% versus 10.1%)," researchers reported.

Sleep Apnea May Hasten Kidney-Function Decline In CKD.

MedWire  (6/13, Cowen) reports, "Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are commonly exposed to nocturnal hypoxia that may increase the rate of decline in kidney function," according to a study  published in the June issue of the journal Chest. The 254-patient study revealed that "nocturnal hypoxia occurs as a result of unrecognized sleep apnea, which was detected in over 40% of patients with CKD." Notably, "the prevalence of nocturnal hypoxia was similar between patients with CKD and ESRD (47% and 48%, respectively), and was significantly higher than among those with an eGFR ≥60 mL/min per 1.73 m2 (16%)."

Artificial pancreas devices promising for treatment of diabetes.

The Los Angeles Times (6/12, Bardin) "Booster Shots" blog reported, "Animas is one of several companies and academic research groups presenting promising results from artificial pancreas studies at the" American Diabetes Association meeting. "Just last week, Medtronic Inc. filed an application with the FDA seeking approval of its own device that shuts off insulin administration if the user's blood sugar gets too low. The device is already approved in 50 countries, and if it's approved in the US, it could pave the way for a new wave of tools to manage diabetes like the one Animas is developing, said Aaron Kowalski, assistant vice president for research at the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation."

Bortezomib May Benefit Patients With Treatment-Resistant Lupus.

MedPage Today  (6/12, Gever) reports, "Patients with treatment-resistant lupus showed dramatic improvement when they received the myeloma drug bortezomib (Velcade), a researcher said" at the European League Against Rheumatism's annual meeting. Between one and "four courses of bortezomib treatment of 13 patients with refractory systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) led to marked reductions in symptom scores and anti-dsDNA antibodies, according to Reinhard Voll, MD, of University Medical Center Freiburg in Freiburg, Germany." While "this use of bortezomib is not currently approved, Voll said it could be an option in patients who fail to improve with standard immunosuppressant-based treatment."

Statins May Be Linked To Reduced Energy Levels.

Reuters  (6/12, Joelving) reports that, according to a study  published online June 11 in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine, statins may be linked to reduced energy levels.

        On its website, ABC News  (6/12, Feng) reports, "In a randomized clinical trial, researchers at the University of California at San Diego evaluated 1,016 patients who received either a low-dose statin or placebo. The patients initially reported their energy level and fatigue on exertion at baseline."

        HealthDay  (6/12, Mozes) reports, "Patients on either of the two statins were found to be much more likely than those taking a sugar pill to experience either or both types of energy loss." Participants taking "Zocor [simvastatin]...however, appeared to face a greater risk for fatigue. Zocor achieved a much bigger drop in LDL levels than Pravachol [pravastatin], the study also found."

        HeartWire  (6/12, Hughes) reports, "The authors also point out that there was a significant relation between the reduced energy reported and actual activity, which could in turn lead to an increase in cardiovascular clinical events."

        Statin Use May Be Linked To Accelerated Plaque Progression. MedPage Today  (6/12, Kaiser) reports, "War veterans with diabetes and advanced coronary heart disease who regularly took statins had accelerated progression of calcification," according to a study presented at the American Diabetes Association. Researchers found that "participants who were frequent statin users had significantly more coronary plaque advancement than those who were less frequent users (P<0.001)." The investigators reported that "the results remained the same even after adjusting for age, duration of diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular events, baseline coronary artery calcium, race and ethnicity, blood pressure, total cholesterol/high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and body mass index."

Liquid injections may not help to treat knee osteoarthritis.

The Washington Post (6/12, Searing) reports that a new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine suggests that fluid injections known as viscosupplementation may not be helpful in treating knee osteoarthritis. The study found that "during a follow-up period of about four months, people who had viscosupplementation reported slightly less pain than the others, though the decrease was described as 'clinically irrelevant.' No improvement was found in use of the knee."

        Reuters (6/12, Norton) notes that the researchers also observed that the injections also may carry side effects such as swelling and inflammation of the joint shortly after treatment.

        Medscape (6/12, Kelly) adds that "the reviewers also found that viscosupplementation was associated with an increase in risk for flare-ups that was not statistically significant, as well as with a significantly increased risk for serious adverse events. The most common adverse events were related to the gastrointestinal system, cardiovascular system, cancer, and musculoskeletal system." The researchers wrote that "because of increased risks for serious adverse events and local adverse events, the administration of these preparations should be discouraged." The CNN (6/12, Hagan) "The Chart" blog also covers this story.

Fear of being uninsurable may deter kidney donations.

The New York Times (6/12, Rabin) "Well" blog reports, "There is little data on how often kidney donors have trouble obtaining insurance, but advocates say the fear of being uninsurable may be a powerful deterrent to donation. A 2006 study done by an advocacy organization for transplant professionals found that 39 percent of transplant centers reported that they had had eligible donors who declined to donate because they feared having future insurance problems." Notably, a "review study published in 2007 by Canadian researchers found that as many as 11 percent of [kidney donors] have encountered problems with life and health insurance coverage."