OBJECTIVE -The aim of this study was to assess the characteristics and care of patients with diabetes in countries with a sizable Muslim population and to study diabetes features during Ramadan and the effect of fasting.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS -This was a population-based, retrospective, transversal survey conducted in 13 countries. A total of 12,914 patients with diabetes were recruited using a stratified sampling method, and 12,243 were considered for the analysis.RESULTS -Investigators recruited 1,070 (8.7%) patients with type 1 diabetes and 11,173 (91.3%) patients with type 2 diabetes. During Ramadan, 42.8% of patients with type 1 diabetes and 78.7% with type 2 diabetes fasted for at least 15 days. Less than 50% of the whole population changed their treatment dose (approximately one-fourth of patients treated with oral antidiabetic drugs [OADs] and one-third of patients using insulin). Severe hypoglycemic episodes were significantly more frequent during Ramadan compared with other months (type 1 diabetes, 0.14 vs. 0.03 episode/month, P ϭ 0.0174; type 2 diabetes, 0.03 vs. 0.004 episode/month, P Ͻ 0.0001). Severe hypoglycemia was more frequent in subjects who changed their dose of OADs or insulin or modified their level of physical activity.CONCLUSIONS -The large proportion of both type 1 and type 2 diabetic subjects who fast during Ramadan represent a challenge to their physicians. There is a need to provide more intensive education before fasting, to disseminate guidelines, and to propose further studies assessing the impact of fasting on morbidity and mortality.

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In the search for novel and bioactive molecules for drug discovery, marine-derived natural resources are becoming an important research area. Over 15 marine-derived secondary metabolites are currently in human clinical trials. Terrestrial fungi have produced many therapeutically significant molecules. However, the potential of marine fungi has only been investigated to a limited extent. This review article contains 103 marine-derived fungal metabolites and 77 references.

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Over the last decade, it has become clear that antimicrobial drugs are losing their effectiveness due to the evolution of pathogen resistance. There is therefore a continuing need to search for new antibiotics, especially as new drugs only rarely reach the market. Natural products are both fundamental sources of new chemical diversity and integral components of today's pharmaceutical compendium, and the aim of this review is to explore and highlight the diverse natural products that have potential to lead to more effective and less toxic antimicrobial drugs. Although more than 300 natural metabolites with antimicrobial activity have been reported in the period 2000-2008, this review will describe only those with potentially useful antimicrobial activity, viz. with MICs in the range 0.02-10 microg mL(-1). A total of 145 compounds from 13 structural classes are discussed, and over 100 references are cited.