New Study
Dementia risk tied to blood sugar level, even with no diabetes. A joint Group Health–University of Washington (UW) study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, has found that higher blood sugar levels are associated with higher dementia risk, even among people who do not have diabetes. Blood sugar levels averaged over a five-year period were linked to rising risks for developing dementia, according to this report on more than 2,000 Group Health patients age 65 and older in the Adult Changes in Thought (ACT) study.
For example, in people without diabetes, risk for dementia was 18% higher for people with an average glucose level of 115 milligrams per deciliter compared to those with an average glucose level of 100 mg/dl. In people with diabetes, whose blood sugar levels are generally higher, dementia risk was 40% higher for people with an average glucose level of 190 mg/dl compared to those with an average glucose level of 160 mg/dl.
“The most interesting finding was that every incrementally higher glucose level was associated with a higher risk of dementia in people who did not have diabetes,” says first author Paul K. Crane, MD, MPH. “There was no threshold value for lower glucose values where risk leveled off.”
“We combined information from people’s research visits every other year with data from their visits to Group Health providers whenever they received care,” says senior author Eric B. Larson, MD, MPH. “This gave us an average of 17 blood sugar measurements per person—very rich data.” The measurements included blood glucose (some fasting, some not) and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c).
HIV/AIDS
FDA approves first rapid diagnostic test to detect both HIV-1 antigen and HIV-1/2 antibodies. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the first rapid Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) test for the simultaneous detection of HIV-1 p24 antigen as well as antibodies to both HIV-1 and HIV-2 in human serum, plasma, and venous or fingerstick whole blood specimens. Approved for use as an aid in the diagnosis of HIV-1 and HIV-2 infection, the Alere Determine HIV-1/2 Ag/Ab Combo test also independently distinguishes results for HIV-1 p24 antigen and HIV antibodies.
The test can be used by trained professionals in outreach settings to identify HIV-infected individuals who might not be able to be tested in traditional healthcare settings. It does not distinguish between antibodies to HIV-1 and HIV-2, and is not intended for screening of blood donors.
Detection of HIV-1 antigen permits earlier detection of HIV-1 infection than is possible by testing for HIV-1 antibodies alone. The test can distinguish acute HIV-1 infection from established HIV-1 infection when the blood specimen is positive for HIV-1 p24 antigen but negative for HIV-1 and HIV-2 antibodies.
“This test helps diagnose HIV infection at an earlier time in outreach settings, allowing individuals to seek medical care sooner,” says Karen Midthun, MD, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. “Earlier diagnosis may also help to reduce additional transmission.”
Prescription Drugs
Deaths from prescription painkiller overdoses rise sharply among women. The number of prescription painkiller overdose deaths increased fivefold among women between 1999 and 2010, according to a Vital Signs report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). While men are more likely to die of a prescription painkiller overdose, since 1999 the percentage increase in deaths has been greater among women (400% in women compared to 265% in men). Prescription painkiller overdoses killed nearly 48,000 women between 1999 and 2010.
The study includes emergency department visits and deaths related to drug misuse/abuse and overdose, as well as analyses specific to prescription painkillers. Among the striking statistics:
- About 42 women died every day from a drug overdose in the United States in 2010, 18 of them from painkiller overdoses. Some 6,600 American women died of prescription painkiller overdoses in 2010
- Drug overdose-related suicide deaths accounted for 34% of all suicides among women, compared with 8% among men.
- More than 940,000 women were seen in emergency departments for drug misuse/ abuse in 2010.
Industry News
BD and the CAP announce alliance to support laboratory quality, performance in India and China. BD Diagnostics and the College of American Pathologists (CAP) have announced the launch of a new strategic alliance that will provide solutions to advance laboratory quality for improved patient care in China and India.
Laboratories play a critical role in the diagnosis and treatment of disease for the more than 2.5 billion people who live in China and India. The BD/CAP Strategic Alliance will improve access to external quality assurance/proficiency testing (PT) that can have a direct and positive impact on laboratory quality, and therefore, patient outcomes. BD and CAP will provide education to improve awareness of global practice standards and training that will help laboratories achieve their quality improvement goals.
CAP’s Laboratory Accreditation, Surveys, PT programs, and other quality management resources, combined with BD’s in-depth clinical knowledge of preanalytical systems, provide a comprehensive, expert-based toolkit to help laboratories in China and India continuously improve the quality of the testing services they provide to patients. Through participation in CAP accreditation, those laboratories can demonstrate their compliance to the most comprehensive clinical laboratory testing standards in the world. Market launch of this initiative began in China and India last month, with PT distribution to be initiated in January 2014.
