Current Diabetes Reviews

ISSN: 1573-3998


OPEN ACCESS PLUS


Contents


Depression and Quality of Life in Patients with Diabetes: A Systematic Review from the European Depression in Diabetes (EDID) Research Consortium, 2009, 5, 112-119
Miranda T. Schram, Caroline A. Baan and François Pouwer
[Abstract] [Full Text Article]


Ghrelin Regulates Insulin Release and Glycemi Physiological Role and Therapeutic Potential, 2008, 4, 18-23
Toshihiko Yada, Katsuya Dezaki, Hideyuki Sone, Masaru Koizumi, Boldbaatar Damdindorj, Masanori Nakata and Masafumi Kakei
[Abstract] [Full Text Article]



Abstracts


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Depression and Quality of Life in Patients with Diabetes: A Systematic Review from the European Depression in Diabetes (EDID) Research Consortium
Miranda T. Schram, Caroline A. Baan and François Pouwer

[Full Text Article]

Diabetes patients are known to have a worse quality of life than individuals without diabetes. They also have an increased risk for depressive symptoms, which may have an additional negative effect on their quality of life. This systematic review summarizes the current knowledge on the association between depressive symptoms and quality of life in individuals with diabetes. A systematic literature search using MEDLINE, Psychinfo, Social SciSearch, SciSearch and EMBASE was conducted from January 1990 until September 2007. We identified studies that compared quality of life between diabetic individuals with and without depressive symptoms. Twenty studies were identified, including eighteen cross-sectional and two longitudinal studies. Quality of life was measured as generic, diabetes specific and domain specific quality of life. All studies reported a negative association between depressive symptoms and at least one aspect of quality of life in people with diabetes. Diabetic individuals with depressive symptoms also had a severely lower diabetes specific quality of life. Generic and domain specific quality of life were found to be mild to moderately lower in the presence of depressive symptoms. Therefore, increased awareness and monitoring for depression is needed within different diabetes care settings.


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Ghrelin Regulates Insulin Release and Glycemi Physiological Role and Therapeutic Potential
Toshihiko Yada, Katsuya Dezaki, Hideyuki Sone, Masaru Koizumi, Boldbaatar Damdindorj, Masanori Nakata and Masafumi Kakei

[Full Text Article]

Insulin release from pancreatic islet β -cells is stimulated by glucose. Glucose-induced insulin release is potentiated or suppressed by hormones and neural substances. Ghrelin, a novel acylated 28-amino acid peptide isolated from stomach, is the endogenous ligand for the growth hormone (GH) secretagogue-receptor (GHS-R). Circulating ghrelin is produced predominantly in stomach. Ghrelin is a potent stimulator of GH release and feeding as well as exhibiting positive cardiovascular effects. In relation to the glucose metabolism, initial studies indicated that low plasma ghrelin levels are associated with elevated fasting insulin levels, insulin resistance, and obesity. It has recently been demonstrated that ghrelin suppresses glucose-induced insulin release via Gα ₁₂ subtype of GTP-binding proteins and delayed outward K⁺ (Kv) channels, representing a novel signaling mechanism, and that the ghrelin originating from islets regulates insulin release and thereby glycemia. Furthermore, elimination of ghrelin enhances insulin release to prevent or ameliorate glucose intolerance in high-fat diet fed mice and ob/ob mice. This review focuses on the physiological roles of ghrelin in regulating insulin release and glycemia, the insulinostatic mechanisms of ghrelin in islet β -cells, and the potential of ghrelin-GHS-R system as the therapeutic target to treat type 2 diabetes.