21st April 2022, Dr Chee L Khoo
We have discussed the two-way relationship between pancreatic cancer and diabetes. Patients with type 2 diabetes are at 1.5-2.0 times higher risk of developing pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). In patients with T2D, the development of PDAC destabilises glucose homeostasis pretty much in all patients with T2D. In patients that do not have T2D, the development of PDAC pushes them across the threshold of T2D up to 6-12 months before the diagnosis.…
12th March 2022, Dr Chee L Khoo
When you look at the management of patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D), almost all the patients are on a statin for both primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular complications. I suspect that those that are not already on a statin should be on as some doctors are not aware of the tightened lipid targets in the management of patients with T2D.…
29th October 2021, Dr Chee L Khoo
Traditionally, we think of diabetes as either type 1 or type 2. That’s mainly because type 1 diabetes (T1D) was discovered first and type 2 diabetes (T2D) came later. Everything that was not T1D was T2D. T1D is an auto immune disease characterised by the death of the beta cells leading to insulin deficiency while T2D is a disease of both insulin resistance and insulin deficiency.…
5th June 2021, Dr Chee L Khoo
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) are common complications in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). 70% of patients with T2D are likely to develop a CV disease while 40% of them will develop CKD. A significant proportion of patients with CKD will progress to kidney failure requiring renal dialysis or renal transplant.…
22nd May 2021, Dr Chee L Khoo
Clinical inertia in heart failure (HF) treatment means deferred initiation of additional proven beneficial therapy, which ultimately leads to preventable adverse HF events. Hospitalisation for worsening HF is a prognostically significant event in the clinical course of a patient with chronic HF (1,2). Hospitalisation for HF (hHF) identifies patients who are at high risk for subsequent disease progression, requirement for advanced therapies, and cardiovascular death.…
29th March 2021, Dr Chee L Khoo
463 million adults are living with diabetes globally, and this number is estimated to rise to 700 million by 2045. Interestingly, 60% of them live in Asia. By 2030, without intervention, both China and India combined will have almost half a billion of people with diabetics. While lifestyle issues and epigenetics play significant roles in the ever increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes (T2D), white rice feature prominently in the Asian diet.…
17th January 2021, Dr Chee L Khoo
The pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes involves insulin resistance, β-cell failure, α-cell over-activity and the loss of the incretins. The brain is responsible for homeostatic control of a broad range of variables upon which our survival depends. Why wouldn’t the brain be involved with glucose control? There is increasing evidence that both the pancreas and the brain are jointly responsible for maintaining glucose within and tight setpoint.…
28th June 2020, Dr Chee L Khoo
In type 1 diabetes (T1D), the β-cell die rapidly from a massive immunological assault and practically all the β-cells are quickly lost and hence, there is an absolute deficiency of insulin secretion. Using auto-antibody screening, we can define T1D. Do you realise that we don’t actually have a definition for type 2 diabetes (T2D).…
12th June 2020, Dr Chee L Khoo
Whenever there are multiple brands of the same class of drugs on the market, one always wonder whether the new kid on the block is a “johnny-come-lately” trying to break into an already crowded market with yet another drug or it’s really a new kid with much better credentials. We already have 4 GLP-1 agonists in Australia and now a fifth one will be out real soon.…
14th March 2020, Dr Chee L Khoo
Despite significant reduction in cardiovascular events over the last 20 years in the general population, patients with diabetes still has 1.5-2 times the risk of cardiovascular events and cardiovascular mortality compared with the general population. It was pretty exciting when two classes of the new anti-diabetic medications have been shown in a number of landmark trials to reduce composite cardiovascular events patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and previous cardiovascular disease or patients with T2D with multiple cardiovascular risks.…
10th February 2020, Dr Chee L Khoo
Diabetes can either be the sole perpetrator of the heart failure or be an accomplice to other cardiac disease such as coronary artery disease or myocarditis. Diabetic cardiomyopathy can manifest itself either as a restrictive cardiomyopathy with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) or as a dilated cardiomyopathy with heart failure wth reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF).…
29th January 2020, Dr Chee L Khoo
If you have someone in the family with type 2 diabetes (T2D), then your risk of developing diabetes significantly increases. How much is “significant” though? Is it 2 times, 3 times or is it 10 times? Does it matter how many members in the family have diabetes? Is paternal diabetes important too? Do we know the numbers?…