scholarly journals Insulin Therapy and Cancer in Type 2 Diabetes

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edoardo Mannucci

Despite the availability of many other agents, insulin is widely used as a treatment for type 2 diabetes. In vitro, insulin stimulates the growth of cancer cells, through the interaction with insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) receptors and its own receptors. In observational surveys on type 2 diabetes, insulin therapy is associated with an increased incidence of several forms of cancer, although it is difficult to discriminate the effect of confounders from that of insulin itself. Randomized trials do not confirm the increased risk associated with insulin therapy, although they do not allow to rule out some negative effects on specific forms of cancer, at least at higher doses. Among insulin analogues, glargine has a higher affinity for the IGF-1 receptor and a greater mitogenic potency in vitro than human insulin, but it is extensively metabolized in vitro to products with low IGF-1 receptor affinity. Overall, epidemiological studies suggest a possible increase of risk with glargine, with respect to human insulin, only at high doses and for some forms of cancer (i.e., breast). Data from clinical trials do not confirm, but are still insufficient to totally exclude, such increased risk. However, beneficial effects of insulin outweigh potential cancer risks.

BMJ Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. e020062 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaosu Bai ◽  
Zhiming Liu ◽  
Zhisen Li ◽  
Dewen Yan

ObjectivesSeveral patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) have depressive disorders. Whether insulin treatment was associated with increased risk of depression remains controversial. We performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the association of insulin therapy and depression.DesignA meta-analysis.MethodsWe conducted a systematic search of PubMed, PsycINFO, Embase and the Cochrane Library from their inception to April 2016. Epidemiological studies comparing the prevalence of depression between insulin users and non-insulin users were included. A random-effects model was used for meta-analysis. The adjusted and crude data were analysed.ResultsTwenty-eight studies were included. Of these, 12 studies presented with adjusted ORs. Insulin therapy was significantly associated with increased risk of depression (OR=1.41, 95% CI 1.13 to 1.76, p=0.003). Twenty-four studies provided crude data. Insulin therapy was also associated with an odds for developing depression (OR=1.59, 95% CI 1.41 to 1.80, p<0.001). When comparing insulin therapy with oral antidiabetic drugs, significant association was observed for adjusted (OR=1.42, 95% CI 1.08 to 1.86, p=0.008) and crude (OR=1.61, 95% CI 1.35 to 1.93, p<0.001) data.ConclusionsOur meta-analysis confirmed that patients on insulin therapy were significantly associated with the risk of depressive symptoms.


2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 148-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Triantafyllos Didangelos ◽  
Konstantinos Kantartzis

The cardiac effects of exogenously administered insulin for the treatment of diabetes (DM) have recently attracted much attention. In particular, it has been questioned whether insulin is the appropriate treatment for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and heart failure. While several old and some new studies suggested that insulin treatment has beneficial effects on the heart, recent observational studies indicate associations of insulin treatment with an increased risk of developing or worsening of pre-existing heart failure and higher mortality rates. However, there is actually little evidence that the associations of insulin administration with any adverse outcomes are causal. On the other hand, insulin clearly causes weight gain and may also cause serious episodes of hypoglycemia. Moreover, excess of insulin (hyperinsulinemia), as often seen with the use of injected insulin, seems to predispose to inflammation, hypertension, dyslipidemia, atherosclerosis, heart failure, and arrhythmias. Nevertheless, it should be stressed that most of the data concerning the effects of insulin on cardiac function derive from in vitro studies with isolated animal hearts. Therefore, the relevance of the findings of such studies for humans should be considered with caution. In the present review, we summarize the existing data about the potential positive and negative effects of insulin on the heart and attempt to answer the question whether any adverse effects of insulin or the consequences of hyperglycemia are more important and may provide a better explanation of the close association of DM with heart failure.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chuanyan Wu ◽  
Yan Borné ◽  
Rui Gao ◽  
Maykel López Rodriguez ◽  
William C. Roell ◽  
...  

AbstractThe hepatokine follistatin is elevated in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and promotes hyperglycemia in mice. Here we explore the relationship of plasma follistatin levels with incident T2D and mechanisms involved. Adjusted hazard ratio (HR) per standard deviation (SD) increase in follistatin levels for T2D is 1.24 (CI: 1.04–1.47, p < 0.05) during 19-year follow-up (n = 4060, Sweden); and 1.31 (CI: 1.09–1.58, p < 0.01) during 4-year follow-up (n = 883, Finland). High circulating follistatin associates with adipose tissue insulin resistance and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (n = 210, Germany). In human adipocytes, follistatin dose-dependently increases free fatty acid release. In genome-wide association study (GWAS), variation in the glucokinase regulatory protein gene (GCKR) associates with plasma follistatin levels (n = 4239, Sweden; n = 885, UK, Italy and Sweden) and GCKR regulates follistatin secretion in hepatocytes in vitro. Our findings suggest that GCKR regulates follistatin secretion and that elevated circulating follistatin associates with an increased risk of T2D by inducing adipose tissue insulin resistance.


2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine A Reardon ◽  
Amulya Lingaraju ◽  
Kelly Q Schoenfelt ◽  
Guolin Zhou ◽  
Ning-Chun Liu ◽  
...  

Type 2 diabetics have a higher risk for atherosclerosis, but the mechanisms underlying the increased risk are poorly understood. Macrophages, which are activated in type 2 diabetes (T2D) and have a role in all stages of atherogenesis, are an attractive link. Our hypothesis is that T2D promotes macrophage dysfunction to promote atherosclerosis. To investigate the relationship between T2D and macrophage dysfunction, we used a proteomics approach to identify dysregulated proteins secreted from peritoneal macrophages in a diet induced mouse model of obesity and insulin resistance in the absence of hypercholesterolemia. Twenty-seven T2D responsive proteins were identified that predict defects in many of the critical functions of macrophages in atherosclerosis (e.g. decreased apoE- cholesterol efflux; decreased MFGE8 – efferocytosis, increased MMP12- matrix degradation). The macrophages from lean and obese mice were not lipid loaded, but the obese macrophages accumulated significantly more cholesterol when exposed to high levels of atherogenic lipoproteins in vitro suggesting that dysregulation of the T2D responsive proteins in diabetic mice render macrophages more susceptible to cholesterol loading. Importantly, many of these same protein changes, which were present in atherosclerotic Ldlr-/- mice with T2D, were normalized when these mice were fed non-diabetogenic hypercholesterolemic diets. Thus, foam cell formation in the presence and absence of T2D produces distinct effects on macrophage protein levels, and hence function. Further, we identify IFNγ as a mediator of the T2D responsive protein dysfunction. IFNγ, but not other cytokines, insulin or glucose, promote the T2D responsive protein dysregulation and increased susceptibility to cholesterol accumulation in vitro and the dysregulation is not observed in macrophage foam cells obtained from obese, diabetic IFNγ receptor 1 knockout animals. We also demonstrate that IFNγ can target these proteins in arterial wall macrophages in vivo . These studies suggest that IFNγ is an important mediator of macrophage dysfunction in T2D that may contribute to the enhanced cardiovascular risk in these patients.


2019 ◽  
Vol 131 (6) ◽  
pp. 376-382 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos E. Mendez ◽  
Rebekah J. Walker ◽  
Christian R. Eiler ◽  
Basem M. Mishriky ◽  
Leonard E. Egede

2008 ◽  
Vol 81 (2) ◽  
pp. 184-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matteo Monami ◽  
Niccolò Marchionni ◽  
Edoardo Mannucci

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