Maturity-onset diabetes of the youngMaturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) refers to any of several hereditary forms of diabetes mellitus caused by mutations in an autosomal dominant gene disrupting insulin production. Along with neonatal diabetes, MODY is a form of the conditions known as monogenic diabetes. While the more common types of diabetes (especially type 1 and type 2) involve more complex combinations of causes involving multiple genes and environmental factors, each forms of MODY are caused by changes to a single gene (monogenic).
Placebo-controlled studyPlacebo-controlled studies are a way of testing a medical therapy in which, in addition to a group of subjects that receives the treatment to be evaluated, a separate control group receives a sham "placebo" treatment which is specifically designed to have no real effect. Placebos are most commonly used in blinded trials, where subjects do not know whether they are receiving real or placebo treatment. Often, there is also a further "natural history" group that does not receive any treatment at all.
DietingDieting is the practice of eating food in a regulated way to decrease, maintain, or increase body weight, or to prevent and treat diseases such as diabetes and obesity. As weight loss depends on calorie intake, different kinds of calorie-reduced diets, such as those emphasising particular macronutrients (low-fat, low-carbohydrate, etc.), have been shown to be no more effective than one another. As weight regain is common, diet success is best predicted by long-term adherence.
Framingham Heart StudyThe Framingham Heart Study is a long-term, ongoing cardiovascular cohort study of residents of the city of Framingham, Massachusetts. The study began in 1948 with 5,209 adult subjects from Framingham, and is now on its third generation of participants. Prior to the study almost nothing was known about the epidemiology of hypertensive or arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Much of the now-common knowledge concerning heart disease, such as the effects of diet, exercise, and common medications such as aspirin, is based on this longitudinal study.
Nonlinear mixed-effects modelNonlinear mixed-effects models constitute a class of statistical models generalizing linear mixed-effects models. Like linear mixed-effects models, they are particularly useful in settings where there are multiple measurements within the same statistical units or when there are dependencies between measurements on related statistical units. Nonlinear mixed-effects models are applied in many fields including medicine, public health, pharmacology, and ecology.
Metabolic syndromeMetabolic syndrome is a clustering of at least three of the following five medical conditions: abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high serum triglycerides, and low serum high-density lipoprotein (HDL). Metabolic syndrome is associated with the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. In the U.S., about 25% of the adult population has metabolic syndrome, a proportion increasing with age, particularly among racial and ethnic minorities.
Multilevel modelMultilevel models (also known as hierarchical linear models, linear mixed-effect model, mixed models, nested data models, random coefficient, random-effects models, random parameter models, or split-plot designs) are statistical models of parameters that vary at more than one level. An example could be a model of student performance that contains measures for individual students as well as measures for classrooms within which the students are grouped.
Non-alcoholic fatty liver diseaseMetabolic (dysfunction) associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) was previously known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) until renamed in 2023 by a global consensus panel composed mostly of hepatology researchers and clinicians. The term metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is also used. MAFLD is excessive fat build-up in the liver without another clear cause such as alcohol use.
Case seriesA case series (also known as a clinical series) is a type of medical research study that tracks subjects with a known exposure, such as patients who have received a similar treatment, or examines their medical records for exposure and outcome. Case series may be consecutive or non-consecutive, depending on whether all cases presenting to the reporting authors over a period were included, or only a selection. When information on more than three patients is included, the case series is considered to be a systematic investigation designed to contribute to generalizable knowledge (i.
Longitudinal studyA longitudinal study (or longitudinal survey, or panel study) is a research design that involves repeated observations of the same variables (e.g., people) over long periods of time (i.e., uses longitudinal data). It is often a type of observational study, although it can also be structured as longitudinal randomized experiment.
