Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the long-term effective control of serum uric acid by allopurinol on the carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and asymptomatic hyperuricemia (HUA). Methods This was a randomized open parallel-controlled study. In this study, 176 patients with T2DM and asymptomatic HUA were randomly allocated to the conventional or allopurinol treatment groups on the basis of a computer-generated random number table. Changes in the carotid IMT, biochemical indexes, high sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and the incidence of hypertension in patients before and after three years of treatment were examined and compared between the groups. Results There were no statistically significant differences in the baseline characteristics of the study participants between the two treatment groups (p>0.05 for all). Nevertheless, the serum uric acid, triglyceride, and hs-CRP levels and the homeostasis assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and the carotid IMT in the allopurinol group were significantly lower than those in the conventional group after three years of treatment (p<0.01 for all). The intention-to-treat analysis indicated that the incidence of new-onset hypertension in the allopurinol group showed a declining trend compared to that in the conventional treatment group (6.8% vs. 13.6%, p>0.05). Conclusion The long-term effective control of serum uric acid by allopurinol may improve insulin resistance, decrease the serum levels of hs-CRP, reduce the carotid IMT, and may delay the development of atherosclerosis in patients with T2DM and asymptomatic HUA.

BackgroundThe purpose of our study was to determine whether postoperative sagittal component alignments of primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA) using the conventional and navigated technique differed significantly. Additionally, we determined whether the use of navigation systems resulted in hyperextension of the femoral components in Chinese patients.MethodsThis retrospective study reviewed 36 consecutive patients (72 knees) who underwent simultaneous bilateral primary TKAs at our hospital from February 2011 to March 2012. One knee was replaced using a computer-assisted navigation system, and the contralateral knee was replaced with the conventional technique. The radiographic and clinical results of both groups were compared. The relationship between preoperative anatomic angles and component alignments in conventional TKA and navigated TKA was examined.ResultsThe radiographic results showed statistically significant differences only between the navigated and conventional groups for individual femoral coronal and sagittal component alignment. Femoral sagittal component alignment showed less deviation and tended to have hyperextension using the navigated technique (−0.35°) compared with the conventional technique (2.77°). There was no significant difference observed for the Knee Society Score (KSS) between the two groups at 2 years postoperatively.ConclusionsThe sagittal component alignment of primary TKA obtained using the conventional and navigated techniques differed significantly. Navigated TKAs resulted in a higher risk of hyperextension of the femoral components in Chinese patients.

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