A randomized, blinded trial of uncooked cornstarch to diminish nocturnal hypoglycemia at Diabetes Camp

Objective: To determine if uncooked cornstarch, as part of the evening snack, can avert nocturnal hypoglycemia in type 1 diabetes. Research Design and Methods: Fifty-one campers and counselors at the American Diabetes Association Camp in San Bernardino, CA were randomly assigned to receive 5 g of uncooked cornstarch as part of the 21:00 evening snack vs. a standard snack of equivalent carbohydrate content. Each snack was given for five nights and the participants and medical personnel were blinded as to assignment. Midnight and 07:00 finger stick blood glucose levels were compared with values <60 mg/dl defined as hypoglycemia and values >250 mg/dl defined as hyperglycemia. Results: There were 218 midnight and 222 07:00 values for comparison. There were six episodes of hypoglycemia at midnight and nine episodes of hypoglycemia at 07:00 for the cornstarch snack nights vs. 30 hypoglycemia episodes at midnight and 21 at 07:00 for the standard snack nights (P < 0.001 and < 0.05, respectively). There was no difference in the number of hyperglycemic events at midnight or 07:00 for the cornstarch vs. standard snack nights. At midnight, 12% of campers had hypoglycemia after the cornstarch snack vs. 46% after the standard snack (P < 0.001), and at 07:00, 16% had hypoglycemia after cornstarch vs. 26% after the standard snack (P = 0.327). Conclusions: These data suggest that uncooked cornstarch, as part of the evening snack, can diminish the nighttime and morning hypoglycemia associated with type 1 diabetes, without causing hyperglycemia.     

Pressure/flow relation in the peripheral pulmonary vascular bed in dogs: a preliminary study.

In order to test a technique for the determination of the pressure/flow relationship in the peripheral pulmonary vascular bed, the perfusion pressure changes with increasing and then decreasing flow in a small part of the lung (around 1 ml) were studied in anaesthetized supine dogs, after insertion of a specially designed double distal lumen Swan-Ganz catheter. One lumen was used for the pressure measurement, one for infusion of saline by a pump with variable flow, from 0.1 to 1.0 ml s-1. A conventional thermodilution Swan-Ganz catheter was also advanced in the pulmonary artery, to measure pressures in the pulmonary circulation as well as cardiac output. During infusion in the wedged catheter, right atrial, pulmonary arterial and balloon occlusion wedge pressures did not change. The pressure/flow curve of the occluded vascular bed showed a shape similar to that of collapsible tubes, with a pressure plateau at high flow, but this could also be due to vascular recruitment. The curve exhibited hysteresis, with a lower pressure when flow decreased. The slope of the initial part of the curve increased, on average, from 54 +/- 9 during normoxia to 91 +/- 27 mmHg s ml-1 during hypoxia (FIO2 = 0.10); this difference was not significant, but the perfusion pressure at high flow was significantly higher during hypoxia (P less than 0.05). Using blood instead of saline would allow the determination of the peripheral pulmonary vascular resistance under physiological conditions, and further work is needed to estimate the sensitivity and the reproducibility of this technique.     

Clustering patterns of LOD scores for asthma-related phenotypes revealed by a genome-wide screen in 295 French EGEA families

A genome-wide scan for asthma phenotypes was conducted in the whole sample of 295 EGEA families selected through at least one asthmatic subject. In addition to asthma, seven phenotypes involved in the main asthma physiopathological pathways were considered: SPT (positive skin prick test response to at least one of 11 allergens), SPTQ score being the number of positive skin test responses to 11 allergens, Phadiatop (positive specific IgE response to a mixture of allergens), total IgE levels, eosinophils, bronchial responsiveness (BR) to methacholine challenge and %predicted FEV(1). Four regions showed evidence for linkage (P相似文献