OBJECTIVE -The purpose of this study was to explore the association of metabolic syndrome and each of its components with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in a general Italian elderly population. CONCLUSIONS -In this general Italian elderly population, among metabolic syndrome components, all-cause mortality is better predicted by high glucose in all subjects and in women and by low HDL cholesterol in women, whereas cardiovascular mortality is better predicted by high glucose and low HDL cholesterol in women. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Diabetes Care 32:153-159, 2009

SUMMARY BackgroundUlcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD) can cause metabolic and inflammatory alterations.

Aims: To assess the role of type 2 diabetes as a risk factor for cognitive decline among elderly people. Methods: Analyses were carried out on data from the Italian Longitudinal Study on Aging, a study on 5,632 subjects aged 65–84 years, with baseline in 1992 and follow-ups in 1996 and 2000. Results:At baseline, diabetic women had significantly worse scores on all cognitive tests compared to nondiabetic women, but did not show worsening over time, whereas men with diabetes did not show worse scores on cognitive tests at baseline compared to nondiabetic males; however, diabetes in men was associated with a risk of cognitive decline over time, particularly in attention. Higher levels of HbA_1c were associated with poorer performance on memory tests at follow-up in both sexes. Conclusion: The impact of diabetes on cognitive status might differ in older men and women, probably because of a survival effect, with a higher mortality at a younger age among diabetic men. The metabolic and cardiovascular abnormalities associated with diabetes might be responsible for the cognitive decline, at different rates and ages, in men and women. The routine assessment of diabetes complications in the elderly should include cognitive evaluation in both sexes.

The aim of this study was to assess the effects of single oral bolus of 300,000 IU Vitamin D3 on serum levels and on bone and metabolic parameters in diabetic patients. This study is a Phase IV, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, monocenter clinical trial. Thirty patients, 60 years or older, with type 2 diabetes mellitus, and diabetic foot complications, were enrolled and monitored for 24 weeks: 14 were treated with Vitamin D3 and 16 with placebo. Parameters including glucose, adiponectin, leptin, osteoprotegerin (OPG), 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D], beta-CrossLaps, osteocalcin, bone-specific isoenzyme of alkaline phosphatase, tumor necrosis factor-α and parathyroid hormone were measured at screening and baseline and 12 and 24 weeks after treatment. Analysis of covariance was used to compare treatment groups. Analysis of the data detected a significant increase in 25(OH)D serum levels both at 12 and 24 weeks with respect to baseline values only in the treated patients. Significant variations with respect to baseline values were noted in OPG (P = 0.0085) and in leptin (P = 0.0442) levels: these were lower in the placebo group at week 24 but higher in the treated group. Vitamin D3 supplementation significantly increased serum leptin and OPG levels. Further, large-scale clinical trials are warranted to confirm these results.

Weight loss obtained by LAGB in morbidly obese subjects was accompanied by triglyceride reduction, high-density lipoprotein increase, and an improvement of the atherogenic LDL profile. Triglyceride reduction, but not the extent of weight loss or dietary fatty acid modifications, is the determinant of modifications of LDL physical properties in these patients.