Mission Statement

Aim.?To investigate sex hormone and androgen receptor (AR) levels and to evaluate their relationship with diabetes mellitus (DM) in senile men.

Methods.?The cross-sectional study included 492 elderly men comprising 104 healthy subjects (mean age 71.4 ± 5.2 years), 259 subjects without DM (71.5 ± 5.0 years) and 129 DM patients (73.0 ± 6.3 years). Plasma concentrations of total testosterone (TT), free testosterone (FT), dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate, sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), estradiol (E₂), luteinising hormone) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) were determined. AR-positive cells were measured by flow cytometry.

Results.?TT concentrations were significantly lower in the DM group (13.8 ± 4.7 nmol/l) than in the healthy (17.1 ± 6.1 nmol/l) and non-diabetes groups (15.8 ± 6.0 nmol/l; all P < 0.01). FT, SHBG, AR-positive proportion (AR%) and AR fluorescence intensity showed a decreasing trend among the healthy, non-DM and DM groups, but the differences were not significant. TT, E₂, E₂/testosterone and SHBG were negatively correlated with blood glucose. SHBG was positively correlated and TT and AR% were negatively correlated with the course of DM. Logistic multiple regression analysis revealed that age, waist/hip ratio, FSH, SHBG and AR% are potential risk factors for DM.

Conclusions.?Low levels of TT, SHBG and AR may be potential risk factors for DM in elderly men.     

Slavery: A Supplementary Teaching Bibliography

This study will argue that from 1916 to 1935 Emperor Haile Selassie I adopted a two-pronged strategy of supporting the gradual abolition of slavery while taking steps towards its immediate abolition. Emperor Haile Selassie I was compelled to adopt a policy of gradual abolition due to the deposition of Iyasu V, the institutional nature of Ethiopian slavery and the agricultural primacy of the Ethiopian economy. This article will also contend that Emperor Haile Selassie I sought the immediate abolition of slavery because he wanted to improve the international image of Ethiopia, stave off a European invasion and/or partition, and prevent Ethiopia from becoming a mandate of the League of Nations.