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Aim: Despite the increasing use of combination treatment with sodium‐glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors and glucagon‐like peptide‐1 receptor agonists, data are limited on the effects of combination treatment on markers of cardiovascular disease. This study aimed to investigate the effect of empagliflozin, semaglutide, and their combination on vascular function. Materials and Methods: In total, 120 patients with type 2 diabetes were randomized into four groups (n = 30 in each) for 32 weeks: placebo, semaglutide, empagliflozin, and their combination. The study had two co‐primary outcomes: change in arterial stiffness and kidney oxygenation. This paper reports on arterial stiffness assessed as carotid‐femoral pulse wave velocity. Secondary outcomes included 24‐h blood pressure (BP), 24‐h central BP, urinary albumin to creatinine ratio and glycaemic control assessed by both continuous glucose monitoring and glycated haemoglobin. Results: The carotid‐femoral pulse wave velocity did not change significantly in any of the groups compared with placebo. Twenty‐four‐hour systolic BP was reduced by 10 mmHg (95% CI 6–14), p <.001 in the combination group, significantly superior to both placebo and monotherapy (p <.05). Combination treatment increased glycaemic time in range from 72% at baseline to 91% at week 32, p <.001, without increasing time below range. The urinary albumin to creatinine ratio decreased by 36% (95% CI 4–57), p =.03 in the combination group compared with placebo. Conclusions: Empagliflozin, semaglutide, or their combination did not reduce arterial stiffness. Combination treatment showed a substantial and clinically important reduction in 24‐h systolic BP compared with either treatment alone. Combination treatment increased glycaemic time in range without increasing the risk of hypoglycaemia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) accounts for ∼50% of end-stage kidney disease. Renal hypoxia is suggested as a main driver in the pathophysiology underlying chronic DKD. Blood oxygenation level-dependent magnetic resonance imaging (BOLD-MRI) has made noninvasive investigations of renal oxygenation in humans possible. Whether diabetes per se contributes to measurable changes in renal oxygenation by BOLD-MRI remains to be elucidated. We investigated whether renal oxygenation measured with BOLD-MRI differs between people with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) with normal to moderate chronic kidney disease (CKD) (Stages 1–3A) and matched controls. The repeatability of the BOLD-MRI method was also assessed. Methods In this matched cross-sectional study, 20 people with T2DM (age 69.2 ± 4.7 years, duration of diabetes 10.5 ± 6.7 years, male 55.6%) and 20 matched nondiabetic controls (mean age 68.8 ± 5.4 years, male 55.%) underwent BOLD-MRI analysed with the 12-layer concentric object method (TLCO). To investigate the repeatability, seven in the T2DM group and nine in the control group were scanned twice. Results A significant reduction in renal oxygenation from the cortex to medulla was found in both groups (P  < .01) but no intergroup difference was detected [0.71/s (95% confidence interval −0.28–1.7), P  = .16]. The median intraindividual coefficient of variation (CV) varied from 1.2% to 7.0%. Conclusion T2DM patients with normal to moderate CKD do not seem to have lower renal oxygenation when measured with BOLD-MRI and TLCO. BOLD-MRI has a low intraindividual CV and seems like a reliable method for investigation of renal oxygenation in T2DM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: To investigate temporal trends in time to initiation of sodium‐glucose co‐transporter‐2 inhibitors and glucagon‐like peptide 1 analogues (cardioprotective glucose‐lowering drugs [GLDs]) in patients with a new dual diagnosis of type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Materials and methods: In a cohort study, we identified patients with a new dual diagnosis of T2DM and CVD using linked healthcare data from nationwide registries on drug prescriptions and diagnosis codes. For each calendar year between 2012 and 2018, we examined time to initiation and cumulative user proportions (CUPs) for cardioprotective GLD use 1 and 2 years after the dual diagnosis. Results: Among all individuals living in Denmark in the period 2012 to 2018, 41 733 patients with a new dual diagnosis of T2DM and CVD were identified (median [interquartile range] age 71 [64–79] years, 61% male, and 57% with CVD as the latest diagnosis). Incidence curve slopes and 1‐ and 2‐year CUPs for cardioprotective GLDs increased during the study period (1‐year CUP 4.0%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.6–4.5) in 2012 to 14.7, 95% CI 13.7–15.7, in 2018; 2‐year CUP 5.5, 95% CI 5.0–6.1, in 2012 to 16.7, 95% CI 15.8–17.7, in 2017). T2DM patients with CVD as the second (latest) diagnosis had higher 1‐year CUPs than CVD patients with T2DM as the latest diagnosis: 2012: 7.0 (95% CI 6.2–8.0) versus 1.4 (95% CI 1.0–1.8); 2018: 18.1 (95% CI 16.8–19.6) versus 10.0 (95% CI 8.8‐11.3). Conclusions: In patients with T2DM and CVD, the incidence of cardioprotective GLD initiation increased between 2012 and 2018, however, within 2 years of dual diagnosis, it remained low. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purposes of this study were to compare the presence, extent and composition of coronary plaques in asymptomatic patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes to age- and sex-matched controls. Methods: Patients with newly diagnosed (<1 year) type 2 diabetes (n = 44) and controls (n = 44) underwent contrast-enhanced coronary computed tomography angiography. Advanced plaque analysis including total plaque volume and volumes of plaque components (calcified plaque and non-calcified plaque, including low-attenuation [low-density non-calcified plaque]) was performed using validated semi-automated software. Results: Coronary artery calcification was more often seen in patients with type 2 diabetes (66%) versus controls (48%), p < 0.05. Both the absolute volume (median; interquartile range) of low-density non-calcified plaque (7.9 mm3; 0-50.5 mm3 vs 0; 0-34.3 mm3, p < 0.05) and the increase in low-density non-calcified plaque ratio in relation to total plaque volume (τ = 0.5, p < 0.001) were significantly higher in patients with type 2 diabetes. More patients with type 2 diabetes had spotty calcification (31% vs 0%, p < 0.05). By multivariate analysis, the presence of any low-density non-calcified plaque was higher in males (odds ratio: 4.06, p < 0.05), who also demonstrated a larger low-density non-calcified plaque volume (p < 0.001). The presence and extent of low-density non-calcified plaque increased with age, smoking, hypertension and hyperglycaemia, all p < 0.05. Conclusion: Asymptomatic patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes had plaque features associated with increased vulnerability as compared with age- and sex-matched controls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]