BACKGROUND: Treatment adherence and persistence are crucial to achieve glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Early response to a new therapy may lead to improved treatment adherence and associated outcomes.

Objective: To estimate the risk of transient ischemic attack (TIA), stroke, and myocardial infarction in periods covering 4 weeks before to 52 weeks after herpes zoster (HZ) diagnosis in US adults. Patients and Methods: This retrospective study (GSK study identifier: HO-15-15771) with matched cohorts used the Truven Health MarketScan Commercial and Medicare claims data set linked with obesity and smoking status information. Patients 18 years and older at the date of HZ diagnosis and 1year pre-and post-HZ diagnosis continuous insurance enrollment (from January 1, 2007, through December 31, 2014) were propensity score matched to controls in terms of demographic characteristics, risk factors for vascular events, other comorbid disorders, general health, obesity, and smoking status. A post hoc sensitivity analysis was performed not matching for obesity and smoking status information. Adjusted incidence rate ratios (IRRs) were estimated using multivariate Poisson models during an aggregate period (1-month before and after the index date). Results: A total of 23,339 patients with HZ were matched to 46,378 controls (mean age, 56 years; 45,173 [65%] women). During the aggregate period, patients with HZ were statistically significantly more likely to suffer a TIA: IRRs for all patients and patients aged 18 to 49 years were 1.56 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.13-2.15) and 5.12 (95% CI, 1.37-19.10), respectively (P<.05); the respective IRRs for stroke were 1.40 (95% CI, 0.93-2.11) and 8.12 (95% CI, 0.93-71.27). In the sensitivity analysis, IRRs for TIA and stroke were statistically significantly increased regardless of age. Conclusion: Herpes zoster was associated with an increased risk of composite events, TIA, and stroke in adults in the period around diagnosis. More research on the HZ and vascular risk association is needed.

This article introduces a new approach in brain connectomics aimed at characterizing the temporal spread in the brain of pathologies like Alzheimer's disease (AD). The main instrument is the development of ''directed progression networks'' (DPNets), wherein one constructs directed edges between nodes based on (weakly) inferred directions of the temporal spreading of the pathology. This stands in contrast to many previously studied brain networks where edges represent correlations, physical connections, or functional progressions. In addition, this is one of a few studies showing the value of using directed networks in the study of AD. This article focuses on the construction of DPNets for AD using longitudinal cortical thickness measurements from magnetic resonance imaging data. The network properties are then characterized, providing new insights into AD progression, as well as novel markers for differentiating normal cognition (NC) and AD at the group level. It also demonstrates the important role of nodal variations for network classification (i.e., the significance of standard deviations, not just mean values of nodal properties). Finally, the DPNets are utilized to classify subjects based on their global network measures using a variety of data-mining methodologies. In contrast to most brain networks, these DPNets do not show high clustering and small-world properties.

Healthcare utilization and endocrinologist care were related to positive birth outcomes, especially with G.D.M. Further research into the safety and efficacy of glyburide in pregnancy is warranted. This study cannot infer causality and may not be representative of current U.S. healthcare practice.

ObjectivesPressure ulcer (PU) treatment poses significant clinical and economic challenges to health-care systems. The aim of this study was to assess the cost-effectiveness and budget impact of enzymatic debridement with clostridial collagenase ointment (CCO) compared with autolytic debridement with medicinal honey (MH) for PU treatment from a US payer/Medicare perspective in the hospital outpatient department setting.MethodsA cost-effectiveness analysis using a Markov model was developed using a 1-week cycle length across a 1-year time horizon. The three health states were inflammation/senescence, granulation/proliferation (ie, patients achieving 100% granulation), and epithelialization. Data sources included the US Wound Registry, Medicare fee schedules, and other published clinical and cost studies about PU treatment.ResultsIn the base case analysis over a 1-year time horizon, CCO was the economically dominant strategy (ie, simultaneously conferring greater benefit at less cost). Patients treated with CCO experienced 22.7 quality-adjusted life weeks (QALWs) at a cost of $6,161 over 1 year, whereas MH patients experienced 21.9 QALWs at a cost of $7,149. Patients treated with CCO achieved 11.5 granulation weeks and 6.0 epithelization weeks compared with 10.6 and 4.4 weeks for MH, respectively. The number of clinic visits was 40.1 for CCO vs 43.4 for MH, and the number of debridements was 12.3 for CCO compared with 17.6 for MH. Probabilistic sensitivity analyses determined CCO dominant in 72% of 10,000 iterations and cost-effective in 91%, assuming a benchmark willingness-to-pay threshold of $50,000/quality-adjusted life year ($962/QALW). The budget impact analysis showed that for every 1% of patients shifted from MH to CCO, a cost savings of $9,883 over 1 year for a cohort of 1,000 patients was observed by the payer.ConclusionThe results of these economic analyses suggest that CCO is a cost-effective, economically dominant alternative to MH in the treatment of patients with PUs in the hospital outpatient department setting.