Developments in Ocular Genetics: 2013 Annual Review

Diabetic Foot Ulcer among Adults attending Follow-up Diabetic Clinics in Wolaita zone, Southern Ethiopia: Unmatched, Case-control Study

Background

Diabetic foot ulcer is a major public health problem, and among the leading causes of this complication in Ethiopian patients with diabetes. Despite the magnitude of this problem, data regarding the determinants of diabetic foot ulcers are limited.

Objective

This study aimed to assess the determinants of diabetic foot ulcers among adults attending follow-up visits in diabetes clinics in the Wolaita Zone, southern Ethiopia.

Methods

An institution-based case-control study was done from September 10 to December 28, 2020, in southern Ethiopia. We recruited 137 patients with diabetic foot ulcers and 408 patients without any diabetic foot ulcers using a consecutive sampling method. EpiData version 3.1.1 (EpiData Association, Odense, Denmark) and SPSS version 25 (IBM-SPSS Inc, Armonk, New York) were used for data entry and analysis. Descriptive statistics were calculated followed by a multivariate logistic regression analysis.

Results

Having a low wealth index (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 2.6; 95% CI, 1.177–5.662); being obese (AOR = 3.6; 95% CI, 1.380–9.547; P = 0.003), being overweight (AOR = 3.1; 95% CI, 1.480–6.436; P = 0.009), having peripheral neuropathy (AOR = 3.9; 95% CI, 1.641–9.430; P = 0.002), living with diabetes for >10 years (AOR = 2.3; 95% CI, 1.191–4.475; P = 0.013), and practicing poor diabetic foot self-care (AOR = 6.0; 95% CI, 3.156–11.312; P = 0.000) were significantly associated with having a diabetic foot ulcer.

Conclusions

This study suggests there is a need for education and counseling of patients on decreasing weight and improving foot-care practice, especially in those who are economically disadvantaged, have peripheral neuropathy, and have lived with diabetes for more than 10 years. (Curr Ther Res Clin Exp. 2022; 83:XXX–XXX)

A Case/Control Study: AGBL1 Polymorphism Related to Lung Cancer Risk in Chinese Nonsmoking Females

ATP/GTP binding protein like 1 (AGBL1) plays a role in controlling the length of polyglutamate side chains. Polymorphism rs4513061 in AGBL1 is suspected to influence the risk of lung cancer. A case/control study was performed involving 556 cases and 563 controls from a hospital participating in donation. The relationship between rs4513061 and the risk of lung cancer and the interaction between rs4513061 and environmental exposure were determined by the chi-square tests, logistic regression analysis, and crossover analysis. The survival analysis was conducted by Cox proportional hazard regression. The results showed that rs4513061 polymorphism is associated with the risk of lung cancer. The stratified analysis suggested the protective effect of rs4513061 to different histological types of lung cancer, including lung adenocarcinoma (AA vs. GG: odds ratio [OR] = 0.505, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.337-0.756, p < 0.001), squamous cell lung cancer (AG vs. GG: OR = 0.488, 95% CI = 0.269-0.883, p = 0.018), and small-cell lung cancer (AA vs. GG: OR = 0.421, 95% CI = 0.216-0.819, p = 0.011). Nevertheless, there was no significant interaction between rs4513061 and cooking oil fume. Significant impact was not observed between the rs4513061 polymorphism and survival time of lung cancer. Our study indicated that rs4513061 in AGBL1 decreases the risk of lung cancer in nonsmoking females from northeast China.

The role of pharmacogenetics and advances in gene therapy in the treatment of diabetic retinopathy

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) and its complications such as diabetic macular edema continue to remain a major cause for legal blindness in the developed world. While the introduction of anti-tVEGF agents has significantly improved visual outcomes of patients with DR, unpredictable response, largely due to genetic polymorphisms, appears to be a challenge with this therapy. With advances in identification of various genetic biomarkers, novel therapeutic strategies consisting of gene transfer are being developed and tested for patients with DR. Application of pharmacogenetic principles appears to be a promising futuristic strategy to attenuate diabetes-mediated retinal vasculopathy. In this comprehensive review, data from recent studies in the field of pharmacogenomics for the treatment of DR have been provided.