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Health Care and Diabetes Article Archives
May 2012
For people with diabetes, breakfast is more than just a morning meal. According to recent research, it may hold the key to good blood glucose numbers for the rest of the day.
0 comments - Posted May 11, 2012
This story was produced in collaboration with USAToday
2 comments - Posted May 9, 2012
A year-long experiment found that the competitive bidding approach saved money without harming beneficiaries. It also made inroads against waste and fraud.
1 comment - Posted May 5, 2012
About 16 years ago, after some routine blood work, I was told by my doctor that he wanted me to see an endocrinologist because he suspected diabetes. I went to see the endo, and, sure enough, his suspicions were confirmed. I had type 2 diabetes, and I had some serious changes to make.
2 comments - Posted May 2, 2012
American Idol judge Randy Jackson has embarked upon a mission of education and advocacy, urging those diagnosed with type 2 diabetes to take a stand for their health and well-being.
0 comments - Posted May 1, 2012
April 2012
Food plays an important role in our lives. For most of us, it is more than just a means of sustenance. For some, it is a source of great pleasure. For others, it is a source of painful consequences. And for many, it is both.
0 comments - Posted Apr 29, 2012
Between 250,000 and 500,000 Americans have already become victims of the growing crime of medical identity theft. Medical identity theft happens when someone uses your name and other pieces of your history, such as insurance information, without your knowledge to obtain medical services and goods.
0 comments - Posted Apr 26, 2012
NeuroMetrix, Inc., a Massachusetts-based medical device company, has filed a 510(k) form with the US Food and Drug Administration for the SENSUSTM, a pain therapy device for people who suffer diabetic neuropathy. A 510(k) is a "premarket notification" of a company's intent to market a medical product. The FDA then tests the product and provides feedback to the manufacturer. Once the FDA clears the product, its maker can introduce it to the US market.
1 comment - Posted Apr 24, 2012
As we approach the summer season, our thoughts turn to barbecues, picnics, amusement parks, and road trips to the beach. It is a season of fun, but it can be hard for people with diabetes to enjoy the festivities and still maintain healthy eating habits.
1 comment - Posted Apr 23, 2012
Consumer advocates, physician groups, and several Democratic lawmakers are fighting a quiet battle over a key benefit in the health-care law: tax credits to help millions of people purchase insurance.
0 comments - Posted Apr 22, 2012
Bariatric surgery, not medications, may be the key to producing dramatic drops in weight and even the remission of diabetes symptoms among type 2 patients, says a study from the University of Rome.
0 comments - Posted Apr 20, 2012
I was a mixture of nerves and excitement as I met one of my favorite celebrity chefs at the American Diabetes Association's Expo in Chicago on April 14th. Jamie Deen, Paula Deen's adorable, blue-eyed, dimpled son, was there doing a food demonstration, meeting with fans, and extending a healthy dose of warm smiles and pure southern hospitality.
0 comments - Posted Apr 19, 2012
Many people with diabetes have had to eliminate traditional flour breads and refined starches from their diets because of the way they spike blood sugar. "Diabetic Lifestyles Bread" from Alvarado Street Bakery is a nutritious alternative to traditional flour breads and causes a much slower rise in blood sugar.
0 comments - Posted Apr 18, 2012
Twenty thousand physicians in four Midwest states received a glimpse into their financial future last month. Landing in their e-mail inboxes were links to reports from Medicare showing the amount their patients cost on average as well as the quality of the care they provided. The reports also showed how Medicare spending on each doctor's patients compared to their local peers in Kansas, Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska.
1 comment - Posted Apr 17, 2012
Just a 1 percent weight loss in older people with type 2 diabetes can improve their physical mobility by up to 7 percent, according to a new study just published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
0 comments - Posted Apr 16, 2012
MinuteClinic, a division of CVS Caremark Corporation, is helping patients with diabetes stay on top of their condition this spring by offering a free monitoring visit. This service helps patients with diabetes keep their health in check between visits to a primary care provider, and is available seven days a week at the walk-in medical clinics inside select CVS/pharmacy stores across the United States.
0 comments - Posted Apr 15, 2012
An examination of several studies that included a total of 350,000 people has linked high consumption of white rice with an increase in type 2 diabetes. A comparison of the studies that were conducted in China and Japan, where white rice is a staple, indicated that people there were 55 percent more likely to develop the disease than Asian people who ate the least rice.
2 comments - Posted Apr 9, 2012
INGREDIENTS
1 large bunch (about 1 1/4 pounds) kale, stems and center ribs discarded, leaves roughly torn
2 sheets nori, cut into 1-by-2-inch strips
1/4 cup Roasted Garlic Oil* (see below)
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Grated zest of 1 lemon
1 comment - Posted Apr 6, 2012
Iranian scientists report that a traditional Middle Eastern yogurt drink, doogh, when fortified with vitamin D, decreases the markers that indicate inflammation in persons with type 2 diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Apr 3, 2012
As I listen to the news of the recent Mega Millions jackpot of over $600 million, my dreams aren't about fast cars, vast mansions, or plush vacations. My thoughts revolve around my diabetes. How awesome would it be to have the best care that money can buy?
7 comments - Posted Apr 1, 2012
March 2012
Healthcare providers and most people with diabetes are aware that there is a connection between gum health and complications from diabetes. Unhealthy gums are thought to be both a result of the disease and a gateway to infections and complications to which diabetes opens the door.
0 comments - Posted Mar 31, 2012
Long-term use of metformin as a weight loss aid is both safe and effective in preventing or delaying the onset of type 2 diabetes, says the Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group.
2 comments - Posted Mar 25, 2012
After my recent heart attack, it got harder to keep my diabetes under control. No matter how hard I try, I'm always struggling with my sugar levels these days. Checking them at every meal and at bedtime is a job, but it keeps me healthy and alive. So many people I know have died from diabetes, in part because they failed to do the daily maintenance that came with controlling their condition.
When I was told that I have coronary artery disease, I was baffled. After all, I am only 36, and CAD is a condition of the elderly, or so I thought. The heart specialist, however, let me know that anyone may be susceptible to the condition. Coronary artery disease is caused by a buildup of plaque in the arteries of the heart. Uncontrolled blood sugar levels increase the risk of heart attack because the sugar in the blood damages blood vessels throughout the body, including the heart.
2 comments - Posted Mar 23, 2012
Do you struggle with controlling your sugar levels during exercise? When my doctor changed my exercise regimen after my heart attack, my biggest struggle was keeping my sugar levels stable. We all like to see low numbers, but no one likes the shaking associated with low blood sugar or that feeling we have for the rest of the day after our levels have fluctuated. So how low is too low before working out?
1 comment - Posted Mar 22, 2012
If you have diabetes and get a phone call from somebody offering you free diabetes supplies, hang up. You're being scammed.
0 comments - Posted Mar 20, 2012
As I was sitting in the hospital after a heart attack, my cardiologist walked in and said, "You have to stop eating meat." "Red meat?" I asked hopefully. "All meat," he replied firmly. It was disconcerting, to say the least, because meat has been in my life since I could feed myself. But my cardiologist explained, "If you don't want to end up back here again, you will start on an plant-based diet immediately." That day, I stopped eating meat. In fact, I asked the hospital food service to switch me to a vegetarian diet.
26 comments - Posted Mar 5, 2012
The latest clinical guidelines for treating type 2 diabetes from the American College of Physicians (ACP) indicate that when diet, exercise, and weight loss fail to control blood sugar levels in early type 2 patients, physicians should prescribe metformin as the first drug therapy.
1 comment - Posted Mar 1, 2012
February 2012
"I knew I didn't eat a totally healthy diet because bread is a big weakness of mine. Worse, exercise was something I kept planning to do but hadn't gotten around to," recalls 62-year-old Laura M., who lives in a New York City suburb. "I had been feeling more tired than usual and had a cut on my right leg that seemed to be healing slowly, but other than that I felt fine. When during the course of an annual check-up, my doctor said I had diabetes, I practically fell apart."
1 comment - Posted Feb 28, 2012
During my 14 years with type 1 diabetes and my time spent interacting with the diabetes online community, I constantly hear the same theme: Doctors aren't listening to their patients, and their bedside manners are deteriorating. Every day, it seems, I hear about people who have been treated as if they are simply a number or dismissed as uneducated in their own health conditions.
3 comments - Posted Feb 26, 2012
A team of neurologists has issued a new set of recommendations for the treatment of diabetic neuropathy, including drugs and other treatments that have been found to be the most effective therapies for the condition.
13 comments - Posted Feb 25, 2012
As a woman with diabetes, you may have noticed that you face unique challenges, from where to place your insulin pump, to pregnancy, to hormone fluctuations. Many diabetes books offer general diabetes advice, but few focus on women beyond just a short chapter. That is, until now.
3 comments - Posted Feb 20, 2012
Up to seven years before she becomes pregnant, a woman's risk of developing diabetes during pregnancy can be identified based on routinely assessed measures of blood sugar and body weight, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published in the online issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
2 comments - Posted Feb 19, 2012
There are lots of articles about diabetes, as well as all kinds of information about anemia. But what if you have both? About 25 percent of people with diabetes have some level of anemia. This article explains how the two conditions interact.
2 comments - Posted Feb 16, 2012
Using a log book can be cumbersome, but it has many benefits. Tracking your blood sugars allows you to spot trends and provides a landscape view of how your body reacts to changing circumstances. It’s crucial to understand your body’s responses to food, illness, stress, and simply over-indulging in festive activities. Keeping track of these variables helps you better manage your diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Feb 15, 2012
My best friend from high school, Katherine, married a wonderful man who was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes a little over two years ago. John Schaaf, now 60, lives with Katherine in Berkeley, Calif., and works for Chevron Corporation in nearby Richmond.
4 comments - Posted Feb 13, 2012
Cinnamon, chromium, and alpha-lipoic acid are dietary supplements that have been studied for diabetes management, but are not commonly found in daily multivitamins. Chromium* and cinnamon have the least supportive evidence of efficacy, while some studies have found alpha-lipoic acid to be promising, at least subjectively, in reducing the discomforts of peripheral neuropathy.
1 comment - Posted Feb 12, 2012
Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that foot and leg amputations decreased dramatically between 1996 and 2008. Over those 12 years, amputations dropped from 11 out of every 1,000 diabetic adults to only four-a decrease of almost 64 percent. Over the same period, however, the number of people officially diagnosed with diabetes tripled.
0 comments - Posted Feb 9, 2012
Due to the rising rates of diabetes and other chronic diseases related to obesity, children are expected to have a shorter lifespan than their parents for the first time in modern history. One in every three children aged two to 19 years is overweight or obese, and one-third of all children born in the year 2000 are expected to develop diabetes during their lifetime.
0 comments - Posted Feb 4, 2012
Two years ago, I was a different woman. I was just beginning to come out of my diabetes shell, assessing my confidence with strangers by testing in public and telling friends about my disease. I can still feel the panic rising in my throat as I told people that I have diabetes and need to take injections multiple times per day. I was afraid of rejection, afraid that they would treat me like a sick person. But after eleven years of fighting for my life with type 1 diabetes, I was tired of being afraid. The more people I told, the easier it got.
7 comments - Posted Feb 1, 2012
January 2012
Dear DH, I'm a 47-year-old man who was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2008. For two years, I haven't been interested in sex. I have a demanding retail job and two teenage children. I can still perform, but I am usually so tired that I fall asleep after dinner. I don't miss sex much, but my wife does, and I don't want to lose her. By the way, my A1C usually runs around 6.8%.
1 comment - Posted Jan 31, 2012
The first time I worried about traveling with diabetes was after the 9/11 tragedy. I had been offered a trip to New York to attend a writer's conference. I jumped at the chance, looking forward to the conference, sightseeing, shopping, and seeing the musical The Producers on Broadway.
9 comments - Posted Jan 30, 2012
Until now, drawing blood has been an unavoidable component of being tested for prediabetes and diabetes. Nobody enjoys the process, and it probably makes many people shy away from undergoing diagnosis at all.
1 comment - Posted Jan 28, 2012
With the recent news of Paula Deen's battle with type 2 diabetes, diabetes has been getting some negative coverage in the media. I've even heard comments like " No wonder Paula Deen has diabetes when she eats so much sugar and butter." This is frustrating because it perpetuates the false stereotype that all people with diabetes are the same.
6 comments - Posted Jan 27, 2012
CHICAGO, IL -- January 24, 2012 -- The news of celebrity chef Paula Deen having diabetes has triggered a national conversation about how diet affects people with diabetes or those who are at risk of getting it.
0 comments - Posted Jan 25, 2012
RALEIGH, NC- DiabetesSisters is pleased to announce that registration for the 2012 Weekend for Women Conference opened on January 1, 2012, at 8 AM. The conference, a revolutionary weekend designed specifically for women with diabetes, will take place Friday, May 18, through Sunday, May 20, 2012, at the Marriott City Center in downtown Raleigh.
0 comments - Posted Jan 24, 2012
A young man in his early thirties struggles through traffic on his small Honda motorbike. As he enjoys a short break at a traffic signal, one foot on the road, his eyes are attracted to a billboard picturing a succulent burger. While he gazes, fantasizing about lunch, his vision starts to blur.
3 comments - Posted Jan 21, 2012
In my work as a prevention health technician in the Lakota community of South Dakota, I encourage people to ask questions and learn the facts about diabetes. Once they are aware of what diabetes is and how they can prevent or control it, they become empowered.
4 comments - Posted Jan 19, 2012
Like I did, you may take it for granted that you don't have to worry about having a heart attack. You may assume that heart attacks only happen to senior citizens. But I am living proof that there is no age limit to heart attack. At age 35, just three days after Christmas, it happened to me.
3 comments - Posted Jan 18, 2012
Ethan Lewis, diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 12, founded GlucoBrands only 11 years later. The company produces a portable, inexpensive, tasty, fast-acting glucose gel that people can take to quickly restore healthy blood sugar levels when they experience hypoglycemia.
1 comment - Posted Jan 16, 2012
North Carolina-based Marc S. Stevens, MD, FACS, is one of the top orthopedic surgeons in the country. Previously, while practicing in Little Rock, he was named Arkansas Physician of the Year. In addition to his orthopedic expertise, Dr. Stevens has developed a reputation as an expert in nutrition, especially as it relates to wound healing, bone and joint health, and healthy weight. To learn more about Dr. Marc S. Stevens go to www.DRSHealthInc.com
2 comments - Posted Jan 11, 2012
A new year means new beginnings. Traditionally, it's a time to resolve to make changes for the better in our lives. This year, I decided to write a resolution list dedicated specifically to diabetes. I hope that some of you will want to try these ideas with me.
4 comments - Posted Jan 8, 2012
A dietary supplement, also known as a food supplement or nutritional supplement, contains a "dietary ingredient" intended to supplement the diet by providing an element that might not otherwise be consumed. "Dietary ingredients" include vitamins, minerals, herbs and other botanicals, amino acids, and substances such as enzymes, organ tissues, and metabolites. Dietary supplements, which may be extracts or concentrates, come in many forms, including tablets, capsules, soft gels, gelcaps, liquids, powders, and bars.
0 comments - Posted Jan 7, 2012
Some women who drink two of more sugary beverages daily are lucky: their consumption of sweetened drinks doesn't put on extra weight.
0 comments - Posted Jan 5, 2012
Spring Health Solutions, Inc., has released an instructional video describing its Spring Universal Infusion Set, recently approved by the FDA and Health Canada. The video, at www.SpringUniversal.com, is designed to help consumers properly use the product.
0 comments - Posted Jan 4, 2012
December 2011
Frozen shoulder is more common in people with diabetes than you may realize. My own painful experience with frozen shoulder, also known as adhesive capsulitis, happened a few years ago. I slipped and fell down the stairs at home, hitting the wall and nearly every stair from top to bottom. I injured an ankle and lost my big toenail in the accident. As I began healing, I also noticed that my left arm wouldn't go above my head.
13 comments - Posted Dec 31, 2011
Vaginal yeast infections are annoying, not dangerous, but they can seriously hamper your sex life, especially if you have diabetes. What's the connection, and what can you do to prevent and treat yeast infections?
3 comments - Posted Dec 29, 2011
An article in an Indiana newspaper documents an alarming rise in diabetes among Arizona's Hispanics, especially along the US border with Mexico. The Republic, published in Columbus, Indiana, reports that 13.5 percent of residents in Arizona's Yuma County had diabetes in 2010. Almost 60 percent of the border county's nearly 200,000 residents are Hispanic.
0 comments - Posted Dec 24, 2011
In some US markets, people with diabetes who are covered by Medicare cannot get the mail order diabetes testing supplies that Medicare promised.
1 comment - Posted Dec 19, 2011
A staggering 45 percent of Americans deal with chronic illness. This, of course, includes diabetes. Danea Horn, a certified life coach, speaker, author, and 30-year chronic disease patient, has just released a new report: "How to Develop a Positive Attitude When You Are Coping With Illness."
0 comments - Posted Dec 14, 2011
"I wasn't even addressing my high blood pressure until my uncle Jay, in a nursing home at 36, said ‘Don't get diabetes.' ‘I won't,' I promised him, and it changed my life."
4 comments - Posted Dec 7, 2011
Women are better at coping with problems than men, right? Not when it comes to being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. According to a new survey, that diagnosis had a greater negative impact on women's emotional outlook and adherence to diet and exercise than the same diagnosis given to men. The survey was conducted in September 2011, and included 831 completed responses from 458 women and 373 men.
1 comment - Posted Dec 6, 2011
Jeff O'Connell is the author of "Sugar Nation: The Hidden Truth Behind America's Deadliest Habit and the Simple Way to Beat It." I discovered his book while browsing the shelves of my local library, and I could hardly put it down. Though I have type I diabetes and O'Connell's book focuses on type 2, I found many of his thoughts applicable to my own health. His book is no doubt controversial, so I wanted to delve deeper into his daring claims and share his responses with the diabetic community. After reading my interview with Jeff, please leave a comment below to let Diabetes Health know what you think.
10 comments - Posted Dec 2, 2011
Just take a look around. It's pretty clear that many of us are carrying more weight than we used to. Obesity has skyrocketed in recent years, and it's not about to stop. Roughly one in three adults is obese today, and researchers now predict that 164 million adults will be obese by 2030. That's half of all adults in the country.
0 comments - Posted Dec 1, 2011
November 2011
There's nothing quite like wondering how you're going to pay for prescriptions. I find it odd that we usually don't know what our out-of-pocket cost will be until we're standing in front of the pharmacy staff and praying that we have enough in our wallet to cover it. I often feel like a reality show contestant waiting for the grand total. My pharmacy-based reality show would probably be called "The Biggest Payer," or perhaps "The Amazing Guess," or, aptly, "Survivor." If you've ever walked away from the pharmacy counter embarrassed, panicked, or depressed, you know the feeling I'm referring to. It's a pain no prescription can cure.
37 comments - Posted Nov 26, 2011
Mike Golic is the co-host of ESPN's wildly popular radio show, "Mike and Mike in the Morning." Before beginning work as a broadcaster in 1995, he played for nine years as a defensive tackle in the National Football League, including stints with the Houston Oilers, Philadelphia Eagles, and Miami Dolphins. About five years ago, he was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Since then, he has become involved in getting the word out about type 2, including the potential danger of hypoglycemia. He is a spokesman for "Blood Sugar Basics," a website and outreach program co-sponsored by Merck and the American College of Endocrinology.
3 comments - Posted Nov 25, 2011
Living with diabetes, you are already hyper-aware of food, but the holidays seem to heighten that awareness. Faced with your aunt's delicious homemade cornbread and your grandma's famous sweet potato casserole, you may find yourself digging through your closet for your old carbohydrate-counting books and guessing at your insulin adjustments. Who wants to go through the holidays with the added stress of high blood sugars and associated mood swings, especially when your family is already driving you nuts? No, thanks.
4 comments - Posted Nov 21, 2011
It's hard being the new person at work. It's even harder when you're the new person and you have diabetes. Whenever I start a new job, thoughts race through my mind: Will I go low while I'm training? Will I have quick access to snacks? Will I be able to check my blood sugar without an audience? How about taking an insulin injection at the lunch table? It isn't easy feeling forced to expose so many personal details to people you just met.
2 comments - Posted Nov 20, 2011
Disease management programs have the potential to improve care and reduce the costs of chronic illness. However, certain characteristics of the disease management marketplace may cause concern. Disease management in the United States, whether outsourced to a corporate vendor or performed within a commercial health maintenance organization, largely takes place within the for-profit healthcare sector.
0 comments - Posted Nov 18, 2011
When I was first diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, I recall the numerous comments that people blurted out in an attempt to make me feel better about my situation. But the truth was that I just needed to be treated like everyone else. I was in the midst of a confusing, depressing, and life-altering diagnosis. The last thing I needed was a pat on the back that felt more like a slap in the face.
11 comments - Posted Nov 15, 2011
Anyone who has lost a close family member to type 2 diabetes understands the grief and paralysis it creates, especially when the one who died was only 53.
7 comments - Posted Nov 14, 2011
Want a simple way to find out if you or someone you know is likely to develop type 2 diabetes? Just answer these three simple questions!
0 comments - Posted Nov 13, 2011
Having diabetes means attending medical appointments regularly. It's entirely possible that at some point, you experienced an incident in which a medical professional hurt your feelings, made a mistake, or told you something completely incorrect. Medical mistakes do happen. While most doctors and nurses are amazing and professional, they are also human. Errors and inappropriate comments can occur. Some simply don't understand all aspects of diabetes.
17 comments - Posted Nov 11, 2011
Carol Normadi is a licensed marriage and family therapist in Northern California who is co-founder of Beyond Hunger, Inc., a group dedicated to helping people overcome obsessive concerns with food. She has co-authored two books on the topic of food obsessions: "It's Not About Food: Ending Your Obsession With Food and Weight" (Putnam, 1998) and "Over It: A Teen's Guide to Getting Beyond Food and Weight" (New World Library 2001).
10 comments - Posted Nov 4, 2011
When doctors hand out a diagnosis of diabetes, I wish they'd give you a list of tips that can make life happier living with the illness. After my diagnosis, I felt ashamed of my diabetes, ashamed of my inability to control it with diet and exercise even though I literally worked out every single day for nine months straight. I skipped nearly all carbohydrates and didn't eat meat at the time, so all I ate was nuts, cheese, eggs, and vegetables. The doctor didn't put me on insulin right away because I was eighteen, and she wasn't sure if I had type 1 or type 2. But nothing I did was working. It was soon apparent that I was type 1 and that insulin injections were unavoidable. I had no idea that it wasn't my fault. I felt hopeless, hungry, exhausted, and alone.
2 comments - Posted Nov 1, 2011
If you've had diabetes for a number of years, chances are that you remember when there was no Internet access and no diabetes online community. You had no way to look up information online and no instant connection to millions of others around the world living with diabetes. Unless you had a friend nearby with diabetes, there was no one to understand how you felt when your blood sugar numbers were less than stellar, and no one to sympathize with how hard it can be to get your A1C down.
3 comments - Posted Nov 1, 2011
October 2011
Winter might be on its way, but there's plenty of fall color to celebrate in the meantime. You can find fresh inspiration with the Divabetic Octoberfest, a series of events sponsored by the nonprofit wellness group for diabetic women.
4 comments - Posted Oct 24, 2011
Need to take control of your diabetes and your health? Going to the doctor frequently might be just what the doctor ordered, according to a study from Brigham and Women's Hospital published last month. The researchers looked at how long it took type 2 patients to reach their goals in three areas: A1C levels, blood pressure, and LDL ("bad") cholesterol. Those who interacted with doctors frequently -- every week to two weeks -- achieved their goals far more quickly than those who interacted with doctors every three to six months.
0 comments - Posted Oct 13, 2011
When healthcare reform was debated across the country in 2009 and 2010, one of the flash points was end-of-life care. Healthcare experts have promoted the use of advance directives, which let doctors know how much treatment is desired by patients at the end of life. While this went too far for some, directives do hold the promise of reducing Medicare costs at the end of life, according to a new study. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, researchers conducted the analysis. They didn't just look at whether advance directives reduced costs -- they also examined how the directives affected costs in various regions across the country. This place-based approach yielded interesting results.
1 comment - Posted Oct 12, 2011
Reducing stress for a person with diabetes is an absolute must. According to medical evidence, stress can increase glucose levels in people with diabetes, making them more susceptible to long-term physical complications such as eye, kidney, and nerve disorders.
0 comments - Posted Oct 9, 2011
When I think about my greatest diabetes-related fear, the first thing that comes to mind isn't complications. It's health benefits. It may seem funny that my fear of health problems is second to my concerns about health insurance, but without coverage my good health would be close to impossible to maintain.
17 comments - Posted Oct 3, 2011
News from Danish pharmaceutical manufacturer Novo Nordisk reinforces the growing trend toward using a two-drug combination in the early treatment of type 2 diabetes. (See "A Conversation About Janumet and Earlier Combination Therapy for Type 2 Diabetes" for more discussion about this phenomenon.) In a study it released in Lisbon, Portugal, at the recent meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, Novo said that combining its recently released drug Victoza® (liraglutide) with another drug early in therapy helps recently diagnosed type 2s achieve greater blood glucose control than they can with a single drug.
0 comments - Posted Oct 2, 2011
September 2011
When Ken Kotch was young, he used to tell his friends that he had a "broken pancreas" to explain his type 1 diabetes. Diagnosed in 1988 at eight years old, initially Kotch had no idea what it all meant. Describing his pancreas as "broken" just made sense to him at the time
4 comments - Posted Sep 28, 2011
A couple of factors lead to increased risk of insulin shock comas during the first trimester. For many, insulin sensitivity increases and the pancreas isn't yet producing the hormones associated with insulin resistance. In addition, many type 1s will be taken off of their current basal insulin if it is not yet approved for use during pregnancy.
4 comments - Posted Sep 27, 2011
Imagine if you could keep diabetes at bay for another three or four years with lifestyle changes. Would you change what you ate? Would you commit to an exercise program, maintain a food journal, and join a support group? Imagine if you could take these simple steps and save money. How quickly would you say "Sign me up"?
1 comment - Posted Sep 26, 2011
Being a rookie driver on the fast-paced IndyCar racing circuit is pressure enough for any 26-year-old. But for Charlie Kimball, one of four wheel men on businessman Chip Ganassi's IndyCar race team, there's the added need to manage type 1 diabetes while roaring around the track at speeds that often exceed 200 miles per hour.
0 comments - Posted Sep 25, 2011
Imagine if there were a cure for diabetes that could be found inside your own body? Wouldn't it be nice if instead of depending on durable medical equipment, we could one day heal ourselves?
1 comment - Posted Sep 24, 2011
It's that time of year again: flu season. I never thought much about getting a flu shot until fourteen years ago, when I ended up in the emergency room with the flu and a staggering blood sugar of over 800 mg/dL. I had been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes a few years before and had never discussed a sick day plan with my doctor. But during this experience, I discovered that diabetes and the flu get along about as well as a house cat and a junkyard dog.
5 comments - Posted Sep 22, 2011
Your dietitian is misleading you. That's the takeaway from an article published recently in the medical journal The Lancet. The rules of thumb that you've been given are wrong. And losing weight quickly and easily by cutting a few hundred calories a day just doesn't happen, scientists say.
3 comments - Posted Sep 18, 2011
It may sound silly to say this, especially in this era of computing and high technology, but in our house, one of the most important tools in managing diabetes is a notebook, an ink pen, and three brightly colored magic markers. Of course, I'm talking about the logbook. That's not to say we don't also rely on complicated software to help track our daughter's blood sugars. But when it comes to understanding and using the data to our advantage, there is some truth to the age old belief in hands-on training.
1 comment - Posted Sep 16, 2011
A recent report from the US Centers for Disease Control says that 12 states now have adult obesity rates of 30 percent or higher. Seven of those states are in the South. The CDC data are from the Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System, a 2010 phone survey of 400,000 US adults. Obesity is defined as a body mass index of 30 or more.
0 comments - Posted Sep 15, 2011
Massachusetts-based Quantia Communications has released DailyCoachTM, a fitness coaching app that runs on both iOS and Android and is available free at https://dailycoach.quantiacare.com/. The app also runs on smart phones and tablets and is available on the Web.
1 comment - Posted Sep 12, 2011
"If you weren't having this conversation with me, who, other than your wife, would you be having it with?" That question, in response to something I'd said about treating my nine-year-old daughter's diabetes, was posed to me over the phone by a friend I had made less than six months earlier. She has a daughter too, the same age as mine, who also has type 1. Their diagnosis came a couple of years before ours, so I respect her experience and opinion, and so does my wife, Franca.
0 comments - Posted Sep 9, 2011
Carbohydrates can increase blood sugar levels in people with diabetes, as well as contribute to weight gain. A recent study shows that eating two ounces of raw, dry, or roasted nuts daily as a replacement for two ounces of other carbohydrates may control blood sugar levels and cholesterol in type 2 diabetes without packing on the pounds.
0 comments - Posted Sep 5, 2011
When people are diagnosed with diabetes, things can seem pretty overwhelming. In a short time, they have to absorb a daunting amount of information and start making significant decisions about the way they live their lives.
0 comments - Posted Sep 3, 2011
Don't think that you can pull one over on your diabetes educator anymore. The American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) has developed an official, standard method to measure the progress made by their diabetic patients.
12 comments - Posted Sep 2, 2011
When diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, I was eighteen years old, scared, and confused. Although bone thin, I was older than the usual juvenile diabetic, so the doctor didn't know if I had type 1 or type 2 diabetes. At first, the doctor gave me pills to lower my blood sugar. I avoided carbohydrates and threw myself into exercise, then watched helplessly as the numbers on my blood sugar meter continued to rise.
10 comments - Posted Sep 1, 2011
August 2011
As an NFL quarterback, Jay Cutler makes his living putting a football into the hands of an open receiver before getting slammed to the ground by a huge defensive lineman. It's a stressful occupation, all about timing, a little luck, and seeing the big picture in a split second.
8 comments - Posted Aug 31, 2011
Will there be a cure for diabetes? Is an artificial pancreas a cure? Was insulin a cure? Let's begin on the correct platform. You may have an opinion on what a cure is that completely differs from mine, and that's okay.
39 comments - Posted Aug 24, 2011
I recently finished reading Amy Stockwell Mercer's book, The Smart Woman's Guide to Diabetes. In Chapter 1, the author discusses a topic that I find critical to the well-being of people with diabetes: Developing a personal diabetes philosophy.
3 comments - Posted Aug 22, 2011
Many women with diabetes feel overwhelmed by the responsibilities of family, work, and personal health. Balancing the minutiae of everyday life with the nonstop demands of blood glucose monitoring, exercise, and thoughtful meal planning takes time and effort. So it comes as no surprise that many women with diabetes put off talking to their doctors about breast cancer screening.
1 comment - Posted Aug 20, 2011
Scientific studies -- and our own common sense -- tell us that staying motivated and engaged helps control our diabetes. We know what we should resist temptation at the dinner table, monitor our blood sugars avidly, and get regular check-ups. But knowing all of these things, and knowing that self-motivation is the way to achieve them, isn't quite enough.
1 comment - Posted Aug 19, 2011
My name is Katherine Marple, and I've had type 1 diabetes for 13 years. I'm the first in my family to have the disease, so I've done most of the research and made most of the discoveries on my own. One of those discoveries was the power of metformin (in addition to insulin) to help me control my diabetes.
16 comments - Posted Aug 18, 2011
July 2011
People with type 2 diabetes often find visits with their physicians frustrating. Dr. Jeffrey Mechanick, MD, FACE, FACP, Secretary of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE), observes, "Many times when patients come to the doctor, the first thing that they say is really what's on their mind--that's their top priority. But oftentimes physicians don't address that at all. Instead, they move on to what's on their own agenda."
3 comments - Posted Jul 31, 2011
The ArterioFlow 7500 is a pump that exerts pressure on an affected part of the body to force blood to flow more freely and widely. Increased blood flow is often the key to speeding up the healing of diabetic ulcers and preventing them from turning into infected wounds that can lead to gangrene and amputation.
1 comment - Posted Jul 29, 2011
Spending too many hours watching TV can also substantially increase your odds of developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease or dying early. That's the conclusion of a Harvard School of Public Health study that looked at the effects of heavy TV watching.
1 comment - Posted Jul 23, 2011
Italian researchers have found that increased consumption of omega-3 fatty acids leads to a decrease in insulin resistance, a common precursor to the development of type 2 diabetes. It also improves lipid profiles and adiponectin levels. (Adiponectin is a protein that is involved in metabolizing glucose and fatty acids. Low levels are associated with insulin resistance, diabetes, atherosclerosis, and obesity.)
0 comments - Posted Jul 21, 2011
Erin lay on a bed in the emergency room, finally serious about getting help. Her second episode of diabetic ketoacidosis in a single year had sent her to the hospital shaking and vomiting. For the past seven years, she had been driven by one desire: to lose forty pounds. She refused to give herself her full dose of insulin, fearing weight gain. She hadn't seen her endocrinologist or checked her blood sugar for a year or two.
5 comments - Posted Jul 18, 2011
Nipro Diagnostics, Inc., and NeuroMetrix, Inc., have announced that they will seek opportunities to sell their soon-to-be-introduced NC-stat® DPNCheckTM neuropathy test in retail medical clinics nationwide. The test, conducted onsite, evaluates neuropathies, including diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN).
1 comment - Posted Jul 16, 2011
Immunologists at a research institute in Melbourne, Australia, say they have successfully tested a nasal spray that suppresses an immune response in people who are genetically disposed to type 1. The test, performed by scientists at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, is the first time that the spray has been tried on humans.
3 comments - Posted Jul 13, 2011
The Internet allows consumers to shop for deals on anything imaginable, even prescription drugs. The economic struggles that many currently face, paired with the increasing cost of healthcare and prescription drugs, have created an environment in which counterfeit drug makers can prosper.
1 comment - Posted Jul 7, 2011
Recently, we published an article by Hope Warshaw, MMSc, RD, CDE, titled "From Old Dogmas to New Realities. "In the article, Hope voiced the opinion that a low carb diet is not the only dietary option for people with diabetes, and that, in fact, such thinking is an "old dogma." In response, we received a number of strongly worded comments advocating the low carb diet as the only way to go.
48 comments - Posted Jul 6, 2011
If you have diabetes, you're more likely to be depressed than people without the disease.
5 comments - Posted Jul 5, 2011
"Good news," my diabetes nurse educator says to me. "Your new insurance covers continuous glucose monitoring supplies!" I give her a half-smile as my brain screams at me, "CGM? Really? Something else to deal with on top of this damn disease, an insulin pump, exercise, and nutrition?" But I comply, and a CGM is added to the rest of my paraphernalia.
26 comments - Posted Jul 1, 2011
June 2011
A new report shows that increasing numbers of consumers are using the Internet to track medical information that they can apply to their own health. The report, "The Social Life of Health Information," was issued by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project and the California HealthCare Foundation.
0 comments - Posted Jun 29, 2011
In the last decade, dramatic changes have occurred in our understanding of the onset and progression of prediabetes. Lightning speed changes have also occurred regarding the therapies available to achieve optimal blood glucose control. Even with all of this change, however, many old dogmas hang on. It's time to be aware of the new realities. In this article, I focus on two common old dogmas and the new realities.
71 comments - Posted Jun 28, 2011
Lap-Band manufacturer Allergan has asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to allow surgeries using the device on overweight teenagers as young as 14 years old.
3 comments - Posted Jun 27, 2011
In an interconnected global marketplace, linked by air travel and full of countries jostling for notice, it's no wonder that medical tourism has spurred competition. Nations see the money flowing into healthcare and want a share for themselves. They also see real advantages to becoming healthcare delivery hubs.
0 comments - Posted Jun 26, 2011
The main question that doctors---and patients---ask about a prescription drug is simple: Does it work? Does this medicine improve the condition it's prescribed for?
0 comments - Posted Jun 25, 2011
"My pump, my pump, my lovely little pump!" My sister invented her own version of the Black Eyed Peas' song, "My Humps" to poke friendly fun at my insulin pump.
20 comments - Posted Jun 24, 2011
An Australian researcher who deliberately fed his lab rats a high-sugar/high-fat diet says that a flavonoid called rutin helped block the growth of fat cells in their abdomens and kept them from putting on weight despite their bad diet. Flavonoids are plant pigments that researchers are finding have beneficial metabolic effects because of their antioxidant capabilities.
0 comments - Posted Jun 21, 2011
People with diabetes can breath a sigh of relief: New rules now protect them from workplace discrimination. The Obama administration has widened the definition of disability to include cancer, epilepsy, and diabetes, among other conditions.
9 comments - Posted Jun 20, 2011
With Father's Day just around the corner, I thought it would be nice to stop for a moment and reflect on what dads do for us, especially dads who have diabetic children. The pressure and emotional aspects of diabetes can be overwhelming, not to mention the stress it can put on a family. For every needle prick, shot, and counted carb my father (and mother) helped me with, I want to say thanks.
21 comments - Posted Jun 19, 2011
Need a cheap kidney? How about a quick and easy bypass operation? Medical tourism offers a way for people facing pricey medical procedures to both save money and see another country. And while some, including President Obama, disparage the practice, it's on the rise as healthcare costs in the United States skyrocket beyond the budget of middle-class patients.
4 comments - Posted Jun 17, 2011
Over the last decade, dramatic changes have occurred in our understanding of the onset and progression of prediabetes. Lightning speed changes have also occurred regarding the therapies available to achieve optimal blood glucose control. Even with all of this change, however, many old dogmas hang on. It's time to become aware of the new realities. In this article, I focus on two common old dogmas and the new realities.
2 comments - Posted Jun 16, 2011
More than ten million kids head off to summer camp each year. Just because your child has diabetes doesn't mean that he or she must be left out of this rite of passage. Wherever you live, there are specialized camps to help your child have a great and safe experience.
2 comments - Posted Jun 12, 2011
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has said that starting on November 18, 2011, it will restrict retail pharmacy sales of three diabetes drugs manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline: the stand-alone Avandia (rosiglitazone) and the combination drugs Avandamet (rosiglitazone and metformin) and Avandaryl (rosiglitazone and glimepiride).
0 comments - Posted Jun 11, 2011
I recently had the experience of flying from Tampa to Los Angeles, with a layover in Atlanta, totaling about seven hours spent in airports or up in the sky. To prepare for such a trip, you have to ask yourself a lot of "What if" questions. What if your plane is delayed? What if you miss your connecting flight? What if you have to stay over an extra night? What if your pump fails? What if you are on the tarmac for four hours and you go low?
22 comments - Posted Jun 2, 2011
May 2011
Here's news that has been receiving big play in U.S. and European media: British scientists have found that a gene called KLF14 acts as a "master switch" that controls other genes found in body fat-genes that are major factors in such conditions as type 2 diabetes, obesity, high cholesterol levels, and levels of glucose and insulin. The finding, by researchers at King's College London and Oxford University, could lead to treatments for diabetes, obesity, and related metabolic disorders by targeting the gene.
2 comments - Posted May 30, 2011
A Dallas-based marketing research firm survey of 9,265 respondents indicates that people with diabetes earn less and weigh more than their non-diabetic counterparts.
0 comments - Posted May 28, 2011
Does asthma boost your risk of developing diabetes and heart disease? A new review of years of medical records suggests that it does. Minnesota's Mayo clinic conducted the study, which looked at heaps of medical records from the late 1960s to the early 1980s. The link was straightforward. People with asthma were more likely to have both diabetes and heart disease than people without the breathing condition.
1 comment - Posted May 22, 2011
You're heard the doctors. You've read the articles. You know all about tight control.
25 comments - Posted May 20, 2011
Researchers from the Intermountain Medical Center's Heart Institute in Utah have found that regular fasting cuts the risk of both heart disease and diabetes. The study comes from Utah because the state's large number of Mormon residents are asked to fast at least once a month. For many of them, not eating at all has real, long-lasting health benefits.
7 comments - Posted May 16, 2011
A study just published by VSP® Vision Care, a 56 million-member non-profit vision benefits and services company, reports that VSP has saved its clients $4.5 billion in potential healthcare expenditures via early detection of chronic eye diseases.
0 comments - Posted May 15, 2011
Meet Mary,* a 16-year-old girl with type 1 diabetes. When her parents ask her how her blood sugar is, she always has a good number. She keeps a tidy logbook of her blood sugars, and they look fine, although her last A1C was inexplicably high. It's been a long time since she was diagnosed, and her parents are confident that she knows how to care for herself. She has been somewhat less energetic for quite awhile, but her parents attribute that to growing pains, as Mary has grown from a chubby child into a very slender young woman. She appears a little dehydrated and flushed sometimes, but she always drinks a lot of water and goes to the bathroom frequently, so her parents aren't concerned. They have also noted a fruity odor about her, which she attributes to a new lip gloss.
5 comments - Posted May 14, 2011
A Danish study of 107,806 adults taking various diabetes medications has found that three drugs are the most effective at lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease and death: metformin, gliclazide (not marketed in the US), and repaglinide (Prandin). Other common diabetes medications, including glimepiride, glibenclamide (glyburide), glipizide, and tolbutamide, were linked to a higher risk of death both from all causes and from heart attack and stroke.
1 comment - Posted May 13, 2011
Gene Thornton was in the Army in Germany when he got type 1 diabetes. It was 1965, 46 years ago, and he was 24 years old. This is his story, in his own words.
5 comments - Posted May 10, 2011
The drug discussed below is for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.
7 comments - Posted May 6, 2011
April 2011
Kent David is a 47-year-old licensed civil engineer who has had type 1 diabetes since 1981. This is Kent's diabetes story in his own words.
5 comments - Posted Apr 29, 2011
We all know by now that fat isn't necessarily a bad thing. Enough advertisements and recommendations for fish oil and omega-3 supplements have appeared over the past few years to make that clear. But what if "good fat" isn't just about eating fish or a taking a fishy-tasting supplement? What if that good fat can be found in a common cooking oil?
0 comments - Posted Apr 27, 2011
What is it about salt that brings out so many powerful flavors and strong feelings? Simple sodium chloride, or salt, as it's known to everyone but chemistry teachers, has been applied to food as a seasoning since the beginning of civilization. Unfortunately, the sodium in salt has proven dangerous both to diabetics and to healthy people who have a propensity toward heart disease.
1 comment - Posted Apr 26, 2011
Every year four million baby teeth fall out, and 1.4 million wisdom teeth are pulled out of our collective mouth. Until recently, the only entity really interested in all those teeth was the tooth fairy. But all that changed in the year 2000, with the discovery that dental pulp contains adult stem cells. In the not-too-distant future, those stem cells might be used for growing new islet cells to cure diabetes. The problem is, how to keep the teeth nice and fresh until that hoped-for day. That's where Provia Laboratories comes in, with their Store-A-Tooth service.
1 comment - Posted Apr 24, 2011
The National Institutes of Health has awarded a $1.15 million grant to a researcher at Eastern Virginia Medical School to investigate a protein that may prevent obese people from developing type 2 diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Apr 22, 2011
Phil Southerland's autobiography is an inspirational coming-of-age memoir about a type 1 baby who wasn't supposed to live. But his doctor's dismal prediction didn't take into consideration his mother's indefatigable determination that her baby would thrive no matter what, and Phil's own fierce drive to conquer every single challenge he encountered, including his diabetes. It's an engrossing book, a sports adventure story with a medical subplot and a roster of dynamic characters, the most dynamic of whom is Phil himself. If we could harness his energy, our dependence on foreign oil would be a thing of the past.
2 comments - Posted Apr 20, 2011
Mike Fisher is a 23-year-old from Ontario, Canada, who's been snowboarding since he was 13 years old. At the age of 18, he was involved in a motorcycle crash that necessitated the amputation of one leg below the knee. He says, "At first, I felt that my life was coming to a crashing halt. But I just pushed myself to recover as fast as possible and get my life back on track, go to school, get back into snowboarding and motorcycles-just anything so that my life wasn't affected at all. I had a lot of support, and I would say that I was pretty optimistic about it and took it almost as a challenge. By the time that I was 19, I was happy. I was walking again, I was back in college in London, Ontario, and everything was good. The accident was a minor setback to me, and I rose above it. I was just continuing with my life."
12 comments - Posted Apr 19, 2011
A new study has proven that use of a blood glucose meter with advanced features, when paired with diabetes education, more effectively manages blood glucose than using a basic feature meter. This information was presented at the recent 46th European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) Annual Meeting in Stockholm, Sweden.
4 comments - Posted Apr 18, 2011
What if there were a technology that could make people with type 1 diabetes feel absolutely wonderful, completely healthy, better than they ever realized was possible? And what if it were about to disappear? Well, there is such a technology, and it is in serious jeopardy. It's called the implantable insulin pump, currently made by Medtronic. This is the story of four people who have been using this device for 20 years, and their desperate crusade to keep it from disappearing forever.
117 comments - Posted Apr 17, 2011
Researchers at the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health have found that people with diabetes have a significantly increased risk of developing Parkinson's disease. Despite that finding, they say that there are too few data to support a causative link between diabetes and Parkinson's.
0 comments - Posted Apr 16, 2011
Three weeks out of every month, my diabetes is well controlled. But the fourth week, the one before my period, is a nightmare. My sugars are astronomically high--I can't even look at a carbohydrate without my sugar spiking. I'm exhausted and cranky, and I can't get comfortable.
8 comments - Posted Apr 15, 2011
Greetings from Philadelphia International Airport! Airports are fascinating places...great for seeing what people look like and how they act under unusual circumstances. At this moment, I see a lot of truly overweight people. Most folks are treating the moving walkway like a ride at Disney World–just standing there, inching slowly along and staring blankly at the passing drywall. I don’t know…maybe the two sights are related. Have we really become this lazy? Have we “convenienced” our way out of being in shape? Have electronic toilet flushers, soap dispensers, and water faucets taken away our last opportunity to burn any calories at all?
0 comments - Posted Apr 14, 2011
3M Health Care has introduced CavilonTM Antifungal Cream for use by caregivers and patients in incontinence settings. The cream is the latest offering in the company's Cavilon line of skincare products designed for professional healthcare providers.
1 comment - Posted Apr 13, 2011
If you have pre-diabetes and live in any of the five boroughs of New York City, get ready to learn a new acronym: YDPP. The initials stand for YMCA Diabetes Prevention Program, a public-private partnership under which New Yorkers can get enroll in a comprehensive low-cost diabetes prevention program at one of the city's 27 YMCA branches and affiliates.
2 comments - Posted Apr 12, 2011
Italian and Greek researchers conducting a meta-analysis* of the diets of more than 500,000 people have concluded that the Mediterranean diet reduces the risk of metabolic syndrome, a cluster of risk factors that are common precursors to type 2 diabetes. Those factors include overweight or obesity, a sedentary lifestyle, high blood sugar, high triglyceride levels, high blood pressure, and high "bad" cholesterol.
The Mediterranean diet is high in fruit, vegetables, whole grain foods, and low-fat dairy products. Proteins include fish, legumes, poultry, tree nuts, and mono-unsaturated fatty acids from olive oil. Alcohol intake is moderate and almost always in conjunction with meals. Red meat is only an occasional menu item.
The scientists looked at 50 studies that involved more than 500,000 people, then extrapolated the effects of a Mediterranean diet from them. Although the meta-analysis pointed to the usefulness of the Mediterranean diet in fending off metabolic syndrome, its authors said that their conclusion is tentative, given the need for more research on the topic.
The study was published in the March 15 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
* A meta-analysis looks at a number of similar studies and tries to derive new and useful results from them by detecting common patterns among them.
0 comments - Posted Apr 12, 2011
Taiwanese researchers say that a technology that uses sound waves to stimulate healing in diabetic foot ulcers is almost three times more effective than conventional hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). The technology, called dermaPACE®, is manufactured by SANUWAVE Health Inc., a medical device company located in Alpharetta, Ga.
0 comments - Posted Apr 10, 2011
An Enid, Oklahoma, billionaire and his wife have pledged another $20 million on top of the $10.5 million they had previously contributed to his namesake diabetes center at the University of Oklahoma.
3 comments - Posted Apr 9, 2011
High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is, as the name implies, corn syrup whose sugar, glucose, has been partially changed into another type of sugar, fructose.
0 comments - Posted Apr 9, 2011
Beta blockers, which many people with diabetes take to control high blood pressure, may be one of the reasons why type 2s often tend to gain and keep weight. That's the conclusion of a study from St. Vincent's Hospital in Sydney, Australia.
0 comments - Posted Apr 8, 2011
Jeff and Natalie Kolok live in northwestern Vermont with their three children: Naomi, 16, and Johanna and Nicholas, each ten years old. Both Johanna and Nicholas have type 1 diabetes, Johanna since age four and Nick since age six.
1 comment - Posted Apr 7, 2011
If you, like me, have diabetes, you realize upon reflection that you are, despite the constant demands of the disease, blessed. Somewhere, sometime, you have benefited from the kindness, professionalism, and genuine concern of a medical professional, be it a nurse, pharmacist, dietitian, physician, therapist, or supporting staff.
7 comments - Posted Apr 7, 2011
France-based pharmaceutical manufacturer sanofi-aventis has announced the availability of several new media designed to help the company communicate with people who have diabetes.
• A blog, "Discuss Diabetes," offers health, nutrition, and lifestyle information, as well as a way to offer suggestions to the company. The blog is available at www.discussdiabetes.com.
0 comments - Posted Apr 6, 2011
While smoking is commonly associated with a higher risk of developing a serious disease, it's not often that second-hand smoke or being an ex-smoker is considered even riskier. If the disease is type 2 diabetes, however, it is.
0 comments - Posted Apr 5, 2011
The Second Annual Native American Healthcare Conference will take place May 23 through 24 at the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The conference will be held in conjunction with the Native American Diabetes Workshop at the same site.
1 comment - Posted Apr 4, 2011
As we wrote back in 2008, the EndoBarrier is a very clever way to simulate the effect of a gastric bypass without the unpleasant scalpel part. It looks like a long clear plastic stocking, and it's simply threaded through the patient's mouth and stomach, down to the small intestine, where it lines the intestine's upper section (the same part that is bypassed in traditional surgery). Food slips right through it, but digestive enzymes are trapped on its other side. The two don't get to join forces until a couple of feet further downstream, so the effect on diabetes is a lot like that of a bypass: It resolves the symptoms of type 2 diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Apr 1, 2011
March 2011
Francisco Zepeda is a 54-year-old native of El Salvador who owns an insurance agency in San Francisco. Type 2 diabetes runs in his family. He says, "My grandmother lived with diabetes for about 30 years, and my father has it as well. I heard about diabetes all that time, but I never thought that it was going to happen to me. And I still hope that I'm not really diabetic. They say that once your blood sugar goes up, then you are diabetic, but I don't want to believe that I'm diabetic, you know what I mean?"
0 comments - Posted Mar 31, 2011
This List defines terms that people with prediabetes commonly encounter as they learn more about the condition.
1 comment - Posted Mar 29, 2011
UltiMed, which offers the only pen needles assembled in the United States, has announced that it is now offering a 50-count universal-fit pen needle.
2 comments - Posted Mar 28, 2011
Researchers at the University of California at Davis have begun a study to see if patients' own adult stem cells can be used to increase lower leg blood circulation and possibly prevent amputation due to arterial disease or diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Mar 27, 2011
A New York University research team has won a pilot grant to see if blood from dental procedures could be used in conjunction with the A1C test to detect diabetes or pre-diabetes. The A1C test, which is becoming healthcare providers' preferred test for detecting the disease, typically uses blood extracted from finger pricks to make its analysis. The NYU team will see if the blood that flows from gum tissue during dental work can be used for the same purpose.
5 comments - Posted Mar 26, 2011
Michael Hamman is a 63-year-old contractor. He recalls, "I first was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes five or six years ago. I probably had elevated blood sugar well in advance of that, but I was unaware of it. I don't remember how high my blood sugar was at the time, but I think my A1C was 7.5%. My blood sugar's never really been awful. Since I started monitoring myself, my sugar readings are normally between 150 and 165. I think it was pushing 200 before I was medicated, but the medications brought it down. They started me on glyburide and I took that for a long time, and then the A1C was moving up again, so they added the metformin. The A1C now is down in the mid-sixes. They consider it controlled, not well controlled or as good as it could be, but certainly for someone my size, it's probably as good as you can get."
1 comment - Posted Mar 25, 2011
Now that a few months have passed since the New Year, what is the state of your resolution to lose weight? If it is a just a painful memory, you might be pondering the strength of your willpower and concluding that it is shamefully weak. In fact, it's not, according to Daniel Akst, the author of We Have Met the Enemy: Self-Control in an Age of Excess. Although a full two-thirds of us are overweight, our willpower is no weaker than that of the slim generations that preceded us. It's just that we're up against temptations that we never evolved to resist, in an environment that seduces rather than sustains us.
4 comments - Posted Mar 24, 2011
A motorized artificial knee that "learns" its user's walking style and then adjusts its performance accordingly has just been introduced into the United States. Besides building a database about a user's walking style, the knee can make adjustments on the fly, taking into account changes in speed, terrain, and stride.
0 comments - Posted Mar 23, 2011
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has accepted an application to review dapagliflozin, a drug for the treatment of type 2 diabetes that is being developed by Bristol-Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca.
0 comments - Posted Mar 22, 2011
Evolution works in strange ways. What serves as an advantage at one point in time can sometimes prove a problem later, when the world has changed. It looks like that might be the case with type 2 diabetes, according to researchers from San Diego, California.
2 comments - Posted Mar 21, 2011
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has identified a swath of the southern U.S. as the country's "diabetes belt." In this region, made up of parts of 15 states, some 12 percent of the population has type 2 diabetes, compared with 8.5 percent of people in the rest of the country.
0 comments - Posted Mar 19, 2011
If a prisoner on death row wants to donate his organs, should he be allowed to do it?
19 comments - Posted Mar 18, 2011
A paid Medicare benefit for diabetes education is rarely used by those who qualify for it, despite the fact that diabetes education provides clear health benefits.
0 comments - Posted Mar 13, 2011
You know that awful feeling when a sugar low is coming. I break out into a cold sweat, feel panicky, get nauseated, and have trouble answering extremely simple questions like "Do you need to eat?" Well, I was feeling it again, and again, and I didn't know why. That's what I hate the most: When things go wrong, but I think I've been doing everything right.
1 comment - Posted Mar 8, 2011
A new report recently published in the American Chemical Society's bi-weekly Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry adds a new punch to the power of garlic in the fight against heart disease. The report concludes that garlic has "significant" potential for preventing cardiomyopathy, a form of heart disease that is a leading cause of death in people with diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Mar 5, 2011
Novo Nordisk, the world's largest insulin manufacturer, has joined the Diabetes Prevention and Control Alliance (DPCA), a group whose goals are to reduce people's risk of developing diabetes and to work with people who already have it.
1 comment - Posted Mar 4, 2011
Ten years ago, an astute physician diagnosed me with Type 2 diabetes. I exhibited none of the classic symptoms of rapid weight loss, extreme thirst, and frequent urination. I attributed fatigue to my job. For about a year before diagnosis, I experienced what I thought were yeast infections and treated them with over-the-counter medications. I later learned that this condition is a symptom of diabetes. I am non-insulin dependent.
0 comments - Posted Mar 3, 2011
Hispanics are almost twice as likely as non-Hispanic whites to have type 2 diabetes, and more than a third of working adult Hispanics do not have health insurance. For this audience, Jane Delgado, PhD, has written The Buena Salud Guide to Diabetes and Your Life. Available in both Spanish and English, it's a culturally sensitive and reassuring book that dispels myths and presents detailed science while gently guiding readers toward the right path in caring for their diabetes. The tone is conversational, as Dr. Delgado speaks to her readers like a family member who knows them well and has their best interests at heart.
0 comments - Posted Mar 2, 2011
February 2011
Ross Valley Pharmacy, tucked away inside a larger building of clinics, is not a big place, but it's very very busy. Its owner, Paul Lofholm, PharmD, has a vision of the pharmacist's role that goes far beyond simply putting pills in bottles. He sees pharmacists as integral members of the healthcare team who can fill the gaps in patients' education about their conditions and their medications.
0 comments - Posted Feb 21, 2011
Ross Valley Pharmacy, tucked away inside a larger building of clinics, is not a big place, but it's very very busy. Its owner, pharmacist Paul Lofholm, has a vision of the pharmacist's role that goes far beyond simply putting pills in bottles. He sees pharmacists as integral members of the healthcare team who can fill the gaps in patients' education about their conditions and their medications.
0 comments - Posted Feb 20, 2011
Folks who need that morning cup of coffee to get going may be protecting themselves from type 2 diabetes, a new study suggests. UCLA researchers wrote in the journal Diabetes last month that drinking four cups of coffee a day reduced women's chance of developing type 2 by a bit less than half. What's more, the scientists point to a specific reason why all that java has a beneficial effect: a protein known as sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG). Scientists have suspected for some time that SHBG was connected to diabetes development.
0 comments - Posted Feb 19, 2011
Can't make insulin? That might not be a problem, according to Dr. Roger Unger, the lead researcher on a mouse study out of UT Southwestern Medical Center. As Dr. Unger stated in a press release, his findings "suggest that if there is no glucagon, it doesn't matter if you don't have insulin....In adulthood, at least with respect to glucose metabolism, the role of insulin is to control glucagon. And if you don't have glucagon, then you don't need insulin...If diabetes is defined as restoration of glucose homeostasis to normal, then this treatment can perhaps be considered very close to a ‘cure.' "
1 comment - Posted Feb 16, 2011
The final patient has performed the last visit of the main study period in Diamyd Medical's European Phase III study. Treatment with the antigen based therapy Diamyd® is made to investigate whether beta cell function and thereby blood sugar control can be preserved in children and adolescents with new onset type 1 diabetes. The top line results from this study are expected to be reported as planned, in late spring 2011.
0 comments - Posted Feb 15, 2011
Nearly one in six people in the United States has no health insurance. If you have diabetes, that's a very tough position to be in. There are, however, resources that can cut the costs that you have been paying out of pocket for medicines and supplies.
0 comments - Posted Feb 14, 2011
A new analysis from Johns Hopkins University shows that women with diabetes are 50 percent more likely to die if they have breast cancer. Why? The challenges of diabetes management play a role, as well as women's overall health.
0 comments - Posted Feb 14, 2011
As announced in November, 2010, the National Certification Board for Diabetes Educators (NCBDE), the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) and the American Diabetes Association (ADA) have created the Diabetes Educator Mentorship Program to promote careers that will lead to a Certified Diabetes Educator® (CDE®) designation and improve access to much needed diabetes self-management education (DSME).
0 comments - Posted Feb 12, 2011
During 2010, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Attorney General's office recovered $4 billion related to healthcare fraud. According to the HHS press release, this record sum was due to "President Obama making the elimination of fraud, waste, and abuse a top priority in his administration" and the 2009 creation of the Health Care Fraud Prevention & Enforcement Action Team (HEAT). They will do even better in the future, said the press release, "with the new tools and resources provided by the Affordable Care Act."
0 comments - Posted Feb 9, 2011
In a new book, "Overdiagnosed: Making People Sick in the Pursuit of Health," Dartmouth researchers and physicians H. Gilbert Welch, Lisa Schwartz and Steven Woloshin argue that the medical establishment's embrace of early diagnosis and treatment as the key to keeping people healthy actually does the opposite.
0 comments - Posted Feb 8, 2011
It's generally thought that a genetic predisposition to type 1 diabetes is not enough to develop the disease, but that an environmental trigger is required to activate it. Researchers are not sure what that environmental trigger is, but enteroviruses have been under suspicion for quite a while. Enteroviruses are the second leading cause of viral colds in children.
1 comment - Posted Feb 8, 2011
January 2011
It doesn't matter if you're a computer geek or complete technophobe: If you've ever made the effort to download your blood glucose meter, you probably don't have a clue about what to do with the data once you've gotten it. That needs to change. Those of us who live with diabetes need to become more adept at analyzing our own data, to see what's working and what isn't both for our own sake and that of our time-strapped healthcare providers. .
2 comments - Posted Jan 25, 2011
Self-management is the key to healthy living with diabetes, but there are always challenges to maintaining optimum blood glucose levels. Lagging motivation and focus can be obstacles, and adjusting diet and medications to meet changing conditions is challenging. If you have ever wished for a person to help you improve your skills, someone who could offer informed guidance between appointments with your doctor - you may have been wishing for a diabetes coach. Diabetes coaches are personal trainers for individuals with insulin-dependent diabetes. This unique branch of diabetes education delivers ongoing, one-on-one consulting from a trained certified diabetes educator.
0 comments - Posted Jan 24, 2011
Taking 10,000 steps a day, or walking about five miles, is very, very good for you. It's even better than walking 3,000 steps a day, which is also extremely beneficial if you walk briskly enough to do it in 30 minutes. The 10,000 steps philosophy is not new--there's even a weight-loss book or two on the topic. But now the 10,000 step regimen has also been linked to an increase in insulin sensitivity in middle-aged adults.
1 comment - Posted Jan 20, 2011
Keeping the lights on all night might keep away the monsters under the bed, but it also keeps away the "hormone of darkness," melatonin, according to a new study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. Melatonin, which is secreted into the blood by the brain's pineal gland at night, is involved in the circadian rhythm. Scientists believe that disrupting circadian rhythms can contribute to metabolic disease. Specifically, melatonin receptor genes have been linked to type 2 diabetes. Melatonin is also a powerful antioxidant that may help prevent cancer.
3 comments - Posted Jan 19, 2011
UCSF will launch one of the nation's first inter-professional, team-based simulation learning centers to prepare doctors, nurses, pharmacists and dentists together for the changing health care landscape.
0 comments - Posted Jan 17, 2011
As the new House of Representatives pumps itself up to repeal Obama's healthcare bill because it's "the will of the people," Kaiser has released survey results that probe the details of that will. When you dig a little deeper, it turns out, we might not really know what we are talking about.
9 comments - Posted Jan 11, 2011
Taking your medicine can lead to quite a windfall in reduced medical claims, according to a study recently published in Health Affairs. Over the course of a year, patients with diabetes who took their medications as directed saved their insurance companies a handsome $3,756 compared to people who didn't, even after claiming as much as $1000 for those very medications. The money was saved because the patients spent less time at the emergency room and in the hospital, a nice benefit in itself.
1 comment - Posted Jan 11, 2011
A full third of adult Americans are pre-diabetic, and a third of those will develop type 2 diabetes before they're ten years older. Unfortunately, only about seven percent of them have been tested for pre-diabetes and warned of their condition; the rest are ignorant of the road they're on. By losing just 10 to 15 pounds, the whole group could cut their chances of getting type 2 by half. The problem is, how to alert them in time for them to stop their progression to type 2?
7 comments - Posted Jan 10, 2011
UnitedHealthcare of New England has announced that it plans to introduce a statewide program to prevent type 2 diabetes in Rhode Island sometime in 2011. Of the state's 2010 population of 1,053,000, an estimated 62,000 adults have diabetes-almost 6 percent of the population-according to the Rhode Island Department of Health. The department estimates that another 31,000 adults have the disease but have not yet been diagnosed.
2 comments - Posted Jan 4, 2011
The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 represents a major step forward in our nation's effort to provide all children with healthy food in schools. Increasingly schools are playing a central role in children's health. Over 31 million children receive meals through the school lunch program and many children receive most, if not all, of their meals at school. With over seventeen million children living in food insecure households and one out of every three children in America now considered overweight or obese, schools often are on the front lines of our national challenge to combat childhood obesity and improve children's overall health. This legislation includes significant improvements that will help provide children with healthier and more nutritious food options, educate children about making healthy food choices, and teach children healthy habits that can last a lifetime.
0 comments - Posted Jan 4, 2011
December 2010
Very recently, the Obama Administration announced some new initiatives with regard to the new healthcare law, in what could be one of the biggest and farthest-reaching benefits of the Affordable Care Act. The $10 billion, 10-year plan is being spearheaded by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI), which was created by the Affordable Care Act.
1 comment - Posted Dec 18, 2010
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates-- One in three United Arab Emirates (UAE) residents could have diabetes or prediabetes by the end of the decade, according to a new analysis from international health and well-being company UnitedHealth Group, released at the World Health Care Congress Middle East meeting in Abu Dhabi.
0 comments - Posted Dec 17, 2010
If you have type 1 diabetes, you know that the process of obtaining life insurance or long-term care insurance has been a long, tough road, most often leading to the dead end of declined coverage. In fact, most insurance companies have classified anyone with type 1 as an automatic decline, without any consideration of each case individually.
7 comments - Posted Dec 14, 2010
(Reuters) - Stem cells can be transformed into the pancreatic cells needed to treat diabetes and into complex layers of intestinal tissue, scientists demonstrated in two experiments reported on Sunday.
6 comments - Posted Dec 13, 2010
"Congress passed a multi-year renewal of the Special Diabetes Program (SDP), ensuring that studies on promising diabetes treatments and avenues toward a cure continue uninterrupted. As the father of a son living with type 1 diabetes, and as CEO of JDRF, one of the leading advocates for the renewal of this program, I applaud the U.S. government for its continued commitment to end this disease.
2 comments - Posted Dec 13, 2010
Kaiser Permanente presented a $20,000 grant to the Institute of Human Services to support vocational skills training in urban agriculture and an edible gardening initiative in conjunction with IHS' Rooftop Garden project at its Women's and Family Shelter.
0 comments - Posted Dec 3, 2010
WASHINGTON-Even though the new health reform law will reduce some health costs in retirement for many people, retirees will still need a significant amount of savings to cover their out-of-pocket health expenses when they retire, according to a report released by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI). Women in particular will need more savings than men because they tend to live longer.
1 comment - Posted Dec 2, 2010
November 2010
Too often our preconceptions of work-limiting disabilities are confined to suddenly devastating conditions, such as spinal cord injury or stroke. We rarely consider how diseases such as diabetes can be just as debilitating and just as costly to a family. With November being recognized as National Diabetes Awareness Month, we should remember the people who are unable to work due to the complications of diabetes and who need the benefits to which they are entitled under Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI).
4 comments - Posted Nov 30, 2010
The economic recession has hammered people with diabetes, according to a new survey. Many say that their health has been harmed by the crisis, and more expect their health to suffer in the future. What's more, most don't expect the government's health reform bill to improve their situation.
1 comment - Posted Nov 28, 2010
The newest threat to patient health may not be the flu or other epidemics. It could be a major shortage of prescription drugs. The shortage has reached the level of a "national public health crisis," according to a survey conducted by the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) this summer. Survey respondents said shortages in the past year were "the worst ever, without a glimmer of hope for any improvement in the near future."
0 comments - Posted Nov 27, 2010
More than 50 percent of Americans could have diabetes or pre-diabetes by 2020 at a cost of $3.35 trillion over the next decade if current trends continue, according to new analysis by UnitedHealth Group's Center for Health Reform & Modernization, but there are also practical solutions for slowing the trend.
1 comment - Posted Nov 24, 2010
Get ready for a major change to the way you can use your Flexible Spending Account (FSA). Staring in 2011, you won't be able to use your FSA to purchase over-the-counter (OTC) medications unless you have a prescription from your doctor. By the year 2013, FSAs will also be capped at $2,500, down from the $5,000 currently allowed under the program. These changes, which are the result of the Affordable Care Act, could have a significant impact on both the revenues of the federal government and your wallet.
1 comment - Posted Nov 23, 2010
In the wake of the November midterm election that resulted in a landslide victory for Republicans and a shift in party control of the House of Representatives, the debate about health reform continues to play out in Washington and in many states across the country. Republican lawmakers from many states have made public calls for repeal of or drastic changes to the law, and governors from several states have signed on to a lawsuit filed in Florida that challenges the law on constitutional grounds. The November Kaiser Health Tracking poll finds the public is still largely divided in their opinions of the law and what should happen next. In this Data Note, we examine how those opinions differ by region of the country.
0 comments - Posted Nov 19, 2010
Scientists gathered in October to discuss a very timely topic- the flu. While influenza may not be the headline news that it was last year with the H1N1 epidemic, the flu is very much on the minds of many scientists and doctors nation- and world-wide. The October gathering presented the newest research on the flu virus and attempts to vaccinate against it.
0 comments - Posted Nov 19, 2010
Atlanta, Ga. -With more than 30 state and nationally-renowned speakers, 400 attendees and dozens of workshops and panels, the 17th Annual Diabetes University concluded Saturday as one of the largest in the Diabetes Association of Atlanta's history.
0 comments - Posted Nov 17, 2010
If you're getting information about diabetes from groups or friends on Facebook, you might want to be careful. A new study suggests that a quarter of posts in these groups are possibly ads, and not for FDA-approved treatments, either.
5 comments - Posted Nov 17, 2010
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is encouraging all Medicare beneficiaries to take advantage of the annual Open Enrollment period to make sure they have the best coverage available to meet their health care needs in 2011.
1 comment - Posted Nov 16, 2010
WASHINGTON, D.C., Nov. 10, 2010 --- Diabetes experts at a meeting convened by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) took the next step in advancing efforts toward the development of an artificial pancreas: putting forth clinical recommendations to ensure the safe and effective testing of artificial pancreas technology in real-life situations. We are pleased at today's meeting there was a strong consensus among leading clinicians, researchers and industry leaders regarding the path toward outpatient studies for both low-glucose suspend and artificial pancreas systems.
5 comments - Posted Nov 10, 2010
A group of congressional leaders is convening in Philadelphia from November 10 to November 13 to discuss an issue becoming more and more prevalent in the political and medical communities: access to healthcare services. This is an important topic in today's economic environment and one that has come to the attention of more people since the passage of the Affordable Care Act earlier this year.
0 comments - Posted Nov 6, 2010
New technology is popping up all over in the medical community, from new diagnostic machines, to new ways of administering drugs, to an almost endless supply of self-monitoring devices such as blood glucose meters. But a technology often overlooked is one that could have the most impact-electronic medical records.
0 comments - Posted Nov 3, 2010
October 2010
In a proof-of-concept study presented at the 2010 Annual Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons, the researchers note that the matrix not only helps to understand the micro-architecture of the pancreas, but also prolongs the survival and preserves the function of the islets. Islets survived longer in the bio-artificial matrix than in conventional transplantation sites, and they produced significantly more insulin when challenged with glucose.
0 comments - Posted Oct 30, 2010
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a startling new projection last week regarding diabetes: As many as one in three U.S. adults could have diabetes by 2050. The announcement on Friday represents a dramatic threefold increase in the number of Americans expected to have diabetes within the next 40 years if current trends continue.
0 comments - Posted Oct 29, 2010
Nearly 1,200 Rite Aid stores nationwide will host Diabetes Solutions Days on Nov. 2, 3 or 4 offering free health screenings and self-management solutions to patients living with diabetes, care-givers and those concerned about diabetes. Visitors also can get vaccinated against flu and/or pneumonia for $24.99 or $50 respectively, although many insurance plans including Medicare cover the cost. Vaccinations are especially important for diabetes patients because flu and pneumonia combine for the deaths of 10,000 to 30,000 diabetes patients annually, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
0 comments - Posted Oct 26, 2010
JACKSONVILLE, FL - October 13, 2010 - The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) today published a consensus statement for continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) online, and will be published in the next issue of the association's official medical journal Endocrine Practice.
0 comments - Posted Oct 14, 2010
Imagine what it would be like to have access to basic medical care close to home or to see a trained professional without an appointment at little or no cost - even if you don't have health insurance.
0 comments - Posted Oct 11, 2010
In July, I went to order a refill of my pump and was refused. My account was overdue, and my pump company wouldn't issue a refill until I could pay at least $400 of the $1200 I owed. I didn't have $400. I am a freelance writer and stay-at-home mom with a knack for stretching my husband's paycheck. I'd been making small monthly payments of about $50 because that was all we could afford, but now they wouldn't send me any more. So I went to the pharmacy and bought a box of syringes for $25. I didn't want to go back to multiple daily injections, but I didn't see that I had a choice.
1 comment - Posted Oct 9, 2010
A Web-based tool that extracts information from the electronic medical record helps primary care physicians improve care and manage their entire panel of patients. Those are the findings of two new Kaiser Permanente studies - the first to examine the effectiveness of a population care tool in a large, diverse patient population.
0 comments - Posted Oct 9, 2010
Better Choices, Better Health is the new online version of Stanford University's Chronic Disease Self Management Program (CDSMP). This six-week, interactive workshop is designed for people with a range of chronic health conditions, including diabetes. It is free for people in seven pilot states, thanks to a grant from The Atlantic Philanthropies.
0 comments - Posted Oct 1, 2010
September 2010
San Francisco - Six months after the Affordable Care Act was signed into law, patients and families are beginning to reap rewards. The nation's new health care law is now delivering protections and cost benefits; yet it will affect consumers differently, and that may cause confusion. Understanding will contribute to its effective implementation and this will involve all ends of the spectrum.
0 comments - Posted Sep 29, 2010
Event Description: The human and economic costs of this epidemic are enormous, diabetes increases the risk for heart disease and other health problems, and therefore it is important to give this disease more attention. The purpose of this forum is to bring together international experts from International health organizations, national health authorities, local diabetic associations, academics, and local, regional and global media to:
0 comments - Posted Sep 28, 2010
Recognising Diabetes as the Global Epidemic of the 21st century and looking at the high prevalence of debilitating diabetes in the region, the First International Diabetes Summit will be Hosted in United Arab Emirates in Dubai on the 8th and 9th of October with the support from the GCC Health Ministers Council and The Council of Nursing and Nursing Specialization for Cooperation Council States.
0 comments - Posted Sep 28, 2010
At your next family reunion or gathering, consider discussing a different type of family tree-the family health history. Find out how to collect, organize and use information about your family's health at Creating a Family Health History, the newest topic on the NIHSeniorHealth website. NIHSeniorHealth is a health and wellness website designed especially for older adults from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the National Library of Medicine (NLM), both part of the National Institutes of Health.
0 comments - Posted Sep 23, 2010
For the first time, scientists have found that blood levels of some ribonucleic acids (microRNAs) are different among people with type 2 diabetes and those who subsequently develop the disease compared to healthy controls, according to research reported in Circulation Research: Journal of the American Heart Association.
0 comments - Posted Sep 22, 2010
Children who have a high risk of developing type 2 diabetes might be identified earlier by way of tell-tale genetic indicators known as biomarkers. Some of those new biomarkers might be pinpointed in research led by Nancy F. Butte and funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service's National Institutes of Health.
0 comments - Posted Sep 22, 2010
NEW YORK (Sept. 21, 2010) - Millions of children's lives could be saved as a result of the long-awaited global focus on nutrition announced today, Save the Children said.
0 comments - Posted Sep 21, 2010
The presence of amyloid protein may produce a chain reaction which destroys vital insulin-producing cells. Researchers based in Dublin, writing in the journal Nature Immunology, say future drugs could target this process. Amyloid is implicated in many other diseases - most notably Alzheimer's.
0 comments - Posted Sep 17, 2010
The JDRF is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. A lot has changed in the past four decades. One change has to do with the organization's name. JDRF stands for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Years ago we called what we now know as type 1 diabetes, Juvenile Onset Diabetes Mellitus (JODM). We called it that because we knew (or thought we knew) it was the kind of diabetes that occurred in children. We now know that type 1 diabetes occurs in people of all age groups. There was a lot we didn't know 40 years ago, one of which was that type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease.
0 comments - Posted Sep 16, 2010
In type 1 diabetes, the body relentlessly attacks and destroys its own insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells. But a study by Joslin Diabetes Center scientists now has firmly established that some of these cells endure for many decades in a small group of people with the disease-offering clues to potential treatments for preserving and even restoring the crucial cell population.
0 comments - Posted Sep 14, 2010
The exact cause of type 1 diabetes is still unknown, but international researchers have found a link between the blood sugar disorder and a network of immune system genes.
0 comments - Posted Sep 13, 2010
Despite the lack of a strong link between type 2 diabetes and Agent Orange, the government is paying Vietnam veterans hundreds of millions of dollars for the disease on the basis of Agent Orange exposure.
1 comment - Posted Sep 12, 2010
Type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer's disease are two distressing, but increasingly common, diseases seen in our aging population. At some point in the future, they may well overwhelm the healthcare system.
0 comments - Posted Sep 5, 2010
Even prior to the onset of the economic recession in 2008, nearly one in four American parents with health insurance reported that their coverage was so inadequate they were unable to access the medical care their children needed.
0 comments - Posted Sep 2, 2010
August 2010
On Monday, August 23rd, a federal court blocked federal funding of embryonic stem cell research; ruling that the Obama Administration's policy violates federal law.
0 comments - Posted Aug 31, 2010
NaturEra, (http://www.NaturEra.com) a dietary supplements emerging leader, this month announced the launch of its new Sugar Crush dietary supplements would take place at the American Association of Diabetes Educators meeting in San Antonio, Texas. Sugar Crush research has been accepted for Poster presentation at the AADE meeting. The full clinical research study (http://www.naturera.com/Manuscript.pdf) shows that NaturEra's 'Sugar Crush' and 'Sugar Crush Daily' dietary supplement formulas used in combination lower and maintain healthy blood sugar levels for people with diabetes.
1 comment - Posted Aug 26, 2010
Doctors have long known that different populations have different risks for chronic illness. Certain ethnic groups, for instance, are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than others. But why? The National Institutes of Health aims to find out. It's Network on Inequality, Complexity, and Health will take a broad look at factors that influence disease and aim to make positive changes.
0 comments - Posted Aug 25, 2010
Novo Nordisk announced today the availability of NovoDoseTM - the first-ever mobile insulin dosing guide for physicians to look up dosing guidelines and blood glucose goals for their patients with diabetes, a disease that affects nearly 24 million Americans. The guide is available as an application on iTunes and is specific to Novo Nordisk's modern insulin analog portfolio: Levemir® (insulin detemir [rDNA origin] injection), NovoLog® (insulin aspart [rDNA origin] injection), and NovoLog® Mix 70/30 (70% insulin aspart protamine suspension and 30% insulin aspart injection, [rDNA origin]).
0 comments - Posted Aug 24, 2010
Jennifer Richards of Park Ridge, Ill., is angry that her family's monthly health insurance bill tripled in August to $1,250 after her husband lost his job and health benefits. But as bad as that is, what really upsets her is the inaction of Congress.
0 comments - Posted Aug 20, 2010
Cleveland Clinic has finalized the agenda for the 8th Annual Medical Innovation Summit, which will be held Nov. 1-3 on the Clinic's campus. The Summit draws 1,000 attendees each year, and includes panel discussions with some of the industry's top CEOs and thought leaders.
0 comments - Posted Aug 18, 2010
A week of Spanish study (5 days of classes) concentrated on your professional specialty. You will have 30 contact classroom hours, as well as opportunities outside the classroom for use of your Spanish. This course may qualify for continuing education units. Information on this is being developed. The course is arranged through Language Link, the U.S. Office for the Spanish Language Institute (800.552.2051, kay@langlink.com), and is sponsored by the AADE California coordinating body.
0 comments - Posted Aug 9, 2010
The Healthcare Leadership Council (HLC) - a coalition of chief executives representing all sectors of American healthcare - announced the formation of the National Dialogue for Healthcare Innovation (NDHI), a forum in which leaders from private sector healthcare, government, academia and patient and consumer organizations can work toward consensus on the most important issues affecting healthcare innovation.
0 comments - Posted Aug 6, 2010
The 1999 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health Care System, found that preventable medical errors caused 44,000 to 98,000 preventable deaths each year, with an associated cost of $17 to $29 billion. Even using the conservative estimate, this placed medical errors among the leading causes of death in the U.S.
0 comments - Posted Aug 3, 2010
July 2010
On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law (P.L. 111-148). The health care reform law, which incorporates changes made by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, makes several important changes to the Medicare Part D drug benefit to reduce Part D enrollees' out-of-pocket liability when they reach the coverage gap, known as the "doughnut hole."
0 comments - Posted Jul 29, 2010
Widely recognized evidence supports the fact that Obstructive Sleep Apnea is a very serious health risk primarily afflicting men over the age of forty, yet 80 to 90 percent of cases go undiagnosed except for the telltale symptoms of chronic fatigue and snoring. Precision diagnosis and recent developments in FDA-approved mouthpiece technology can now provide an unprecedented 78 percent reduction of the condition without surgery, and offer for the first time an effective and convenient alternative for those intolerant to using the frequently prescribed but highly rejected Continuous Positive Airway Pressure therapy.
1 comment - Posted Jul 28, 2010
From environmentally friendly hybrid cars and heating with solar power to organic or natural foods, our culture is increasingly embracing green strategies. "Using natural dietary supplements to support healthy blood sugar levels and minimize the impact of glycation is a rational continuation of this green philosophy," says Steven Joyal, MD, vice president of Scientific Affairs and Medical Development for the Life Extension Foundation in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida (www.lef.org). He is also author of the book What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Jul 20, 2010
Looking for novel ways to help improve patient outcomes, the Johnson & Johnson Diabetes Institute is using innovative adult education techniques to train diabetes educators around the world. While the cultural and epidemiological differences in each region can be challenging, David L. Horwitz, M.D., Ph.D., FACP, Chief Medical Officer of the Johnson & Johnson Diabetes Institute, feels confident this program can make a positive impact to help improve patient outcomes.
0 comments - Posted Jul 17, 2010
Overview: 57 million Americans are estimated to have pre-diabetes, a condition in which a person's blood sugar (glucose) level is above normal but below a level that indicates diabetes. Pre-diabetes may have no outward symptoms, and is diagnosed with a blood glucose test.
0 comments - Posted Jul 16, 2010
A massive study involving 485 people with type 1 diabetes at 30 locations across North America shows that the combination of an insulin pump and a continuous glucose monitor helps patients achieve significantly lower A1c levels than multiple daily insulin injections.
0 comments - Posted Jul 13, 2010
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the establishment of a new Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP) that will offer coverage to uninsured Americans who have been unable to obtain health coverage because of a pre-existing health condition.
0 comments - Posted Jul 12, 2010
In a recent study of the relationship between vitamin D deficiency and glucose intolerance in people with type 2 diabetes, more than 90 percent of the type 2 diabetes patients were found to be deficient in vitamin D, with their control over the disease worsening as their deficiency increased.
0 comments - Posted Jul 4, 2010
In people with longstanding type 2 diabetes who are at high risk for heart attack and stroke, lowering blood sugar to near-normal levels did not delay the combined risk of diabetic damage to kidneys, eyes, or nerves, but did delay several other signs of diabetic damage, a study has found. The intensive glucose treatment was compared with standard glucose control.
0 comments - Posted Jul 2, 2010
A diet including coconut oil, a medium chain fatty acid (MCFA), helps combat insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is the inability of cells to respond to insulin and take in glucose for energy. The pancreas tries to compensate for insulin resistance by producing even more insulin, but eventually glucose accumulates in the bloodstream. Over time, insulin resistance and obesity can lead to pre-diabetes or full-blown type 2 diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Jul 1, 2010
June 2010
A Sacramento Superior Court judge has ruled that only school nurses can give insulin shots to children in public schools who have diabetes. The decision by Judge Lloyd Connelly overturned a 2007 California State Department of Education decision that allowed trained school staff, as well as nurses, to administer such injections.
1 comment - Posted Jun 25, 2010
City of Hope researchers have found that bone marrow transplantation with islet cell transplantation shows promise as a treatment for late-stage type 1 diabetes. This combination may enable patients to make their own insulin again. Results from laboratory research led by Defu Zeng, MD, associate professor in the departments of Diabetes Research and Hematology & Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation at City of Hope, were published online this month in the journal Diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Jun 25, 2010
Researchers from the National Jewish Health and University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus have found a specific protein fragment, or peptide, that stimulates an immune system attack resulting in diabetes. Their experiments in mice contradict conventional wisdom about such peptides and support work by scientists studying autoimmune diseases.
0 comments - Posted Jun 24, 2010
The American Diabetes Association and the American Cancer Society have issued a joint consensus statement that acknowledges some links between diabetes and cancer but also notes there are numerous questions that have yet to be answered.
0 comments - Posted Jun 23, 2010
The definition for a chronic illness is one lasting 3 months or more (U.S. National Center for Health Statistics). Seventy-five per cent of our health care spending is on people with chronic conditions. These persistent conditions - the nation's leading causes of death and disability - leave in their wake deaths that could have been prevented, lifelong disability, compromised quality of life, and burgeoning health care costs. The facts are arresting:
0 comments - Posted Jun 22, 2010
One of the factors that increases the risk of acquiring type 2 diabetes is excess body fat. So it makes sense that losing weight has always been one of the first lines of defense against the disease. Yet people who are slender -skinny, even- sometimes develop type 2. Why is that? Does the fact that a slender person can acquire type 2 negate the need for weight control?
0 comments - Posted Jun 18, 2010
Italian researchers have found a link between a common virus and type 1 diabetes that may open the door to answers about what triggers the disease in children.
0 comments - Posted Jun 17, 2010
Diabetic ketoacidosis poses enough of a threat on its own. But in a small number of cases, it leaves sufferers open to a potentially fatal infection called mucormycosis.
0 comments - Posted Jun 12, 2010
WASHINGTON - In collaboration with Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies, the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) launched the Good Health ClubSM Physician Toolkit - unique educational materials designed to foster better communication between pediatricians and their patients on childhood obesity and diabetes prevention. The toolkit will be available to pediatricians in communities across the country.
0 comments - Posted Jun 11, 2010
We all know that certain chemicals in everyday products are harmful: mercury and lead, just to name a couple. But how harmful, and what can we do about it?
0 comments - Posted Jun 9, 2010
That confused-looking old man in the dietary supplements aisle was more than he seemed. He was actually an undercover government agent.
0 comments - Posted Jun 8, 2010
Over the past few decades, some medical researchers have pointed the finger at meat consumption as a major factor in the development of heart disease and diabetes. However, a meta-analysis conducted by the Harvard School of Medical Health has concluded that it may be the salt and chemical preservatives used in processed meats that lead to health problems, not the meats themselves.
0 comments - Posted Jun 5, 2010
I've been told by my medical team, those who work hard to make sure I live a healthy life with my diabetes, that I am a "good patient." They are pleased that I do what I am supposed to: check my blood sugar, keep my appointments, eat healthy foods, and exercise. They also remark that they wish all their patients took their diabetes management as seriously as I do.
0 comments - Posted Jun 3, 2010
With the rise of the iPhone and the creation of hundreds of thousands of iPhone applications, it's only natural that several wonderful apps have appeared to make life easier for diabetes patients. Here is a quick look at 10 FREE applications, in no particular order, to help you choose the right ones for you.
1 comment - Posted Jun 2, 2010
BD Diagnostics, a segment of BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), announced today the U.S. launch of the BD Vacutainer® Push Button Blood Collection Set with Pre-Attached Holder. The ready-to-use product has been designed to help protect healthcare workers from accidental needlestick injuries (NSIs) during the blood collection process and to prevent reuse of the tube holder.
0 comments - Posted Jun 1, 2010
May 2010
The United States Department of Health and Human Services released The National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy aimed at making health information and services easier to understand and use. The plan calls for improving the jargon-filled language, dense writing, and complex explanations that often fill patient handouts, medical forms, health web sites, and recommendations to the public.
0 comments - Posted May 30, 2010
Both genetic components and environmental factors play a role in most chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes. In the same way that researchers use a Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) to evaluate the role of genetic factors in disease, scientists at Stanford University have used an Environmental-Wide Association Study (EWAS) to evaluate environmental factors on diabetes.
0 comments - Posted May 29, 2010
As awareness of pre-diabetes grows, the list of conditions that can lead to it seems to be growing. Along with obesity and a sedentary lifestyle, researchers may start listing lack of sleep as another danger signal. Two recently published studies conclude that sleep deprivation can lead to insulin resistance-a precursor for diabetes-and even increase the risk of early death.
0 comments - Posted May 26, 2010
A Seattle-based study has found that people with diabetes run a 40 percent increased risk of developing a common type of abnormal heart rhythm known as atrial fibrillation*. The study also shows that as people with diabetes take drugs for the disease, their risk for developing atrial fibrillation increases three percent for each year that they use such medications.
0 comments - Posted May 25, 2010
People with diabetes who have limited health literacy are at higher risk for hypoglycemia or low blood sugar, according to a new study from researchers at the University of California, San Francisco and the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, CA.
0 comments - Posted May 20, 2010
Tattoos aren't just an art form or a way of making a personal statement anymore: They are beginning to save lives.
1 comment - Posted May 20, 2010
A new study released by the Children's Hospital of New Orleans has found that black children with type 1 diabetes scored higher on A1c tests than white children who had similar blood glucose levels. Such ethnic disparity has already been shown in previous studies with adults.
0 comments - Posted May 18, 2010
On Tuesday, Pathway Genomics announced that their personal genetic testing kit (InsightTM Saliva Collection Kit) would soon be available at the pharmacy chain Walgreens. The next day, the FDA released a letter it had sent to Pathway Genomics on Monday saying hold on, there was no approval on record for Pathway's Genetic Health Report. By Thursday, Wallgreens announced that it was delaying the sale of the genetic testing kits.
0 comments - Posted May 15, 2010
Over 80 years ago, famed diabetologist Elliot Joslin said about the treatment of patients with type 1 diabetes: "Ketoacidosis may kill a patient, but frequent hypoglycemic reactions will ruin him." Unfortunately, hypoglycemia continues to be the most difficult problem facing most patients, families, and caregivers who deal with the management of type 1 diabetes on a daily basis. Frequent hypoglycemia episodes not only can "ruin," or adversely impact the quality of life for patients, but also, when severe, can cause seizures, coma, and even death.
10 comments - Posted May 13, 2010
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has launched a "Bad Ad Program," an outreach effort aimed at educating healthcare providers and urging them to report misleading drug advertisements. The Division of Drug Marketing, Advertising, and Communications (DDMAC), in the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, administers the program.
0 comments - Posted May 13, 2010
Dr. Richard Hays announced today that he is now recruiting children with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes for Protégé Encore, a randomized, placebo-controlled Phase III clinical trial. This is the second of two Phase III studies testing the safety and efficacy of an investigational drug called teplizumab. The first study, known as Protégé, has completed enrollment of more than 530 subjects with type 1 diabetes. There is currently no approved therapy to slow the progression of type 1 diabetes.
0 comments - Posted May 12, 2010
Most women with gestational diabetes know that taking steps to manage the disease during pregnancy is critical for the health of both mother and child. What many women don't realize is that those steps need to continue even after the baby is born.
0 comments - Posted May 7, 2010
Osiris Therapeutics announced that it has been granted Orphan Drug designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Prochymal as a treatment for type 1 diabetes mellitus. The FDA instituted the Orphan Drug Act to promote the development of treatments for underserved patient populations. To be eligible for Orphan Drug designation, the treatment must target a disease that affects fewer than 200,000 new patients per year in the United States.
0 comments - Posted May 7, 2010
A Danish analysis of data from 21 research studies on the effects of saturated fat intake has concluded that swapping refined carbohydrates, such as pasta and white bread, for fat causes spikes in blood sugar that are harmful to the heart. However, cutting down on saturated fats while increasing consumption of whole-grain breads and vegetables-low glycemic index* foods-had a discernible positive impact on heart health.
0 comments - Posted May 2, 2010
April 2010
-SIGH- A pessimist might say that the following news is another sign that Mother Nature sometimes has one mean sense of humor: Reducing your caloric intake in order to lose weight may, ironically, lead to weight gain.
3 comments - Posted Apr 29, 2010
Increasing physical activity for greater health among the American public will take center stage on May 3 with the launch of the National Physical Activity Plan (NPAP or Plan). The signature events of the launch will be a press conference at the National Press Club and briefings with members of Congress in Washington, D.C. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Prevention Research Center at the University of South Carolina are providing the organizational infrastructure for writing the plan. The implementation of the plan will be coordinated by the National Coalition for Promoting Physical Activity (NCPPA). The goal of NPAP is "to encourage everyone to be more physically active, reduce barriers to inactivity, and make sure our communities and institutions provide opportunities to move."
1 comment - Posted Apr 29, 2010
Bayer Diabetes Care today announced the introduction of the DIDGETTM blood glucose monitoring system in the United States. The DIDGET meter is unique because it is the only blood glucose meter that connects directly to Nintendo DSTM and DS Lite gaming systems to help kids manage a lifelong disease by rewarding them for building consistent testing habits and meeting personalized blood glucose target ranges. Bayer's DIDGET meter is now available for purchase in the U.S. through CVS.com, Drugstore.com and Walgreens.com.
1 comment - Posted Apr 26, 2010
Conference Task Force Members will meet with policymakers, healthcare providers, payers, patients, and other stakeholders to discuss how to tackle the diabetes epidemic and reverse its economic impact on our nation's healthcare system.
0 comments - Posted Apr 22, 2010
(Reuters) - A variant of an obesity gene carried by more than a third of the U.S. population also reduces brain volume, raising carriers' risk of Alzheimer's disease, U.S. researchers said on Monday.
0 comments - Posted Apr 19, 2010
Diabetes Health was curious to explore the progress of the proposed legislation to renew the Special Diabetes Program, also known as the SDP (H.R. 3668 in the House of Representatives and S. 3058 in the Senate.) These bills would renew the SDP for five years. We were pleased to note that the JDRF's "Promise to Remember Me" campaign, which aims to facilitate meetings between representatives and senators and their constituents in their local districts, has resulted in JDRF Advocates already completing over 300 meetings with members of Congress.
0 comments - Posted Apr 17, 2010
(HealthDay News) - If you indulge in moderate drinking, you've probably heard that it might reduce your risk for heart trouble, including stroke.
0 comments - Posted Apr 16, 2010
Four risk factors-all of them preventable-reduce life expectancy among U.S. men by 4.9 years and among U.S. women by 4.1 years, according to a study by the Harvard School of Public Health and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. (According to U.N. figures, current U.S. life expectancy is 75.6 years for men and 80.8 years for women.)
0 comments - Posted Apr 15, 2010
We continue to monitor the progress of studies to determine the effectiveness of salsalate, a generic aspirin-like drug, to reduce inflammation and lower blood glucose in people with type 2 diabetes. As previously reported here in October 2008 and January 2009, researchers from the Joslin Diabetes Center at Harvard University are conducting clinical trials to determine if this well known and proven drug for joint pain can be added to the list of diabetes drugs. Recently, results from a three-month trial were announced online in the Annals of Internal Medicine, showing that those who took salsalate demonstrated significantly improved blood glucose levels.
0 comments - Posted Apr 10, 2010
Tests of an experimental drug called CPSI-1306 at Ohio State University were so successful at lowering inflammation and blood sugar levels in lab mice with type 2 diabetes that scientists consider it a prime candidate to become a new therapy for the disease.
0 comments - Posted Apr 8, 2010
Novo Nordisk, a global healthcare company and leader in diabetes care, announced the launch of the Novo Nordisk BlueSheet, a resource for information on diabetes and chronic disease, highlighting key issues in diabetes prevention, detection, treatment and care.
0 comments - Posted Apr 4, 2010
If you're older, a woman, and suffering from either dementia or diabetes, you are the most likely to be exposed to unsubsidized medication costs in the US. This is known as the coverage gap for enrollees of Medicare Part D - the US federal program which subsidizes the cost of prescription drugs for Medicare beneficiaries. According to Dr. Susan Ettner from UCLA in the US, and her colleagues, these clinically vulnerable groups should be counseled on how to best manage costs through either drug substitution or discontinuation of specific, non-essential medications. This is important so that more essential medication is not discontinued with adverse effects on patients' health, for cost reasons only. Their findings¹ have just appeared online in the Journal of General Internal Medicine², published by Springer.
2 comments - Posted Apr 2, 2010
March 2010
Common knowledge says that humans have the ability to perceive five tastes: sweet, salt, sour, bitter, and umami (protein-richness). But now, researchers have discovered that humans can detect a sixth taste as well: fat. And apparently, people with higher sensitivity to the taste of fat are less likely to eat fatty foods and become overweight.
0 comments - Posted Mar 28, 2010
Suggested revisions in the benchmarks used to assess dangerously high blood sugar levels in pregnant women could lead to a doubling or tripling of the number of women diagnosed with gestational diabetes*. That's the conclusion of an international study led by the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.
0 comments - Posted Mar 24, 2010
This morning, I gathered with members of Congress, my administration, and hardworking volunteers from every part of the country to sign comprehensive health care reform into law.
0 comments - Posted Mar 24, 2010
USA Today has an interactive timeline of when provisions will take effect as well as an article about how the bill could affect "nearly all" Americans. "Poor adults will get Medicaid. Low-income families will get federal subsidies to buy insurance. Small businesses will get tax credits. Children will be able to stay on parents' policies until they turn 26. Seniors will gain additional prescription-drug coverage. ... On the other hand, the wealthy will pay higher taxes to help finance the 10-year, roughly $940 billion cost. Businesses with 50 or more workers will have to insure them or pay a penalty. Individuals, too, will have to pay a fine if they don't buy insurance" (Wolf and Young, 3/23).
2 comments - Posted Mar 23, 2010
In a study that tracked 1,402 people with pre-diabetes, researchers found that only about half of them responded to the diagnosis by trying to shed weight or increase their level of exercise.
7 comments - Posted Mar 18, 2010
Every day, dozens of confused, laid-off workers call the privately-run COBRA Help Center in Long Island, N.Y., which administers COBRA group health insurance plans. They're struggling to understand whether they're eligible for federal subsidies. It's not surprising, says George Fox, a field underwriter for the company Planning Financial Futures Inc., that runs the center on behalf of employers and consumers.
0 comments - Posted Mar 17, 2010
A group of Swedish researchers has found that men who consume more than the recommended daily amount of calcium are less likely to die than their counterparts who consume little calcium. Their study, titled "Dietary Calcium and Magnesium Intake and Mortality: A Prospective Study of Men," appears in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
2 comments - Posted Mar 15, 2010
An article by Scottish researchers, published in the British medical journal Lancet, says that although people taking statins are nine percent more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, that risk is outweighed by the drug's ability to lower cholesterol and protect against heart disease.
2 comments - Posted Mar 14, 2010
A controversial New York doctor is poised to begin surgical trials on non-obese diabetes patients in an attempt to reverse their disease with gastric bypass surgery. Dr. Francesco Rubino, the chief of gastrointestinal surgery at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, believes that because gastric surgery has been shown to be highly effective in remitting diabetes symptoms, the procedure should now be allowed among non-overweight type 2s.
4 comments - Posted Mar 11, 2010
Santa Clara County, the largest county in Northern California (nearly 1.9 million people), has filed a federal lawsuit against pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, alleging that Glaxo knowingly sold its type 2 diabetes drug Avandia for several years despite indications the drug causes heart attacks and strokes.
0 comments - Posted Mar 9, 2010
February 2010
President Obama's health care proposal, preserving as it does a central role for the for-profit, private health insurance industry, is incapable of achieving the kind of universal, comprehensive and affordable reform the country needs, a spokesman for a national doctors' group said Wednesday.
2 comments - Posted Feb 26, 2010
I have always felt that a little snooze in the middle of the afternoon works better for me than a jolt of caffeine. However, the guilt induced by the very thought of sleeping during the day (especially at work) has kept me drinking coffee or tea instead of crashing on my desk and drooling on my keyboard.
2 comments - Posted Feb 25, 2010
In addition to diagnosing type 2 diabetes based on fasting blood glucose levels or a glucose tolerance test, the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) and the American College of Endocrinology (ACE) have now approved the use of A1c as an additional diagnostic criterion for type 2 diabetes.
2 comments - Posted Feb 5, 2010
A study commissioned by healthcare company Novo Nordisk has reported that the cost of diabetes and pre-diabetes to the U.S. economy in 2007 was $218 billion. The study, conducted by The Lewin Group, projected that by 2034, the two conditions will cost the economy $336 billion per year.
1 comment - Posted Feb 3, 2010
A study by researchers at the universities of Exeter and Plymouth in the United Kingdom says that Bisphenol A-BPA-a chemical commonly used in plastic packaging and products, is associated with an increased risk of diabetes and coronary heart disease.
1 comment - Posted Feb 2, 2010
January 2010
Clinical and basic science researchers from around the world will convene in Hong Kong from January 28 to 30 for the First International Congress on Abdominal Obesity: "Bridging the Gap between Cardiology and Diabetology." The congress, sponsored by the International Chair on Cardiometabolic Risk (ICCR) (http://www.cardiometabolic-risk.org), is the first-ever specialized forum for sharing new insights and evidence about abdominal obesity and its clinical and public health implications.
2 comments - Posted Jan 28, 2010
1 comment - Posted Jan 25, 2010
Living with a chronic condition like diabetes can be a challenging and stressful experience. Unfortunately, all the worry about blood glucose and the constant effort to balance insulin against food intake and exercise can itself raise blood glucose levels. But stress management can help control the stress hormones that affect blood glucose levels. Yoga practice, for example, can have a calming effect and play a major role in stress management.
1 comment - Posted Jan 21, 2010
The effort underway in Washington, D.C., to draft a healthcare bill is often described as "trying to get a handle on so many moving parts." At issue is this: the House passed a 1,990 page bill in December followed by the Senate passing a 2,074 page bill on Christmas Eve. Now, those two versions are being merged into one with a conference committee that would be composed of House and Senate Members while, at the same time, the White House has been pushing for a deadline by the State of the Union Address, now scheduled for Wednesday, January 27. So far, all sides believe there will be a health care bill in front of the president within the next few weeks. What it looks like is one of the "moving parts."
3 comments - Posted Jan 20, 2010
NEW YORK, January 13, 2010 - The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation today announced an innovative partnership with Animas Corporation to develop an automated system to help people with type 1 diabetes better control their disease - the first step on the path to what would be among the most revolutionary advancements in treating type 1 diabetes: the development of an artificial pancreas, a fully automated system to dispense insulin to patients based on real-time changes in blood sugar levels.
9 comments - Posted Jan 15, 2010
DEERFIELD, Ill. January 13, 2010 - Walgreens (NYSE: WAG)(NASDAQ: WAG) today announced the launch of the Walgreens Optimal WellnessTM program, an innovative self-care educational program for people with chronic conditions that will initially focus on people with type 2 diabetes. Walgreens Optimal WellnessTM is a significant step for Walgreens and the health care industry that capitalizes on the power of face-to-face interaction.
1 comment - Posted Jan 14, 2010
One potential avenue for the treatment for type 1 diabetes is to transplant insulin-producing islet cells into the body. The Edmonton Protocol is a method of implanting pancreatic islets into the liver for the treatment of type 1 diabetes. The protocol is named for the islet transplantation group at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, where the protocol was first devised in the late 1990s.
3 comments - Posted Jan 13, 2010
MADISON, Wis. - Using one of the two major national diabetes screening guidelines misses about one-third of those with diabetes, consequently putting them at risk for serious health complications, according to surprising research findings at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.
0 comments - Posted Jan 13, 2010
"People who give up smoking are prone to developing diabetes because they gain weight," TheTimes reported. It said a study has found that quitters are twice as likely as smokers, and 70% more likely than non-smokers, to have type 2 diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Jan 8, 2010
THURSDAY, Dec. 31 (HealthDay News) -- Steroid injections into the eye slowed diabetes-related eye disease, though lasers remain the treatment of choice because of side effects related to the steroids, new research shows.
2 comments - Posted Jan 1, 2010
December 2009
As an American living abroad, I tried to follow the debate over healthcare reform in the US, but I had to drop it for my own sanity. How could so many of my fellow Americans say that people like me, with chronic diseases we never asked for, should pay more for healthcare because they don't want to participate in the risk pool? How could people like me, who live in fear of losing health insurance, be blind to how badly Americans with type 1 diabetes can get ripped off? I had to remind myself, "It's okay. I don't live there anymore."
14 comments - Posted Dec 29, 2009
"The passing of health reform in the Senate is a historic moment for our nation and for all people affected by diabetes," commented George J. Huntley, Chair of the Board, American Diabetes Association.
13 comments - Posted Dec 26, 2009
WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A 21-year old Airman severely wounded in Afghanistan is recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center after several surgeries and an unprecedented transplant.
2 comments - Posted Dec 17, 2009
JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Dec. 7 -- A survey just conducted by the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) indicates that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) decision to eliminate consultation codes will force four out of five endocrinologists to reduce the number of Medicare patients seen in their practices.
7 comments - Posted Dec 15, 2009
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Dec. 1, 2009) - Seniors may find that many common prescription drugs that Medicare Part D has covered for years may suddenly be denied due to a new policy being implemented by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
7 comments - Posted Dec 3, 2009
November 2009
PRINCETON, N.J., Nov. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Nearly one-third of doctors surveyed said they did not have enough time and did not receive sufficient reimbursement to provide comprehensive care to their patients with diabetes, according to the results of a study of endocrinologists and primary care doctors published in American Health & Drug Benefits.
4 comments - Posted Nov 20, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. Nov. 16, 2009 - In combination with statins, adding a medication that raises high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol was more effective in reversing artery wall plaque buildup and in reducing heart disease risk than adding a drug that lowers low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, researchers reported today at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2009.
1 comment - Posted Nov 20, 2009
Whew! We received a landslide of comments recently when we published an article called Demand Health Care Reform Now! Some people complained that politics should stay out of our publication. Unfortunately, healthcare is a political issue, and we at Diabetes Health are interested in healthcare. We believe that healthcare should not be tied to employment and should be available to all, regardless of how healthy or wealthy they are. As always, though, we encourage dialog and welcome all points of view. Please keep telling us what you think.
7 comments - Posted Nov 19, 2009
An ad in the November 15, 2009, edition of Parade magazine may be the opening salvo in a campaign to push adjustable gastric bands as a weight loss aid to help overweight type 2s dramatically improve their symptoms or even go into remission.
3 comments - Posted Nov 18, 2009
How careful should healthcare workers and patients be in describing a total remission of diabetes as a "cure?" That's a question that has taken on increasing urgency in the wake of reports about dramatic reversals of type 2 symptoms after gastric bypass surgery and the cessation of symptoms in people with type 1 diabetes after pancreatic islet replacement. To answer it, a group of endocrinologists met earlier this year to come up with descriptions and definitions that accurately describe what happens when people with diabetes experience a reversal of symptoms.
2 comments - Posted Nov 14, 2009
WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As the nation marks American Diabetes Month, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius released a new report today, Preventing and Treating Diabetes: Health Insurance Reform and Diabetes in America. The report comes one day after Sebelius toured the East Manatee Family Healthcare Center in Bradenton, Fla. At the center, Sebelius met with patients and Floridians who care for people with diabetes.
2 comments - Posted Nov 12, 2009
MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Employers are signing up for a first-of-its-kind health plan by UnitedHealthcare designed to help control the escalating costs of insuring diabetic and pre-diabetic employees and their families while improving their health.
3 comments - Posted Nov 7, 2009
Congress is getting a little bit closer to making the changes to the health care system we've been dreaming about for a very long time. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) says these changes could provide a real benefit to people with diabetes. Draft health care reform bills have now passed through the committee process in both the House and the Senate.
27 comments - Posted Nov 4, 2009
October 2009
The International Diabetes Federation (IDF), established in 1950, is an umbrella organization that includes over 200 national diabetes associations in over 160 countries. It is currently holding its World Diabetes Conference, a biennial event, in Montreal, as well as preparing once again to sponsor World Diabetes Day on November 14. "Diabetes education and prevention" is the theme of the World Diabetes Day campaign for the next five years.
1 comment - Posted Oct 23, 2009
A study of healthcare claims by 8.75 million health plan members and 632,000 Medicare patients has shown that healthcare costs for the serious consequences of diabetes are significantly lower for people who have been referred to diabetes educators. The savings accrued not at the level of primary or preventive outpatient services, but in the realm of acute inpatient services. In the commercial group, for example, insurees with diabetes education actually had higher outpatient claims than those who had not received education. Their claims for acute inpatient services, however, were considerably lower, indicating that diabetes education had allowed them to avoid some of the disease's harsher outcomes.
1 comment - Posted Oct 22, 2009
In these challenging economic times, when unemployment is so high and insurance coverage is being lost, many people find themselves having to miss doctor's visits, skip preventive care, and do without their prescriptions. Change is in the air, but in the meantime, there are programs that can help.
3 comments - Posted Oct 8, 2009
September 2009
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (August 26, 2009) - The nation's nonprofit community health centers and free clinics saw a 13 percent increase in uninsured patients with diabetes seeking care during the first six months of 2009 versus the same period in 2008, according to the results of a national survey released today by humanitarian medical aid organization Direct Relief International.
3 comments - Posted Sep 17, 2009
According to a recent Pennsylvania study, kids need to learn to control themselves when it comes to food. Obviously, self-control is important for us all, kids and adults alike, when it comes to weight management. It’s equally apparent that children need to be taught by their parents to make healthy food choices. But parents who strictly forbid their children to eat many foods might be contributing to a lack of self-control in their offspring, thereby creating the very chubbiness that they were trying to avert.
2 comments - Posted Sep 4, 2009
August 2009
In our last issue, we published a letter from reader Sheila Payne, who wrote that we had been far too positive about continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) in our June/July article Get the Facts on Continuous Glucose Monitoring. But her opinion provoked a stack of letters from people who believe that the benefits of CGM substantially outweigh its negatives. To let you in on the debate, we are reprinting Ms. Payne's thought-provoking letter here, followed by two equally thoughtful responses from readers.
12 comments - Posted Aug 28, 2009
Canadian scientists have reported that a hormone found in the gut has the power to lower glucose production by signaling the brain and liver to do so. When the researchers activated its receptors in lab rats, they found that the hormone, called cholecystokinin (CCK) peptide, rapidly lowered the animals' blood glucose levels.
0 comments - Posted Aug 27, 2009
The American Diabetes Association estimates that about 18 million Americans have diabetes. Given that millions of people have lost their jobs during the current recession, the law of averages would suggest that at least a few hundred thousand folks with diabetes are now unemployed. Loss of a job, unfortunately, usually means a concurrent loss of health insurance. For those hundreds of thousands of people with diabetes, no health insurance means big trouble.
0 comments - Posted Aug 18, 2009
Most clinical studies of new drugs are conducted primarily on white men, whether or not they are most affected by the disease the drug is intended to treat. African Americans, for example, are 1.6 times more likely to have diabetes than non-Hispanic whites. Why should we assume that what works for white males will also be effective for African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, or, for that matter, women?
0 comments - Posted Aug 6, 2009
(The Clinical Trials Connection is online at www.trials.jdrf.org)
0 comments - Posted Aug 6, 2009
With over 57 million Americans at risk for type 2 diabetes, how do clinicians decide whom to bump to the front of the line for preventive care and treatment? The PreDx Diabetes Risk Score, which employs a few simple blood tests to identify patients at highest risk of developing type 2 diabetes within five years, might help caregivers prioritize their efforts.
0 comments - Posted Aug 1, 2009
July 2009
In an era when tobacco cessation programs are being cut from tight budgets, we need to be intentional and creative with tobacco cessation opportunities. According to Dr. Steven Schroeder of the Smoking Cessation Leadership Center at the UCSF School of Medicine, changing the way we view tobacco dependence is necessary to reduce tobacco use and save lives. If we all work together to increase the cessation rate from 2.5 percent to 10 percent, we can save 1.2 million additional lives!
1 comment - Posted Jul 31, 2009
A new treatment for receding gums that uses patients' own blood to encourage regeneration seems to have "legs" and hold up over the long term, according to a small study by researchers at Tufts University in Medford, Mass.
1 comment - Posted Jul 31, 2009
High percentages of endocrinologists, primary care physicians, and managed care organizations surveyed by a research firm say they would like to see additional GLP-1 analogues like Amylin/Eli Lilly's Byetta® and DPP-IV inhibitors like Merck's Januvia® available to treat type 2 diabetes.
6 comments - Posted Jul 25, 2009
After experiencing blurry vision and excessive thirst, Mr. R visits his primary care doctor, who tests him and diagnoses diabetes and high lipid levels. Mr. R is placed on hypoglycemic and statin medications and sent to a dietitian for nutritional advice, but he is confused about to how to shop and cook according to the new recommendations. In the next weeks, he experiences dangerous blood glucose swings and inadequate improvement in his LDL level. His primary care doctor refers him to an endocrinologist, but the next available appointment is three months away. What now?
6 comments - Posted Jul 24, 2009
According to results of a phase II clinical trial at the University of Texas Medical School, a low dose of oral interferon alpha can preserve pancreatic beta cell function in newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes patients. Interferons are proteins produced by the cells of the immune system in response to challenges like a virus or a tumor cell. They work by inhibiting viral replication in the host cell, activating natural killer cells, and increasing the activity of other immune system cells such as lymphocytes.
0 comments - Posted Jul 24, 2009
A man who has been married for 15 years suddenly begins losing weight and buying new clothes. He starts staying late at work and taking weekend business trips, unusual behaviors for him. His wife thinks he is having an affair. Why?
0 comments - Posted Jul 22, 2009
Minneapolis-based Medtronic Inc. is recalling some lots of its Quick-set infusion sets over concerns that they may cause insulin pumps to deliver too much or too little insulin.
1 comment - Posted Jul 21, 2009
Have you ever come home from work or shopping after a long day on your feet, and all you wanted in life was to sit down and put them up? When you rested your feet on an ottoman, you immediately began to relax. The physiological reason you felt so much better was the slight widening of the peripheral capillary blood vessels in your feet-the natural response of relaxation. As the vessels opened up, more blood flowed to your feet, providing nutrients and oxygen. The foot pain and fatigue started to fade as the tissues were nourished. Ahhhh!
1 comment - Posted Jul 20, 2009
Medicare offers: Screenings for people at risk, Diabetes self-management training, Medical nutrition therapy services, Hemoglobin A1c tests, Glucose monitors, test strips, lancets, insulin, and some insulin pumps, Glaucoma tests, Foot exams, foot treatment, and therapeutic shoes, Flu and pneumonia shots, and Cholesterol and lipid checks.
1 comment - Posted Jul 15, 2009
An analysis of ten trials involving statin therapy among 70,000 participants has led an international team of cardiologists to recommend that that the cholesterol-lowering drugs be prescribed for people who do not have heart disease.
2 comments - Posted Jul 15, 2009
UK-based GW Pharmaceuticals has entered into a strategic alliance with Professor Mike Cawthorne and the Clore Laboratory, University of Buckingham, to research the use of cannabinoids-chemical compounds derived from marijuana-in the treatment of type 2 diabetes.
3 comments - Posted Jul 5, 2009
June 2009
The American Heart Association (AHA) has added weight training to the list of exercises it recommends for people with type 2 diabetes to reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease. Heart and blood vessel diseases account for nearly 70 percent of deaths among type 2s.
0 comments - Posted Jun 25, 2009
In 1993, I published an article entitled "Is non-compliance a dirty word?" in The Diabetes Educator in which I expressed my sadness that people with diabetes were actually getting blamed by their health care providers for not following treatment advice (1). I suggested that the patient's failure might really be a failure in the partnership (or lack thereof) between patient and provider. Fifteen years ago, I challenged diabetes educators to work together with medical practitioners to change noncompliance from a dirty word to a rare occurrence. So how are we doing today?
21 comments - Posted Jun 19, 2009
Patients with type 2 diabetes reduced their risk of having a foot amputated by 36 percent when they took fenofibrate, a drug designed to lower blood fat levels.
0 comments - Posted Jun 12, 2009
Bayer Diabetes Care's new A1c monitor enables people with diabetes to check their A1c levels at home. The FDA-approved A1CNow SELFCHECK is not considered a replacement for a healthcare provider's A1c test, but rather a tool with which to monitor A1c levels between doctor visits. A1c's provide an average assessment of blood sugar levels over the past three months and are an indicator of how well diabetes is being managed
6 comments - Posted Jun 11, 2009
The World Health Organization (WHO) is still deciding whether to declare a global pandemic
0 comments - Posted Jun 10, 2009
Over the years, gastric bypass surgery has proven an effective means of controlling-and even reversing-type 2 diabetes in
"super-obese" patients (those with a body mass index of 50 or above; usually more than 200 pounds above ideal body weight).
5 comments - Posted Jun 10, 2009
Obese lab mice with severe type 2 diabetes had their blood glucose levels restored to normal and experienced a doubling in physical activity when sensitivity to the hormone leptin was restored to a portion of their hypothalamus.
3 comments - Posted Jun 9, 2009
As Congress and President Obama get set to tackle healthcare reform, the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) has begun a multi-front battle to seek Medicare designation for all certified diabetes educators (CDEs).
1 comment - Posted Jun 5, 2009
Spanish university researchers have isolated a new species of bacteria-which they found in sewer sludge-that is able to break down cholesterol.
0 comments - Posted Jun 4, 2009
May 2009
Smoking has severe effects on your diabetes and your health. Quitting smoking will give you more energy, better control of your diabetes, and less chance of a heart attack or stroke.
5 comments - Posted May 21, 2009
Significant relief for people with type 1 diabetes could soon come in the form of a device made from a thermoplastic resin commonly used as a coating for cookware, gaskets, and hoses.
2 comments - Posted May 20, 2009
Smoking increases the harmful effects of diabetes by increasing insulin resistance and worsening diabetes control. It raises the likelihood of microvascular and macrovascular complications associated with diabetes. The risk of death from heart disease and stroke is increased, as are the possibilities of neuropathy, nephropathy, and retinopathy.
3 comments - Posted May 12, 2009
1. Don't smoke any number or any kind of cigarette. Smoking even a few cigarettes a day can hurt your health. And if you try to smoke fewer cigarettes but do not stop completely, soon you'll be smoking the same amount again.
3 comments - Posted May 12, 2009
Diabetes educators and their supporters nationwide are being asked to rally behind congressional legislation that would establish a "national diabetes report card," promote better training of doctors with regard to reporting diabetes as a factor in births and deaths, and set federal standards requiring doctors to achieve a level of diabetes education before they can be licensed or certified.
7 comments - Posted May 8, 2009
The connection between smoking and cancer is well documented. Less well known, however, is the fact that smoking exacerbates complications for people with diabetes. Smokers with diabetes are eleven times more likely to have a heart attack or stroke than people who don't have diabetes and don't smoke.
1 comment - Posted May 5, 2009
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) has issued a call for proposals through its national program, Project HealthDesign: Rethinking the Power and Potential of Personal Health Records. Grant recipients will work to assess and test the potential of "observations of daily living" (ODLs) to help patients and physicians better manage chronic illnesses.
0 comments - Posted May 1, 2009
April 2009
Well, this is a surprise. The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act (MMA) of 2003 contains a little known section, Section 1013, that has actually led to something really useful: Up-to-date information about diabetes culled from real research and presented in language that we all can understand. Section 1013 authorizes the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to compare the effectiveness of different approaches to difficult health problems and to make that information accessible and understandable to "decisionmakers": that is, you, me, and our doctors. And diabetes is one of the difficult health problems to which the AHRQ is directing its attention.
2 comments - Posted Apr 21, 2009
Are adults with diabetes better able to manage their disease if they can schedule same- or next-day appointments to see their doctors rather than sticking to appointments made in advance? The conventional wisdom goes that if people with diabetes can more quickly get in to see their doctors whenever problems comes up, the sooner they can receive treatment for it. However, an Indiana University School of Medicine study of 4,060 adults with diabetes being treated at 12 clinics showed that open-ended scheduling produced no benefit and, when it came to blood pressure control, actually worsened patients' conditions.
3 comments - Posted Apr 9, 2009
The majority of U.S. adults are worried about being able to afford medical care and prescription medications.1 In addition, a recent study reveals that one in seven children and working-age Americans went without needed prescription medications in 2007 due to cost concerns, up from one in 10 in 2003. Experts predict these statistics are likely to get worse in 2009, and this could present even greater hardships for those Americans with chronic conditions such as diabetes.2
3 comments - Posted Apr 3, 2009
March 2009
If you live in California and have been denied insurance coverage because you have diabetes, you'll probably have to wait to enroll in the state-run program that's supposed to offer you health benefits. But California Republican Senator Sam Aanestad of Grass Valley hopes to change that with legislation he introduced January 20th. Aanestad says his bill, Senate Bill 57, would alter that program in ways that will allow more people access to coverage.
1 comment - Posted Mar 10, 2009
All 15 experimental coordinated care programs launched by Medicare in 2002 failed to generate net savings, and only two of them reduced hospital admission rates among patients with chronic diseases, including diabetes.
1 comment - Posted Mar 4, 2009
February 2009
We recently published an article about how you can avoid losing money in insurance claims. The article gave helpful hints on how to deal with your insurance company including an sample appeals letter. We promised to publish in the near future a sample CGM appeals letter. Here they are!
0 comments - Posted Feb 27, 2009
Can you imagine a hospital where the floors are carpeted, so you feel soothed and protected? Where the doors open silently so as not to jar your nerves? Where vending machines are filled with fresh fruits, and the healthier the meal in the cafeteria, the less it costs? How about elevator doors covered in exotic floral motifs, or a diabetes center where you never wait more than ten minutes to be seen?
8 comments - Posted Feb 17, 2009
Editor's note: We recently received the following heartbreaking letter. The article that follows was first published in May, 2006. Little has changed.
13 comments - Posted Feb 12, 2009
Last March, an 11-year-old Wisconsin girl, Kara Neumann, died from diabetic ketoacidosis (a serious complication of diabetes that results when glucose is unavailable to the body as a fuel source, fat is used instead, and toxic byproducts of fat breakdown, called ketones, build up). Kara had undiagnosed type 1 diabetes. She was never treated by medical professionals because her parents believe that only God can heal the sick. They prayed for their daughter's health, but they did not seek medical attention.
12 comments - Posted Feb 6, 2009
Concerned about the growing number of Americans who are developing diabetes, Sanofi-aventis U.S. has launched the "Diabetes National Alliance" to provide healthcare professionals with information on the standard of care for people living with the disease.
1 comment - Posted Feb 4, 2009
Back in 1993, I published an article titled "Is Noncompliance a Dirty Word?" in which I expressed sadness that people with diabetes were being blamed by their healthcare providers for not following treatment advice (1). I suggested that the patient's "failure" might really be a failure of the partnership (or lack thereof) between patient and provider. Fifteen long years ago, I challenged diabetes educators to work with medical practitioners to change noncompliance from a dirty word to a rare occurrence. So, how are we doing today?
20 comments - Posted Feb 3, 2009
January 2009
A study published in the Journal of Hospital Medicine has found that the glucose control practices at academic medical centers are below par and fail to meet the current standards set by the American Diabetes Association (ADA).
2 comments - Posted Jan 30, 2009
The treatment of diabetes has come a long way since Dr. Elliot Joslin wrote The Treatment of Diabetes Mellitus in 1916. But Dr. Joslin's idea that diet, exercise, and insulin (when it became available as therapy in 1922) are the keys to managing diabetes remains true today. This doesn't mean that diabetes is not a complex illness requiring ongoing education and individualized care. People with diabetes benefit greatly from the services of a team of health care professionals including a certified diabetes educator and an endocrinologist--a doctor who specializes in treating disorders of the endocrine system.
7 comments - Posted Jan 21, 2009
In a speech on January 8, 2009, President-Elect Barack Obama pledged to make all medical records electronic within five years.
33 comments - Posted Jan 20, 2009
As the 76-million-member Baby Boomer generation ages-its oldest members are now 63-nursing homes are bracing for an unprecedented demand for their services. Along with increased pressure from the sheer number of patients, nursing homes will also have to deal with the skyrocketing number of seniors with type 2 diabetes.
2 comments - Posted Jan 15, 2009
December 2008
A study published in the September American Journal of Nursing (AJN) indicates that graduated compression stockings were used incorrectly in 29 percent of the patients and sized incorrectly in 26 percent of the patients. Compression stockings play an important role in preventing the formation of deep vein clots that can result in pulmonary complications and death
5 comments - Posted Dec 29, 2008
Take this test on insulin and see if you can get a higher score than hospital doctors and nurses.
19 comments - Posted Dec 17, 2008
It should have been a slam-dunk. My wife underwent two back-to-back surgeries to treat an eye melanoma. Through the surgeon, she had obtained written permission from our health insurance company to use his services and those of the hospital where he operated. Neither was in our specific insurance plan--in health insurance vernacular, they were out-of-network--which explains why the pre-approval was mandated.
1 comment - Posted Dec 15, 2008
November 2008
A Superior Court judge in Sacramento has overturned a 2007 ruling that allowed trained school staff, not just registered nurses, to administer insulin shots to children with diabetes. The ruling affects approximately 14,000 California school children.
6 comments - Posted Nov 24, 2008
No one knows better than people with diabetes how expensive prescription drugs are. A recent DH article reported that the annual cost for drugs to treat type 2 diabetes nearly doubled between 2001 and 2007, skyrocketing from $6.7 billion to $12.5 billion six years later.
3 comments - Posted Nov 17, 2008
Becoming pregnant for the first time can be overwhelming for any woman, especially if that woman has diabetes. When my husband and I decided we were ready to have children, the first thing I did was make an appointment with my endocrinologist. Diagnosed when I was fourteen, I've had type 1 diabetes for twenty-four years. My doctor explained that I would need to be in tight control for three months before I could even think about babies, so I got right to work. Learning everything I could about diabetes and pregnancy, I was pleased to discover that with education, support, and practice, a woman with diabetes has every opportunity for a healthy pregnancy.
7 comments - Posted Nov 17, 2008
Dear Laura,
I just finished viewing your clip online. You seem like a very intelligent and involved mom who decided it was time to take charge. I applaud you, and I agree with many points you make, but I disagree with your position on food.
11 comments - Posted Nov 17, 2008
October 2008
I read with interest the article by Cynthia Heinz in which she spoke to her local school board, describing a worst case scenario for a child with severe hypoglycemia. As a veteran parent with 15 years of dealing with diabetes in our local public school, I have a few things to add to the discussion.
9 comments - Posted Oct 27, 2008
The National Diabetes Education Program has developed a curriculum designed to provide program leaders with the tools they need to increase diabetes prevention and control within African American communities.
0 comments - Posted Oct 27, 2008
I rush to the hospital, hoping to get there in time. When I arrive, I find my newly diagnosed diabetic with a blood sugar of 1027. He is vomiting all over the place and might have a seizure soon. He is in diabetic ketoacidosis. It's time for my dream job.
5 comments - Posted Oct 13, 2008
September 2008
American Diabetes Wholesale, a discount provider of diabetic supplies to individuals without insurance, announced its second annual "Diabetes Educator of the Year Award" contest at the 2008 American Association of Diabetes Educators International Conference in Washington, D.C. American Diabetes Wholesale created the award to recognize the unsung heroes of the diabetes epidemic and to honor the dedicated healthcare professionals who are committed to helping those living with diabetes.
2 comments - Posted Sep 11, 2008
When Gina Capone, a thirty-something type 1 for eight years, got married this year, she and her husband decided it was time to start thinking about having a baby. Like all women with diabetes who are planning a pregnancy, Gina needs her A1c to be as low as possible in order to prevent complications for her and her baby. This strict control can be very challenging and time-consuming, requiring up to 20 blood sugar tests a day.
3 comments - Posted Sep 4, 2008
August 2008
My husband and I have nine children. Elliott is our oldest and when he was diagnosed with type 1 at age 11 in 1996, we were blindsided. Neither my husband, nor I, nor anyone in our extended family had diabetes. Elliot had all of the classic symptoms: excessive thirst, frequent urination, uncontrollable hunger, occasional blurry vision, and (something I think a lot of parents don't recognize as a sign) bedwetting.
11 comments - Posted Aug 28, 2008
Results from a Harris survey commissioned by the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) show that people with diabetes who must take insulin often struggle with dread and negative impacts on their lives because of it. But more than half of them—52 percent—are reluctant to share their concerns with their healthcare providers.
10 comments - Posted Aug 14, 2008
At the beginning of 2007, we began studying guidebooks and making reservations for a long-anticipated trip to New Zealand and Australia. With limited funds and so much we wanted to do, we decided our budget would go farther if we stayed at hostels. At the same time, we were concerned about Al’s rising blood sugar scores. After visiting relatives during Christmas and celebrating the New Year, Al’s morning scores were as high as 154 mg/dl.
3 comments - Posted Aug 14, 2008
July 2008
“Let’s take care of the patient.” That must be the credo of hospitals that make U.S. News & World Report's “Best Hospitals” rankings, in which hospitals are judged not in routine procedures but in difficult cases across an entire specialty. In the nineteenth year of this annual review, hospitals are ranked in 16 specialties, from cancer and heart disease to respiratory disorders and urology. Out of the 5,453 hospitals put through a rigorous statistical mill, only 170 scored high enough to appear in any of the specialty rankings.
2 comments - Posted Jul 17, 2008
The National Institutes of Health will fund studies at 11 research centers in the United States, Canada, Sweden and Norway to look into ways to improve outcomes and lessen the side effects from islet cell transplantations in people with type 1 diabetes.
1 comment - Posted Jul 17, 2008
Metformin, combined with dietary changes and exercise, seems to help obese pre-diabetic adolescents, especially girls, lose weight, says a report in the June 2008 Journal of Pediatrics.
8 comments - Posted Jul 10, 2008
The 2008 Amputee Coalition of America’s annual national conference in Atlanta June 19 through 22 set new attendance records, driven by interest in the proposed federal prosthetic parity law and other issues of importance to amputees.
0 comments - Posted Jul 10, 2008
VALLEY STREAM, NY: July 2, 2008 -- On Tuesday, July 1 online community Diabetes Talkfest sponsored the first CGMS Denial Day online rally highlighting the excessively high rate of denials issued by insurance companies for continuous glucose monitors. CGMS have been proven to help people with diabetes control their blood sugar levels, and quality of life. The event was held in association with social network site Tudiabetes.com.
5 comments - Posted Jul 3, 2008
June 2008
How would you describe a minor hiccup in your daily care that just happens out of the blue, especially when just moments before, you felt fine and everything seemed perfect? That’s a ‘diabetes bad hair day’ according to Divabetic, a national nonprofit diabetes outreach organization, currently on tour with its free national diabetes outreach program, ‘Novo Nordisk Presents: Divabetic – Makeover Your Diabetes.’
1 comment - Posted Jun 19, 2008
Drug manufacturer Novo Nordisk has applied to the U.S. Federal Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency for approval of liraglutide, a human GLP-1 analog* that is taken once daily for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Jun 19, 2008
Canadian researchers report that succinobucol, an anti-oxidant drug used to treat cardiovascular inflammation, appears to have a beneficial effect in lowering the risk of developing diabetes. Even patients who already have diabetes, they say, achieve better blood sugar control while on the drug.
1 comment - Posted Jun 19, 2008
Dear Diabetes Health,
After reading the story in the April/May Diabetes Health about the mother and daughter who won approval from Blue Cross/Blue Shield to pay for the continuous monitor, I wanted to share our story.
5 comments - Posted Jun 12, 2008
Dear friends of Diabetes Health,
We value your hard-earned diabetes wisdom and we want you to share it with the world! Please join us as a professional or lay diabetes advisor in one of our Diabetes Health website content Rooms.
3 comments - Posted Jun 6, 2008
May 2008
Diabetes classes or visits to a nutritionist by patients with diabetes are associated with lower hospitalization rates and reductions in medical costs, according to findings published in Diabetes Care.
0 comments - Posted May 30, 2008
HealthDay reports that according to a University of Miami study, people with type 1 diabetes who received transplanted islet cells from human donors lived insulin-free for up to two years.
1 comment - Posted May 30, 2008
Is it possible that a dip in the hot tub can cause a dip in the blood sugars? According to a pilot study that appeared in the September 16 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), "hot tub therapy" helped a group of type 2s reduce their blood sugars, lose weight and improve sleep patterns.
11 comments - Posted May 23, 2008
Newswise — “The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists applauds the FDA’s efforts to protect the safety of children and adolescents who are using insulin pumps,” said Dr. Richard Hellman, the Association’s President.
1 comment - Posted May 15, 2008
March 2008
Fifteen-year-old Californian Laura Miller, a brittle diabetic, and her mother, Gillian, thought they had a strong case when they asked Blue Cross in late 2007 to pay for a continuous glucose monitor for her.
15 comments - Posted Mar 27, 2008
NEW YORK – Growing evidence shows that surgery may effectively cure type 2 diabetes – an approach that not only may change the way the disease is treated, but that introduces a new way of thinking about diabetes.
18 comments - Posted Mar 13, 2008
For people with diabetes, healthcare is just plain more involved. Hospitalizations require extra work because you must control your diabetes during your stay, and insurance can be problematic because insurers are often unwilling to pay for what you need.
0 comments - Posted Mar 9, 2008
January 2008
A survey of people's experience with healthcare in seven countries - Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States - shows that we Americans don't stack up very well.
9 comments - Posted Jan 28, 2008
Editor: I am an enthusiastic reader of your magazine. I appreciate the number of times you have tackled some of the bigger questions of diabetes management that others have ignored.
31 comments - Posted Jan 23, 2008
New Jersey has enacted a law guaranteeing access by amputees to comprehensive health insurance coverage for orthotic and prosthetic care. The new law mandates that health insurance plans offer coverage for orthotic and prosthetic care without caps and co-pays that restrict access to prescribed devices.
1 comment - Posted Jan 21, 2008
As the parents of a very active and accident-prone 13-year-old son, my husband and I have had our share of emergency room visits.
1 comment - Posted Jan 5, 2008
December 2007
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has approved new Healthcare Common Procedural Coding System (HCPCS, known as "hickpicks") codes for continuous glucose monitoring.
8 comments - Posted Dec 12, 2007
November 2007
According to a May 2007 CNN opinion poll, 64 percent of us think that our government should provide a national health insurance program for all Americans, even if it would require higher taxes. So what's in the works?
15 comments - Posted Nov 21, 2007
October 2007
David Lazarus, famous columnist for the Los Angeles Times, was just diagnosed, at the age of 46, with type 1 diabetes. The diagnosis brought him face to face with something he'd always taken for granted, and it wasn't his health - it was his health insurance.
1 comment - Posted Oct 19, 2007
A review of prescription drug use by more than 60,000 seniors has found that when their insurance plan reaches its spending cap for medications, they often just quit taking the medications.
0 comments - Posted Oct 7, 2007
September 2007
In an analysis of a survey that included 62,193 American children under the age of eighteen, researchers found that single dads are less likely to have health insurance and less likely to take their kids to well-child doctor visits than single mothers.
0 comments - Posted Sep 5, 2007
August 2007
A new report in the New England Journal of Medicine has found that if people are uninsured between the ages of 50 and 65 and if they have cardiovascular disease or diabetes, they will require costlier and more intensive services from Medicare than previously insured people.
0 comments - Posted Aug 15, 2007
Studies have already shown that people with diabetes do worse than non-diabetics after being hospitalized for stroke, heart attack, and heart surgery. Now researchers have found that they do worse after being hospitalized for trauma (a physical injury) as well.
2 comments - Posted Aug 9, 2007
July 2007
It's still awhile even until the primaries, but already candidates of both parties are jostling to get their healthcare plans out there. In recent polls, healthcare was rated as the top issue on the domestic scene. And no wonder: premiums for family coverage have risen by 87 percent since 2000, according to Kaiser.
0 comments - Posted Jul 26, 2007
You have made a point of checking your blood glucose and getting your annual eye and foot checkups. You track your blood cholesterol and blood pressure. But now the pain in your hip is unbearable and interfering with your walking program, so your doctor suggests hip surgery. You will be admitted to the hospital for hip surgery, not diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Jul 9, 2007
Q: My mother, who is a "brittle diabetic," has been sent to a skilled nursing facility for two weeks of rehabilitation following a seven-week hospital stay. I am amazed and frightened at the lack of concern for and attention to her diabetes care at the nursing home.
1 comment - Posted Jul 3, 2007
June 2007
If you want to brown meat really nicely, add sugar and then fry it up. If you want insides as inflexible as burnt barbeque, years of elevated blood sugar will do the job in much the same manner.
0 comments - Posted Jun 17, 2007
A new bill to address the growing diabetes epidemic has been introduced by Senator Hilary Clinton of New York and Senator Susan Collins of Maine, along with Representatives Eliot Engel and Vito Fossella of New York.
1 comment - Posted Jun 7, 2007
A study just published by the RAND Corporation, a well-known think tank, has found that routine care received by women for their heart disease and diabetes isn't as good as that received by men.
0 comments - Posted Jun 6, 2007
May 2007
Analysis of several recent studies indicates that Avandia (rosiglitazone), a type 2 diabetes medication that's been taken by more than six million people worldwide, is associated with a 43 percent increased risk of heart attack and with a borderline-significant increased risk of heart attack-related death.
0 comments - Posted May 31, 2007
The recent ruckus over the drug rosiglitazone (Avandia) has been portrayed as another case of Big Pharma foisting a dangerous drug on the public while the overworked FDA can't keep up.
0 comments - Posted May 31, 2007
Bariatric surgery, formerly used only for treating obesity, is being explored as a cure for type 2 diabetes in normal weight or moderately overweight people.
1 comment - Posted May 19, 2007
While much of the diabetes community eagerly anticipates the latest research and treatment, many diagnosed with the disease struggle to gain access to doctors and the most basic supplies because they are poor or uninsured.
1 comment - Posted May 17, 2007
When it comes to your feet, it’s important to know where you stand. Foot problems are the most common reason for diabetes-related hospitalizations, and people with diabetes are up to fifteen times more likely to have a lower limb amputation than those without diabetes.
0 comments - Posted May 8, 2007
April 2007
GlucoLight's continuous, non-invasive device is a novel approach to glucose monitoring in the acute care environment. Using optical coherence tomography (OCT), the device is able to measure blood glucose levels through a unique anatomical area in the skin that shows physiological changes that directly correlate to changes in blood glucose. The GlucoLight monitor displays real time glucose measurements with an initial single point calibration.
0 comments - Posted Apr 18, 2007
What’s the most important goal for kids and families dealing with diabetes? Learn all you can, and then strive for the best possible blood glucose levels without excessive hypoglycemia. This is a tough goal to attain. Our tools, food, insulin, and monitoring, while the best they have ever been, are still imprecise. And although optimal glucose control is critical for immediate and long-term health, one must always be wary of severe and recurring hypoglycemia.
0 comments - Posted Apr 13, 2007
There are only about 5,000 practicing endocrinologists in the United States in this time of rampant type 2 diabetes, and most of those are on the coasts. According to Dr. Hossein Gharib, past president of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, the Midwest could use at least 5,000 more endos, but the specialty just isn’t attracting enough new physicians.
0 comments - Posted Apr 6, 2007
A British news organization reported that missed health appointments are costing millions of dollars.
0 comments - Posted Apr 1, 2007
March 2007
Q: Please describe your background.
Morey Haymond: A pediatric endocrinologist by training, I have been involved in
metabolic studies of kids, infants, and adults for 35 years. I work with children who have disorders of
carbohydrate metabolism, including diabetes and hypoglycemia. Understanding the regulation of those
processes has been a focus of my research, and I have looked at amino acid and fat metabolism as well.
1 comment - Posted Mar 29, 2007
September 2006
April 2006
Recent developments in the treatment of diabetes mellitus have shown that “tight” control and intensive therapy are necessary to prevent complications, increased morbidity and mortality. We are all familiar with the findings of the DCCT and various UKPDS studies and sub-studies. The importance of these “landmark” studies does not need any further discussion at this time.
2 comments - Posted Apr 1, 2006
On January 7, 2006, I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl named Ava Grace Baker. She was 8.4 pounds and 20.25 inches long. It took 30 hours, but it was worth every moment. Well, almost every moment.
7 comments - Posted Apr 1, 2006
While people with diabetes know that they face a long list of possible complications, it looks as if there’s one more to worry about: We now know that diabetics also face a higher risk of colon cancer. However, there is some consolation in knowing that colon cancer can often be prevented with proper testing.
0 comments - Posted Apr 1, 2006
March 2006
Fetal and neonatal exposure to nicotine may increase a child’s risk of becoming obese and developing type 2 diabetes later in life.
0 comments - Posted Mar 1, 2006
February 2006
Many concerns arise when patients consider the costs of insulin pump therapy. The following are a few of the most frequently asked questions:
9 comments - Posted Feb 1, 2006
January 2006
We would probably all agree that diabetes is anything but a one-size-fits-all condition. This disease takes its own form in each of our bodies and requires different levels of care and treatment.
0 comments - Posted Jan 1, 2006
November 2005
Exposure to tobacco smoke is associated with metabolic syndrome in young people, according to New York researchers.
0 comments - Posted Nov 1, 2005
Banaba is a variety of crepe myrtle that grows in the Philippines, India, Malaysia and Australia. A tea made from the leaves is used to treat diabetes.
1 comment - Posted Nov 1, 2005
October 2005
In hospitalized people with type 2 diabetes, Glucerna was found to have a “neutral effect on [blood glucose] control and lipid metabolism . . . compared with a high-carbohydrate and a lower-fat formula.”
0 comments - Posted Oct 1, 2005
May 2005
Herbs, supplements and other nontraditional treatments have become increasingly popular. According to a study published in the February 2002 issue of Diabetes Care, people with diabetes are more likely to use complementary and alternative medicines than other healthy individuals. Are you tempted to try any? Here is a list of tips for you to consider before you do.
1 comment - Posted May 1, 2005
March 2005
The U.S. Congress is back in session and hopes are high for diabetes victories.
0 comments - Posted Mar 1, 2005
January 2005
Do visits with your diabetes healthcare professional seem shorter these days?
0 comments - Posted Jan 1, 2005
December 2004
Understanding the federal government is complex, and the Medicare program can be even worse.
0 comments - Posted Dec 1, 2004
October 2004
1. Smoking doubles your cardiovascular risk
0 comments - Posted Oct 1, 2004
Swedish researchers say that smoking is associated with both poor blood glucose control and microalbuminuria (protein in the urine) that indicates early kidney disease and increased heart disease risk.
0 comments - Posted Oct 1, 2004
Swedish researchers say that smoking is associated with both poor blood glucose control and microalbuminuria (protein in the urine) that indicates early kidney disease and increased heart disease risk.
0 comments - Posted Oct 1, 2004
May 2004
Would you believe the two leading killers in the United States are lifestyle choices? It’s true.
0 comments - Posted May 1, 2004
April 2004
When your last A1C registered at more than 7 percent, did your primary care physician take action to lower it?
0 comments - Posted Apr 1, 2004
“Diabetes case management can help reduce disparities in diabetes health status among low-income ethnic populations,” writes Lois Jovanovic, MD, endocrinologist and researcher at Sansum Medical Research Institute in Santa Barbara, California.
0 comments - Posted Apr 1, 2004
“Out-of-pocket medication costs pose a significant burden to many adults with diabetes and contribute to decreased treatment adherence.”
1 comment - Posted Apr 1, 2004
By far, the most important medical legislation passed in 2003 was the Medicare Reform Act
1 comment - Posted Apr 1, 2004
February 2004
You’ve gone through all the diabetes education classes. The insurance company pays for them.
0 comments - Posted Feb 1, 2004
May 2003
"Now is a wonderful time to consider a research career in childhood diabetes," says Georgeanna Klingensmith, MD, who heads the Division of Pediatrics at the Barbara Davis Center at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. "We need young people with energy and enthusiasm to take these new findings in molecular biology, genetics, and immunology and put them together to move the field ahead."
0 comments - Posted May 1, 2003
March 2003
"If you're being admitted to the hospital, you might want to write 'Person With Diabetes' across your forehead with a permanent marker."
0 comments - Posted Mar 1, 2003
On December 17, 2002, President George W. Bush signed into law H.R. 5738—a $1.5 billion bill that will substantially increase and extend funding for the Special Diabetes Program.
0 comments - Posted Mar 1, 2003
Diabetes is no more expensive for consumers or for their employer-sponsored health insurance plans than any other chronic disease.
0 comments - Posted Mar 1, 2003
If you're being admitted to the hospital, you might want to write 'Person With Diabetes' across your forehead with a permanent marker."
0 comments - Posted Mar 1, 2003
February 2003
If you are a Medicare recipient with diabetes and you live in New England, the upper Midwest or the Pacific Northwest, you're more likely to get A1C tests and eye exams than people in other parts of the country. For lipid testing, however, you'd be better off living in the mid-Atlantic states or some Southern coastal states. Those who live in the Ohio Valley, the lower Mississippi Valley or the Southwest are least likely to have their A1C levels measured and eyes examined. Lipid testing was least likely to occur in the Rocky Mountain states and parts of the lower Mississippi Valley.
0 comments - Posted Feb 1, 2003
January 2003
Hospitalizations involving diabetes—either as the reason for admission or as a secondary diagnosis—rose 16.7 percent in Pennsylvania from 1997 to 2001.
0 comments - Posted Jan 1, 2003
December 2002
There exists today an unprecedented amount of medical information for people with diabetes: the magazine you are holding, the Internet, television, radio—even billboard ads. We are inundated.
0 comments - Posted Dec 1, 2002
November 2002
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers not to take the Chinese weight loss products Chaso (Jianfei) Diet Capsules and Chaso Genpi. The FDA reports that several people in Japan have become ill, and some have died, after taking the diet products.
0 comments - Posted Nov 1, 2002
It's fortunate that Gillian Larner was at her 11-year-old son's bedside in the hospital after his surgery in May 2002.
1 comment - Posted Nov 1, 2002
Identifying foods that cause the release of a naturally occurring gut hormone known as PYY3-36 - or creating a pill that contains the hormone - may help in obesity control, say researchers who studied the effects of PYY3-36 in both rodents and human volunteers.
0 comments - Posted Nov 1, 2002
October 2002
The use of complementary and alternative medicine is higher than the national average in people with type 2 diabetes, say researchers from Ann Arbor, Michigan, who presented data at the June 2002 American Diabetes Association Scientific Sessions in San Francisco.
0 comments - Posted Oct 1, 2002
The use of complementary and alternative medicine is higher than the national average in people with type 2 diabetes, say researchers from Ann Arbor, Michigan, who presented data at the June 2002 American Diabetes Association Scientific Sessions in San Francisco.
0 comments - Posted Oct 1, 2002
September 2002
If you don't have insurance, your children could be eligible for free or low-cost health insurance, which is available in each state through the Department of Health and Human Services.
0 comments - Posted Sep 1, 2002
In the United States, people with diabetes are 1.6 times more likely to use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) than people without diabetes, according to researchers from the Medical University of South Carolina. In addition, greater age and higher education are associated with the use of CAM, say the researchers.
0 comments - Posted Sep 1, 2002
If you don't have insurance, your children could be eligible for free or low-cost health insurance, which is available in each state through the Department of Health and Human Services.
0 comments - Posted Sep 1, 2002
August 2002
Saying "type 2 diabetes is not a ‘mild' form of diabetes," Sir George Alberti, president of the International Diabetes Federation, called for "more aggressive control of the whole blood-glucose profile."
0 comments - Posted Aug 1, 2002
June 2002
People with diabetes who don't have healthcare insurance may be more likely to receive tests that monitor diabetes control and assess risk for complications at community and migrant health centers than they do at a private doctor's office, according to researchers in North Carolina.
0 comments - Posted Jun 1, 2002
May 2002
Many patients who are treated with metformin (Glucophage) during hospital stays have medical conditions or undergo procedures that, when combined with metformin, put them at risk for developing lactic acidosis, a potentially life-threatening condition caused by a build-up of lactic acid that can lead to organ damage.
0 comments - Posted May 1, 2002
April 2002
The type of shoe you choose for your walking or running activity may be the single best insurance you can buy to reduce your chance of injury. I find that most people look for two things in a shoe: cushion and style. The problem here is that cushion, while it may feel good initially, does not offer the stability that most people need. A lack of stability in a shoe can cause the majority of weight-bearing injuries to the ankles, knees, hips and lower back. Remember, it is nice to look good while you are exercising, but how can you continue to look good if you are injured?
0 comments - Posted Apr 1, 2002
March 2002
NovoLog (insulin aspart) has received supplemental approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in external insulin pumps, Novo Nordisk Pharmaceuticals announced in December 2001. This decision, according to Novo Nordisk, makes NovoLog the only rapid-acting insulin analog to be indicated for use with pumps.
0 comments - Posted Mar 1, 2002
Cost-effective, group-based stress management programs can provide significant help for people with type 2 diabetes, say researchers from Duke University. Stress can raise blood-glucose levels by stimulating the release of counter-regulatory hormones, and it can also disrupt diabetes control by undermining diet and exercise programs and self-care routines.
0 comments - Posted Mar 1, 2002
February 2002
Giving intensive insulin therapy to patients with elevated blood-glucose levels in the surgical intensive care unit (ICU) of a hospital significantly reduces their chance of death, even if the patients did not previously have diabetes, say researchers in Belgium. Greet Van den Berghe, MD, PhD, and colleagues reported their results in the November 8, 2001, issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.
0 comments - Posted Feb 1, 2002
December 2001
A new insulin preparation reduces after-meal blood-glucose (BG) values in people with diabetes without causing hypoglycemia.
0 comments - Posted Dec 1, 2001
November 2001
The use of lasers in surgery and to treat diabetic retinopathy is well known. A different type of laser, low-level laser therapy (LLLT), is now making news in medical circles.
0 comments - Posted Nov 1, 2001
It wasn't the marriage proposal you think of—you know, the one where your Prince Charming falls to his knees and promises undying love. And yet, it held a very attractive promise to somebody who has diabetes: A good health-insurance policy.
0 comments - Posted Nov 1, 2001
The number of lower-limb amputations related to diabetes complications is growing-there were 86,000 such amputations in 1999 alone-according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).
0 comments - Posted Nov 1, 2001
September 2001
I am in my 32nd week of pregnancy with my second child, and I wonder if I have developed gestational diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Sep 1, 2001
If you are taking medications to control your blood sugars, you are less likely to be hospitalized if you refill your prescriptions, say researchers.
0 comments - Posted Sep 1, 2001
August 2001
After four years on dialysis, with no sign that he was nearing the top of the transplant waiting list, Moshe Tati decided to buy a kidney. This was easier than he had imagined. Several months previous, the name and telephone number of an organ broker had been passed, furtively, around his dialysis group. At the time, Moshe did not think he would use the telephone number. He thought he would wait.
1 comment - Posted Aug 1, 2001
The Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) recently revised its policy for coverage of insulin pumps so that more people may now get the cost of their pumps paid for by Medicare.
0 comments - Posted Aug 1, 2001
The American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) is offering a tool to help people with diabetes find educators in their area. The "Find an Educator" feature on the AADE Web site provides links to diabetes educators in towns and cities within all 50 states. The listings include the names and phone numbers of local educators who can provide diabetes self-management training, including blood-sugar testing, advice on medications and meal and exercise planning. Both patients and health-care professionals can also contact the AADE by phone to receive the information. The AADE Web address is www.aadenet.org. The phone number is (800) 832-6874.
0 comments - Posted Aug 1, 2001
July 2001
Not much strikes fear into the hearts of the parents of a type 1 child than one who is sick and cannot hold his or her food down or who refuses to eat. But researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, have found a solution.
0 comments - Posted Jul 1, 2001
June 2001
I am a pediatric endocrinologist. I have been in practice for 18 years and see 12 to 15 kids every day.
0 comments - Posted Jun 1, 2001
April 2001
Marilyn never expected that a routine heart exam would cause kidney damage. But it did.
1 comment - Posted Apr 1, 2001
According to a January 9 press release from the American Diabetes Association (ADA), a new law in the state of Michigan requires health policies to cover supplies, medications and related services for people with diabetes within 90 days.
0 comments - Posted Apr 1, 2001
February 2001
The Top 10 Plans and the Percentages of Diabetic Patients Who Received Specific Tests
0 comments - Posted Feb 1, 2001
October 2000
Acupuncture has been used in China for years to improve the body's use of sugar. Centuries of personal experience support this claim, but few scientific records on the efficacy of these methods exist.
0 comments - Posted Oct 1, 2000
September 2000
Normal C-peptide levels for a fasting test are generally considered to be anything between 0.5 nanograms (ng) per millileter (ml) and 3 ng/ml, although people who do not have diabetes may occasionally stray out of this range. The following is a range of C-peptide values in people without diabetes, as compiled by Endocrine Sciences, Inc., a California-based laboratory that conducts the test. It should be noted that, in some cases, subjects fell below the normal range of C-peptide values, but were still not found to have diabetes. The range of values may also vary according to what lab your health care practitioner uses.
11 comments - Posted Sep 1, 2000
The American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) is seeking passage of House Resolution (HR) 3003, which will add Certified Diabetes Educators (CDEs) as Medicare-certified providers for diabetes self-management education services.
0 comments - Posted Sep 1, 2000
August 2000
Want to get out of the hospital sooner? Your best bet is to find a team consisting of a doctor, nurse educator and a dietitian, all of whom specialize in diabetes. At the very latest, do it as soon as you enter the hospital. Make sure the people who will be caring for you in the hospital work with your diabetes team.
0 comments - Posted Aug 1, 2000
Dinner is at 5, but you usually eat at 7. Your attending doctor does not do the same things as you and your diabetes team. Your attending doctor knows you have a diabetes specialist but does not call the specialist. You routinely eat a bedtime snack, but nobody in the hospital brings you one. The insulin you use is Humalog, but it is not on the formulary. Neither is your ACE inhibitor.
2 comments - Posted Aug 1, 2000
May 2000
In the February 26 issue of the British Medical Journal (BMJ), it was reported that U.S. insurance companies may not pay for new devices such as the GlucoWatch monitor.
0 comments - Posted May 1, 2000
DIABETES HEALTH: The latest figures show that only five percent of people with diabetes see a diabetes specialist. Is there something seriously wrong here?
0 comments - Posted May 1, 2000
April 2000
Kaiser Permanente, a health maintenance organization, is offering an approach to care known as Diabetes Population Care Management. This system gathers comprehensive information about all aspects of a patient's medical treatments.
0 comments - Posted Apr 1, 2000
January 2000
Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) like to emphasize preventative medicine as a way to cut costs. Their screening rates for diabetic complications, however, suffer in comparison to screening rates by traditional fee-for-service organizations, according to a report published in the October 29, 1999 issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly.
0 comments - Posted Jan 1, 2000
December 1999
One year ago, I was standing in line at a local pharmacy to purchase a prescription drug for my wife. The woman in front of me had given the pharmacist a prescription for a mild agent to help her son sleep. This drug is neither essential nor even clearly effective. As the pharmacist gave the woman the bottle of 30 pills, he asked her for $204.
0 comments - Posted Dec 1, 1999
November 1999
After years of lobbying and letter writing by endocrinologists and thousands of people with diabetes, Medicare will finally cover insulin pumps for its beneficiaries with type 1 diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Nov 1, 1999
October 1999
How do diabetes nurse educators keep up on the latest information? First of all, they read Diabetes Health. That's what they tell us every year at the Annual Meeting and Educational Program for the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE). This year's convention, the 26th for the AADE, was held in Orlando, Florida.
0 comments - Posted Oct 1, 1999
Researchers have discovered not-for-profit HMOs have better quality-of-care rates than investor-owned HMOs.
0 comments - Posted Oct 1, 1999
August 1999
The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) reports that 11 percent of serious medication errors involve insulin misadministration. The errors most commonly occur when an overdose is given, or when insulin is mistakenly administered in place of other medications. The direct cost of an inpatient adverse drug reaction can range from $1,900 to $5,900.
0 comments - Posted Aug 1, 1999
July 1999
Electrotherapy provided pain relief to approximately 85 percent of patients with peripheral neuropathy. Peripheral neuropathy is a complication that afflicts greater than 36 percent of people with type 2 diabetes. Its symptoms include painful and burning sensations that affect the feet and ankles. Because there is a misunderstanding of peripheral neuropathy's development, several different treatment regimens have been prescribed over the years to treat the accompanying discomfort.
0 comments - Posted Jul 1, 1999
Imagine if a free glucose meter showed up at your door. You'd be thrilled, right? Well, it happened to David Fogarty, but he wasn't thrilled. This Berkeley, California, father was fuming mad. Fogarty's HMO, Health Net, sent a free Precision Q.I.D. meter to his 11-year-old son, Lucas, and to all its other members with diabetes. The catch was, Health Net would soon stop covering strips for Lucas's One Touch Profile.
0 comments - Posted Jul 1, 1999
May 1999
Electroacupuncture (EA) is from a traditional Chinese therapy that combines traditional needle acupuncture and massage.
0 comments - Posted May 1, 1999
According to an Israeli study, the benefits of taking 100 and 325 mg. of aspirin daily was more beneficial to patients with type 2 diabetes than in those without diabetes. The study revealed that aspirin therapy can cut death rates among people with type 2 diabetes with coronary artery disease (CAD) by one-third.
0 comments - Posted May 1, 1999
April 1999
You rely on your physicians to recommend the best therapy, but how much do they know about vitamins and nutrition?
2 comments - Posted Apr 1, 1999
January 1999
PharmaTerra Inc. has staked a claim with its herbal remedy, ProBeta, which, if legitimate, could be the most profound treatment of diabetes to date.
1 comment - Posted Jan 1, 1999
December 1998
According to a survey conducted by Consumer Health Sciences (CHS), only 70% of people with type 1 and 2 diabetes who are insured have coverage for glucose meters. It was also revealed that 88% have coverage for test strips; 80% have pharmaceutical coverage; 55% have insurance coverage for syringes and only 12% have coverage for insulin pumps.
0 comments - Posted Dec 1, 1998
DIABETES HEALTH reported in the October 1998 issue that the Durable Medical Equipment Regional Carriers (DMERC) had established an interim policy on Medicare coverage of glucose monitors for people with type 1 and 2 diabetes ("Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Glucose Monitors").
0 comments - Posted Dec 1, 1998
October 1998
It was reported in the August 1998 edition of Diabetes Care that the attitudes, knowledge and practice patterns of primary care physicians in delivering effective treatment to patients with diabetes was up to standards, but could still make room for improvement.
0 comments - Posted Oct 1, 1998
How does the cost of increased blood glucose testing and more injections affect those with lower incomes? According to the third National Health and Nutrition Survey, "those without health insurance are twice as likely to suffer a lack of food as those who have health insurance."
0 comments - Posted Oct 1, 1998
Many people are dissatisfied with a new interim Medicare policy. The policy was considered to be a breakthrough for Medicare patients because for the first time it will cover patients who are not being treated with insulin injections. Prior to July 1, 1998, these patients were not covered by Medicare for their diabetes testing supplies.
2 comments - Posted Oct 1, 1998
August 1998
Two things that affect every aspect of one's life are having diabetes and becoming a senior citizen. When these happen together their impacts can become even more pronounced. As if this isn't enough, seniors with diabetes have to confront less-than-flattering stereotypes every day. This can be especially frustrating, and potentially damaging, when dealing with health care providers. Despite these added challenges, the plight of seniors with diabetes is often overlooked.
0 comments - Posted Aug 1, 1998
As of July 1, 1998, Medicare began covering the cost of home blood glucose monitoring for people with diabetes who do not use insulin-the program had previously covered only those treated with insulin. Medicare now pays the cost of a glucose meter and up to 25 blood test strips per month for Part B program enrollees. People using insulin are covered for the cost of their meters and 100 glucose test strips per month. All applicable Medicare deductibles and co-payments apply to these benefits.
0 comments - Posted Aug 1, 1998
July 1998
In addition to the host of health risks that smoking presents to all people, studies have shown that adult type 1 smokers are at increased risk to develop macrovascular and microvascular diabetic complications, especially retinopathy and nephropathy. A recent study from Germany shows that markers of microvascular complications are also found in teen smokers with type 1 diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Jul 1, 1998
June 1998
The following is a list developed by the California Diabetes Control Program and the Diabetes Coalition of California detailing the specifics of good diabetes care. This list can be used to illustrate to your HMO the level of care essential to maintaining your good health, and its financial incentive to provide you with these services.
0 comments - Posted Jun 1, 1998
The following is a greatly abridged list of quotes from respected medical journals on the financial and medical impact of various diabetes practices and products. These can be used in letters to HMOs and purchasers of HMO plans to impress upon them the importance and financial good sense of providing good diabetes care. Again, this list is just a short list of the many facts gathered on the subject. The more you investigate and the more you learn the stronger the case you can present to get the coverage you need and deserve.
0 comments - Posted Jun 1, 1998
Are you a member of a HMO but not getting the coverage you need for proper diabetes care? After finding a primary care physician who is sympathetic to your needs, you may need to contact your HMO and appeal for coverage for the services and equipment you need for good preventative care.
0 comments - Posted Jun 1, 1998
Bring up the subject of HMO medicine and you are bound to get a wide range of opinions. On the one hand there is the argument that HMOs have tamed the runaway costs of medical care and promise to "manage" health rather than cure illness. On the other hand, there is the view of the late Kenneth Facter, MD, JD, MBA. "HMOs run on a sick system that rewards doctors for lesser care ... HMOs reward doctors who deal with you quickly and inexpensively and penalize doctors who spend too much time and money," said Facter at a diabetes patient education conference in 1997.
0 comments - Posted Jun 1, 1998
April 1998
Adjusting to diabetes can be tough. But for teenage girls with diabetes it can be potentially fatal. Researchers have found that societal influences on teen boys and girls can affect their diabetes, and that in most cases girls suffer the most from these influences.
0 comments - Posted Apr 1, 1998
February 1998
Diabetes care teams consisting of a diabetes nurse educator and an endocrinologist can make days of difference according to research in October's Diabetes Care.
0 comments - Posted Feb 1, 1998
December 1997
People are losing patience with managed health care providers and favor federal action to protect patients' rights. Results of a recent nationwide survey show that consumers feel that managed care organizations should not be able to deny treatment and that HMOs should be legally accountable when inappropriate decisions result in harm to a patient. The survey was conducted by Wirthlin Worldwide and commissioned by the Patient Access to Responsible Care Alliance (PARCA).
0 comments - Posted Dec 1, 1997
October 1997
The ADA hopes to get California Senate Bill 1220 passed by January, 1998. The bill would require insurance carriers to provide coverage for diabetes supplies, equipment and self-management training as deemed necessary by a physician. The bill was prompted by some insurance companies refusals to provide coverage for these basic items necessary for good diabetes control.
0 comments - Posted Oct 1, 1997
September 1997
This year Christmas came in August for millions of people with diabetes. With a few strokes of his pen, President Clinton signed into law new Medicare policies and allocated $300 million for the prevention and treatment of diabetes. These funds are in addition to the money the NIH receives for diabetes research every year.
0 comments - Posted Sep 1, 1997
July 1997
In addition to their many lifesaving skills, paramedics must also have expertise in treating people with diabetes in emergency situations. For instance, about once a year 36-year-old Craig Lloyd's sugars plunge unexpectedly into the 30s and he loses consciousness.
0 comments - Posted Jul 1, 1997
After conducting a three-year audit of the effectiveness of Medicare, the United States General Accounting Office (USGAO) has found some disturbing facts about diabetes care.
0 comments - Posted Jul 1, 1997
June 1997
Compared to families unaffected by diabetes, families with a child with type I diabetes have similar rates of insurance coverage, according to a recent study. But out-of-pocket medical expenses are 56 percent higher for families with a child with type I diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Jun 1, 1997
One in three children in the United States lacked health insurance for at least one month in 1995 and 1996, according to a study by the health consumer group Families USA.
0 comments - Posted Jun 1, 1997
How can I get the best diabetes care from an HMO? As health management organizations become more and more popular millions of people with diabetes find themselves asking this question every day. There are no easy answers, but there is one thing that all the experts agree upon - you must be your own tireless advocate.
0 comments - Posted Jun 1, 1997
What kind of durable medical equipment (DME) coverage will you receive?
0 comments - Posted Jun 1, 1997
April 1997
During a recent trip to visit my sister and brother-in-law I hit a piece of metal on the interstate and my front left tire was ruined. Changing the tire wasn't a difficult process, but it used energy that was not accounted for in my calculations of exercise, insulin and food intake.
2 comments - Posted Apr 1, 1997
March 1997
Interested in learning more about how to control your diabetes? Steven Edelman, MD, associate professor of medicine at the University of California at San Diego, is directing a series of conferences specifically designed for people with diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Mar 1, 1997
January 1997
People with diabetes are taking steps to enhance their lives and feel better using complementary therapies in conjunction with their prescribed medical treatments. Practicing complementary therapy is a way of integrating non-western treatments with conventional medicine.
0 comments - Posted Jan 1, 1997
July 1996
Now that HMOs have become the most popular choice of health plan for employers, some employees-especially those with diabetes-have found themselves disappointed with the care they receive. Many HMOs do not provide lancets, blood test strips, alcohol swabs or syringes. Many do not cover the cost of specialists such as podiatrists or ophthalmologists.
0 comments - Posted Jul 1, 1996
February 1996
Getting the services you need from an HMO often takes more than just a simple phone call. Convincing an HMO that you need a physician who understands diabetes care and that you need to be provided with up-to-date diabetes therapies, treatments, supplies, and equipment can be quite a daunting prospect. But it is possible, and it may be more straightforward than you think.
0 comments - Posted Feb 1, 1996
October 1995
How many times have you skipped a blood sugar test because you didn't want to waste a meter strip?
0 comments - Posted Oct 1, 1995
Despite the common belief that specialists contribute to the staggering cost of medical care, a recent study has shown that they may actually reduce the length of the average hospital stay. Of course, less time in the hospital means big savings.
0 comments - Posted Oct 1, 1995
September 1995
A study of 905 patients at a private endocrinology practice in Nashville was conducted to determine hospital admission statistics among people with diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Sep 1, 1995
July 1995
Several prominent endocrinologists gathered in San Diego this past January to develop guidelines for prescribing metformin. Speaking at the American Diabetes Association Post-Graduate course were: Alan J. Garber, MD, PhD, of Houston's Baylor College of Medicine; Ralph A. DeFronzo, MD, Chief of the Diabetes Division of the University of Texas Health Center in San Antonio; and Jay S. Skyler, MD of Miami.
0 comments - Posted Jul 1, 1995
March 1994
Researchers at Heinrich-Heine University in Dusseldorf, Germany have linked smoking with the progression of diabetic nephropathy in people with type 1 diabetes undergoing hypertension therapy. The study was conducted over one year and included 34 smokers, 24 ex-smokers (anyone who had quit prior to the study), and 35 non-smokers, all of whom had both retinopathy and nephropathy (to insure that diabetes was the cause).
0 comments - Posted Mar 1, 1994
January 1994
The Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), a US federal agency, has established new Medicare reimbursement rates for home blood glucose testing strips. The new rates represent a huge drop from what Medicare has been paying, and could trigger a dramatic change in the availability of test strips to senior citizens.
1 comment - Posted Jan 1, 1994
August 1993
A survey of 997 persons with insulin-dependent diabetes reports that, overall, 30.7% of the repondents polled had been uninsured at some point after their eighteenth birthday. Males are uninsured more frequently and for longer durations than females. In addition, 22% of all those uninsured reported that they had been denied health insurance, suggesting barriers to health insurance coverage.A study conducted by researchers in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, suggests that the availability of HbgA1c data makes a significant difference in clinical decision-making. In a sample of 70 insulin-dependent patients, the availability of HbgA1c data before therapeutic decision-making resulted in a significant changes made in insulin adjustment and treatment regimens.
0 comments - Posted Aug 1, 1993
January 1993
Researchers from the Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Hospital, in Gøteborg, Sweden, have concluded that smoking causes insulin resistance.
0 comments - Posted Jan 1, 1993
Even after participating in an intensive treatment and training program, it has been found that smoking and low-level education are indicators of poor metabolic control in people who have been newly diagnosed with type I diabetes. This study was conducted by researchers from the Department of Metabolic Disease and Nutrition, Dusseldorf, Germany.
0 comments - Posted Jan 1, 1993
November 1992
We interviewed Cascade Medical after hearing that they had aligned themselves with Boston Advanced Technologies (B.A.T.). B.A.T. recently announced that they had received a grant form NASA to build the first non-invasive blood glucose testing device to go into space. We reached Richard E. Jones, Ph.D., president and CEO of Cascade Medical, at Cascade's headquarters in Eden Prarie, Minnesota.
0 comments - Posted Nov 1, 1992
Dr. Alan Marcus is a diabetes specialist who practices in Laguna Hills, California. He is also a medical advisor to MiniMed Technologies and a spokesperson for Novo Nordisk Insulin. Dr. Marcus also serves as Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine for the USC School of Medicine.
0 comments - Posted Nov 1, 1992
September 1991
Diabetes is a disease of the substance sugar, but is really about energy. In the final analysis, diabetes is a disease of poor energy metabolism. It is manifest in problems with sugar, the crucial fuel, and insulin, the crucial energy hormone. To understand diabetes, we need to understand biological energy: where it comes from, what it is, and how it works.
0 comments - Posted Sep 1, 1991
Few studies have looked closely at female sexuality and diabetes. What are the special issues that arise? In this interview, Eileen Walko, MD, and Daryn Stier, MSW, LCSW, poignantly discuss what all women with diabetes should know.
3 comments - Posted Sep 1, 1991
January 1991
Improved blood sugar control, smoking cessation and aggressive blood pressure treatment are mainstays for preventing or treating the development of kidney disease in people with diabetes. Increasingly, physicians are also turning to a class of drugs called ACE inhibitors to slow the progression of kidney disease in their patients.
1 comment - Posted Jan 1, 1991