This study examined two polymorphisms of the transcription factor 7–like 2 gene (TCF7L2) to predict the progression to diabetes among subjects with impaired glucose tolerance who were enrolled in the Diabetes Prevention Program, in which lifestyle intervention and treatment with metformin were each compared with placebo. Results indicate that common variants in TCF7L2 seem to be associated with an increased risk of the development of diabetes among persons with impaired glucose tolerance.

In a retrospective study of hospitalized patients, the prevalence of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction increased significantly between 1987 and 2001, as did the proportion of patients with preserved ejection fraction. The survival rate was slightly higher among patients with preserved than among those with reduced ejection fraction, but the prognosis improved over the 15-year period only among those with reduced ejection fraction.

Among 2802 patients hospitalized with heart failure, 31 percent had a preserved ejection fraction. These patients, as compared with those with reduced ejection fraction, were more likely to be older and female and to have a history of hypertension and atrial fibrillation. However, the presenting features, complications, readmission rates, and mortality rates were similar in the two groups.

This study shows that mutations in the neurogenin-3 gene are associated with a virtual absence of enteroendocrine cells and with malabsorptive diarrhea. Neurogenin-3 is critical to the differentiation of enteroendocrine cells, and the presence of these cells is required for absorption of nutrients by enterocytes.