Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a growing burden across the world. In Asia and the Middle East, in particular, CVD is among the most prevalent and debilitating diseases. Dyslipidemia is an important factor in the development of atherosclerosis and associated cardiovascular events, and so effective management strategies are critical to reducing overall cardiovascular risk. Multiple dyslipidemia guidelines have been developed by international bodies such as the European Society of Cardiology/European Atherosclerosis Society and the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association, which all have similarities in practice recommendations for the optimal management of dyslipidemia. However, they differ in certain aspects including pharmacological treatment, lifestyle modification and the target levels used for low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. The evidence behind these guidelines is generally based on data from Western populations, and their applicability to people in Asia and the Middle East is largely untested. As a result, practitioners within Asia and the Middle East continue to rely on international evidence despite population differences in lipid phenotypes and CVD risk factors. An expert panel was convened to review the international guidelines commonly used in Asia and the Middle East and determine their applicability to clinical practice in the region, with specific recommendations, or considerations, provided where current guideline recommendations differ from local practice. Herein, we describe the heterogeneous approaches and application of current guidelines used to manage dyslipidemia in Asia and the Middle East. We provide consensus management recommendations to cover different patient scenarios, including primary prevention, elderly, chronic kidney disease, type 2 diabetes, documented CVD, acute coronary syndromes and family history of ischemic heart disease. Moreover, we advocate for countries within the Asian and Middle East regions to continue to develop guidelines that are appropriate for the local population.

Introduction: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) is highly heterogeneous in disease progression and risk of complications. This study aimed to categorize Thai T2D into subgroups using variables that are commonly available based on routine clinical parameters to predict disease progression and treatment outcomes. Research design and methods: This was a cohort study. Data-driven cluster analysis was performed using a Python program in patients with newly diagnosed T2D (n=721) of the Siriraj Diabetes Registry using five variables (age, body mass index (BMI), glycated hemoglobin (HbA_1c), triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C)). Disease progression and risk of diabetic complications among clusters were compared using the Χ² and Kruskal-Wallis test. Cox regression and the Kaplan-Meier curve were used to compare the time to diabetic complications and the time to insulin initiation. Results: The mean age was 53.4±11.3 years, 58.9% were women. The median follow-up time was 21.1 months (9.2–35.2). Four clusters were identified: cluster 1 (18.6%): high HbA_1c, low BMI (insulin-deficiency diabetes); cluster 2 (11.8%): high TG, low HDL-C, average age and BMI (metabolic syndrome group); cluster 3 (23.3%): high BMI, low HbA_1c, young age (obesity-related diabetes); cluster 4 (46.3%): older age and low HbA_1c at diagnosis (age-related diabetes). Patients in cluster 1 had the highest prevalence of insulin treatment. Patients in cluster 2 had the highest risk of diabetic kidney disease and diabetic retinopathy. Patients in cluster 4 had the lowest prevalence of diabetic retinopathy, nephropathy, and insulin use. Conclusions: We were able to categorize Thai patients with newly diagnosed T2D into four clusters using five routine clinical parameters. This clustering method can help predict disease progression and risk of diabetic complications similar to previous studies using parameters including insulin resistance and insulin sensitivity markers.

Coexisting of Graves’ disease and functioning struma ovarii is a rare condition. Although the histology of struma ovarii predominantly composed of thyrocytes, the majority of the patients did not have thyrotoxicosis. The mechanism underlying the functioning status of the tumor is still unclear but the presence of thyroid stimulating hormone receptor (TSHR) is thought to play a role. Here we describe the patient presentation and report the TSHR expression of the tumor. A 56-year old Asian woman presented with long standing thyrotoxicosis for 23 years. She was diagnosed with Graves’ disease and thyroid nodules. She had bilateral exophthalmos and had high titer of plasma TSHR antibody. Total thyroidectomy was performed and the histologic findings confirmed the clinical diagnosis. The patient had persistent thyrotoxicosis postoperatively. Thyroid uptake demonstrated the adequacy of the thyroid surgery and the whole body scan confirmed the presence of functioning thyroid tissue at pelvic area. The surgery was scheduled and the patient had hypothyroidism after the surgery. The pathological diagnosis was struma ovarii at right ovary. We performed TSHR staining in both the patient’s struma ovarii and in 3 cases of non-functioning struma ovarii. The staining results were all positive and the intensity of the TSHR staining of functioning struma ovarii was the same as that in other cases of non-functioning tumors, suggesting that the determinant of functioning struma ovarii might be the presence of TSHR stimuli rather than the intensity of the TSHR in the ovarian tissue. In patients with Graves’ disease with persistent or recurrent thyrotoxicosis after adequate ablative treatment, the possibility of ectopic thyroid hormone production should be considered. TSHR expression is found in patients with functioning and non-functioning struma ovarii and cannot solely be used to determine the functioning status of the tumor.

This review summarizes the current knowledge about metabolic-associated fatty-liver disease (MAFLD) and reports the opinion of a group of experts on the increasing prevalence and burden of the disease in the southeast Asia region, the current journey of patients with MAFLD in developing countries, the role of oxidative stress and antioxidant treatment, and the importance of a multidisciplinary approach for early diagnosis and disease management.

Background: High-intensity statin is recommended in high-risk type 2 diabetes (T2D); however, statin dose dependently increases the risk of developing new-onset diabetes, can potentially worsen glycemic control in T2D, and may cause cognitive impairment. This study aimed to investigate the effect of statin intensification on glucose homeostasis and cognitive function in T2D. Materials and Methods: T2D patients who were taking simvastatin <= 20 mg/day were randomized to continue taking the same dosage of simvastatin (low-dose simvastatin group; LS, n=63) for 12 weeks, or to change to atorvastatin 40 mg/day for 6 weeks, and if tolerated, atorvastatin was increased to 80 mg/day for 6 weeks (high-dose atorvastatin group; HS, n=62). Fasting plasma glucose (FPG), glycated hemoglobin (HbA ie ), plasma insulin, homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and of beta-cell function (HOMA-B), cognitive functions using Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), and Trail Making Test (TMT) were assessed at baseline, 6 weeks, and 12 weeks. Results: Mean age of patients was 58.8 +/- 8.9 years, and 72% were female. Mean baseline FPG and HbA ie were 124.0 +/- 27.5 mg/dl and 6.9 +/- 0.8%, respectively. No differences in baseline characteristics between groups were observed. Change in HbA ie from baseline in the LS and HS groups was -0.1% and +0.1% (p=0.03) at 6 weeks, and -0.1% and +0.1% (p=0.07) at 12 weeks. There were no significant differences in FPG, fasting plasma insulin, HOMA-B, HOMA-IR, MoCA score, or TMT between groups at 6 or 12 weeks. Conclusion: Switching from low-dose simvastatin to high-dose atorvastatin in T2D resulted in a slight increase in HbA1C (0.1%) without causing cognitive decline.

Withdrawal of sulfonylureas from patients with type 2 diabetes receiving long-term sulfonylurea and insulin combination therapy results in deterioration of glycemic control: a randomized controlled trial Weerachai Srivanichakorn,1 Apiradee Sriwijitkamol,2 Aroon Kongchoo,2 Sutin Sriussadaporn,2 Nattachet Plengvidhya,2 Raweewan Lertwattanarak,2 Sathit Vannasaeng,2 Nuntakorn Thongtang2 1Division of Ambulatory Medicine, 2Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Thailand Background: The benefit of sulfonylureas (SUs) to patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus receiving long-term insulin treatment is unclear. This study evaluated glycemic control and beta-cell function after SU withdrawal in these patients. Methods: In this 8-week randomized controlled study, patients with type 2 diabetes who had been treated with insulin for at least 3 years plus moderate to high doses of SUs were randomly assigned to withdrawal (n=16) or continuation (n=16) of SUs. Clinical characteristics, glycemic control, hypoglycemic events, and insulin secretion, including homeostasis model assessment of beta-cell function (HOMA-B) score, C-peptide concentration, and Matsuda index, were evaluated at baseline and after 2 and 8 weeks. Results: Thirty patients (16 in the SU withdrawal group and 14 in the SU continuation group) completed the study. Median duration of diabetes was 17 (range 5–40) years. Baseline clinical characteristics, glycemic control, and HOMA-B were similar in the two groups, but the mean fasting C-peptide concentration was higher in the SU withdrawal group. After 8 weeks, the SU withdrawal group showed a significant increase in mean glycosylated hemoglobin levels from 7.8%±0.5% (62±5 mmol/mol) to 8.6%±1.2% (71±13 mmol/mol; P=0.002), whereas the SU continuation group showed a slight but not significant increase from 7.7%±0.5% (61±5 mmol/mol) to 7.9%±1.2% (63±13 mmol/mol; P=0.37). Insulin secretion, as measured by C-peptide and HOMA-B, decreased by 18% and 36%, respectively, in the SU withdrawal group. Hypoglycemic events were significantly more frequent in the SU continuation group whereas body weight did not change significantly in either group. Conclusion: Withdrawal of SU from patients with type 2 diabetes receiving long-term combination treatment with SU and insulin resulted in deterioration of glycemic control and insulin secretion. Keywords: insulin, sulfonylurea withdrawal, type 2 diabetes, long-term combination