Thu, August 17 – 10 Stories of The Day!

1 – Special issue: 60 years of metformin use – Diabetologia (Source: ACP Diabetes Monthly)

– Editorial: 60 years of metformin use: a glance at the past and a look to the future (free)

– Metformin: historical overview (free)

– The mechanisms of action of metformin (free)

– Metformin: clinical use in type 2 diabetes (free)

– A new perspective on metformin therapy in type 1 diabetes (free)

– Metformin for diabetes prevention: insights gained from the Diabetes Prevention Program/Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study (free)

– Metformin use in pregnancy: promises and uncertainties (free)

– Impact of metformin on cardiovascular disease: a meta-analysis of randomised trials among people with type 2 diabetes (free)

– Metformin and ageing: improving ageing outcomes beyond glycaemic control (free)

– Repurposing metformin for the prevention of cancer and cancer recurrence (free)

– The pharmacogenetics of metformin (free)

– Metformin therapy for the reproductive and metabolic consequences of polycystic ovary syndrome (free)

– The effects of metformin on gut microbiota and the immune system as research frontiers (free)

2 – Inactivation of porcine endogenous retrovirus in pigs using CRISPR-Cas9 – Science (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentaries: Birth of CRISPR’d pigs advances hopes for turning swine into organ donos – STAT (free) AND Gene editing to remove viruses brings transplant organs from pigs a step closer – The Guardian (free) AND Gene Editing Spurs Hope for Transplanting Pig Organs Into Humans – New York Times (10 articles per month are free) AND Gene editing brings pig organ transplant closer – NHS Choices (free) AND Scientists edit pig genome with goal of human organ transplants – CNN (free text and video)

3 – Five-Year Outcomes after On-Pump and Off-Pump Coronary-Artery Bypass – New England Journal of Medicine (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentaries: Off-Pump CABG Raises Long-Term Mortality Risk – Cardiobrief (free) AND Newer method of open-heart surgery carries more risks, study finds – STAT (free)

4 – Benefits and safety of gabapentinoids in chronic low back pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials – PLOS Medicine (free)

Commentaries: Gabapentinoids Seem to Offer Little Benefit, Substantial Risks in Low Back Pain – Physician’s First Watch (free) AND Evidence does not support the use of gabapentinoids for chronic low back pain – PLOS, via Science Daily (free) AND Gabapentinoids for Chronic Low Back Pain? Not So Fast – Practical Pain Management (free)

Pregabalin and gabapentin have significant risk of adverse effects without any demonstrated benefit in chronic low back pain.

5 – Bored reading science? Let’s change how scientists write – The Conversation (free) (RT @Onisillos see Tweet)

“Science communicators, journalists, entrepreneurs, policymakers and interested members of the general public are all motivated to follow the latest scientific research. And yet, strangely enough, science papers are a communication tool but they are not that effective at communication”.

6 – The Fight Against Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Might Start With Vaccines – Allice Callahan, via FiveThirtyEight (free) (RT @greg_folkers see Tweet with infographic)

7 – Cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in patients with type 2 diabetes following initiation of sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitors versus other glucose-lowering drugs (CVD-REAL Nordic): a multinational observational analysis – The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

Commentaries: SGLT2 Agents Cut CV Events in ‘Real-World’ Analysis – MedPage Today (free registration required) AND Cardiovascular disease and mortality appear lower in patients on SGLT2 inhibitors – ACP Diabetes (free)

Related article: Lower Risk of Heart Failure and Death in Patients Initiated on SGLT-2 Inhibitors Versus Other Glucose-Lowering Drugs: The CVD-REAL Study – Circulation (free PDF)

Another observational study suggests this class of drugs may reduce cardiovascular mortality and morbidity.

8 – The Risk of Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes Following Nonobstetric Surgery During Pregnancy: Estimates From a Retrospective Cohort Study of 6.5 Million Pregnancies – Annals of Surgery (free)

Source: Journal Watch ($)

“we found that the risk associated with nonobstetric surgery was relatively low, confirming that surgical procedures during pregnancy are generally safe”

9 – Study: diet soda can really mess with your metabolism – VOX (free)

Original article: Integration of Sweet Taste and Metabolism Determines Carbohydrate Reward – Current Biology (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

See also a related meta-analysis showing little evidence of benefit from the consumption of artificial sweeteners for weight loss in our July 18^th issue (see #2)

“New research helps explain why artificial sweeteners are linked to obesity and metabolic disease”.

10 – Talking therapy given by parents shows promise for childhood anxiety disorders – NIHR Signal (free)

Original article: Clinical outcomes and cost-effectiveness of brief guided parent-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy and solution-focused brief therapy for treatment of childhood anxiety disorders: a randomised controlled trial – The Lancet Psychiatry (free) AND Commentary: Low-intensity interventions for anxiety disorders (free)

“70% of children receiving guided parent-delivered CBT had recovered from anxiety six months after treatment” (RT @NIHR_DC see Tweet)