Aims. To establish the prevalence and the effect of thyroid dysfunction on pregnancy outcomes in Asian-Indian population. Subjects and Methods. The study cohort comprised of 483 consecutive pregnant women in the first trimester attending the antenatal clinic of a tertiary center in Mumbai, India. Thyroid hormone levels and thyroid peroxidase antibody were estimated. Patients with thyroid dysfunction were assessed periodically or treated depending on the severity. Subjects were followed until delivery. Results. The prevalence of hypothyroidism, Graves' disease, gestational transient thyrotoxicosis, and thyroid autoimmunity (TAI) was 4.8% (n = 24), 0.6% (n = 3), 6.4 % (n = 31), and 12.4% (n = 60), respectively. Forty percent of the hypothyroid patients did not have any high-risk characteristics. Hypothyroidism and TAI were associated with miscarriage (P = 0.02 and P = 0.001, resp.). Conclusions. The prevalence of hypothyroidism (4.8%) and TAI (12.4%) is high. TAI and hypothyroidism were significantly associated with miscarriage.

In the recent years, outbreaks of blood-borne infections have been reported from assisted living facilities, which were traced back to improper blood glucose monitoring practices. Needle-stick injuries have been implicated in many such cases. This directly raises concerns over sharp disposal practices of diabetic patients self-managing their condition in home care settings. With India being home to a huge diabetic population, this issue, if neglected, can cause substantial damage to the health of the population and a marked economic loss. This article discusses the sharp disposal practices prevalent among diabetes patients, the importance of proper sharp disposal, barriers to safe disposal of sharps, and the options available for doing the same. For adopting an environmentally safe wholesome approach, disposal of plastics generated as a result of diabetes self-care at home is important as well. The article also looks at the possible long-term solutions to these issues that are sustainable in an Indian context.

BACKGROUND Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common comorbidity with type 2 diabetes. The existing therapeutic options for NAFLD are not adequate. Hypocaloric diet and exercise is the cornerstone of therapy in NAFLD. Pioglitazone is the only drug recommended in diabetes patients with biopsy proven non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. The frequent coexistence of NAFLD and type 2 diabetes with their combined adverse health consequences and inadequate therapeutic options makes it necessary to search for newer alternatives. AIM To assess the effect of sodium glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors on liver enzymes in type 2 diabetes patients with NAFLD. METHODS We searched PubMed/MEDLINE, Cochrane library, Google scholar, and Clinicaltrials.gov for the relevant articles to be included in this systematic review. Human studies done in type 2 diabetes patients with NAFLD treated with SGLT-2 inhibitors for at least 12 wk were included. Data from eight studies (four randomised controlled trials and four observational studies) were extracted and a narrative synthesis was done. A total of 214 patients were treated with SGLT-2 inhibitors in these studies (94 in randomised controlled trials and 120 in observational studies). RESULTS The primary outcome measure was change in serum alanine aminotransferase level. Out of eight studies, seven studies showed a significant decrease in serum alanine aminotransferase level. Most of the studies revealed reduction in serum level of other liver enzymes like aspartate aminotransferase and gamma glutamyl transferase. Five studies that reported a change in hepatic fat exhibited a significant reduction in hepatic fat content in those treated with SGLT-2 inhibitors. Likewise, among the three studies that evaluated a change in indices of hepatic fibrosis, two studies revealed a significant improvement in liver fibrosis. Moreover, there was an improvement in obesity, insulin resistance, glycaemia, and lipid parameters in those subjects taking SGLT-2 inhibitors. The studies disclosed that about 17% (30/176) of the subjects taking SGLT-2 inhibitors developed adverse events and more than 40% (10/23) of them had genitourinary tract infections. CONCLUSION Based on low to moderate quality of evidence, SGLT-2 inhibitors improve the serum level of liver enzymes, decrease liver fat, and fibrosis with additional beneficial effects on various metabolic parameters in type 2 diabetes patients with NAFLD.

Diabetes mellitus is a non-communicable metabolic derangement afflicting several millions of individuals globally. It is associated with several micro and macrovascular complications and is also a leading cause of mortality. The unresolved issue is that of definition of the diagnostic threshold for diabetes. The World Health Organization and the American Diabetes Association (ADA) have laid down several diagnostic criteria for diagnosing diabetes and prediabetes based on the accumulating body of evidence.This review has attempted to analyse the scientific evidence supporting the justification of these differing criteria. The evidence for diagnosing diabetes is strong, and there is a concordance between the two professional bodies. The controversy arises when describing the normal lower limit of fasting plasma glucose (FPG) with little evidence favouring the reduction of the FPG by the ADA. Several studies have also shown the development of complications specific for diabetes in patients with prediabetes as defined by the current criteria though there is a significant overlap of such prevalence in individuals with normoglycemia. Large multinational longitudinal prospective studies involving subjects without diabetes and retinopathy at baseline will ideally help identify the threshold of glycemic measurements for future development of diabetes and its complications.

Tumor-induced osteomalacia (TIO) is a rare paraneoplastic syndrome characterized by recalcitrant hypophosphatemia. Reports from the Indian subcontinent are scarce, with most being single center experiences involving few patients. Herein, we conducted a retrospective analysis of 30 patients of TIO diagnosed at three tertiary care hospitals in India. Patients with persistent hypophosphatemia (despite correction of hypovitaminosis D), normocalcemia, elevated alkaline phosphatase, low TmP/GFR and elevated or ‘inappropriately normal’ FGF23 levels were labeled as having TIO. They were sequentially subjected to functional followed by anatomical imaging. Patients with a well-localized tumor underwent excision; others were put on phosphorous and calcitriol supplementation. The mean age at presentation was 39.6 years with female:male ratio of 3:2. Bone pain (83.3%) and proximal myopathy (70%) were the chief complaints; 40% of cases had fractures. The mean delay in diagnosis was 3.8 years. Tumors were clinically detectable in four patients (13.3%). The mean serum phosphate was 0.50 mmol/L with a median serum FGF23 level of 518 RU/mL. Somatostatin receptor-based scintigraphy was found to be superior to FDG-PET in tumor localization. Lower extremities were the most common site of the tumor (72%). Tumor size was positively correlated with serum FGF23 levels. Twenty-two patients underwent tumor resection and 16 of them had phosphaturic mesenchymal tumors. Surgical excision led to cure in 72.7% of patients whereas disease persistence and disease recurrence were seen in 18.2% and 9.1% of cases, respectively. At the last follow-up, serum phosphate in the surgically treated group was significantly higher than in the medically managed group.