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May 2012
Researchers in Taipei, Taiwan, report that they have identified the top three drugs for reducing A1C levels in type 2 diabetes: biphasic insulin, GLP-1 analogs, and basal insulin. They hedged a little on their endorsement of GLP-1 analogs, however, by saying that although they are not decisively better at controlling A1Cs than other oral diabetes drugs, they have the advantage of helping to reduce weight without adding to the danger of hypoglycemia.
0 comments - Posted May 16, 2012
A successful experiment on mice with type 1 diabetes, which involved "reprogramming" their immune systems to stop attacks on pancreatic beta cells, may point the way to an eventual cure for the disease in humans.
0 comments - Posted May 15, 2012
With tens of millions of American facing life with type 2 diabetes and many millions more at risk of the disease, scientists are scrambling to unravel novel treatments. The latest breakthrough could come from California's Salk Institute.
0 comments - Posted May 13, 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
Feeling tired? Your lack of rest may be putting you at increased risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes. That's the conclusion of a new paper, published in The American Journal of Human Biology, that looked at evidence collected from numerous experimental and observational studies. The link was clear: People who got less than six hours of sleep a night were more likely to have a high body mass index (BMI) and be obese. The connection found in the study seems stronger for children and teenagers, which is especially worrisome given the skyrocketing rates of type 2 diabetes in young people.
0 comments - Posted May 10, 2012
This story was produced in collaboration with USAToday
2 comments - Posted May 9, 2012
Novo Nordisk's new variety of long-lasting insulin, insulin degludec, reduces low blood sugars while improving overall control, according to a pair of studies published in the prestigious journal The Lancet on April 27.
0 comments - Posted May 8, 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
Diabetes Health recently submitted some questions to CVS Caremark Corporation regarding its "The State of the States: Adherence Report." The report compiled data from more than 50 million patients to track their level of adherence to drug prescriptions for four chronic diseases: diabetes, depression, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.
2 comments - Posted May 4, 2012
It may be better for older people with type 2 diabetes to have less stringent A1C goals than younger type 2s, according to new guidelines from the American Diabetes Association and the European Association for the Study of Diabetes.
5 comments - Posted May 3, 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
On April 19, the US Food and Drug Administration issued a warning to diabetes patients not to combine the blood pressure medication aliskiren (Tekturna) with ACE inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers. The warning also applies to patients who have renal impairment.
2 comments - Posted Apr 30, 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
As an orthopedic surgeon, I have many patients with diabetes who tell me, "I can't have surgery because I won't heal." That is certainly not the case, however. Diabetes does affect the small blood vessels and the function of immune cells when blood sugar is high, but with proper nutrition and blood sugar management, people with diabetes are very safe to undergo knee replacements, abdominal surgery, and many elective procedures.
1 comment - Posted Apr 28, 2012
My oldest nephew, James, has a double whammy to deal with. His aunt, yours truly, has type 1 diabetes, and so does his father. I was in the room when my sister had an ultrasound during her pregnancy with James, and I clearly remember the doctor asking her if anyone in her family had diabetes. We shared a look as she informed the doctor of my diabetes and her husband's diabetes. I know we also shared a silent prayer as the reality hit us that diabetes might be passed on to her children.
3 comments - Posted Apr 27, 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
The US Food and Drug Administration has okayed US sales of Bayer HealthCare's CONTOUR® Next EZ blood glucose monitoring system. The new BGM, currently available in other countries as the CONTOUR XT, will be available in the US market this summer.
1 comment - Posted Apr 25, 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
Research has shown that a few people with Type 1 diabetes are at an increased risk for having traffic accidents due to low blood sugars.
Possibly, we can help the diabetes community.
Researchers at the University of Virginia are conducting a study evaluating internet tools designed to:
• • Anonymously assess risk for ALL drivers with Type 1 diabetes of being in an accident and
• • Potentially help reduce the chance of high-risk drivers being in a future collision.
1 comment - Posted Apr 21, 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
Some people are perfectly happy divulging their three-month blood sugar average, known as an A1C, but I'd rather walk barefoot across hot coals than share my A1C number. It's funny, because I'm actually kind of proud of it these days. It's by no means perfect and could definitely stand to be lower, but I've come a long way. There was a time in my life when my diabetes was out of control and my A1C results were shameful. I felt so embarrassed and disappointed in myself, and the worst part was, I felt hopeless. Thankfully, I have maintained a substantial A1C drop for years now.
12 comments - Posted Apr 14, 2012
The challenges of pregnancy are daunting on their own, but when you're diabetic, they can seem insurmountable. That's one of the reasons Cheryl Alkon wrote a book on the subject. Having type 1 diabetes herself, Alkon knew firsthand the challenges of controlling her disease during pregnancy, and of raising the kids who followed.
3 comments - Posted Apr 13, 2012
To love a diabetic is to be a doctor. It means helping her to remember her medications. It means driving her for an hour to the only 24 hour pharmacy when she's gotten the flu and can't take the Nyquil in the refrigerator. Or driving her to the hospital when the simple flu turns into bronchitis and her blood turns acidic.
37 comments - Posted Apr 12, 2012
North Carolina-born chef Sam Talbot first came to national attention when he placed third in the Season 2 run of Bravo's Top Chef TV competition. Sam, who has type 1 diabetes and wears an insulin pump, held the executive chef position at several New York City restaurants, including Black Duck, Williamsburgh Cafe, and Punch, before opening his current restaurant, the acclaimed Surf Lodge, in Montauk on Long Island.
0 comments - Posted Apr 11, 2012
If you look around your health club and discover what appear to be cannonballs with handles placed in a corner, there is no need to walk away in fear: They're just kettlebells, a venerable resistance exercise tool that has been used for years by Russian athletes and has recently been taken up by actors as well.
1 comment - Posted Apr 10, 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
To discover the relationship between potassium levels and type 2 diabetes, a Johns Hopkins University study looked at more than 12,000 participants in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study (ARIC), performed in 1987 and 1996. The study found that as potassium levels went up, the incidence of diabetes among study participants went down. The more than 2,000 African Americans in the study had lower average potassium levels than the 9,000 Caucasians and were twice as likely to develop type 2 diabetes.
2 comments - Posted Apr 8, 2012
San Diego, CA-Insulindependence has formally merged with the Diabetes Exercise and Sports Association. Both organizations have operated independently since 2005 to provide exercise-related resources for people living with diabetes. With more than 3,000 combined members, they will now become North America's largest nonprofit public benefit organization focused on diabetes and exercise.
0 comments - Posted Apr 7, 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
The best things in life are often right in front of our noses, but we tend to take them for granted. William Bell put it best in 1961 when he recorded the soul classic "You Don't Miss Your Water (‘Til Your Well Runs Dry)" on Stax records. He realized just how true his words were in 1965, when Otis Redding re-recorded the song and had a much bigger hit with it. Even the Byrds had a semi-hit when they released the song in 1968 and again in 1990, as did Peter Tosh with his reggae version in 1972. Poor William Bell....his well never even filled up before it went dry. The concept is quite simple, really. All that goodness is surrounding each and every one of us, and we don't have a clue until it's gone.
3 comments - Posted Apr 5, 2012
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says that Levemir is safe for use by pregnant women and does not increase the risk of harm to children in the womb.
1 comment - Posted Apr 4, 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
An Ohio-based study of overweight and obese type 2 patients shows that weight loss surgery works much better at controlling blood sugar levels than any known drug treatment.
5 comments - Posted Apr 2, 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
A Diabetes Health reader writes in to ask: Is there a generic alternative to Humalog insulin? If so, what is its cost compared to Humalog?
8 comments - Posted Mar 30, 2012
Readers occasionally ask us for advice about drugs they are taking. When they do, we refer their questions to a medical professional. In the question below, a Florida reader expresses concerns about the interaction of her diabetes drug with the medicines she takes for asthma.
0 comments - Posted Mar 29, 2012
Type 1 Diabetes TrialNet, an international network of researchers exploring ways to prevent and delay the progression of type 1 diabetes, has reached an important milestone: screening 100,000 people to detect who among is at risk of developing type 1 diabetes. This is a major achievement because it has helped researchers better predict who will develop diabetes and when it will require treatment. Earlier diagnosis helps patients avoid a severe, life-threatening condition called diabetic ketoacidosis.
0 comments - Posted Mar 28, 2012
The FDA has approved the start of outpatient trials of a smart phone-based monitoring device that functions as an artificial pancreas. If the device, which automatically measures blood glucose levels and adjusts them with insulin, is successful, several million type 1 patients could enjoy a whole new level of convenience.
25 comments - Posted Mar 27, 2012
It's spring break again, when thousands of people head to the beach. A lot of wonderful things come with being out and about on spring break, but if you have diabetes, there are also several things you should consider. There's going to be more traffic, fewer parking places, lots of people, an abundance of uncalculated carbohydrate sources, and longer waits for everything, to name just a few.
2 comments - Posted Mar 26, 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
Three risk factors-insulin resistance, fatty liver, and overweight/obesity-that are commonly associated with the onset of type 2 diabetes can each, by itself, substantially increase the risk of developing the disease. But in individuals that have all three factors working in combination, the risk of developing type 2 in a five-year period increases 14-fold.
0 comments - Posted Mar 24, 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
A little more than 25 years ago, I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
6 comments - Posted Mar 21, 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
Massachusetts researchers have found that even years after they are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, some people continue to possess functioning beta cells. This finding departs from the conventional thinking that in type 1 diabetes beat cell activity inevitably ceases--the result of attacks on the cells by the body's immune system.
1 comment - Posted Mar 19, 2012
On September 26, 1992, my daughter Kaitlyn was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Since that time, we have immersed ourselves in the world of diabetes with two goals: First, to ensure that Kaitlyn has the very best tools, both medical and emotional, to manage her diabetes, and second, to dedicate our unyielding efforts in pursuit of a cure. For us, it's not either/or: It's both.
7 comments - Posted Mar 18, 2012
If you are newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and don't take insulin, a new study says that you are likely to have better A1Cs if you have access to blood glucose testing supplies and use them. The finding comes from a large Cochrane review of previous studies that took place in many countries.
1 comment - Posted Mar 17, 2012
Everyone needs vitamin D to be healthy and maintain strong bones, but a new study has found that it may also protect against stroke. In the study, 21,000 people aged 45 and older answered a food questionnaire. According to the findings, presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference, there was an 11 percent reduction in stroke among those who consumed the most vitamin D.
0 comments - Posted Mar 16, 2012
There are more than 200 diabetes camps in North America, offering more than 400 programs to more than 30,000 youths and young adults with diabetes and their families. One in 400 children has type 1 diabetes, and type 2 diabetes in children, once rare, is increasingly common due to obesity. Education and motivation are vital to healthy management of the disease. Diabetes camps empower children and their families to meet the rigorous demands of diabetes, allowing them to be healthy, active, and motivated to reach their dreams.
0 comments - Posted Mar 15, 2012
One night last week I was awakened by the sound of my dogs barking, and I jumped out of bed to check for intruders. As I ran down the hallway, I realized that something was wrong with my right eye: It had an image, like someone had flashed a bright light into it. I blinked wildly, trying to regain my normal vision, but the image remained. As I sat on the couch after checking the house, I was scared to death, not of intruders, but of the thought that diabetes had finally invaded my eyes. The image soon subsided, but I made an appointment with a retina specialist the next morning and braced myself for the worst.
2 comments - Posted Mar 14, 2012
According to a study of patients newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, 35 percent of the time their physicians did not follow the American Diabetes Association (ADA) guideline that calls for prescribing a generic drug first. The study, conducted by researchers from CVS Caremark, Harvard University, and Brigham and Women's Hospital, reviewed the pharmacy claims of 254,000 patients who were started on a diabetes medication in January 2006 and December 2008. One-third of the treatment regimens did not adhere to the ADA guideline.
0 comments - Posted Mar 13, 2012
One quarter of patients with diabetic neuropathy undergo unnecessary, expensive tests, according to a study by Brian Callaghan, MD, of the University of Michigan Medical School. When Dr. Callaghan and his team looked at 1996-2007 Medicare claims of patients diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy, they found that the most common test performed was an MRI of the brain or spine. There were far fewer instances of glucose tolerance tests. Other tests that were done, but much less often, included fasting glucose levels, A1Cs, vitamin B12 levels, and serum protein electrophoresis.
0 comments - Posted Mar 12, 2012
(Editor's Note: Some information in this article is from a press release issued by Medtronic, Inc.)
0 comments - Posted Mar 9, 2012
When it comes to diabetes, people often blame the patient instead of the disease. I cannot think of another chronic illness for which this is the case. Much of the public seems to believe that we bring diabetes on ourselves. When people with diabetes are diagnosed with complications, uninformed observers often insist that it happened because they were "bad diabetics." Comments like "She didn't take care of herself" make me instantly defensive and angry. How can anyone know what that person went through on a day-to-day basis with her diabetes?
31 comments - Posted Mar 8, 2012
For people with diabetes, elevated blood sugar adversely affects the ability to heal. Their slow-healing wounds invite hard-to-treat infections that can eventually lead to amputation. In fact, they are 15 times more likely to undergo limb amputations than people without diabetes.
2 comments - Posted Mar 7, 2012
Sometimes I feel like an idiot. It usually happens when I read a blog by one of my favorite "D" parents telling about how their children are handling life with type 1 diabetes. These brave kids put up with the same things that adults with diabetes do, and some are literally too young to even understand what's going on. Reading about these little warriors makes me regret even more the fact that I wallowed in self pity all afternoon just because my blood sugar didn't cooperate flawlessly during my daily walk.
2 comments - Posted Mar 6, 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
Maryland-based Telcare, a mobile health app provider, is offering a free application for iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad users. MyTelcare Diabetes Pal, which synchronizes with the company's wireless blood glucose meter, allows diabetes patients and caregivers to see the readings sent to them by the Telcare BGM blood glucose meter. They can combine those readings with other patient data about medications, nutrition, and activities, thereby generating a comprehensive overview of their progress with the disease.
0 comments - Posted Mar 4, 2012
Two recent studies confirm the powerful role that exercise plays in controlling blood glucose levels. The first study, conducted by University of Missouri researchers and published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, found that blood glucose levels tend to spike during periods of inactivity. The second study, conducted by the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute in Australia and published in Diabetes Care, shows that office employees who take short light-exercise breaks every 20 minutes enjoy a 30 percent reduction in blood glucose levels.
4 comments - Posted Mar 3, 2012
LifeScan has announced the voluntary recall of its OneTouch Verio IQ Meter in the United States and Canada. The company reports that under very specific circumstances, the meter turns itself off when users attempt to access the "Results Log" to view stored test results. When the meter is turned back on, it enters the "set up" mode and requires users to confirm the date and time settings before being able to test again.
According to LifeScan, this issue has no effect on the accuracy of test results or functions such as on-screen pattern notifications, averages, result tagging, or downloading, and data are not lost. If the user does not confirm all settings, however, testing is not possible. As a result, treatment may be delayed or a treatment decision made without a blood glucose reading.
0 comments - Posted Mar 2, 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
The unconditional love of a dog can be an amazing source of strength and resilience for its owner. Eight-year-old Madalaine Hembraugh and her foster dog, Petey, are living proof of that. They both have type 1 diabetes, and they have formed a bond that is helping to heal them both.
1 comment - Posted Feb 27, 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
British researchers say that metformin, the drug most often used to treat prediabetes and type 2 diabetes, could provide potential protection against endometrial cancer in women.
0 comments - Posted Feb 24, 2012
A study of medical claims data from more than 136,000 men shows that men with diabetes are much more likely to require invasive therapies for erectile dysfunction than men without diabetes. The therapies, which are the next steps beyond oral treatments, are second-line suppositories or injections and third-line surgeries to implant prostheses.
1 comment - Posted Feb 23, 2012
A gluten-free diet in the first 12 months of life does not lower the risk of later developing type 1 diabetes in children who have a family history of the disease, says a German study. Previous studies had suggested that babies whose diets included gluten in their first months of life might be more likely to develop type 1 than youngsters whose diets did not.
1 comment - Posted Feb 22, 2012
A survey of type 1 and type 2 diabetes patients in the United States, United Kingdom, France, and Germany indicates that more than one in every five have arrived late at work or not shown up at all because of a hypoglycemic episode the night before.
18 comments - Posted Feb 21, 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
Try doing this at the age of 64:
0 comments - Posted Feb 18, 2012
You've heard of the blockbuster drug Byetta, a daily injection for type 2 diabetes? Byetta's sister product, Bydureon, which is injected just once a week, has just been approved by the FDA and is available in pharmacies.
2 comments - Posted Feb 17, 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
Wiped out and dejected, that's my state of mind this morning. I had a really low blood sugar, and it's left me feeling like I've been in a fight. My arms and legs feel heavy, and my "low" headache lingers, but I remind myself that it could be worse. I'm fine, I treated it, and my day will go on.
12 comments - Posted Feb 14, 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
Burbank, Calif.-February 2012 - Although it is illegal to throw used needles and syringes in the trash in California, more than 936 million home-generated sharps end up in the waste stream annually, according to CalRecycle. This is often due to the lack of convenient return options for users of these medical products.
2 comments - Posted Feb 11, 2012
My son learned to crawl last month. As a part-time stay-at-home dad, I found it both exciting and terrifying. Through crawling, my son has entered a new stage in life. He might have rolled or scooted a few feet before, but now he can see something in another room and make up his mind to go there.
1 comment - Posted Feb 10, 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
At the age of 15 years, Sheila Glazov's son Joshua was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. "In 1985," Glazov says, "our family was living in Mammoth Lakes, California. Our little mountain town had a 15-bed hospital that was efficient if you injured yourself skiing, but not if you were looking for appropriate medical care and support for your child who was newly diagnosed with diabetes."
0 comments - Posted Feb 8, 2012
Diabetes doesn't confine itself to a single week or month. It's a year-round condition, and each season offers its own challenges and opportunities for those of us with the disease. We should be prepared to change and evolve as the seasons shift--not only to stay healthy, but also to enjoy all the fun that our dynamic world offers.
1 comment - Posted Feb 7, 2012
The FDA has approved US sales of JANUMET® XR, a daily oral treatment for type 2 diabetes that combines sitagliptin and extended-release metformin. The drug is the fourth oral type 2 diabetes treatment introduced by Merck, which also sells JANUVIA, JANUMET, and JUVISYNC.
0 comments - Posted Feb 6, 2012
Barley has more beta glucan fiber than any other grain, and it has repeatedly established positive clinical results with regard to diabetes control. It not only boosts immune function by supporting macrophages and neutrophils, lowers blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and helps control obesity, but also attenuates postprandial glucose levels, improves insulin sensitivity, and promotes a feeling of satiety.
6 comments - Posted Feb 5, 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
After several years of delays and setbacks, Amylin Pharmaceuticals has received FDA approval to begin US marketing of BydureonTM. The first once-a-week type 2 therapy to be offered in the US market, Bydureon is expected to be available by February. Amylin says that its wholesale price will be about $4,200 a year.
2 comments - Posted Feb 3, 2012
Winter in Chicago is catching up with my diabetic feet. No matter how much I lotion up before bed, the cracks are beginning to show. I recall a visit to my endocrinologist where she tested for sensitivity and scoped for cracks, wounds, or anything out of the ordinary. She told me how lucky I was that the skin on my feet was smooth and well maintained. She said to keep up with what I was doing. Though truthfully, I wasn't doing anything, it was summer and my feet were in good condition because of the warm weather and pure luck.
7 comments - Posted Feb 2, 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
Animas Corporation, a division of Johnson & Johnson that manufactures insulin pumps, has been reprimanded by the FDA for not reporting serious problems resulting from use of its equipment. The parent company was warned that it could face fines and more for selling faulty insulin pumps and failing to disclose serious injuries to diabetic patients who used the OneTouch Ping and 2020 insulin pumps. According to reports, J&J continued to sell the pumps even after the company knew that some had failed.
1 comment - Posted Jan 29, 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
If you, like many people with diabetes, are trying to lose weight, you might be more successful if you cut back on carbohydrates for just two days a week instead of undertaking an unrelenting low-calorie diet. A recent report found that women who banished carbohydrates for two days a week and ate normally the rest of the time lost about nine pounds in four months, compared to the five pounds lost by women who cut back to roughly 1,500 calories every day.
7 comments - Posted Jan 26, 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
Researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston report that they have discovered a naturally occurring hormone that can direct the body to burn more calories and increase its insulin sensitivity. Their results, based on lab experiments with mice, could potentially lead to therapies for diabetes, obesity, and even muscular dystrophy.
2 comments - Posted Jan 23, 2012
The FDA has given Roche the go-ahead to market its Accu-Chek® Nano SmartView blood glucose monitoring system. The Nano, which uses Accu-Chek SmartView test strips, will be available to US consumers within the first half of this year. It is part of the same product line as the Accu-Chek Aviva Nano and Accu-Chek Performa Nano systems, which Roche has already launched in several overseas markets.
3 comments - Posted Jan 22, 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
When your doctor recommends a new drug or treatment for your diabetes, do you know if the doctor has received payment from the company that markets the drug or device? If the Obama administration has its way, you will. It is proposing a new law that will require drug companies to disclose payments made to doctors for research, consulting, speaking, travel, and entertainment-even something as minor as coffee and bagels delivered to a doctor's office for a meeting.
10 comments - Posted Jan 20, 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
I wake in the morning with the taste of sour milk on my tongue. I'm sweating, extremely weak and disoriented. My muscles ache at the thought of moving. I have a sick feeling in my stomach, and it's threatening to come up my throat. I'm not sure what day it is. Nausea hits in a wave, sending chills down my spine.
28 comments - Posted Jan 17, 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
LifeScan has introduced the OneTouch® VerioTM IQ, a meter that not only tracks and displays blood sugar patterns, but also announces them with messages, such as "Looks like your blood sugar has been running LOW around this time."
2 comments - Posted Jan 15, 2012
Australian scientists have discovered that when a complex sugar crucial to the survival of insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells is degraded by the body's immune system, the beta cells die.
0 comments - Posted Jan 14, 2012
Recently, there has been a great deal of discussion on the subject of testing your blood sugar and taking insulin shots in public. A shocking number of people on social networks have commented that their family members don't want them to test their blood sugar or take their shots in public. They report having to inject in restrooms or even through their clothing to avoid drawing attention or offending their families. One hypersensitive husband even objected when his recently diagnosed wife took a shot in the relative privacy of their car.
38 comments - Posted Jan 12, 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
Professional snowboarder Sean Busby started competing at age 14 and began training for the Winter Olympics at 16. But in 2004, at age 19, Sean's troubling bouts of thirst and weariness were revealed as symptoms of type 1 diabetes.
1 comment - Posted Jan 10, 2012
Minneapolis-based Medtronic, Inc., has announced that the US Food and Drug Administration has given it the go-ahead to market its mySentry monitor, which allows caregivers to check the blood sugar of a diabetic person sleeping in another room. The bedside monitor, which costs around $3,000, works in tandem with Medtronic's MiniMed Paradigm® REAL-Time RevelTM System, a combined insulin pump/continuous glucose monitor unit.
3 comments - Posted Jan 9, 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
My baby girl had just been born. I was in the postoperation room after going through a cesarean section. My husband went to get my parents, who had been waiting for twelve hours in the waiting room. A nurse laid my little girl in an incubator next to my bed and checked her blood sugar, which was normal, in the mid-40 range. Fifteen minutes later the nurse checked her again, and it registered in the mid-30s. I watched as the nurse fed my baby her first ounces of food. I was still too numb to even know that I had legs, much less to be able to wiggle my toes.
4 comments - Posted Jan 6, 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
Canadian researchers report that just 30 minutes of intense exercise per week can reduce blood sugar levels for up to 24 hours after each exercise session and help prevent post-prandial spikes in patients with type 2 diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Jan 3, 2012
As I explained in my previous articles, I was pre-eclamptic and was admitted to the hospital at 37 weeks. I had a migraine that lasted for ten hours after I entered the emergency room. I had experienced migraines before and knew that Tylenol wouldn't ease the pain, so I went untreated even in the hospital. About twelve hours after admission, I was brought to the women's floor, where I waited for my already injected Levemir supply to diminish in my bloodstream.
1 comment - Posted Jan 2, 2012
What's it really like to have type 1 diabetes? Every morning I start the day with a finger prick and two insulin injections. It doesn't matter if I don't feel like it. It doesn't matter if I'm tired. There is simply no room for pre-coffee dosage errors, excuses, or whining. Some mornings are good and some are bad, based upon my blood glucose reading. Its level varies greatly depending on whether my liver has released large stores of glucose during the dawn hours.
25 comments - Posted Jan 1, 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
Throughout pregnancy and all the way up until labor, I was adamant that I was not having a cesarean section. I was terrified of being cut open because I know that my healing time is longer due to my lowered immune system. In 2009, I had to go to the emergency room for an infection caused by cutting my leg while shaving, so how could I possibly heal after being opened up to birth a baby?
0 comments - Posted Dec 30, 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
Diagnosed with diabetes at age 15, Brandy Barnes went on to a successful career as a pharmaceuticals salesperson, but she deeply missed having other diabetic women in her life to whom she could relate. Finally, after a difficult pregnancy, long thought, and prayer, she founded DiabetesSisters (www.diabetes.sisters.org), a North Carolina-based nonprofit organization that provides education and support to women of all ages with all types of diabetes. DS offers conferences, websites, blogs, and a "sister match" program, all designed to lessen feelings of isolation and deepen bonds of connection among women with diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Dec 28, 2011
Editor' Note: This article continues Katherine Marple's series on pregnancy with diabetes as a complicating factor. For previous articles, enter her name in the search feature at the top right-hand of this website. The next installment, "Birthing Options," will appear on December 30.
1 comment - Posted Dec 27, 2011
Diabetic retinopathy is caused by damage to blood vessels of the retina. Almost everyone who has had diabetes for thirty years or more has some sign of the condition. Now, retinopathy researchers have come up with a device that will be implanted behind a patient's eye to deliver medication on demand. "We wanted to come up with a safe and effective way to help diabetic patients safeguard their sight," said lead author Mu Chiao, a mechanical engineering associate professor at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver, in Science Daily. "This new device offers improvements upon existing implantable devices for drug delivery."
2 comments - Posted Dec 26, 2011
Forty-three year old stage and TV actor Stephen Wallem is a jack of all trades when it comes to entertainment. Best known for his one-man musical review, "Off the Wallem," he is also a playwright, composer, and director. Currently, he plays Thor, a gay nurse with type 1 diabetes, on the Showtime series "Nurse Jackie."
1 comment - Posted Dec 25, 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
Health experts are unanimous that obesity or being overweight are major factors in the onset of type 2 diabetes. So it's no surprise that researchers here and abroad are working to develop weight-loss drugs that can help people shed pounds and lessen their susceptibility to diabetes.
1 comment - Posted Dec 23, 2011
Diabetes Health readers who are Amanda Lamb fans can watch her first-ever Christmas single, "Christmas In Love," on YouTube.
0 comments - Posted Dec 22, 2011
Even the best known actors can't make a hit movie on their own. They need people behind the scenes. Just like those stars of the silver screen, the standard insulin pump can't do its job all by itself. No, the classic-model pump needs an infusion set to deliver its insulin to patients.
0 comments - Posted Dec 21, 2011
We are a tight-knit community. I'm not talking about my neighbors in my hometown of Chicago. I'm talking about my worldwide neighbors in the diabetic online community. Anyone dealing with diabetes knows the bond that it brings. When a person with diabetes is wronged, the rest of us feel the sting. Most of us living with diabetes have stories about people badgering our diet choices, saying inappropriate or insensitive things, and, sadly, crossing the line even further.
5 comments - Posted Dec 20, 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
If you have diabetes, you know all too well what's going to happen between now and the end of the year. You'll be forced to make some quick and painful decisions at sumptuous holiday feasts. Do you refuse the lavish, carbohydrate-rich fare and give up on the fun of the season? Or do you go whole hog, eating everything in sight, and hope that your insulin or medication can take up the slack?
3 comments - Posted Dec 18, 2011
On July 21, Claire Duncan was one of three people with type 1 diabetes on a six-person relay team that swam across the English Channel. The team, swimming to raise funds for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, covered the 22-mile route in 13.5 hours, starting from a beach between Folkestone and Dover in England and finishing in France near Cap Gris Nez, between Boulogne and Calais.
0 comments - Posted Dec 17, 2011
"I have type 2 diabetes, diagnosed five years ago, and am 67 years old. I have worked very hard to manage this disease, but without the success I would like."
0 comments - Posted Dec 16, 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 Type 2 Diabetes" for more discussion about the phenomenon.)
2 comments - Posted Dec 15, 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 wish there were a fail-safe manual for diabetes. Just when I'm thinking about how great my blood sugars have been, bam! I see a 300 on my meter, or a 40. It's so hard to know why: The off numbers could be due to hormones, stress, sickness, an incorrect carb count, varying activity levels, or any combination thereof. With diabetes, you really do learn as you go. Here are a few things I have learned along the way.
2 comments - Posted Dec 13, 2011
Here's the scenario: You're a famed prosecutor who happens to be on an insulin pump. One of the criminals you put away years ago has been released from prison, and he's eager for revenge. This is a particularly cunning criminal, so he hatches a subtle plan. He hacks into your insulin pump, giving you a massive dose of insulin without warning. As you drive to work one day, you begin to feel woozy. That's odd, you think, looking down to where the pump attaches to your stomach. I just ate....
1 comment - Posted Dec 12, 2011
Here's good news for people who love nuts and Greek yogurt! Replacing even one serving of red meat with these tasty foods can substantially lower your risk of type 2 diabetes, according to a new study from the Harvard School of Public Health.
1 comment - Posted Dec 11, 2011
Drug company Merck aims to give people with type 2 diabetes two treatments for the price of one. The new therapy, called Juvisync, was just approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. It's not a radical new treatment, but instead a helpful combination of two familiar standbys: Juvisync unites the active ingredients in blood sugar-lowering Januvia and cholesterol-lowering Zocor in a single tablet.
0 comments - Posted Dec 10, 2011
Many people with diabetes admit to keeping their diabetes a secret. Less than two years ago, I was one of them. I hated the way people treated me when they found out about my diabetes. I hated being told that I wasn't allowed to eat things by people who didn't have a clue about diabetes. I hated the horror stories people told about their acquaintances with diabetes. I hated people asking me if I had the "bad" kind of diabetes.
10 comments - Posted Dec 9, 2011
Will the federal government kill the artificial pancreas? The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) is raising the alarm over FDA guidelines that could stifle the technology necessary for the development of an artificial pancreas.
11 comments - Posted Dec 8, 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
Attention, those who use the OneTouch UltraLink meter: You can now get a free Nova Max Link meter instead. This offer is being made because the company that supplied the OneTouch glucose meter has terminated its agreement with the manufacturer. If you are or were a Medtronic MiniMed user and want the Nova Max Link replacement, call the Nova customer care line at 800-681-7390.
0 comments - Posted Dec 5, 2011
Forensic scientist Mark Ruefenacht, who has type 1 diabetes, tells Diabetes Health publisher Nadia Al-Samarrie how he realized that dogs can be a major defense against life-threatening episodes of hypoglycemia. That insight led him to found Dogs for Diabetics ("D4D"), a Concord, California-based organization that trains dogs to alert their masters when they sense low blood sugar. D4D's website is located at www.dogs4diabetics.com/
3 comments - Posted Dec 4, 2011
This year's DREAM Award, presented by the Disability Rights Legal Center (DRLC), was given to Nick Jonas, the musician and actor best known as one of the three Jonas Brothers. He was among the special recipients at the DRLC's annual Franklin D. Roosevelt Dinner, held this year on November 17, 2011.
2 comments - Posted Dec 3, 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
A new diabetes-friendly sugar, proven to help reduce sugar absorption, will soon be added to popular breads and cereals. "Sugir" is real sugar that contains an all-natural, tasteless additive called Emulin. Emulin, a patented formulation of compounds found in fruits, prevents the body from absorbing about a third of ingested sugar. A previous study showed that Emulin blocks the absorption of sugar by more than 30 percent.
2 comments - Posted Nov 30, 2011
Earl "the Pearl" Monroe was one of the greatest guards in the history of the National Basketball Association, playing from 1967 through 1980 for the Baltimore Bullets and the New York Knicks. A member of the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team, he was enshrined in the league's Hall of Fame in 1990. The Knicks retired his jersey number, 15, in 1986.
0 comments - Posted Nov 29, 2011
You might think that it is too late to do anything for Diabetes Awareness Month. Heck, it's late November, so it's too late, right? Nope, wrong. You see, diabetes didn't just go away during the last month. Diabetes is funny that way-it just does not care. Well, we care. We're the Diabetes Research Institute, and we want to end diabetes forever.
3 comments - Posted Nov 28, 2011
Diabetes Health publisher Nadia Al-Samarrie recently spoke with television and movie actor Anthony Anderson, who has taken a lead role with Eli Lilly & Company's F.A.C.E. campaign, a diabetes outreach to African Americans. A veteran of more than 20 films, Anthony, age 41, currently plays Detective Kevin Bernard on NBC's Emmy Award-winning drama, "Law & Order."
1 comment - Posted Nov 27, 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
Exercise helps us stay healthy. That's the underlying message of Go4Life, a campaign from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) at the National Institutes of Health, developed to encourage older people to exercise more. The campaign focuses on four exercise categories: aerobic, strength, balance, and flexibility. "We strongly encourage people to incorporate exercises from each of these four categories into developing their own personal routine," said Dr. Chanda Dutta, chief of the NIA's Clinical Gerontology Branch.
1 comment - Posted Nov 24, 2011
A sleek new version of the humble blood pressure cuff is turning heads. The Withings Smart Blood Pressure Monitor just won a 2012 iF product design award for its maker, the French company Withings. The iF product design award is an international prize, sometimes called the "Design Oscar," that is awarded by a German group.
0 comments - Posted Nov 23, 2011
In one of Devon Inglee's artworks, a teddy bear, the symbol of childhood innocence, lies flat on its back with three menacing syringes piercing its furry tummy. In the background, the bear's owner, a small girl, stands above the teddy eating an apple. Inglee writes, "In ‘Tit for Tat,' a sweet girl contently eats an apple while hiding a large syringe behind her back, oblivious to her beloved, yet murdered toy. This piece deals with the process of anger, mourning, and denial associated with my personal diagnosis of a chronic disease." For the 33-year-old art student, this work is about mourning and letting go of preconceived notions and ideas of what the future will be.
0 comments - Posted Nov 22, 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
People with diabetes may want to have their hearing checked, based on a study that found hearing problems twice as common among them as among people without diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Nov 19, 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
Heather Shields was thrilled when she got the opportunity to dance with the famous Joffrey Ballet School in New York City. At 11 years old, she dreamed of one day becoming a professional ballerina, and this trip would bring her dream a little closer. A long way from home for this California girl, Heather traveled with her family to the "Big Apple" for the month of July. During that month she remembers dancing six to seven hours a day in the heat of the summer. She began losing weight, but shrugged it off, assuming she'd caught her mom's stomach bug.
0 comments - Posted Nov 17, 2011
According to the United Network for Organ Sharing, 102,640 US patients are waiting for an organ donation. More than 7,000 people died last year while waiting, and over 2,000 have already died this year for lack of an organ. The problem is in part due to a system that forbids incentives for donation. This rule is not confined to the United States; most countries have laws that prohibit organ trafficking. But because organs are in extremely high demand, the black market for organs is thriving.
0 comments - Posted Nov 16, 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
I thought I had seen it all as a person with diabetes. Going to college, marriage, moves, career changes, you name it. I had soldiered on through them all, my control shifting from tight to loose to somewhere in the middle as the situation changed. I had adapted pretty well, I told myself.
2 comments - Posted Nov 12, 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
The introduction of insulin pen devices in the 1980s facilitated accurate and simple administration of insulin for people managing their diabetes on an outpatient basis. The use of insulin in hospitals, however, continues to be associated with medication errors and severe adverse events. Published practice guidelines have helped address insulin error prevention, and the availability of diabetes technologies has presented another opportunity to promote the safe use of insulin in hospitals.
9 comments - Posted Nov 10, 2011
Final weeks of pregnancy! The third trimester brings about many more ultrasound scans and measurements taken to judge the growth and health of your child. You'll likely be visiting your OB/GYN or maternal fetal medicine office twice per week for non-stress tests to ensure that your baby is healthy and active.
3 comments - Posted Nov 9, 2011
The search for a cure for diabetes is a noble pursuit, but a cure always seems to be another ten years down the road. Finding a way to be healthy in the here and now is what matters for people with diabetes. In 2005, Peter Nerothin started Insulindependence (IN), a nonprofit organization that aims to "revolutionize diabetes management" by leading experiential diabetes education expeditions for type 1 youths.
0 comments - Posted Nov 8, 2011
Sometimes it feels like diabetes is driving you crazy. But what if the disease is actually changing your brain? That's the disturbing suggestion of a new study from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The study suggests that both high and low blood sugars affect the brain development of young people with diabetes, but in different ways.
4 comments - Posted Nov 7, 2011
For a person with diabetes who is beginning insulin therapy, the range of products can be overwhelming. The options are often limited by the patient's healthcare plan, however, and the initial selection of a product is frequently influenced by the healthcare provider. With diabetes education tailored to the individual patient, the delivery of insulin through a particular device is achieved by teaching proper injection technique and selecting an appropriate needle.
2 comments - Posted Nov 6, 2011
Being your own advocate is imperative for women with diabetes, especially when it comes to gynecologic care. As soon as a young woman is ready to become sexually active, she needs to talk with her doctor about contraceptive options. This conversation should continue through the time when she is ready to stop taking contraceptives and prepare for a family.
0 comments - Posted Nov 5, 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
Use a hula hoop during your next exercise session for a low-impact workout to aid in weight loss, increase muscle tone, improve flexibility, and enhance balance. Exercise is essential in the management of diabetes, and the hula hoop may be the workout variation you need to motivate your fitness program.
2 comments - Posted Nov 3, 2011
By now you're halfway through pregnancy. You've managed to get through the stresses of insulin shock in the first trimester and insulin resistance beginning in the second trimester, and you're well on your way toward your third trimester. Congratulations! A moment of applause, please.
1 comment - Posted Nov 2, 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
October is my diagnosis month. At 14 years old, I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes just a few weeks before Halloween. I remember thinking, at least I'm too old for trick or treating. My younger sister had been diagnosed six months earlier, however, and at 10 years old, she still loved to trick or treat. To ease her pain, my parents got creative and shifted the emphasis of Halloween off sweets and onto scary: Haunted houses, hayrides, and parties with bowls full of smushed tomatoes for witches hearts and cold grapes for eyeballs became our annual tradition. My sister and I still said no to most of the sugary sweets, but we were the first ones to say yes when the doors of the haunted house opened.
0 comments - Posted Oct 31, 2011
At 330 pounds, Kerry Watterson was tired of not being able to fit into his seat on an airplane. He had a family history of type 2 diabetes, and although doctors said his blood sugar was still at a normal level, he knew it was time to make a change. "I found out about the YDPP [YMCA Diabetes Prevention Program], called the director, and said, ‘I want to do this.' I'm so glad she took me," he says now, one year later.
2 comments - Posted Oct 30, 2011
The one time I needed a glucagon injection, I didn't have any. I had never been given a prescription for it, had no idea how to use it, and was absolutely clueless about what it did.
1 comment - Posted Oct 29, 2011
All blood tests are tools. Some are to diagnose diabetes, some are to help you manage your diabetes on a daily or long term basis and some are to keep you safe.
0 comments - Posted Oct 28, 2011
Like many people, I have a soft spot for salty chips, butterscotch sundaes, cheesecake, meat loaf, mashed potatoes, fried chicken, and countless other comfort foods. A couple of martinis, accompanied by plump, red, pimento-filled olives, are another pleasant indulgence. And martinis were exactly what my wife Pat and I were drinking during the 2-for-1 Happy Hour at a chic Atlantic City bar during a vacation about five years ago.
0 comments - Posted Oct 27, 2011
Welcome to the second trimester! By now, many type 1s are experiencing fewer hypoglycemic episodes, and insulin resistance is just beginning to rear its head. You're on the other side of the miscarriage worry hump and getting settled into the pregnancy routine. Congratulations! Take a few minutes each day to celebrate your successes and pat your stomach with a smile, knowing you are doing the best you can to give your growing child everything she needs.
0 comments - Posted Oct 26, 2011
Wrongly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes when he was 30 years old, Chris Angell spent several frustrating weeks trying to make sense of his condition and not understanding why he wasn't getting any better. His diagnosis was eventually changed to type 1 diabetes, but Chris never received the necessary education to get his blood sugars in control. "I didn't know what I was supposed to be eating or how to count carbs, and I really felt isolated," he says.
1 comment - Posted Oct 25, 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
Technology now under development would allow people with diabetes to monitor their blood sugar through their contact lenses. Researcher Babak Parviz of the University of Washington in Seattle invented the lenses, which monitor the amount of glucose in tear fluid. That fluid tracks blood glucose levels closely, and Parviz hopes to have the lenses communicate wirelessly with some sort of auxiliary meter.
0 comments - Posted Oct 23, 2011
Diabetes is a life-long, 24-hour-a-day disease that requires self-management, time, and lots of patience. Most people with diabetes know where their numbers should be, but many struggle to follow recommended behaviors. Despite the availability of new medications and treatment devices, as well as the emphasis placed on diabetes treatment adherence over the last decade, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data show that 45 percent of patients with diabetes have not achieved A1Cs lower than 7% (an average of approximately 150-170 mg/dL).
0 comments - Posted Oct 22, 2011
Trying to lose weight as an insulin-injecting person with type 1 diabetes couldn't be more frustrating. It gets on my last nerve that exercise can trigger mind-numbing lows, lows that cause me to inhale a portion of those recently burned calories. That said, I don't skip exercise to avoid lows. I just check my blood sugars more often, use caution with my insulin dosing, and follow the advice of my doctors.
22 comments - Posted Oct 21, 2011
When first diagnosed with type 2 diabetes two years ago, I was scared into a very rigid regime of diet and exercise. The first thing I did was register for the Tour de Cure - a bike ride sponsored by the American Diabetes Association. Establishing a goal served as an incentive to train and exercise daily.
0 comments - Posted Oct 20, 2011
It is raining today. Kolumbo, my hypoglycemia alert dog, hates the rain. I think I have the only Labrador in the world that hates getting wet. I opened the screen door this morning to feel the breeze and hear the rain. Unfortunately, while the door was open, a fly decided to come inside. When I say that Kolumbo is a lazy dog, I really mean it. He lay on his bed and watched the fly go around and around. then opened his mouth, thinking that the fly might just go in. I heard the snap of his teeth as he tried to get the fly.
13 comments - Posted Oct 19, 2011
Being your own advocate is imperative for women with diabetes, especially when it comes to gynecologic care. As soon as a young woman is ready to become sexually active, she needs to talk with her doctor about contraceptive options. This conversation should continue through the time when she is ready to stop taking contraceptives and prepare for a family.
0 comments - Posted Oct 18, 2011
I'm just going to come out and say it, the way people do in addiction meetings when they have hit "rock bottom." Hi, my name is Meagan. I was a very uncooperative diabetic for a great many years. I felt lonely, and I hated being different. I rarely checked my blood sugars. In fact, there were times where I didn't even know where my meter was.
12 comments - Posted Oct 17, 2011
Using stem cells that they extracted from the brains of diabetic lab rats, and turning them into insulin-producing pancreatic cells, Japanese scientists may be on the road to a virtual cure for diabetes that comes from people's own brains.
5 comments - Posted Oct 16, 2011
A brand new insulin will soon be on pharmacy shelves in the United States if Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk has its way. The company has filed for approval from the Food and Drug Administration to sell insulin degludec, an original formulation that lasts an extra-long time. Insulin degludec is injected only once a day. Once under the skin, the dose of insulin is absorbed slowly and consistently, allowing for better nighttime control, according to Novo. Most importantly, test subjects had a low rate of hypoglycemia on the drug.
2 comments - Posted Oct 15, 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
In the eighties when I was in grade school, a classmate named Scott did a show-and-tell about his diabetes. He pulled out his syringes and testing supplies. With a bulky blood sugar meter, he tested his blood, took a shot, and explained what he had to do each day to control his blood sugar. I went up to get a closer look at the table of supplies. I remember seeing all the needles and thinking, "Thank God I don't have that."
2 comments - Posted Oct 10, 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
How many times have you been on the treadmill at the gym listening to an in-depth conversation between the stair climbers behind you? How is it possible, you wonder as you huff and puff, for those two to talk and exercise at the same time? Are they not pushing themselves hard enough, or is their ability to talk while climbing evidence of their advanced fitness? And if you find yourself unable to talk while you walk, does that mean you should slow down?
0 comments - Posted Oct 8, 2011
The answer to the looming threat of obesity and cardiovascular disease could be as simple as putting one foot in front of the other. Indeed, according to a new campaign from managed-care giant Kaiser Permanente, walking has benefits in the short and long term.
0 comments - Posted Oct 7, 2011
My mother died unexpectedly this summer. While her loss was sad and sudden, I have many reasons to celebrate her life and the guidance she offered me. When I was diagnosed with diabetes as a child, she took it upon herself to learn the ins and outs of diabetes care. For most of the next decade, she oversaw my treatment.
6 comments - Posted Oct 6, 2011
Dear David and Aisha, I am a 39-year-old married man who has had type 1 diabetes for 22 years. My A1C levels run around 7.5%. About six years ago, I started having trouble with erections. Now they are very rare, even with ED pills. I know you say that there is more to sex than intercourse, and my wife and I still enjoy ourselves however we can. But we both miss the erections.
6 comments - Posted Oct 5, 2011
Sometimes I don't feel like explaining myself. Sometimes I just want to eat a pastry in public in peace, without the "diabetes police" showing up and giving me their two cents. When that happens, I can usually handle it without my blood pressure rising. I politely explain to these well-meaning people that I'm perfectly in control of my diabetes and that as long as I count the carbohydrates and take my shot, I can eat anything I please. Occasionally though, I find myself getting irritated and angry. I get tired of defending myself all the time.
23 comments - Posted Oct 4, 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
I first met Team Type 1 in 2006, when I was 17 years old. They were competing in the Race Across America (RAAM), a 3,000-mile race from California to New Jersey, for the first time. When I signed up to be part of the support team for Team Type 1, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I was just happy to be getting a trip to California and to be away from my parents for a week. I had no idea how much work it would take.
0 comments - Posted Oct 1, 2011
September 2011
The Seattle-based Nordstrom department store chain will donate $5, up to $75,000 total, for each Diabetes Risk Test taken as part of the American Diabetes Association's Hispanic Heritage Month through October 15, 2011.
0 comments - Posted Sep 30, 2011
What if we could stop the body's immune system from attacking the pancreas in the first stages of type 1 diabetes? What if we could keep the pancreas producing insulin, all the while helping it recover from the autoimmune barrage?
7 comments - Posted Sep 29, 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
Scientists have found a protein that plays an important role in allowing our bodies to absorb glucose from our blood. What's more, lower levels of that protein may contribute to type 2 diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Sep 23, 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
"I just read 10 sentences, but what did I read? Why doesn't it make sense to me? Is that the home phone ringing? What is happening around me?"
13 comments - Posted Sep 21, 2011
So, you're pregnant! Many who are in your shoes have worked very hard and diligently to begin this excursion. Others have reached this milestone unintentionally. Either way, you are about to embark on a journey that will completely challenge everything you know about your type 1 diabetes management. These next few months will challenge your motives, your emotions, your determination, and everything that makes up who you are. So sink your heels in. Take each step one at a time.
5 comments - Posted Sep 20, 2011
Scientists have found a protein that plays an important role in allowing our bodies to absorb glucose from our blood. What's more, lower levels of that protein may contribute to type 2 diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Sep 19, 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
Claire Duncan is one of many people with type 1 diabetes who wears a continuous glucose monitor and an insulin pump, in this case, an Animas® VibeTM. In an age of almost routine medical marvels, Duncan doesn't really seem to be an exception.
2 comments - Posted Sep 17, 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
My son just turned twenty. For the first time, we didn't have a cake, ice cream, friends, balloons, or presents. He spent the day in jail. With vivid memories of his heroin-addicted evening in the ICU several months ago, we had nursed high hopes that his life would be on the mend. But healing takes time, and life doesn't always deliver the happy ending we long for.
9 comments - Posted Sep 14, 2011
I want to thank you all for the many comments that you have posted. As I said in the article, it does bother me that so many promises have been made and not kept regarding a cure. This has resulted in people just giving up hope and coming to believe that there will never be a cure for diabetes. Such promises are still being made today.
20 comments - Posted Sep 13, 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
Here's the scenario: You're a famed prosecutor who happens to be on an insulin pump. One of the criminals you put away years ago has been released from prison, and he's eager for revenge. This is a particularly cunning criminal, so he hatches a subtle plan. He hacks into your insulin pump, giving you a massive dose of insulin without warning. As you drive to work one day, you begin to feel woozy. That's odd, you think, looking down to where the pump attaches to your stomach. I just ate....
1 comment - Posted Sep 10, 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
When you live with diabetes, there's a lot to do. Checking blood sugars. Counting carbs. Exercising. Not to mention all those fun-filled doctors' appointments. So the last time your physician or diabetes educator suggested ketone testing, it's completely understandable that your head was nodding but your mind was thinking "No way, Jack." But before abandoning the idea completely, there are a few things you should know.
5 comments - Posted Sep 8, 2011
Combination therapy, in which doctors prescribe more than one drug to treat type 2 diabetes, is a fairly common practice. However, most newly diagnosed type 2 patients start off with metformin or a sulfonylurea and don't go on a two-drug therapy until their first drug begins to lose its effectiveness. But combination therapy could soon become an earlier option for people with type 2.
2 comments - Posted Sep 7, 2011
An estimated 34 million Americans will be on the road during Labor Day weekend, many of them with type 2 diabetes. Road travel can interfere with blood sugar management and lead to low blood sugar, which can cause serious complications, such as loss of consciousness, if not treated quickly.
1 comment - Posted Sep 6, 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
Abbott Diabetes Care is discontinuing its FreeStyle Navigator System, a continuous glucose monitoring device, in the United States. Abbott blamed supply problems that have prevented the company from selling new units or replacing parts under warranty.
0 comments - Posted Sep 4, 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
Utah-based Essential Preparedness Products (EPP) offers an emergency storage case for people with diabetes, called Diabetic med-EcaseTM. The yellow cases, made of high-impact material, are waterproof, airtight, and can float. Buyers of the $69.99 product receive foam inserts for both type 1 and type 2 needs and can outfit the case accordingly.
5 comments - Posted Aug 30, 2011
Spices not only add zing to meals, but they may also reduce the high levels of triglycerides produced by eating high-fat meals.
0 comments - Posted Aug 28, 2011
US Action Follows Stop-Ship That Began in June
0 comments - Posted Aug 27, 2011
Carbohydrates have become the ugly stepsister in the family photo album of healthy eating. Standing in the grocery aisle, consumers study ingredients and food labels, counting and analyzing the carb content of their foods. In the last decade, the popularity of low carb diets rose to dramatic heights as Americans gravitated toward the South Beach, Atkins, and Zone diets. Fruits were forsaken for plates piled high with steak and eggs.
7 comments - Posted Aug 25, 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
Walking down the aisle of our church, I held onto my Dad's arm and tried to breathe deeply, but the flutters in my stomach and beads of sweat sliding down the back of my legs made me wonder if my blood sugar was dropping. When I reached the front of the church, I took my future husband's hands and saw that he was shaking too. I breathed a sigh of relief and realized it was just nerves.
1 comment - Posted Aug 23, 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
For people with type 1 diabetes, having the "bad" variety of the disease comes with some issues. You're constantly managing your blood sugars, warding off complications, and explaining your situation to others. But how about some good news for a change? Researchers now say that people with type 1 live nearly as long as people without diabetes!
14 comments - Posted Aug 21, 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
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.
0 comments - 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
A new food-oriented app is now available for people with diabetes: iEatOut Gluten & Allergy Free. The app, designed for the iPhone and iPod Touch. provides instant access to tips for safely eating out for people with food allergies.
0 comments - Posted Aug 17, 2011
As a dad, do you tend to be authoritative and have high expectations of your child's self control? Do you set clear limits and command respect, without bulldozing him or her? If so, you may be helping your child with type 1 diabetes stick to his or her treatment regimen.
0 comments - Posted Aug 16, 2011
You've successfully resisted the urge to eat that slice of cake. You've remembered to check your blood sugar that extra time. Maybe you've resisted and remembered for days, or weeks. Perhaps you now think that you've figured out how to keep yourself motivated in dealing with your diabetes. Actually, you're just getting started.
1 comment - Posted Aug 14, 2011
August 3, 2011 - Las Vegas - As the diabetes epidemic worsens, the demand for diabetes educators is projected to increase by at least 60 percent between now and 2025, according to a study being released today by the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE). This number will increase exponentially if more individuals - such as those with pre-diabetes - become eligible for diabetes education.
2 comments - Posted Aug 13, 2011
The piece of cake sits there on the plate, daring you to eat it. The blood sugar meter rests on your nightstand, an obstacle formed of lancets and test strips. Life with diabetes is a parade of challenges, from diet temptations to healthcare hassles. You know--we all know --that the only way to say "no" to the cake and "yes" to the blood sugar check is through consistent self-motivation.
9 comments - Posted Aug 12, 2011
The 2011 California Diabetes Summit will take place on September 8th and 9th at the Westin Hotel in Long Beach. The summit, expected to draw diabetes experts from all over the state, will be the second event of its kind. The first summit, held in Sacramento in 2009, drew more than 250 participants.
1 comment - Posted Aug 11, 2011
Florida-base PositiveID Corp. has filed a 510(k) application with the U.S Food and Drug Administration to market its "iglucose"TM diabetes management system.
1 comment - Posted Aug 10, 2011
Charlie Kimball, the first and only driver with type 1 diabetes in the history of the Indy Racing League to race cars at its highest level, needs your help: Just as when he's racing, Kimball finds himself neck-in-neck in a competition. In this case, he's looking to win the Firestone Tire-iffic Award and you can help him out by voting for him---but you only have till Thursday, August 11, to do so.
2 comments - Posted Aug 10, 2011
Our office manager sent us this link to a site with beautiful color photos of 10 foods that people with diabetes should avoid.
1 comment - Posted Aug 9, 2011
In 2004, pro snowboarder Sean Busby was on the top of the world.
12 comments - Posted Aug 8, 2011
Low doses of metformin and rosiglitazone seem to delay the onset of type 2 in prediabetic people who have impaired glucose tolerance, according to a Canadian study. However, although the drug combination was effective over the first year of the study in helping to control glucose levels and insulin resistance, it was not effective subsequently in delaying the onset of insulin resistance and pancreatic beta cell deterioration.
0 comments - Posted Aug 7, 2011
For the masses of people living in poverty, the prospect of a quick payout seems too good to be true. They give up a kidney---or some other functioning organ---for a few thousand dollars. If all goes well, their bodies still function, and their families may have a ticket out of poverty.
1 comment - Posted Aug 6, 2011
The University of Quebec is sponsoring an online survey (go to www.eddiabetes.com) directed at people with diabetes who may have an eating disorder.
2 comments - Posted Aug 5, 2011
Israeli researchers have found that stem cells derived from adult pancreatic cells are more efficient at making insulin-producing cells than stem cells derived from embryos. Scientists at Tel Aviv University theorize that the cells retain a "memory" of what they were before they were coaxed into becoming stem cells. That memory includes the ability to produce insulin. Because of it, the adult stem cells are better at forming insulin-making cells than their embryonic counterparts.
3 comments - Posted Aug 4, 2011
A Boston-based study has found that vitamin D supplements can reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes in people with prediabetes by improving their beta cell functioning.
2 comments - Posted Aug 3, 2011
If you just skimmed the article, it was easy to miss. Two years ago, the FBI busted dozens of New Jersey officials in "Operation Bid Rig." Mayors, rabbis, and pillars of the community had been caught in dirty dealing, accused of corruption, money laundering, and organ sales. That's right: selling human organs.
2 comments - Posted Aug 2, 2011
A study in the British medical journal The Lancet shows that type 2s who received once-daily or thrice-weekly injections of degludec, a very long-acting insulin, maintained blood glucose levels similar to patients receiving daily doses of insulin glargine. The results point the way to a possible reduction in the number of injections that type 2s who take insulin would need over any seven-day period. In both the United States and the United Kingdom currently, about one in every three type 2 patients injects insulin at least once daily.
0 comments - Posted Aug 1, 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
How many times has this happened to you? You're driving somewhere and something feels off. You suspect that your blood sugar level may be dropping, but you plow ahead. Now, imagine your car sounding the alarm: "Attention: This is your car speaking. Your blood sugar is low. Pull over and eat a snack."
3 comments - Posted Jul 30, 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
Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly have begun sales of Tradjenta, a drug for type 2 diabetes, in U.S. pharmacies. The drug (generic name linagliptin) comes in tablet form and is intended to compete with Amylin Pharmaceuticals' Byetta, which is injected, and Merck's Januvia, which also competes with Byetta. Both are well-established in the U.S. market.
2 comments - Posted Jul 27, 2011
I am excited to have this opportunity to write a diabetes-focused blog for Diabetes Health about living and thriving with type 1 diabetes. First of all, I am extremely passionate about racing road and mountain bicycles, running 5K runs and sprint triathlons, and doing other activities that I find to compete in for Team Type 1. But before I start blogging, I would like to tell a little about myself.
3 comments - Posted Jul 26, 2011
Anne Findlay has been racing road bikes for three years and just joined Team Type 1 this year. She was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 1988, at age 14. For more information about Anne and Team Type 1, go to www.teamtype1.org.
1 comment - Posted Jul 25, 2011
Patients who have partial lipodystrophy, a condition that often leads to diabetes and high triglycerides, are benefiting from metreleptin, an investigational treatment being developed by Amylin Pharmaceuticals.
0 comments - Posted Jul 24, 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
With severe weather predicted for Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Meredith Cummings thought carefully about where to park her car-eyeing the large trees in her historic neighborhood-when she arrived home on the afternoon of April 27. As she walked to her door, she reassured herself: Those trees had been there for more than 100 years. What were the odds of them coming down today?
0 comments - Posted Jul 22, 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
A recent article in the New York Times says that such old prescription diabetes drugs as metformin and generics such as glimepiride are often as effective as or even more effective than newer, more expensive drugs.
9 comments - Posted Jul 20, 2011
Scientists from the Philippine General Hospital in Manila say that in a study of 74 men being treated for prostate cancer, 42 percent of those receiving androgen deprivation therapy developed type 2 diabetes, compared to 19 percent of men not receiving the treatment.
0 comments - Posted Jul 18, 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
Body fat is like two twins: one evil and one good. In this case, white fat-the kind that likes to cluster around the abdomen and hang on to calories-is the bad stuff. The "good" fat is brown, and it has been found to assist the body in burning calories, thus helping keep weight down.
0 comments - Posted Jul 15, 2011
Nobody thought for even a second that Crystal Bowersox's second-place finish on "American Idol 2010" meant that the 26-year-old was headed back to her native Elliston, Ohio, to resume a quiet life.
1 comment - Posted Jul 14, 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
I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes on June 25, 2009. At the time, I was a few weeks shy of my nineteenth birthday and had just finished my first year of college at the State University of New York at New Paltz.
6 comments - Posted Jul 12, 2011
Victoza, a drug aimed at type 2 diabetes, may turn out to be a boon for type 1 diabetes patients as well. A small clinical study shows that patients with well-controlled type 1 who took Victoza daily for just one week experienced a 15 percent drop in their blood sugar levels. Patients who took the drug over a full 24-week test period needed less and less insulin, decreasing their average mealtime dose by seven units and their all-day insulin requirement by eight.
2 comments - Posted Jul 11, 2011
As I write this, my nineteen-year-old son is in the intensive care unit because of a heroin addiction. He is trying to stop, and the withdrawal is wreaking havoc. His body is bruised and battered beyond belief.
15 comments - Posted Jul 10, 2011
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in upstate New York is working on a new approach to blood sugar monitoring that could open the door to an artificial pancreas. The plan is to develop an automated monitoring system so sophisticated that it can take into account the often great differences in blood sugar levels and insulin sensitivity among people with type 1 diabetes.
4 comments - Posted Jul 9, 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
Roger Hurdsman lives in Roy, Utah, surrounded by women. His wife of four years, Hilary, is there, along with his two young daughters, Bonnie and Tess. He seems to be handling the estrogen well though, perhaps because he devotes his days to designing software for the Department of Defense. He is able to spend time with computers and gadgets before being inundated with tea parties and dress-up when he gets home.
1 comment - Posted Jul 4, 2011
Say goodbye to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's old Food Pyramid. The tapered food guide is giving way to MyPlate, a colorful visual aid that shows the rough proportions of fruit, vegetables, protein, grains, and that dairy people should consume at every meal.
0 comments - Posted Jul 2, 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
One of the classic effects of cannabis on people is raging hunger-the "marijuana munchies." The drug has been used to good effect on people with diseases that diminish appetite, helping them to regain a healthy interest in food. So it is a bit ironic that British drug maker GW Pharmaceuticals has created a cross-bred cannabis plant whose appetite-suppressing qualities could be used to treat type 2 diabetes.
2 comments - Posted Jun 30, 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
You can add any third drug you want to the standard metformin-sulfonylurea combination used to treat type 2 diabetes, including insulin, alpha-glucosidase inhibitors, thiazolidinediones, glucagon-like peptide-1 agonists, or dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors. None of them provides a decisive superiority in blood glucose control. That's the conclusion of a Brazilian meta-study of 18 drug trials published in the May 17, 2011, issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
0 comments - Posted Jun 23, 2011
Medtronic and Ford Motor Company have teamed up to develop a prototype device that will allow people with diabetes to monitor their blood glucose levels as they drive. Using Bluetooth technology, the system will connect readings from Medtronic's continuous glucose monitor to Ford's onboard communications system, called "Sync."
8 comments - Posted Jun 22, 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
Statistics from the 2011 Medco Drug Report show that diabetes drugs accounted for 16.1 percent of the overall increase in U.S. spending on therapeutic drugs in 2010. The report states that the increase is due to the growing number of Americans who have diabetes.
5 comments - Posted Jun 15, 2011
Max Bruno, a freshman at the State University of New York at New Paltz, tries to get to the gym about four times a week. He says that he knows his limits for working out, but likes to push himself. "I just have to be careful," he explains. "About an hour or so after I'm done working out, my blood sugar drops really low."
14 comments - Posted Jun 14, 2011
Verizon Wireless and Medco Health Solutions have released "Medco Pharmacy," a mobile app for BlackBerry and Android smart phones aimed at Medco's 65 million pharmacy customers. The app has three features:
1 comment - Posted Jun 13, 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
Whenever I tell someone that I have type 1 diabetes, the first words that I typically hear are "I'm terrified of needles! I could NEVER give myself a shot!" But needles are the least of my fears when it comes to my disease. I have bigger fish to fry. Concerns about daily management, combined with fears of heart problems, blindness, and kidney failure, equal one very stressful disease.
5 comments - Posted Jun 10, 2011
As prices rise, Americans are beginning to pay almost as much attention to the cost of food as they do to its taste. That's one of the findings of the 2011 Food & Health Survey, recently published by the International Food Industry Council Foundation (IFICF).
0 comments - Posted Jun 9, 2011
Comic book creators Kamaal and Malcom Washington are not planning to take it easy this summer. Ever since Kamaal's diagnosis of type 1 diabetes in 2003, when he was nine years old, he has adopted the mantra, "I am not going to let diabetes overcome me. I am going to overcome diabetes." His determination led to an idea to create comic books that would raise awareness about diabetes and help other kids feel less frightened. The comics chronicle the adventures of Omega Boy, a time-traveling superhero, and Mighty Boy, a modern-day crime fighter who also raises awareness about diabetes.
1 comment - Posted Jun 8, 2011
The makers of "PhoneMyDoctor," a new telemedicine service, say it offers the ability integrate patient calls, doctor feedback, pharmacy ordering, and follow-up instructions into one documented record, using a medical practice's existing telephone equipment.
0 comments - Posted Jun 7, 2011
A few months ago, I had the privilege of traveling to Australia to present at a conference of athletes with diabetes. During the meeting, prizes were awarded to everyone who scored exactly 5.5 mmol/L (99 mg/dL) on their glucose meter. You should have seen it! Anyone who measured close to 5.5 was testing again and again, hoping for that magic number to pop up. Fingers were suffering, but the test strip manufacturers were making out like bandits.
1 comment - Posted Jun 5, 2011
Diabetes treatment standards for frail older adults should be more flexible than those for younger adults, focusing more on day-to-day quality of life and less on long-term results, according to a geriatrician at the San Francisco VA Medical Center.
2 comments - Posted Jun 4, 2011
Amylin Pharmaceuticals has announced that it will collaborate with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation to test a combination of Symlin and insulin in injectible form as a type 1 therapy.
0 comments - Posted Jun 3, 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
Type 2 patients who use only a sulfonylurea are less likely to take anti-depressant drugs than diabetes patients on other medications. That's the conclusion of a report delivered recently in Honolulu at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association.
0 comments - Posted Jun 1, 2011
May 2011
"Nutrient Depletions" is a new smart phone app that allows users to see which of their prescription medications may be draining nutrients from their body. The app, available at iTunes stores for $1.99, works on Apple's iPhone, iTouch, and iPad products.
4 comments - Posted May 31, 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
U.S. insulin pump maker Medtronic and blood glucose monitoring system maker LifeScan have reached the end of their three-year contract in which LifeScan was an exclusive provider to Medtronic.
1 comment - Posted May 29, 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
A recent article in the Chicago Tribune reports that patients using Lipitor, Actos, or Plavix may start enjoying savings of up to 90 percent as patents on those drugs expire. The three drugs comprise a significant percentage of the $300 billion brand-name U.S. pharmaceutical market, according to the Tribune.
2 comments - Posted May 27, 2011
A monitor attached to a mobile device helps people with type 2 diabetes lower their blood pressure more than simply having a blood pressure monitor available in the home. That's the conclusion of a year-long study conducted by the University Health Network in Toronto, Canada. The study showed that type 2 patients whose blood pressure was actively reported to their doctors via a Bluetooth-enabled device enjoyed lower blood pressure than patients whose readings were not passed on to doctors.
1 comment - Posted May 26, 2011
Swimsuit season lasts for at least five months in the South. The good news is that we live close to the beach, but the bad news is that after 25 years of living with diabetes (and three Caesareans), my body is starting to read like a map of my medical journey.
8 comments - Posted May 25, 2011
Meet the latest superfood: maple syrup. Wait a minute...maple syrup? The super-sugary stuff poured on pancakes and waffles and used to glaze hams? That maple syrup?
9 comments - Posted May 24, 2011
French drug maker Sanofi-aventis says that results from a Phase III trial of its experimental type 2 diabetes drug lixisenatide show that the drug successfully lowered patients' blood glucose levels and body weight, but did not increase the risk of hypoglycemia.
0 comments - Posted May 23, 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
What does sexuality have to do with diabetes? A lot, according to research findings that have revealed a group of people with diabetes as large as the type 1 or gestational diabetes community. Estimates suggest that 1.3 million lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals have diabetes-at least 5 percent of the 23.6 million people with the disease in the United States.
0 comments - Posted May 19, 2011
New Jersey's Hackensack University Medical Center has announced that it will partner with Dr. Camillo Ricordi to test a surgical procedure that could hold the key to a cure for type 1 diabetes.
11 comments - Posted May 18, 2011
There's more to that little box of pen needles than meets the eye, according to Holly Hartshorn of UltiMed. In early March, UltiMed launched a 50-count box of UltiCare pen needles into the marketplace. We spoke to Holly to find out exactly what kind of thought goes into such a product before it appears on pharmacy shelves.
3 comments - Posted May 17, 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
Dr. Jonathan Beach is a 35-year-old emergency medicine physician who has had type 1 diabetes for 31 years. He owns and operates Urgicare, a wellness center that includes The Northeast Center for Diabetes Care and Education in Plattsburgh, New York, an isolated rural community that has few other resources for diabetes. This is his story of his life with diabetes and his professional experience with the insulin pump.
5 comments - Posted May 12, 2011
A new study says that people who consume a "moderate" amount of candy per day have a slightly lower body mass index than people who don't eat candy. They also run a 15 percent lower risk than the general population of developing metabolic syndrome, the cluster of conditions that is often a precursor to type 2 diabetes.
1 comment - Posted May 11, 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
HOLLYWOOD, FL -- They come from New York, Miami, Milwaukee and more. They have children of all ages with type 1 diabetes - and they're on a mission to find a cure. They're the "Real Moms of the DRI Foundation" and in honor of Mother's Day they're asking millions of moms - and others - to support the Diabetes Research Institute, a world leader in cure-focused research.
2 comments - Posted May 8, 2011
Albertson's LLC, a nationwide supermarket chain with more than 200 stores, has announced that it will participate in the Diabetes Control Program (DCP) of the Diabetes Prevention and Control Alliance. The DCP works through trained pharmacists to provide education and support to people with diabetes.
0 comments - Posted May 7, 2011
The drug discussed below is for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.
7 comments - Posted May 6, 2011
Recently, we published an article about the implantable pump "A Miracle Technology for Type 1s: Can It Be Saved?" Following the appearance of this article on the Diabetes Health website, over 100 readers commented, most of them expressing a heartfelt desire for access to this technology in the U.S.A. To read the original article click on link below:
A Miracle Technology for Type 1s: Can It Be Saved?
34 comments - Posted May 5, 2011
Molly Martin is a vibrant and energetic 18-year-old from Texas who's had type 1 diabetes since the age of two. Five years ago, Molly took up motocross racing. She says, "I love riding motocross---it's just you and the bike. I feel free when I ride, like I don't have to think about diabetes. I do have to make sure that I test before I get on and during breaks, to make sure my sugar is doing what it's supposed to be doing. But when I get out there, it's just me and the bike, going."
1 comment - Posted May 5, 2011
The rate of foot and leg amputations among people with diabetes fell by as much as 36 percent in one four-year period, according to a study of patients at Veterans Affairs clinics. Taking patients' age and sex into account, amputations-major and minor-dropped from about seven per 1,000 patients in 2000 to between four and five per 1,000 by 2004. The latter figure is a reduction of around 36 percent, with the biggest decrease coming in above-the-knee amputations.
0 comments - Posted May 4, 2011
Imagine knowing that you're likely to develop type 2 diabetes a decade from now. What would you do?
3 comments - Posted May 3, 2011
British researchers say that testosterone replacement therapy for type 2 men with low testosterone levels could reduce their death rate significantly. Over the course of a six-year study by the University of Sheffield, only 8.6 percent of low-testosterone subjects who were given replacement therapy died, compared to 20 percent of low-testosterone subjects who did not receive the therapy.
2 comments - Posted May 2, 2011
Ryan Shafer is a 44-year-old professional bowler from Elmira, New York, who was 19 when he developed type 1 diabetes. For a couple of weeks, he experienced the usual symptoms of weight loss, lethargy, extreme thirst, and frequent urination, as well as vision problems. "Being that age," he says, "I was afraid to go to the doctor. I thought it would just go away." When he finally saw his family physician and was diagnosed, he says, "I was actually relieved--not that I thought diabetes was a piece of cake, but I was glad to know what was wrong with me."
3 comments - Posted May 1, 2011
April 2011
Canadian scientists have found that nobiletin, a substance found in high concentrations in tangerines, thwarted obesity and the onset of diabetes in lab mice. The researchers at the University of Western Ontario fed the mice a high-sugar, high-fat diet that mimicked the diet of many people in Western societies. One group of animals became obese, developing fatty livers and elevated levels of cholesterol and insulin-typical precursors to type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. But a second group of mice, given the flavonoid nobiletin, did not develop the symptoms of the first group. The nobiletin prevented fatty buildup in the liver by blocking the genes that control the production of fat.
4 comments - Posted Apr 30, 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
Chase Pelletier is an up-and-coming kart racer from Canada who is 14 years old. When he got type 1 diabetes just before his eleventh birthday, he recalls, "It was pretty overwhelming at first. But me and my family decided early on that we're not going to get down on diabetes in general, and we're going to try to think of positive ways to deal with it."
0 comments - Posted Apr 28, 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
Recently I had the pleasure of attending the Barbara Davis Center's "Management of Diabetes in Youth" conference, held every other year in beautiful Keystone, Colorado. The focus is on all of the latest and greatest in type 1, and it's a real treat to have so many of the best names in this field gathered in one place. The Barbara Davis Center (BDC) is one of the premier programs in the world focusing on type I diabetes management, and the one (Dr. Peter Chase, to be precise) who brought us the famed" Pink Panther" book, Understanding Diabetes - the reliable handbook of type 1 diabetes that many parents of newly diagnosed kids rely on.
3 comments - Posted Apr 25, 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
Medtronic, Inc., says that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the marketing of the company's CareLink® Personal 5.4 Therapy Management Software for the Mac OS platform.
4 comments - Posted Apr 21, 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
After comparing results from 24 studies, researchers at the Chinese University of Hong Kong found little evidence that increasing soy intake improves people's blood sugar levels.
0 comments - Posted Apr 11, 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
Every spring since 1999, the Diabetes Education and Camping Association (DECA) has distributed our publication to their young campers. In honor of their youthful enthusiasm, our springtime issue always focuses on people who inspire us, from the young to the old. In this issue, we bring you the stories of people who refuse to let their diabetes limit them, people whose example re-ignites our determination to live our very best and healthiest lives. As a publisher, I am always seeking inspiration, and each of these individuals is a fresh reminder of what we can do if we put our minds to it.
1 comment - Posted Apr 3, 2011
Prodigy Diabetes Care is an aptly named company, a very young enterprise with the talents of a much older organization and a future that promises prodigious rewards. It was founded in 2006 by Ramzi Abulhaj and Rick Admani, two brothers from Palestine who are its sole owners. In the five years since then, they have built a company that is successfully competing against the diabetes old guard by focusing on engineering and a unique marketing strategy.
8 comments - Posted Apr 2, 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
The recently launched U.S. Diabetes Index (USDI) has revealed that 80 percent of all diabetes cases are located in just 20 percent of zip codes. Dr. Gary Puckrein, USDI developer and CEO of the National Minority Quality Forum, hopes that the USDI will help the United States direct its resources to the most affected areas.
7 comments - Posted Mar 30, 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
Why not? Just test them for harmful diseases. I don't see any problem letting an death row inmate do this as long as it's entirely up to the inmate. It's already a tragedy to lose another life due to a crime. Let something good come from it.
2 comments - Posted Mar 18, 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
Silicon wristbands were first popularized by the yellow LiveStrong band and then became widespread as a way to raise awareness for charities. Light, colorful, easy to wear, and inexpensive, they have now become an option for personal identification and medical alert information as well.
1 comment - Posted Mar 17, 2011
Tony Flores is a 50-year-old native of El Salvador who works as a construction foreman. He was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes about 12 years ago, after an eye doctor told him it would be a good idea to get his blood sugar checked. He recalls, "I did the test, and they got all freaked out and told me, ‘Oh my god, your A1C is at 12%. You have diabetes type 2. You've got to cut the sugar, you've got to stop drinking orange juice and soda."
1 comment - Posted Mar 15, 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
Weight loss can help people with type 2 diabetes control their blood sugar and avoid potential health risks associated with the disease. Did you know that losing even seven percent of your body weight can lower blood sugar, reduce blood pressure, and improve cholesterol levels1?
"Consider diabetes as a disease that has different phases--with the central feature a disorder of insulin production and insulin use," said Roberta Anding, MS, RD/LD,CSSD,CDE. Anding is a clinical dietitian and certified diabetes educator at Baylor College of Medicine, as well as a national spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. "To better control and lose weight safely with type 2 diabetes, it is important to consider the type and amount of food on your plate."
4 comments - Posted Mar 12, 2011
Edward Danielson developed type 1 diabetes 79 years ago, in 1931, only a decade after the discovery of insulin. Edward's wife of 67 years, Dorothy, recalls, "In the spring of 1930, when Edward was ten, his teacher told his mother that he ought to be checked by a doctor because something seemed to be wrong. His mother got on the streetcar with Edward and they went down to see the doctor, who said, ‘There's nothing wrong with him. He's just slow.' So they went home. In the fall of the same year, his new teacher said, ‘Something's wrong with Edward--he ought to be checked out by a doctor.' So they went back, and that doctor diagnosed him with diabetes. They kept him in the hospital for a month because the doctors then didn't know that much about diabetes 1."
1 comment - Posted Mar 10, 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
My almost 20 years as a diabetes educator have been memorable in many ways, but certain moments stand out more than others. Because blood glucose testing is an important part of diabetes management for everyone I see, I try to assess each person’s skills and habits in this key area. I’ll never forget the time I asked a client how often he changed his lancet. He had been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes about four years earlier and was checking regularly, so it seemed like a reasonable question. He proceeded to look at me with a puzzled expression and say, “You mean you’re supposed to change those things?”
0 comments - 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
Scandal swirling around a former diabetes drug has upended medical regulation in France, with the country's health minister promising tough new reforms.
0 comments - Posted Mar 1, 2011
February 2011
A couple of diabetes recalls are in the works, one for a group of insulin cartridges manufactured by Animas and another for the entire line of ACCU-CHEK® FlexLink Plus infusion sets, manufactured by Roche.
0 comments - Posted Feb 28, 2011
Ellen Granberg is an obesity sociologist who studies the processes that people go through when they lose weight and keep it off. As she says, "If the problem were that we don't know what people should eat to lose weight, that would be one thing, but we don't have that problem. There are a hundred weight loss plans out there that are perfectly good. We understand all about the physiology of weight loss maintenance and the metabolic impacts, but nothing about the social and emotional impacts. People who sustain weight loss over time move through a lot of different challenges."
0 comments - Posted Feb 27, 2011
In two recent head-to-head year-long trials, one testing gastric bypass surgery versus lap band surgery and another pitting gastric bypass surgery against sleeve gastrectomy, gastric bypass came out ahead with regard to resolving the symptoms of type 2 diabetes. Both studies were published in the February issue of the Archives of Surgery.
0 comments - Posted Feb 25, 2011
It apparently comes as a surprise to many people with type 2 that diabetes can cause kidney disease. In fact, many diabetic patients don't realize that that their condition can cause kidney problems until after they've already developed kidney disease.
0 comments - Posted Feb 24, 2011
Researchers at the Children's Hospital in Boston, led by Umut Ozcan, MD, have found a regulatory protein that lowers blood sugar when it is high due to either lack of insulin or a decreased sensitivity to insulin.
0 comments - Posted Feb 24, 2011
New University of Georgia research has found that a statin drug that is often known by the brand-name Lipitor may help prevent blindness in people with diabetes. In a study using diabetic rats, lead author Azza El-Remessy, assistant professor in the University of Georgia College of Pharmacy, and her colleagues found that statins prevent free radicals in the retina from killing nerves important to maintaining vision. The results of the study are published in the March edition of the journal Diabetologia.
0 comments - Posted Feb 23, 2011
In order to undergo gastric bypass surgery, you must have a BMI of at least 35. If you have type 2 diabetes and would like to undergo the surgery to alleviate your diabetes symptoms, you are out of luck unless you are also morbidly obese. A few less weighty type 2 patients have taken matters into their own hands by deliberately gaining enough weight to qualify, but now there is a less drastic way to qualify for the operation.
0 comments - Posted Feb 23, 2011
When a young person with type 1 diabetes leaves home for the first time, it's often a difficult adjustment for the parents as well as their child. Tyler Stevenson is 20 years old, in his second year at Florida State. This is what he told us about his life in college with diabetes.
4 comments - Posted Feb 22, 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
Of all diabetic complications, neuropathy is one of the scariest and most difficult to treat. Nerve damage in the feet, leading to numbness or pain and, in severe cases, to foot ulcers or amputations, affects up to 60 percent of diabetics, according to recent research.
1 comment - Posted Feb 18, 2011
High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is, as the name implies, corn syrup whose glucose has been partially changed into a different sugar, fructose. To make HFCS, you start with corn, then mill it to produce starch -corn starch. Starch, the most important carbohydrate in the human diet, consists of long chains of glucose. To make corn syrup, you mix the corn starch with water and then add an enzyme, produced by a bacterium, that breaks the starch down into shorter chains of glucose. Then you add another enzyme, produced by a fungus, that breaks the short chains down into glucose molecules. At that point, you have regular corn syrup.
1 comment - Posted Feb 17, 2011
Silicon wristbands were first popularized by Lance Armstrong's yellow LiveStrong band and then became popular as a way to raise awareness for charities. Light, colorful, easy to wear, and inexpensive, they have now become an option for personal identification and medical alert information as well.
0 comments - Posted Feb 17, 2011
Everywhere you look, there seems to be a great tasting high carb meal, dessert, or snack staring back at you. While away at college last fall, I found a t-shirt picturing a cupcake above a skull and crossbones. For me, that image really sums up how we need to deal with being diabetic while being constantly tempted by sugary treats.
4 comments - Posted Feb 16, 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 National Basketball Association (NBA), the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the NBA Development League, in collaboration with the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and sanofi-aventis U.S., today announced the launch of Dribble to Stop Diabetes, a national multimedia campaign designed to encourage fans to live an active, healthy lifestyle and raise awareness about diabetes prevention, management and the potentially serious health complications that can be associated with the disease.
0 comments - 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
According to a new study published in Diabetes Care, your finger-prick blood glucose test may be "abnormally and significantly high" if you test after handling fruit without first scrubbing your hands thoroughly and vigorously.
0 comments - Posted Feb 12, 2011
Many tragic complications of diabetes, including amputations, heart attack, stroke, and blindness, are due to blood vessel damage. According to Xiaochao Wei, PhD, of the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, all that vascular damage may be caused by a shortage of one enzyme: fatty acid synthase, or FAS.
0 comments - Posted Feb 11, 2011
The National Eye Health Education Program (NEHEP) of the National Eye Institute now has a Diabetes and Healthy Eyes Toolkit to help community health workers educate people with diabetes about diabetic eye disease. The Toolkit is available in both English and Spanish and its contents ensure that community health workers are equipped with science-based, user-friendly materials about diabetes and eye health to enable them to provide sight-saving information to groups of people with diabetes, their family, and their friends.
0 comments - Posted Feb 10, 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
It's hard enough to be pregnant, but pregnancy with diabetes is especially challenging because it's so difficult to keep blood sugar within a normal range at a time when hormones are surging. All women try their best with the tools that they have, but even so, about half of all babies born to mothers with type 1 diabetes are overweight or obese at birth because of too much sugar in their mothers' blood. Mothers with high blood glucose levels also increase their child's risk of congenital malformation, stillbirth, neonatal death, preterm delivery, and neonatal admission.
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
Ever see the top 10 lists for foods everyone should eat to superpower your diet? Ever wonder which will mesh with your diabetes meal plan? Wonder no more. Your list of the top 10 diabetes superfoods has arrived.
0 comments - Posted Feb 7, 2011
Walmart, the nation's largest grocer, averages 20 million customers every single day, so their food policies can affect a lot of people. For one thing, researchers have linked part of the rise in obesity to the prevalence of cheaper food, and Walmart is famous for cheaper food.
0 comments - Posted Feb 7, 2011
A new study published in the journal Clinical Cardiology reveals that a Super Bowl loss for a home team was associated with increased death rates in both men and women and in older individuals.
0 comments - Posted Feb 4, 2011
INDIANAPOLIS and NEW YORK - Eli Lilly and Company and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) today announced that they have signed an agreement to fund early-stage research that could enable patients with type 1 diabetes to regenerate insulin-producing cells destroyed by the disease.
0 comments - Posted Feb 4, 2011
As the new year begins, we return to an old friend in the diabetes community: rock star Bret Michaels. You can find our current interview in this issue, but Diabetes Health first interviewed Bret in 2006. Before I talked to Bret back then, I read everything I could find about him. From what I learned, it was clear that he did not appeal to everyone. In fact, after we printed our interview, some people canceled their subscriptions because they felt that we were promoting sex and drugs by talking candidly with Bret about a rock star's life.
2 comments - Posted Feb 2, 2011
Diva TalkRadio is an interactive, live internet talk-radio destination that focuses on issues and concerns of those living with, at risk of and affected by diabetes. Divabetic's founder and executive director, Max "Mr. Divabetic" Szadek serves as the resident host of DivaTalkRadio programs. This month, Mr. Divabetic shines the spotlight on Constance Brown-Riggs MSEd, RD, CDE, CDN. Constance is a Registered Dietitian-Certified Diabetes Educator and a National Spokesperson American Dietetic Association. Constance has been honored with the Diabetes Care and Education Practice Group (DCE) 2007 Diabetes Educator of the Year Award. Over the course of her career, Constance Brown-Riggs has established herself as an expert on the subject of nutrition, diabetes and the cultural issues that impact the health and health care of people of color. She is not only versed in the science of medical nutrition, but also has an active nutrition counseling practice through which she sees hundreds of patients. Her ability to translate her academic and clinical knowledge into clear, understandable terms have made her a nationally renowned, sought-after speaker, educator and author. She is passionate about creating opportunities to spread the word about health and nutrition, and developing educational tools which shorten the cultural distance between patients and caregivers. Every aspect of her work supports that mission
1 comment - Posted Feb 2, 2011
The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture has announced its 60th annual Good Design Awards, which honor "quality design of the highest form, function, and aesthetic." Guess which paragon of contemporary design won an award this year? An insulin needle. Called the NovoTwist and made by Novo Nordisk for use with insulin pens, this marvel of design has a bayonet fitting that allows "just twist" attachment and detachment to compatible pens, and an audible and tactile "click" that confirms attachment of the needle.
3 comments - Posted Feb 1, 2011
January 2011
DENVER -- New episodes of a critically acclaimed, locally-produced Spanish language soap opera will focus on the obesity crisis in hopes of helping viewers better understand what causes obesity and how they can live healthier lives. The soap opera is called "Encrucijada: Sin Salud, no hay Nada" ("Crossroads: Without Health, there is Nothing").
1 comment - Posted Jan 31, 2011
After the American Heart Association introduced its heart healthy logo in 1995, manufacturers apparently decided that such "healthy" logos were a pretty good marketing idea. Similar logos, called front-of-the-package labels, or FoP labels, have become popular with several food manufacturers, each of which has developed its own labels using its own criteria. Now, not surprisingly, a study by the Prevention Institute has found that these labels are misleading to customers. According to the Prevention Institute's executive director, Larry Cohen, they "emphasize one healthy aspect to trick [customers] into buying something fundamentally unhealthy." Dora the Explorer Fruit Shapes, for example, prominently labels itself as "gluten free," but does not mention the fact that 58 percent of its calories come from sugar.
0 comments - Posted Jan 31, 2011
Insulin has a companion, and it's called amylin. Amylin is a small hormone that is released along with insulin by the beta cells of the pancreas in response to a meal. When people are insulin-deficient, they are amylin-deficient as well. Amylin wasn't even discovered until 1970, and it was not until the 1990s that scientists began to figure out what amylin does. But they now know that it partners with insulin to help control blood sugar levels, each in its own way:
1 comment - Posted Jan 28, 2011
It's Labor Day weekend in Pittsburgh, just outside of the Steelers' Heinz Field, and the Bret Michaels Band has come home for some hard-driving rock and roll. The 20,000 screaming fans are a generational mix, shrieking 16-year-old girls side-by-side with moms and dads who have temporarily abandoned their parental roles to dance, sing the familiar words to "Look What the Cat Dragged In," and howl into the nighttime air. On stage is Bret Michaels, the boy from Butler, Pennsylvania, a coal mining town just an hour north.
16 comments - Posted Jan 27, 2011
The MOLLY and LINDSEY Diabetes Research Foundation at Hackensack University Medical Center (HUMC) and the Diabetes Research Institute (DRI), a Center of Excellence at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, have joined forces to find the cure for Type 1 Diabetes. Together they will form the Hackensack-Miami DRI Federation Project, a think tank of East Coast specialists who will fast-track the best research ideas coming out of the labs and put them to the test in clinically meaningful ways, thus shortening the path to a cure for those with type 1 diabetes.
5 comments - Posted Jan 26, 2011
Your young primary care doctor may not know a lot about diabetes, according to a study led by Stephen Sisson, MD, of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. "When I graduated from residency here, I knew much more about how to ventilate a patient on a machine than how to control somebody's blood sugar, and that's a problem," said Sisson in a press release. "The average resident doesn't know what the goal for normal fasting blood sugar should be. If you don't know what it has to be, how are you going to guide your diabetes management with patients?"
2 comments - Posted Jan 26, 2011
The kuriously named Kombiglyze XR, a combination of Onglyza (saxagliptin) and the old reliable metformin, has arrived at pharmacies and is available by prescription to people with type 2 diabetes. It's similar to Janumet, an older medication that's a combination of Januvia (sitagliptin) and metformin.
0 comments - Posted Jan 25, 2011
Developing a noninvasive, wireless, transdermal continuous glucose monitor requires brilliance, commitment, innovation, and....a LOT of money. We recently reported that Echo Therapeutics, Inc. is developing just such a CGM, called the Symphony, along with its companion skin preparation system. Fortunately, their money picture is looking bright: Echo just raised approximately $2.5 million through "a series of private placements of the Company's stock and warrants, and it has received a binding commitment for an additional $3 million."
0 comments - Posted Jan 25, 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
You'd think the world would be running through the streets in a movie-style panic. An epidemic of unprecedented proportions is inexorably advancing. In our lifetimes, half of us may develop a devastating disease that could cause us to go blind, lose a leg, or die far too soon. But we aren't in a panic. The authorities are talking it up, of course, but most of us aren't doing much at all to prevent type 2 diabetes. We're getting fatter by the year, and we're moving less and less. Many of us who already have type 2 diabetes are not making the changes that could keep its consequences at bay. Why not?
1 comment - Posted Jan 24, 2011
MannKind Corporation has finally received a complete response letter from the FDA regarding its inhalable insulin, Afrezza. (The FDA issues a complete response letter when it completes its review of a New Drug Application, but cannot yet approve the application as is.) What the FDA wants now is a couple more clinical trials with the new form of the inhaler (one in patients with type 1 diabetes and one in patients with type 2 diabetes), with at least one trial including a treatment group using the older form of the inhaler, in order to obtain a head-to-head comparison of the two devices.
0 comments - Posted Jan 24, 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
"Got the news today, doctor said I had to stay, a little bit longer and I'll be fine....Waitin' on a cure, but none of them are sure, a little bit longer and I'll be fine....So I wait ‘til kingdom come, all the highs and lows are gone, a little bit longer and I'll be fine."
12 comments - Posted Jan 21, 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
Despite what many think, diabetes does not have to deter people who have the disease from enjoying Super Bowl Sunday parties along with everyone else, according to the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE). In fact, managing your diabetes is often an exercise in moderation, more than anything else. With more than 24 million people in the U.S. who have diabetes, this is a very real issue, but there is no reason diabetics can't enjoy the festivities -- and the food -- at Super Bowl parties. The AADE put together the following tips for people with diabetes who want to enjoy the food - but need a little guidance about how to eat smart given all of the Super Bowl food temptations.
1 comment - Posted Jan 19, 2011
On the outskirts of Quito, the capital of Ecuador, meals are likely to be based on white rice, potatoes, sugar, and white bread. Given their reliance on high carbohydrate foods that are low in essential nutrients, many of the residents are overweight and malnourished at the same time. The lack of vitamin C in their diet may contribute to metabolic syndrome, according to researchers from the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (USDA HNRCA) at Tufts University and the Corporacion Ecuatoriana de Biotecnologia. The researchers also concluded that vitamin E may have a protective effect against metabolic syndrome.
0 comments - Posted Jan 18, 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
Most type 2 meds work by increasing insulin production in one way or another. The extra insulin lowers blood sugar by ushering it out of your bloodstream and into your cells, where it may, unfortunately, make you fat. Wouldn't it be nice if instead, you could lower your high blood sugar by just flushing it right down the toilet?
2 comments - Posted Jan 17, 2011
Did you make any resolutions for 2011? How many of them have you given up on already? Many of my Facebook friends have enthusiastically boasted of their New Year's resolutions--lose weight, spend less time online, read more, worry less. While their goals are admirable, their resolutions rarely last. Why? I believe it's because their aim is too high or too broad, and their enthusiasm is short-lived.
5 comments - Posted Jan 14, 2011
Brown fat is an entirely different animal than the white fat that we pack onto our hips to store excess calories. Instead of storing energy, brown fat actually burns glucose to produce heat (thermogenesis). It's brown because it contains special mitochondria that produce heat from the glucose when activated by cold. Adults don't have much of it, unfortunately, just a few grams if we're lucky. If we had about 50 grams and were cold enough to activate it, it would actually burn about 500 calories a day.
0 comments - Posted Jan 14, 2011
Infopia USA's Eocene System is a diabetes management system with a data collection device that gathers data from a meter, blood pressure cuff, and a thermal scale. Readings are stored on Infopia's network and available to you and your health team. See the video on Diabetes Health TV here.
0 comments - Posted Jan 13, 2011
"Fatty liver" doesn't sound very threatening. In fact, it sounds almost cute, like Fatty Arbuckle. Unfortunately, like Fatty Arbuckle, it's not what it seems. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is the most common liver disease in the United States, comprising a quarter of all liver disease and responsible for a rising number of liver transplants. Approximately 20 percent of Americans may be lugging around a fatty liver.
1 comment - Posted Jan 13, 2011
The Diabetes Research Institute Foundation (DRIF) announced a new, first-of-its-kind partnership aimed at helping the more than 200,000* Broward County, Florida, residents affected by diabetes. Diabetes Research Institute Live Well Broward County is a joint effort of the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation, Walgreens in South Florida, LifeScan and a cadre of local physicians that will help residents "Manage Well, Stay Well and Live Well" with diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Jan 12, 2011
Results are expected by the end of the month in an efficacy study on a new drug that promises to improve diabetic wound care. Derma Sciences is wrapping up work on a phase 2 trial of DSC127, a drug already shown to speed up healing in animal tests.
0 comments - Posted Jan 11, 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
The crowd in the small Boston theater laughed and clapped. The comedy show was a good one, and I was enjoying it from a cramped seat in the balcony. It was October 29, a Friday, and while it was brisk outside, winter hadn't yet clamped down.
0 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
Introducing "Type-1 University" (T1U) - the online school for people with diabetes who use insulin, including parents and caregivers. The school can be found only in cyberspace - at www.type1university.com
2 comments - Posted Jan 7, 2011
Sitagliptin (Januvia) has long been used to reduce blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes, but a new study indicates that it can do the same for those with type 1 diabetes. Sitagliptin is a DPP-4 inhibitor; that is, it inhibits, or temporarily prevents, the enzyme DPP-4 from destroying a helpful hormone called GLP-1. GLP-1, which is released by the gut when food arrives there from the stomach, lowers blood sugar by causing the release of insulin, reducing the secretion of glucagon, and slowing stomach emptying and nutrient absorption.
3 comments - Posted Jan 7, 2011
Talk about a win-win situation! It seems that many aphrodisiacs--herbs that boost sexual energy and function--can also bring down blood sugar, cholesterol, and/or blood pressure. At least four herbs have shown these double benefits in scientific studies.
1 comment - Posted Jan 6, 2011
RALEIGH, NC- DiabetesSisters is pleased to announce that registration for the 2011 Weekend for Women Conference in Raleigh, NC will open on January 1, 2011 at 8am. The Conference, a revolutionary national weekend conference designed specifically for women with diabetes, will take place April 29 - May 1, 2011 at the Marriott City Center in downtown Raleigh.
0 comments - Posted Jan 5, 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
My trip began as I flew from Dallas to my home town of Philadelphia and then caught an early Amtrak train to New York City. Growing up in the Philadelphia area had given me an appreciation for U.S. history, but today I was going to learn something new: the history of diabetes. My daughter, Sarah, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2003, yet I didn't know much about the history of the disease. Living every day with the stress and worry that many parents have, I felt I had no time to spend learning how we got to the modern treatments we have today. I had focused only on doing my job as caregiver and supporter of my daughter. I was looking forward to learning something new.
10 comments - Posted Jan 3, 2011
December 2010
New York, NY - December 31, 2010 - Divabetic, one of the country's leading health and wellness nonprofits begins the New Year with an outreach jackpot of resources and tools for those affected by diabetes. With online and special events, Divabetic's mission is to provide an empowering and supportive environment so that no one living with diabetes has to cope alone or in silence.
0 comments - Posted Dec 31, 2010
Starting in February, Rhode Island's eight YMCAs will participate in JOIN, a 24-week research study on ways to help obese children and teenagers achieve healthier weight. If it meets its goals, it could become the prototype for a nationwide program that would have a direct effect on the treatment of pre-diabetes in children.
1 comment - Posted Dec 31, 2010
The Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University in New York City has received a $600,000 grant from the American Diabetes Association to study the effects of resveratrol on lowering impaired glucose tolerance in older adults.
2 comments - Posted Dec 30, 2010
Arena Pharmaceuticals and Eisai Inc. recently released results of a phase 3 clinical trial for lorcaserin, a weight-loss drug they are developing in partnership. The trial, called BLOOM-DM (Behavioral modification and Lorcaserin for Overweight and Obesity Management- Diabetes Management), targeted patients with type 2 diabetes who are overweight or obese.
2 comments - Posted Dec 28, 2010
A new study finds that combining the newer diabetes drug exenatide with insulin provides better blood sugar control in patients with type 2 diabetes than insulin alone and helps promote weight loss.
1 comment - Posted Dec 27, 2010
For those trying to eat a healthy diet, whole-fat dairy and trans fats are usually not on the menu - at least, not yet. Scientists have narrowed in on a trans fat component found mainly in dairy fat that may ward off type 2 diabetes and protect cardiovascular health. While the research is far from conclusive and requires much further study, it suggests fats may play a more complex role in human health than previously thought.
2 comments - Posted Dec 24, 2010
Most holiday stories are comforting and familiar, wrapped up with the happiest of endings. But the tales that swept the nation this Thanksgiving were sometimes distressing and strange, and the one told by Laura Seay has no resolution or simple solution. Seay was one of the travelers caught in the center of the debate over the Transportation Security Administration's forceful new screening methods.
6 comments - Posted Dec 23, 2010
Abbott Diabetes Care today announced that it has initiated a recall of 359 lots (approximately 359 million strips) of Precision Xtra®, Precision Xceed Pro®, MediSense® Optium, Optium, OptiumEZ and ReliOn® Ultima Blood Glucose Test Strips in the United States and Puerto Rico.
1 comment - Posted Dec 22, 2010
Being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes means a lot of change in your daily life. From blood glucose monitoring to watching what you eat to losing weight, it's hard to keep track of the changes you need to make to keep diabetes under control. One aspect of diabetes care that sometimes falls through the cracks is oral health care, which, if ignored, can lead to serious health complications.
2 comments - Posted Dec 22, 2010
Research firm Frost & Sullivan, a leading international healthcare consulting company, released a market study analyzing and estimating the demand for Pepex Biomedical Inc.'s new biosensor technology for blood glucose monitoring for diabetes sufferers worldwide. The researchers interviewed diagnosed diabetics, diabetes educators, endocrinologists, and manufacturers of biosensors, blood glucose meters, or other clinical diagnostic or patient monitoring equipment suppliers for the study. The Frost & Sullivan report concluded that the Pepex Trio technology has the "potential as a new standard for measuring blood glucose levels."
6 comments - Posted Dec 21, 2010
University of Alaska Anchorage nursing student Ben McCormack was excited when a professor showed a YouTube video in his pathophysiology class. "She tries to bring in a lot of multimedia stuff to each unit," he reports. "And ‘Diabetes Rap' actually has all the information about [type 1] diabetes right in the video." "The Diabetes Rap," starring diabetic Luke Widbin, was the 2008 winner of the World Diabetes Day Young Voices video contest, thanks in part to Luke's willingness to make rhymes like "Sugar overdoses give me ketoacidosis." With well over 100,000 views, this video does an educational and entertaining job of relating the facts about diabetes. See it here.
0 comments - Posted Dec 20, 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
A 10-year study by Harvard University scientists found that diabetes puts people at risk for depression and that depression puts people at risk for type 2 diabetes. The two-way connection between the diseases was discovered in 55,000 nurses surveyed over the decade.
1 comment - Posted Dec 17, 2010
Novo Nordisk, a world leader in diabetes care, has partnered with Chip Ganassi Racing, LLC to create the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing team for the 2011 IZOD IndyCar season. The team will sponsor a new entry in the series driven by American racecar driver Charlie Kimball. This partnership makes Kimball one of the first drivers from the 2010 Firestone Indy Lights series to move up the official "Road to Indy" with a full season sponsorship.
0 comments - Posted Dec 17, 2010
Women who experienced sexual or physical abuse in childhood and adolescence-whether moderate or severe-run a higher risk of type 2 diabetes than women who were not abused, according to results from a study recently reported online in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
1 comment - Posted Dec 16, 2010
With nearly 16 million Americans living today with pre-diabetes, a condition that is the precursor to type 2 diabetes, and half of all Americans expected to have some form of diabetes by the year 2020, healthy eating is more important than ever (1,2). But here is some good news: a recent scientific study shows that incorporating almonds into your diet can help treat and possibly prevent type 2 diabetes, as well as cardiovascular disease.
0 comments - Posted Dec 15, 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
Obese lab rats that have undergone gastric bypass surgery to induce weight loss show a reduced desire for sugar water compared to obese rats that have not had the operation. Researchers at Penn State College of Medicine who observed that outcome also reported that the rats' preferences for salty, sour, or bitter tastes did not change. Lean rats who were given gastric bypass surgery as a control showed no changes in any of their taste preferences.
0 comments - Posted Dec 11, 2010
Obese lab rats that have undergone gastric bypass surgery to induce weight loss show a reduced desire for sugar water compared to obese rats that have not had the operation. Researchers at Penn State College of Medicine who observed that outcome also reported that the rats' preferences for salty, sour, or bitter tastes did not change. Lean rats who were given gastric bypass surgery as a control showed no changes in any of their taste preferences.
0 comments - Posted Dec 11, 2010
"Don't leave home without it" has a whole new meaning this holiday season. With holiday travel up from last year and increased security- and consequent delays- at airports, it's more important than ever for those with diabetes to properly prepare for their holiday travel.
0 comments - Posted Dec 10, 2010
Leaders of the Medicare Diabetes Screening Project (MDSP) announced that twenty community-based organizations from 17 states were given awards of $2,500 each to be used to encourage seniors ages 65 and older who are covered under Medicare to get screened for diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Dec 10, 2010
Valeritas, Inc., a medical technology company committed to the development and commercialization of innovative drug delivery solutions, announced today that the US Food and Drug Administration has cleared the company's V-Go Disposable Insulin Delivery Device for the continuous subcutaneous delivery of insulin in preset basal rates and with on-demand bolus dosing for adult patients requiring insulin. V-Go devices will be available in a preset basal rate to deliver 20, 30 or 40 Units of insulin in one 24-hour period (0.83 U/hr, 1.25U/hr or 1.67U/hr respectively) and on-demand bolus dosing in 2 Unit increments (up to 36 Units per one 24-hour time period).
1 comment - Posted Dec 9, 2010
This holiday season, Nick and Bayer have issued a dog tag challenge! You can help them reach the goal of 50,000 tags by purchasing one for yourself or giving one as a gift this holiday season. Proceeds from each tag sold will go to the Jonas Brothers Change for the Children Foundation to help others.
3 comments - Posted Dec 8, 2010
New York, NY (Grassroots Newswire) December 6, 2010 - Kathy Dolgin a.k.a High Voltage, beloved mentor to an A-list of supermodels, singers and television personalities and named a top lifestyle and fitness coach by Vogue Magazine, will appear on Divabetic's Diva TalkRadio Diabetes Spotlight with host Max "Mr. Divabetic" Szadek on Tuesday, December 7, 2010, at 6 p.m., Eastern. The exclusive interview will highlight Dolgin's war on Type 2 diabetes and childhood obesity, her amazing personal journey and her nonprofit organization, Energy Up Voltage Approved (www.energyup.org).
0 comments - Posted Dec 6, 2010
If you have a new infant in your family and a family history of type 1 diabetes, feeding your baby a special formula when weaning off breastfeeding may protect against the development of the antibodies associated with type 1 diabetes, thus potentially shielding your child from developing the disease itself. This is the finding of a new study, conducted by Finnish researchers, that was published in the November 11 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
4 comments - Posted Dec 4, 2010
Celebrate the season with an eCard and help support the Diabetes Research Institute! Send your family, friends or business colleagues A Gift of Love...A Gift of Hope. They will feel special knowing you are supporting research to find a cure for diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Dec 3, 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
An estimated two million Latinos in the United States have type 2 diabetes, a full 10 percent of the Latino population. Facebook, the fourth most popular Internet site among Latinos, reaches nearly 45 percent of the Latino population that goes online. Put those two facts together, and you have the audience for a new online game, HealthSeekerTM Explorando tu Salud, Paso a Paso ("Exploring Your Health, Step by Step").
0 comments - Posted Dec 2, 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
It's that time of year, when health plan open enrollment gives you the chance to change insurance providers. Perhaps you've been dissatisfied with your old insurer, and you've decided to switch to another insurance company that seems like a better choice. But before making your decision, you call the company to ask about its coverage of durable medical equipment. That's when you learn that the new company covers different devices than your old one. Now what? You want to compare the various brands to make sure they're equivalent, but the prospect seems like an overwhelming chore. That's where the Diabetes Health Product Reference Guide comes in.
0 comments - Posted Dec 1, 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 competition for a continuous glucose monitoring system that can replace the classic finger prick blood tests for diabetes is heating up. Several new products have come to the market this year that use various techniques to test blood glucose levels continuously without the need for a blood test, but several have faltered with complaints of inaccurate readings and skin irritation.
2 comments - Posted Nov 29, 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
When most people think of diabetes, the first thing to come to mind is rarely blindness, yet blindness is a very real complication of diabetes: Diabetes is actually the number one cause of new blindness in the United States.
2 comments - Posted Nov 25, 2010
Insulet Corp., the leader in tubing-free insulin pump technology with its OmniPod® Insulin Management System, recognizes the outstanding achievements of Christopher Gorham, age 12, of Waterford, Michigan for bringing home both silver and bronze medals in the Sparring and Forms competitions at the 2010 World Karate/Kickboxing Council World Championships held in Albufeira, Portugal. Chris is a 2nd degree black belt in training for a 3rd degree black belt; he has been in martial arts since he was four years old, competing all over the world.
0 comments - Posted Nov 25, 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
A new drug for type 2 diabetes started showing up in drugstores this week, according to manufacturer Santarus. The FDA-approved drug, called Cycloset, takes an distinctive -- and not well understood -- approach to reducing blood sugar levels. The pill apparently works by increasing dopamine activity in the hypothalamus, a part of the brain. Dopamine is a brain chemical that plays a big role in people's behavior, mood, and ability to sleep. Scientists theorize that glucose intolerance and insulin resistance may in part result from abnormal activity of this chemical, and that upping dopamine activity may iron out these problems.That's the theory, at least: the drug's exact workings aren't known. But it seems to do the trick.
0 comments - 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
A friend of mine recently remarked that she wants her family to eat healthier, but she just doesn't know that much about nutrition. Though I can sympathize with her in some ways (nutritional education is a daunting and never-ending process), I do feel that the overall American attitude toward food is that ignorance is bliss. It reminds me of the preteen character in the movie Son-In-Law, who puts his sister's bra cups over his ears and tells his parents in a taunting voice, "I can't hear you!" Unfortunately, what you don't know CAN hurt you, and not just you, but also your family.
3 comments - Posted Nov 22, 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
When I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 23 years ago, I remember being told that having children would be a very difficult challenge. I was seven years old at the time - still a child myself - and had no interest in becoming a mom. My own mother was very distressed at this news, but I didn't pay it any mind. I had other things to focus on: trees to climb, bikes to ride, and friends to play with.
1 comment - Posted Nov 18, 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
Both celiac disease (CD) and type 1 diabetes (T1D) are autoimmune diseases. In CD the immune response is triggered by the ingestion of gluten, resulting in chronic inflammation and villous atrophy in the small intestine. Treatment requires permanent elimination of gluten from the diet. In T1D, pancreatic islet beta cells are damaged resulting in loss of endogenous insulin production. Treatment includes daily insulin injections combined with meal planning and exercise. Nutrition management of the individual with both T1D and CD can be challenging for both the patient and the dietitian.
0 comments - Posted Nov 16, 2010
The Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation announced Together on Diabetes®: Communities Uniting to Meet America's Diabetes Challenge, a 5-year, $100 million initiative to help patients living with type 2 diabetes better manage their disease beyond the doors of their doctor's office - in their homes and communities - and for the course of their disease.
1 comment - Posted Nov 15, 2010
Hundreds of people like you are choosing to Be Part of Cure. They are sharing their personal experiences - both heartbreaking and inspiring - of how diabetes has touched their lives.
0 comments - Posted Nov 13, 2010
Imagine a pandemic. A disease comes into a community and then spreads across borders, causing disability and death in its path. Scientists fight to contain its spread, and doctors try to mitigate its effects. Most people associate this kind of scenario with a pathogen: a virus or bacteria, like HIV or avian flu, that has found a way to exploit the human body. In fact, however, the overwhelming majority of pandemics are the result of noncommunicable diseases that are not spread by pathogens: conditions like cancer, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes.
1 comment - Posted Nov 12, 2010
In celebration of diabetes, I want to encourage my readers to get involved in the diabetes community. There are several reasons why this is important. For one, when you are personally invested, you are also personally encouraged. Secondly, you can use your diabetes experiences to motivate others. And finally, getting involved can be a way of giving back to the world that has given you opportunities to live a better life with diabetes.
2 comments - Posted Nov 12, 2010
Solianis Monitoring AG is developing a groundbreaking device for the diabetes community- a noninvasive continuous glucose monitoring system that delivers reliable and consistent data.
4 comments - Posted Nov 11, 2010
World Diabetes Day celebrations are marked by the lighting of iconic buildings and monuments in blue. In 2009, over 1000 monuments were lit in blue around the world. See What's Happening in California for World Diabetes Day
0 comments - Posted Nov 11, 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
Over the years, I have had many exercisers with diabetes ask me why they're gaining weight instead of losing it. There are two possible answers to that question. One answer is that muscle is heavier than fat, so if you are gaining muscle while losing fat-especially in the early stages of a new exercise program-your scale weight probably doesn't reflect your positive changes in body composition (i.e., less fat, more muscle).
2 comments - Posted Nov 10, 2010
It's a pretty common complaint heard in households around the country: "My tummy hurts." Parents and teachers have been battling this complaint for decades, with children insisting that they are in pain and having no explanation why.
0 comments - Posted Nov 8, 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
With just a few days left to 14 November, we imagine that a lot of you are making those final touches to your World Diabetes Day celebrations or have already started your awareness activities. Here's a further look at what will be taking place around the world to mark the day:
0 comments - Posted Nov 6, 2010
Over 300 monuments and buildings from more than 40 countries will be participating in this year's World Diabetes Day Blue Monument Challenge - http://bit.ly/MClwI. Brazil currently leads the way with 38 lightings, followed by Argentina and Norway. The latest monuments to join the Challenge include:
0 comments - Posted Nov 6, 2010
Earlier this year the IDF launched an initiative to get high-profile athletes and other celebrities with diabetes to pledge their support for World Diabetes Day by wearing the blue circle pin - the global symbol of diabetes - to promote diabetes awareness. We are proud to be able to showcase the following inspiring individuals who have not let diabetes get in the way of achieving their goals:
0 comments - Posted Nov 5, 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
HOLLYWOOD, FL- Beginning today, thousands of people who want to help put an end to diabetes can be part of the cure by participating in the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation's online campaign at BePartoftheCure.org. Kicking off National Diabetes Awareness Month, the Be Part of the CURE campaign is a fun and meaningful way for people living with diabetes, their family and friends, and anyone concerned about curing this devastating disease to literally participate in the "CURE."
1 comment - Posted Nov 1, 2010
It was introduced in 1991 by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) in response to the alarming rise in diabetes around the world. In 2007, the United Nations marked the Day for the first time with the passage of the United Nations World Diabetes Day Resolution in December 2006, which made the existing World Diabetes Day an official United Nations World Health Day.
0 comments - Posted Nov 1, 2010
For over 30 years, we have been told over and over by doctors, the media, nutritionists, and food companies that saturated fat is bad for us, causing us to gain weight and contributing to cardiovascular disease (CVD). It has led to a whole industry of low fat and non-fat food options, most claiming that saturated fat is bad for our health.
4 comments - Posted Nov 1, 2010
October 2010
Regular physical activity and exercise are recommended for the general population for overall improved health. However, exercise of moderate intensity increases the risk of hypoglycemia during and following exertion in those with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). Accordingly, exercise guidelines for T1DM focus on prevention of exercise-induced hypoglycemia.
0 comments - Posted Oct 31, 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
Tarra Robinson was afraid that she was going to lose her job. Diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was 18 months old, Tarra had recently developed hypoglycemic unawareness, which affects about 17% of type 1 diabetics. Tarra was passing out at work, and once she even crashed her car when her blood sugar dropped unexpectedly. She went on a pump and tried a CGM, but nothing seemed to help. She was still having frequent, dangerous lows.
0 comments - Posted Oct 28, 2010
As flu season approaches, many people are debating whether they should get a flu shot. As everyone knows, getting the flu is not fun. In fact, it can be downright miserable. But for those with diabetes, the flu can mean more than a cough, running nose, and body aches--it could mean more severe complications, and sometimes even death.
0 comments - Posted Oct 27, 2010
It sounds like science fiction: a substitute for human skin, derived from human cells and used to treat difficult-to-treat diabetic foot ulcers. But it's a real product, called Dermagraft, manufactured and sold by a real company, Advanced BioHealing. The Connecticut-headquartered company is expanding its operations in Tennessee, part of an aggressive growth strategy to spread the word about its existing product and develop new ones.
2 comments - Posted Oct 26, 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
An intensive lifestyle intervention program designed with weight loss in mind improves diabetes control and cardiovascular disease risk factors in overweight and obese individuals with type 2 diabetes. These are the findings of the four-year Look AHEAD study, funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Look AHEAD (Action for Health in Diabetes) is a multi-center, randomized clinical trial evaluating the effect of reduced caloric intake and increased physical activity on the incidence of major cardiovascular events such as heart attack, stroke, and cardiovascular-related death.
0 comments - Posted Oct 25, 2010
Imagine that you're a miner. Imagine you have diabetes (that, at least, shouldn't be too hard). Now, imagine that you have to spend two months trapped underground with other miners. How would you do?
0 comments - Posted Oct 24, 2010
Patients who cannot discuss their diabetes with a doctor in their own language may have poorer health outcomes, even when interpreter services are available, according to a new study by researchers at UCSF and the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research.
0 comments - Posted Oct 23, 2010
Getting enough magnesium in your diet could help prevent type 2 diabetes. Dr. Ka He of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and colleagues have found that people who consumed the most magnesium from foods and vitamin supplements were about half as likely to develop diabetes over the next 20 years as people who took in the least magnesium.
0 comments - Posted Oct 22, 2010
Weight Watchers International, Inc., the world's leading provider of weight management services, and Merck, a global healthcare leader, announced today an innovative collaboration focused on fighting obesity. The two companies will launch an initiative in which Merck will provide physicians and other health care providers with educational information about the Weight Watchers® program and its underlying clinical evidence to assist doctors in addressing the ongoing weight management needs of their patients.
0 comments - Posted Oct 21, 2010
Reducing the cost of low-carbohydrate foods for people with diabetes could significantly reduce medical costs associated with the disease that affects more than 23 million Americans, according to a recent study.
0 comments - Posted Oct 20, 2010
European researchers have reported that when they transplanted fecal matter from healthy thin people into obese people with pre-diabetes, the latter group's insulin sensitivity notably increased. (Insulin sensitivity is the body's ability to properly use the insulin hormone to regulate the amount of glucose in the bloodstream. Pre-diabetes exists when increasing resistance to insulin creates higher-than-normal blood sugar levels, a precondition to the onset of full-blown type 2 diabetes.)
1 comment - Posted Oct 19, 2010
As the weather turns and leaves begin to fall this year, new research shows that local aging seniors are well served to get up and grab a rake themselves - for more reasons than one. A group of four recent studies published in 2010 Harvard University health and medicine journals shows a surprising and strong connection between seniors, exercise, and mental and physical health, especially among aging women.
0 comments - Posted Oct 19, 2010
The 2010 Guidelines for CPR and Emergency Cardiovascular Care are here! What are the new changes? Watch the YouTube video and learn more.
0 comments - Posted Oct 18, 2010
Calibra Medical has announced that it received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market its FinesseTM insulin patch-pen for up to three-day use with Novo Nordisk's Novolog® rapid-acting insulin. This much-anticipated step closer to market release follows the announcement in January that Calibra received FDA clearance for the device for use with Eli Lilly's Humalog® rapid-acting insulin.
1 comment - Posted Oct 18, 2010
A meta-analysis* of 87 studies involving 951,083 patients, performed by a Canadian research team, shows that the pre-diabetic condition known as metabolic syndrome increases the risk of heart disease or stroke in patients by a factor of more than two.
0 comments - Posted Oct 17, 2010
University of Michigan scientists have identified events inside insulin-producing pancreatic cells that set the stage for a neonatal form of non-autoimmune type 1 diabetes, and may play a role in type 2 diabetes as well. The results point to a potential target for drugs to protect normally functioning proteins essential for producing insulin.
0 comments - Posted Oct 15, 2010
Michelle Obama recently announced that she plans to eliminate childhood obesity in a generation. If all goes according to her plan, childhood obesity will have dropped from the current rate of 32 percent to a rate of 5 percent by 2030. That rate of 32 percent translates to over 25 million obese children and adolescents, so a lot of attention has been given to examining the direct causes of childhood obesity, the factors that contribute, and the best ways to eliminate it altogether.
1 comment - Posted Oct 14, 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
Earlier this year, First Lady Michelle Obama announced an ambitious goal: to erase childhood obesity within a generation. If she is successful, the childhood obesity rate will be only 5 percent by 2030, down from the current rate of 32 percent. Ambitious? Yes. Impossible? Not according to her plan.
1 comment - Posted Oct 13, 2010
What do you get when international best-selling author Dr. Steven Covey joins forces with Bayer Diabetes Care and the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE)? You get an inspirational booklet that is a simple, practical resource guide to help people get started in managing their diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Oct 12, 2010
The day I learned that I had type 1 diabetes was no doubt one of the most heart-wrenching, confusing, and angry days of my life. But I quickly decided that I had to channel those feelings into something productive, something worthwhile. I gained confidence as a person with diabetes, and even though, yes, the shots stung, I wasn't going to flinch. Welcome to my life.
0 comments - Posted Oct 11, 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
Cutting back on sleep reduces the benefits of dieting, according to a study published Oct. 5 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
0 comments - Posted Oct 10, 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
Have you ever worried that in case of emergency, first responders will not know that you or a loved one has diabetes? Or concerned that a low blood sugar may be interpreted by law enforcement officials as intoxication--especially behind the wheel of a vehicle? What if you wear a Medical ID, but they cannot get to you right away in the case of an accident?
0 comments - Posted Oct 8, 2010
Employers are in a potentially powerful position to help employees and their families make healthier choices, hints a new study conducted by the IBM Corporation.
0 comments - Posted Oct 7, 2010
Dance Out Diabetes is a non-profit organization that addresses a critical component missing in most diabetes programs: PHYSICAL ACTIVITY! Our mission is to help individuals prevent or manage diabetes through dance and education.
0 comments - Posted Oct 6, 2010
We all know of Paul and Mira Sorvino, the legendary father and daughter actors who have graced the small and big screens for decades. Paul has played such classic characters as Paulie Cicero in the film Goodfellas and Sgt. Phil Cerreta on the TV series Law & Order and is a well-known chef and singer, while Mira has starred in over 30 movies and won an Academy Award in 1995 for her role as Linda Ash in Mighty Aphrodite.
0 comments - Posted Oct 5, 2010
The holidays are known as a time for family gatherings, catching up with relatives, and sometimes even the occasional family conflict. Like drama at the holiday dinner table, in many ways your health is influenced by your family-for better or for worse. This year, why not start a conversation that benefits everyone? Gather your family health history.
0 comments - Posted Oct 4, 2010
Last week, sanofi-aventis announced the upcoming launch of the blood glucose meters BGStar® and iBGStarTM (developed by sanofi and its partner AgaMatrix), which should be available in early 2011.
1 comment - Posted Oct 4, 2010
Twenty years ago, when I opened Sugar Happy Diabetes Supplies in San Francisco, people would open the front door, lean in, and ask, “I’m curious. Are there enough people with diabetes for you to stay in business?” My reply was always, “You would be surprised by how many people have diabetes.”
0 comments - Posted Oct 1, 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
A national epidemiologic study finds a strong, consistent correlation between adult diabetes and particulate air pollution that persists after adjustment for other risk factors like obesity and ethnicity, report researchers from Children's Hospital Boston. The relationship was seen even at exposure levels below the current EPA safety limit.
0 comments - Posted Oct 1, 2010
September 2010
(HealthDay News) -- Think recess, and you'll probably smile. What wasn't to like about a break in the school day set aside for running and playing, for friends and fun? Now fast-forward to your adult life. What if your workplace started offering recess on the job?
0 comments - Posted Sep 30, 2010
I’m back. I started working with Diabetes Health 10 years ago. At that time, Diabetes Health was the one publication open enough to talk about a subject that was controversial at that time… Lower Carb Options. That was my column, and I got a lot of slack from it. I didn’t understand why. People with diabetes want and need lower carb options. What was the problem with giving people options? That’s what Diabetes Health is all about – teaching people there are healthy options. Now it’s common to see lower carb options for people who have diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Sep 29, 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
Sanofi-aventis announced the upcoming launch of the blood glucose monitoring (BGM) devices BGStar® and iBGStarTM, developed by sanofi-aventis and its partner AgaMatrix. Due to their convenience, accuracy and ease-of-use, BGStar® and iBGStarTM will help the decision-making process for people with diabetes and their healthcare professionals, with the aim of improving patient self-management. iBGStarTM connects to the iPhone® or iPod touch®. This is an important step towards sanofi-aventis' vision of becoming the leader in global diabetes care by integrating innovative monitoring technology, therapeutic innovations, personalized services and support solutions. BGStar® and iBGStarTM are planned to be made commercially available in the first markets in early 2011.
0 comments - Posted Sep 27, 2010
Diabetes research is on the cusp of new advances in treatment options and in understanding the underlying causes of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Among those are potential treatments using stem cells to regenerate a patient's ability to produce insulin, as well as upcoming clinical trials of a vaccine that potentially could prevent type 1 diabetes.
2 comments - Posted Sep 27, 2010
Do you ever wish you could leave your diabetes at home? Maybe you're at a holiday party, chit chatting with your buds gathered around the bar enjoying an adult beverage (or two), maybe grazing at the table of cookies, cakes and other tempting morsels. "Oh, I think I'll try one of those. Maybe one of those too. I didn't bring my diabetes with me, so I don't have to think about it tonight." Diabetes is not last year's outfit you can leave at home, or a bad relationship you can dump and move on. It is more like a tattoo. It goes everywhere with you.
0 comments - Posted Sep 24, 2010
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced that it will significantly restrict the use of the diabetes drug Avandia (rosiglitazone) to patients with Type 2 diabetes who cannot control their diabetes on other medications. These new restrictions are in response to data that suggest an elevated risk of cardiovascular events, such as heart attack and stroke, in patients treated with Avandia.
0 comments - Posted Sep 23, 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
"What's for dinner?" is a commonly asked question in many households. As children, spouses, friends, and others stream into your home after work, school, or a day of errands, they are eager to sit down, enjoy a meal, and unwind.
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
New research findings reveal that one of America's favorite colorful fruits, blueberries, have properties that help to improve factors related to pre-diabetes and decrease inflammation in obese men and women. Chronic low-grade inflammation related to obesity contributes to insulin resistance, a major factor in the development of type 2 diabetes. "This is an excellent example of the importance of clinical trials to building our knowledge-base in helping to improve public health," said Steven Heymsfield, PBRC Executive Director
0 comments - Posted Sep 21, 2010
Delicious turkey sausage and earthy mushrooms make this dish stick-to-your-ribs hearty for those cool autumn days. Try it with a spinach salad and enjoy the season.
0 comments - Posted Sep 20, 2010
A recipe that always comes out when there is leftover ham in the refrigerator, this colorful and very healthy dish tastes great. Use just deli ham from the grocery store or dress it up with some fancy cured ham such as real Italian Prosciutto.
0 comments - Posted Sep 19, 2010
I was reading the latest issue of one of my parenting magazines when I came across an article on children and food. The author suggested offering dessert only two to three times a week instead of every day. I laughed aloud.
0 comments - Posted Sep 18, 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
In late July, five teenagers and five adults hiked to the summit of Mount Shavano, one of Colorado's famed 14,000-foot peaks. For this particular group, the journey to the top of Shavano was designed to be an intensive educational experience on the topic of diabetes management. Each teenager had type 1 diabetes, and the adults were mentors dedicated to helping the teens feel more in control of the disease. The team made it to the summit by performing countless blood sugar tests, counting carbs, and experimenting with insulin pump basal rates. The outfit behind the expedition was Testing Limits, an outdoor adventure club just for people with diabetes, operated by the non-profit Insulindependence.
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
If you are meeting a friend for a drink after work or attending a holiday party where alcohol is being offered, is it a health risk or a benefit? The medical and nutrition literature reports that moderate consumption of alcohol can offer some health benefits, particularly for your heart. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005 defines drinking in moderation as no more than one drink per day for women or two drinks per day for men. One drink, by definition, is a 12-ounce beer, eight-ounce glass of malt liquor, five ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of hard liquor. Moderate alcohol consumption may reduce the risk of having a heart attack or stroke, lower the risk of developing gallstones, and prevent the development of type 2 diabetes in people with pre-diabetes. Studies show that those benefiting from moderate consumption are middle-aged and older adults. It is not recommended, however, that anyone begin drinking or drink more frequently on the basis of health considerations.
0 comments - Posted Sep 15, 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
On July 2, 2010, when Lt. Jose Lopez took the podium at the recent Children With Diabetes Friends for Life Annual International Conference in Orlando to speak to the parents of children with diabetes, his goal was to use his own story to reassure them about their children's future. "What I most wanted to convey to them was that people with diabetes, especially children, can do normal stuff and live their dreams. I am not a super hero - and I did it."
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
Fall is a welcome season, full of bounty and beauty. The heat of summer gives way to calmer days and crisper evenings. We trade our shorts and swimsuits for jackets and jeans and enjoy campfires, hayrides, and holiday celebrations.
0 comments - Posted Sep 11, 2010
Going back to school can be a little scary for someone with diabetes. There are a lot of things to think about when it comes to making it through the school day without having problems with your blood sugar levels. In school, we strive for that all important "A" on a test; to score 100. The same is true about blood sugar/glucose levels; the closer I come to keeping my blood sugar level at "100," the better for my health and the better for my grades; high and low blood sugars aren't helpful in keeping a clear, quick-thinking mind.
0 comments - Posted Sep 10, 2010
In my office, there is a box. Nothing fancy, just a plain brown box filled with a collection of "old school" diabetes stuff: "boil and re-use" syringes, urine test tape, screw-driven insulin pumps, medieval injection aids and lancing devices, and so on. Of course, no such collection would be complete without an array of classic blood glucose meters. The oldest one I have is a plug-in-the-wall model called a "Dextrometer" that featured test strip rinsing solution and a red LED display that could burn the retina of anyone within six feet.
0 comments - Posted Sep 9, 2010
Long-term weight loss may release into the blood industrial pollutants linked to illnesses like diabetes, hypertension and rheumatoid arthritis, researchers said on Tuesday. These compounds are normally stored in fatty tissues, but when fat breaks down during weight loss, they get into the blood stream, said lead researcher Duk-Hee Lee at the Kyungpook National University in Daegu in South Korea.
0 comments - Posted Sep 8, 2010
Dear Diabetes Health, I am 62 years old. I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 1997, and I am doing OK on metformin. My last A1c was 7.2 %. About a year ago, they put me on medicine for my blood pressure (which was 142/90) and for cholesterol. I started having less interest in sex, which I had really liked before.
0 comments - Posted Sep 7, 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
The routine breakdown of old bone during skeletal growth has an important role to play in regulating blood sugar, according to Columbia University Medical Center researchers. The process, known as resorption, goes on throughout life. It stimulates insulin release and sugar absorption, helping healthy people maintain normal blood glucose levels. The new study, published in Cell, suggests that skeletal changes could causes diabetes for some and that possible treatments for type 2 diabetes could come from the bone-insulin connection.
0 comments - Posted Sep 4, 2010
The Holy Grail pursued by all diabetes researchers is a complete cure for both the type 1 and type 2 forms of the disease. But until then, the "artificial pancreas," a combination of glucose monitoring and insulin dosing technology, may be as close as they get to a final breakthrough in treating diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Sep 3, 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
Results of brain surgery on a small group of type 2 diabetes patients point the way to a possible new approach for treating the disease.
0 comments - Posted Sep 1, 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
The Flamingo Flock diabetes awareness campaign is the brainchild of 9-year-old Noah Brokmeier, "The Diabetes Dude." Noah's blue flamingos are landing on lawns nationwide and appearing at big events like the Boston Marathon. Wherever they go, the birds pose for pictures, which are then posted on Noah's website, www.thediabetesdude.com. The location of the birds is also flagged on his "official flamingo tracking map," to show the progress and growth of the campaign.
0 comments - Posted Aug 30, 2010
MannKind Corporation announced that the company will supply its novel, ultra rapid acting insulin AFREZZATM (insulin human [rDNA origin]) for use in a study being conducted by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) as part of its Artificial Pancreas Project. The planned two-year study in patients with type 1 diabetes will leverage the unique rapid action of AFREZZA for use in a closed-loop blood sugar monitoring and insulin delivery system, termed the "artificial pancreas" by the JDRF. The study will be managed in conjunction with the Sansum Diabetes Research Institute and the University of California, Santa Barbara.
0 comments - Posted Aug 29, 2010
Working toward the goal of unifying patients' diabetic treatment information in a single place, the PositiveID Corporation hopes to patent a new device that monitors insulin pens. The Insulin Tracker would attach to a user's insulin pen and record the times and amounts of injections. That information would then be sent to a database that allows for comprehensive monitoring. Insulin pens come in disposable and cartridge-replaceable flavors; the tracker can be moved easily from one pen to another.
0 comments - Posted Aug 27, 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
Hi Everyone! Just wanted to let everyone know about a big event I have coming up! Next Thursday, August 26th, I am chartering a bus that I am filling with 50 of my closest friends with diabetes and traveling from Taunton, MA to New York City to invade the Today Show on NBC with my blue flamingos! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to make a HUGE impact on people and let everyone know about my campaign! I hope that by doing this, people will realize that diabetes is a REAL disease that effects so many of us, young and old, and I hope to encourage people from all over the country to get out and do something to help raise diabetes awareness just like me and my friends!
0 comments - Posted Aug 25, 2010
In the early days after my type 1 diabetes diagnosis, I sentenced a lot of foods to what I came to think of as my personal DO-NOT-EAT list, often with only slight provocation.
1 comment - Posted Aug 25, 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
Results of a recently published study show that type 2 diabetes in obese adolescents can affect their ability to learn by altering the amount of sugar that reaches their brains to fuel thinking.
0 comments - Posted Aug 24, 2010
PPARy is a protein that regulates the body's production of fat cells. However, obesity can modify how PPARy works, leading to decreased insulin sensitivity and the development of metabolic syndrome. (Metabolic syndrome is the cluster of factors, including insulin resistance, overweight, high blood pressure, and abnormal blood sugar levels, that is a precursor to type 2 diabetes.)
0 comments - Posted Aug 22, 2010
Gene variants associated with an increased risk for type-1 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis may confer previously unknown benefits to their human carriers, say researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. As a result, the human race may have been evolving in the recent past to be more susceptible, rather than less, to some complex diseases, they conclude.
0 comments - Posted Aug 21, 2010
Since 1970, Joslin Diabetes Center has awarded a 50-year bronze medal and certificate to recognize the remarkable achievement of a successful life with insulin-dependent diabetes for half a century or more. To date there have been approximately 2,663 50-Year Medals awarded by Joslin Diabetes Center. Joslin Diabetes Center has awarded medals to recipients throughout the world, including individuals from Australia, Brazil, Canada, England, Hungary, Japan, Netherlands, Pakistan, Philippines, Russia, South America, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
0 comments - Posted Aug 21, 2010
Epic Wound Care, a subsidiary of New York-based United EcoEnergy Corp., has signed a three-year sponsorship agreement with the American Diabetes Association in support of the ADA's "Mission to Stop Diabetes®" campaign.
0 comments - Posted Aug 20, 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
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared Baltimore-based health software company WellDoc to begin marketing the DiabetesManager® System, a mobile phone application designed for patients and healthcare providers who are dealing with type 2 diabetes. The company, founded in 2005, plans to start selling the product early next year.
0 comments - Posted Aug 19, 2010
(Reuters) - Genetic testing might have helped identify people who would become depressed or suicidal while taking Sanofi-Aventis' weight loss drug Acomplia, which might have helped keep the drug on the market, U.S. researchers said on Thursday.
0 comments - Posted Aug 19, 2010
"Absolutely not. I'm not going to mess with that."
0 comments - Posted Aug 18, 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
Laser eye surgery is becoming increasingly popular as more and more people look to free themselves from their glasses or contact lenses. There are two main types of laser eye surgery, Lasik and Lasek. The vast majority of people choose to have Lasik because it has a far quicker and more comfortable recovery period. Most people can return to work and normal activities within 48 hours of having Lasik, whereas it can take up to a week to recover from Lasek surgery. In some instances your surgeon may insist that you have Lasik--if, for example, you are involved in contact sports.
1 comment - Posted Aug 16, 2010
Jennifer Dyer, MD, MPH, an endocrinologist at Nationwide Children's Hospital, has developed and completed a pilot study that uses weekly, customized text messages to remind adolescent diabetes patients about their personal treatment activities. At the conclusion of the study, Dr. Dyer found an increase in overall treatment adherence and improved blood glucose levels.
0 comments - Posted Aug 13, 2010
"The objective of this clinical trial (research study) is to determine if the medications can rescue the few beta cells that remain soon after the diagnosis of type 1 diabetes; and whether new beta cells can even be regenerated," commented Alex Rabinovitch, MD, Principal Investigator of the trial and Associate Director of The Sanford Project. "The investigational combinations of these medications could possibly allow patients to decrease or no longer need to inject insulin to keep their blood levels under proper control."
0 comments - Posted Aug 12, 2010
Women who deal with gestational diabetes in their first or second pregnancy are far more likely to develop the condition again in their third pregnancy, according to a new study from Kaiser Permanente that examined the electronic medical records of 65,132 women. The study was published online in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology last month.
0 comments - Posted Aug 11, 2010
And wouldn't it be great if that pill weren't something advertised on late-night TV, but rather a legitimate treatment? A drug called rimonabant, introduced in Europe, seemed to fit the bill at first, but it was pulled from the market in late 2008 due to concerns about psychiatric side effects.
0 comments - Posted Aug 10, 2010
Children who consume a lot of high-fructose corn syrup in soft drinks and processed foods as they're growing up may run the risk of turning many of their fat cells into belly fat when they reach adulthood.
0 comments - Posted Aug 10, 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 Long awaited Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act 2010 (SS 3307) has passed the Senate, after a push by the ADA membership and other advocates, urging Senators to get the job done! The Act, which passed the Senate unanimously, now moves to the House where it is expected to pass.
0 comments - Posted Aug 9, 2010
The HEALTHY program, a three-year government-funded intervention in middle schools that was designed to lower overall rates of overweight and obesity among students, has produced mixed results.
0 comments - Posted Aug 8, 2010
Insulin-resistant obese women lost more weight after 12 weeks on a low-carbohydrate diet than they did on a low-fat diet, according to a study conducted by the University of Nevada School of Medicine in Reno. (The study was funded by Jenny Craig, a company that sells diet foods.)
0 comments - Posted Aug 7, 2010
Two recent research studies on humans indicate that resveratrol, a chemical found in red wine and peanuts, increases insulin sensitivity in older and obese people. A third study, done on mice, shows that resveratrol may someday become a powerful tool in therapies directed at macular degeneration and other retinal maladies.
0 comments - Posted Aug 6, 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
Keep a close eye on this story. It has two elements necessary for creating a lot of buzz: a celebrity and his unconventional "cure" for a disease.
0 comments - Posted Aug 5, 2010
Novo Nordisk presented results demonstrating that once-daily Victoza® (liraglutide [rDNA] injection) achieved significantly greater improvements in blood sugar control compared to placebo among African-American patients with type 2 diabetes. The meta-analysis of phase 3 data from the Liraglutide Effect and Action in Diabetes (LEAD) trials were presented at the 2010 National Medical Association Annual Convention & Scientific Assembly.
0 comments - Posted Aug 5, 2010
Children as young as seven years old can show markers for metabolic syndrome, a condition that raises their risk for type 2 diabetes and a host of other health problems, according to university researchers.
0 comments - Posted Aug 4, 2010
We can all come up with plenty of excuses not to test our blood sugar. For one, yeah, it stings a little (No pain, no gain, the angel on my shoulder whispers in my ear). For another, testing isn't convenient, no matter how quickly the meter works or how small it is. While seemingly everyone else is carelessly enjoying a meal or leaping into the swimming pool, you are on the sidelines trying to ignore your diabetes. And of course, sometimes, we just do not want to know what the number will be. It's easier to ignore the ugly truth than face it.
0 comments - Posted Aug 3, 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
We are always investigating new ideas, research findings, treatment options, and educational materials to share with you. This issue is very exciting because we were able to talk with experts and those with diabetes, and write about everything from traveling with type 1 in Italy to investigating why hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia are so dangerous.
0 comments - Posted Jul 31, 2010
Now that it's summer, I'm enjoying a typical teacher's vacation: summer break. I have three months of freedom, which for many is a dream come true. However, I live in the sweltering Midwest, where it's typical to see mid-summer temperatures of one hundred degrees or more, with an even higher heat index. These oppressive temperatures can continue into late October.
0 comments - Posted Jul 31, 2010
Bioengineers at the University of California, San Diego and GlySens Incorporated have developed an implantable glucose sensor and wireless telemetry system that continuously monitors tissue glucose and transmits the information to an external receiver. The paper, published in the July 28, 2010 issue of the journal Science Translational Medicine, describes the use of this glucose-sensing device as an implant in animals for over one year. After human clinical trials and FDA approval, the device may be useful to people with diabetes as an alternative to finger sticking, and to short-term needle-like glucose sensors that have to be replaced every three to seven days.
0 comments - Posted Jul 31, 2010
Unfortunately, dental treatment and vision care are rarely included in basic health insurance plans. I don't know how insurance companies concluded that the eyes and the teeth are not parts of the body, but they managed it somehow. If you have diabetes, however, it's especially important to realize that contrary to the rationalizations of insurance executives, both your eyes and your teeth require attention and care.
0 comments - Posted Jul 30, 2010
Last summer, I led the third annual swim-run biathlon for the Barton Center for Diabetes Education, which hosts two Massachusetts camps for children with type 1-Camp Joslin for boys and Camp Clara Barton for girls. It was at Camp Joslin that I met a memorable eight-year-old boy who exemplifies what being a diabetes hero is all about. I'll call him "Adam."
0 comments - Posted Jul 29, 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
NEW YORK, NY, July 26, 2010 - Recalling the desperate fight for life that used to be waged by juvenile diabetes patients, and commemorating the events of 1921 that inaugurated a new era of hope for them and their families, the New York Historical Society will present the exhibition Breakthrough: The Dramatic Story of the Discovery of Insulin from October 5, 2010 through January 31, 2011. Exploring the roles of science, government, higher education and industry in developing and distributing a life-saving drug, the exhibition will bring to life the personalities who discovered insulin and raced to bring it to the world and will tell the story of one extraordinary New York girl-Elizabeth Evans Hughes, daughter of the leading statesman and jurist Charles Evans Hughes-who was among the very first patients to be saved.
0 comments - Posted Jul 26, 2010
I was in the parking lot of the mall, walking past wheelchair parking, when I noticed a man using the lift gate of his specially equipped van. There he was, lowering himself and his motorized wheelchair down to the ground all by himself. As I walked through the mall that day, I couldn't get the man in the wheelchair off my mind.
0 comments - Posted Jul 26, 2010
Hardly a day goes by that I am not asked a question related to diabetes. I'm a "heart on my sleeve" diabetic. Because one of my jobs, writing articles and guest blog posts, centers on the subject of diabetes, I'm known, in part, by my disease.
0 comments - Posted Jul 24, 2010
Learn Your Risk for Diabetes and Take Steps to Protect Your Health. If you are diagnosed in the early stages of diabetes, you can take better care of yourself and get treatment. If you have pre-diabetes, you can take steps to prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Jul 23, 2010
A long-term study on the safety of a popular diabetes drug was put on hold Wednesday by the Food and Drug Administration, while the FDA considers whether it's too dangerous to continue. Several large studies have linked the drug, Avandia, to a higher risk of heart attacks and other heart problems. While other studies have not found the same risk, last week an FDA advisory panel recommended that the drug not be sold without a stronger warning label or possibly limits on who could receive it.
0 comments - Posted Jul 23, 2010
Type 1 diabetes often strikes children. Children love to play video games. Putting two and two together, diabetes educators have created a string of diabetes-themed video games over the years. The latest evolution of that simple equation--the Bayer Didget meter-game combination--arrived in U.S. drugstores this year.
0 comments - Posted Jul 22, 2010
We have known for several years that Hepatitis C, a common cause of liver cirrhosis and cancer, also makes people three to four times more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes. In studying the insulin resistance of 29 people with Hepatitis C, Australian researchers have confirmed that they have high insulin resistance, a precursor to diabetes. However, almost all insulin resistance occurs in muscle, with little or none in the liver, a very surprising finding given that Hepatitis C is a liver disease.
0 comments - Posted Jul 21, 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
(Reuters) - The first new prescription weight-loss pill in more than a decade failed to win backing from U.S.health advisers, who said safety concerns about the drug outweighed its ability to help obese patients shed pounds.
0 comments - Posted Jul 19, 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
While teetotaling is the surest way to avoid abusing alcohol, it turns out that moderate alcohol intake may be one way to stave off the development of type 2 diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Jul 16, 2010
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Joint Meeting of the Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee and Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee has completed their evaluation of the scientific research available on the safety of rosiglitazone. The deliberations of the panel reflected the complexity of the issues, with several members voting to add additional warnings or to withdraw the drug from the U.S. market. Ultimately, the final recommendation was to allow Avandia to remain on the market. Now that the expert panel has concluded its meeting, the FDA will review their recommendations and make the final decision on whether the drug remains available to patients.
0 comments - Posted Jul 15, 2010
Having discovered a dramatic increase of an easy-to-detect enzyme in the red blood cells of people with diabetes and pre-diabetes, Johns Hopkins scientists say the discovery could lead to a simple, routine test for detecting the subtle onset of the disease, before symptoms or complications occur and in time to reverse its course.
0 comments - Posted Jul 15, 2010
Medtronic, Inc. announced today that Test B4U Drive, the first-ever, free program for teens with diabetes combining advanced driver skills training with diabetes management education, will be held July 19-21 at The Forum in Los Angeles. In partnership with the Juvenile Diabetes No Limits Foundation, Medtronic will continue the program throughout the summer across the country to teach teens with diabetes that good diabetes management is a key to staying safe behind the wheel.
0 comments - Posted Jul 14, 2010
There's nothing quite like a dip in the Mediterranean Sea at sunset. The warm, clear water, shimmering clouds, and sound of families enjoying aperitifs at beachside cafes--it was the perfect start to a late-summer Italian holiday. We were visiting my boyfriend's brother, who had moved from England to Genoa a few years prior. It was my first time across the Atlantic, so my boyfriend Dunstan and I tried to make it count with 10 days filled with dinners, family celebrations, a road trip to Rome, hiking, and plenty of swimming.
0 comments - Posted Jul 13, 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
My diabetes and I have traveled a lot of miles together in nineteen years. Racing Ironman triathlons in Australia, Europe, the Carribean and all over North America, climbing and camping at the top of 14,000 foot Mt. Whitney, and of course dozens of family vacations and business trips. Packing equipment and supplies for an Ironman triathlon and 3 weeks in Australia requires a bit of planning and preparation, but when you have diabetes you feel like you do that for just a weekend out of town. Meters, strips, insulin, syringes, infusion sets, pump supplies, snacks . . . a simple weekend trip becomes a lunar expedition.
1 comment - Posted Jul 10, 2010
When I was first diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, the disease became my entire life. I was drowning in paperwork telling me who to pay, what to eat, how to medicate, and what to do if I got sick. But as months and years passed, diabetes management became just a part of my goal to live healthfully. I realized that I couldn't compartmentalize my health. I cannot pinpoint when my obsession with all things healthy started, but once it did--well, I've never looked back.
0 comments - Posted Jul 9, 2010
Data from the massive ACCORD study on intensive blood sugar control shows that lowering blood sugar levels in people with longstanding type 2 diabetes to near-normal may delay the appearance of signs that point to damage to nerves, eyes, and kidneys, but does not stop their progression toward it.
0 comments - Posted Jul 9, 2010
A study released in late June has brought some welcome news to the makers of Byetta and Januvia: Users of the two diabetes drugs run no greater risk of developing pancreatitis than people with diabetes who take other drugs. In fact, both drugs seem to put users at slightly less risk for the condition.
0 comments - Posted Jul 8, 2010
A clinical trial that used testosterone gel, a topically applied ointment, to increase muscle strength in older men with low testosterone levels was stopped because adverse cardiovascular events increased significantly among patients receiving the treatment.
0 comments - Posted Jul 7, 2010
Salmon is one of the world’s healthiest foods. Rich in omega-3 fatty acids, selenium, vitamins D and B12, and protein, it’s an absolute powerhouse of good nutrition. Better yet, it tastes great! Perfect for the hot days of summer the sweet orange-ginger glaze is tinged with just a tinge of heat. If you prefer, an indoor grill or sauté pan can be used to cook the salmon.
0 comments - Posted Jul 6, 2010
AFREZZA TM (insulin human [rDNA origin]) Inhalation Powder, a well-tolerated, investigational ultra rapid acting mealtime insulin, as part of a diabetes treatment regimen, provides long-term glucose control comparable to usual insulin therapy but with a significantly reduced incidence of hypoglycemia and less weight gain in patients with Type 2 diabetes, according to a two-year study presented at the American Diabetes Association's 70th Scientific Sessions.
0 comments - Posted Jul 6, 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
Summer has arrived, and for many, that means it's time to take that long-awaited vacation. Visions of sunny beaches, gourmet meals, mountain resorts, adventurous excursions, and campgrounds dance in our minds. The word "vacation" is typically a synonym for "letting it all go." No worries. No cares. Just pure indulgence. But for people with diabetes, an upcoming vacation can bring on anxiety and stress. For many of us, our disease thrives on routine and predictability, and vacations do not adhere to our everyday lives.
0 comments - Posted Jul 3, 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
Depomed, Inc. and Santarus, Inc. announced new data suggesting that patients previously intolerant of metformin may be able to tolerate higher doses of metformin when treated with GLUMETZA® (metformin HCl extended release tablets). The finding will be presented at the 70th Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) in Orlando. GLUMETZA is a once-daily, extended release formulation of metformin, and is approved for use in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus. It is promoted in the U.S. by Santarus.
0 comments - Posted Jul 1, 2010
June 2010
It raises fasting blood sugars. It increases the risk for type 2 diabetes. Millions of people suffer from it. And many don't even know they have it.
1 comment - Posted Jun 30, 2010
It is official! Today at the World's largest Diabetes Congress, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) 70th Scientific Sessions (Booth 305) in Orlando, Florida, Diabetes Health Magazine (www.diabeteshealth.com) launched the first diabetes magazine Mobile Application, Diabetes Health Mobile (DH Mobile.)
0 comments - Posted Jun 29, 2010
Dear Diabetes Health, I have been married for 14 years. I am 36 and my husband is 39, and we have a seven-year-old daughter. About six months, ago my husband found out that he has type 2 diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Jun 29, 2010
A malfunction in the pancreas's "circadian clock*," the built-in timer found in all living things that regulates major biological processes, may be one of the reasons that people develop diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Jun 29, 2010
White rice and brown rice are reminiscent of those old dramas about identical twins, wherein one turns out to be angelic and the other turns out to be bad news.
0 comments - Posted Jun 28, 2010
One day as I was multi-tasking (making dinner, washing dishes, supervising my daughter, returning phone calls), I suddenly grew very annoyed at the music we were listening to. I had recently purchased a children's CD for my daughter, and it hit me that all the songs sounded the same. What a waste of twelve dollars, I thought, as I headed toward the CD player to shut it off. As I reached down to hit the "off" button, I noticed a small, unfamiliar icon on the display screen. I crouched down to further examine and then laughed aloud.
0 comments - Posted Jun 26, 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
AARP today launched its second annual "Fat-to-Fit Summer Weight Loss Challenge," an online program challenging people to make positive, permanent lifestyle changes to improve their health. AARP's Fat-to-Fit challenge will be hosted on AARP's website (www.aarp.org/fat2fit). Fitness expert and author Carole Carson, a Nevada City, California, resident who lost more than 60 pounds at age 60, will lead Fat-to-Fit online community members through the summer-long program.
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
A study that tracked more than 109,000 women nurses over a 16-year period has found that overweight girls who lose weight before reaching adulthood lessen their risk of type 2 diabetes. The research, conducted by Harvard University and the National Institutes of Health, asked the women to recall their body weight at the ages of five, 10, and 20 years. The women were aided by the use of diagrams that depicted various body types, ranging from extreme thinness (Category 1) to obese (Category 9).
0 comments - Posted Jun 22, 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
(Reuters) - Drug developer Depomed Inc (DEPO.O) said it will recall 52 lots of its diabetes drug Glumetza due to the presence of traces of a certain chemical in the tablet's 500 mg bottle.
0 comments - Posted Jun 22, 2010
Diabetes is often perceived as a physical disease, an issue with one's body. But those of us with diabetes know that it affects every area of our lives, including our emotional, spiritual, and mental health. People with diabetes are more likely to experience depression than the average person, and it doesn't take a doctor to explain why. Diabetes is daunting, complicated, and confusing. There's no one-size-fits-all explanation or treatment plan, and even when we arrive at something that works, diabetes throws us a curveball and we are forced to reinvent our treatment regimen---time, and time, and time again.
0 comments - Posted Jun 18, 2010
IMIDIA ("Innovative Medicines Initiative for Diabetes"), a public private consortium funded by the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI), announced today the launch of a project focusing on pancreatic islet cell function and survival. Academia, biotech and pharma industry have joined forces to develop biomarkers and tools to pave the way for improved disease management and ultimately provide a cure for diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Jun 18, 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
As a type 1 diabetic, I have found that it's a good idea to plan for the unexpected when traveling. Life is full of surprises, and so are vacations. The flight is late. The flight has been cancelled. We had a flat tire or ran out of gas. There is an accident on the highway, and the traffic isn't moving. Who would have ever thought that airline flights would be grounded for five days in most of Eastern Europe because of volcanic ash from an erupting volcano in Iceland? If a diabetic had planned on going for a week-long vacation in England or France and had taken limited insulin, syringes, or infusion sets, he might have been in big trouble. Trying to replenish medical supplies in a foreign country could prove to be very difficult.
0 comments - Posted Jun 16, 2010
There are so many weight loss programs out there, sometimes it is hard just to keep track of them, let alone choose one that will work. Add in the factor of diabetes, and the path to weight loss becomes harder to navigate and often contains land mines that we never even knew existed.
0 comments - Posted Jun 15, 2010
A Duke University Medical Center study has concluded that obese men who have type 2 diabetes are almost four times as likely to be diagnosed with high-grade prostate cancer during a prostate biopsy as men who do not have diabetes. When ethnicity is taken into account, obese white men run a five-times greater chance of being diagnosed with high-grade prostate cancer.
0 comments - Posted Jun 15, 2010
A Canadian study that tracked 207 patients suggests that a low-dose combination of metformin and Avandia can reduce the development of type 2 diabetes by 66 percent in people at high risk for the condition.
0 comments - Posted Jun 15, 2010
One of the most inspiring personalities of the 2010 Vancouver Games, Olympic cross-country skier Kris Freeman sheds his skis and poles this week to kick off his 6th annual diabetes summer camp tour with Eli Lilly and Company (Lilly Diabetes). Freeman, diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 10 years ago at age 19, will share his amazing comeback story from coast to coast and encourage children with diabetes to continue pursuing their dreams.
0 comments - Posted Jun 14, 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
New guidelines from the American Diabetes Association and two other major medical associations advise not prescribing low-dose aspirin therapy for women under 60 or men under 50 who have diabetes but no other risks for heart disease.
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
I am that mom. The one who buys organic foods, bakes her own bread, bans high fructose corn syrup and trans fats, and always totes around healthy snacks. I don't drink soda, my toddler has never consumed fish sticks, and not once since her birth have we visited McDonalds for a "value" or Happy Meal.
0 comments - Posted Jun 10, 2010
BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), a leading global medical technology company, announced today the launch of BD Ultra-FineTM Nano-the world's smallest pen needle. The BD Nano pen needle is proven to be as effective as longer needles for patients of all body types and proven to offer a less painful injection experience for the more than 5 million people in the United States who inject insulin or GLP-1 to manage their diabetes.[1]
0 comments - Posted Jun 10, 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
It's a cool Sunday evening, and I'm sitting in a lively Italian restaurant. My husband is across the table. We've just placed our orders, and we're engaged in easy conversation.
0 comments - Posted Jun 8, 2010
Results from a Phase 3 study demonstrate MACUGEN® (pegaptanib sodium) significantly improved vision in patients with diabetic macular edema (DME), a complication of diabetes that is a leading cause of blindness in people of working age.¹ In the study, 37 percent of patients treated with MACUGEN gained two lines, or 10 letters, of vision on the ETDRS eye chart at 54 weeks, compared to 20 percent of patients who received a sham (placebo-like) procedure which consists of anesthesia and a simulated injection in the eye (p=0.0047). The data were presented at the World Ophthalmology Congress in Berlin by Frank G. Holz, an investigator in the trial and director of the University Eye Hospital at the University of Bonn in Germany.
0 comments - Posted Jun 7, 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
If you take metformin to control your type 2 diabetes, ask your doctor to take a look at your vitamin B-12 levels when you get a chance. A recent British study shows that metformin may cause a deficiency in the vitamin, which is necessary for the regeneration of red blood cells and the maintenance of nervous system health.
0 comments - Posted Jun 5, 2010
Dr. Rutai Hui of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College in Beijing and colleagues found chocolate only helped people who already had risk factors for heart disease and only when consumed in modest amounts.
0 comments - Posted Jun 4, 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
It's early on a Thursday morning in a hotel ballroom in downtown Oakland, and attendees at a breakfast of the annual meeting of the California Dietetic Association are still working on getting fully awake. That problem is solved two minutes after Jay Hewitt, the breakfast's inspirational speaker, takes the stage. Hewitt, a 41-year-old lawyer who was diagnosed with type 1 in 1991, knows his audience is an experienced group of professional dietitians that has dealt with every type of patient and heard every kind of excuse for failure.
0 comments - Posted Jun 1, 2010
May 2010
Investigate. Inform. Inspire. This statement is not only our commitment to you, the readers of Diabetes Health, but also a call to action. In our June/July print issue (available online June 1 under the Digital Edition tab), we've done some investigating. We tracked down educational agencies, websites, software, and applications, and we've listed them for you in our 2nd Educational Resource Guide.
0 comments - Posted May 31, 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
It was a great win for diabetes on Sunday night as Bret Michaels, lead singer for the rock band Poison and reality TV star, was crowned the latest Celebrity Apprentice winner after struggling with several medical scares in the past month. Just as impressive is that throughout the season, Michaels' various wins raised more than $390,000 for the American Diabetes Association, including the final challenge prize from Snapple, worth $250,000. The 47-year old Michaels has lived with type 1 diabetes since he was six years old.
0 comments - Posted May 29, 2010
US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Monday urged Congress to plow billions more dollars into programs to end the twin scourges of child obesity and hunger, which impact children, the economy, and national security.
0 comments - Posted May 28, 2010
American Farmland Trust (AFT) is pleased to announce its 2010 "America's Favorite Farmers Markets" online contest kicks off on June 1 at http://www.farmland.org/vote. The contest is a nation-wide challenge to see which farmers markets can rally the most support from its customers. The goal is to promote the connection between fresh local food and the local farms and farmland that supply it.
0 comments - Posted May 27, 2010
Abbott announced that it has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its new FreeStyle Lite blood glucose test strips. The new FreeStyle Lite test strips minimize interference during blood glucose testing and are designed to offer a better testing experience.
0 comments - Posted May 27, 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
A new contest, "Give Back. Simply Win." sponsored by Bayer Diabetes Care will shine a spotlight on people with diabetes who are making a difference in their local communities. Three grand prize winners will meet international singing sensation Nick Jonas and Bayer will donate $5,000 to three not-for-profit charitable causes, one selected by each winner.
0 comments - Posted May 24, 2010
Grammy-award-nominated teen pop sensations the Jonas Brothers helped raise more than $250,000 at the annual "Rock For Diabetes" benefit on May 16, held at the home of Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman. More than 200 people attended this year's benefit, which raised funds for the Center for Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at Children's Hospital Los Angeles.
0 comments - Posted May 22, 2010
The 57 million Americans currently living with "pre-diabetes" could benefit from a group weight loss program, like Weight Watchers, according to a new study published in this month's American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine. Researchers found that after a 6-month Weight Watchers group program, overweight or obese adults who attended at least two thirds of the weekly sessions, not only lost weight, but also significantly reduced fasting glucose and insulin levels - important indicators of diabetes risk.
0 comments - Posted May 22, 2010
In growing numbers, children across America are adding a dose of medicine to their daily routine. In 2009, drug trend for children - a measure of prescription spending growth - increased 10.8 percent, driven by a 5 percent increase in drug utilization and higher medication costs, according to the Medco 2010 Drug Trend Report. The growth in prescription drug use among children was nearly four times higher than the rise seen in the overall population.
0 comments - Posted May 21, 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 husband-and-wife research team at the UC Davis School of Medicine has been awarded a five-year, $3.3 million grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to lead the first prospective, nationwide, multi-site clinical study of how to prevent the neurological injuries and, in rare cases, death caused by brain swelling in children in diabetic crisis.
0 comments - Posted May 19, 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
The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) has kicked off its World Diabetes Day campaign under the slogan "Let's take control of diabetes. Now." Led by the International Diabetes Federation and its member associations, World Diabetes Day is celebrated every year on November 14. Created in 1991 by IDF and the World Health Organization (WHO) in response to growing concerns about the escalating threat of diabetes worldwide, it reaches a global audience of over 1 billion people. World Diabetes Day became an official United Nations Day in 2007.
0 comments - Posted May 18, 2010
Phil Southerland was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when he was seven months old. Now 28, he has always taken an aggressive approach to managing the disease. He recalls, "My mom scared the daylights out of me when I was six years old by letting me know about the severe complications of diabetes if you don't take care of it. That has motivated me to never let those complications fall on my shoulders."
0 comments - Posted May 17, 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
Rhode Island-based CVS/pharmacy, which operates more than 7,000 pharmacies and drug stores in the United States, has announced three diabetes-related initiatives:
0 comments - Posted May 15, 2010
Most people who have diabetes quickly learn that one of the worst side effects of the disease is pain caused by damage to the hands and feet. High blood sugar inflames nerves, leading to tingling and numbness, and often, severe pain. Researchers at the Comprehensive Pain Center at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland have learned that onset of nerve pain may have a daily rhythm, with the worst occurring late at night around 11 p.m. Their study, which they characterized as "preliminary," tracked 647 people with diabetic neuropathy. The results showed that the typical pattern for people with the condition was to experience the greatest pain from it after sunset, peaking at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m.
1 comment - Posted May 14, 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
Nobody will believe you created these perfect cherry "pies" in under 30 minutes. (And of course you don't have to tell). Fresh raspberries complement the cherry pie filling perfectly and add a fresh homemade quality while refrigerated piecrust makes them as easy as, well, pie!
2 comments - Posted May 11, 2010
Scientists at the Mayo Clinic have developed a molecule that can block the breakdown of insulin. Their discovery could lead to development of a new class of drugs to help treat diabetes.
0 comments - Posted May 10, 2010
I woke up on the floor of my living room, soaked in sweat. I could not stand, or even sit up. I could not raise my arms or control my hands enough to grasp anything. Forget reaching for the telephone, even if my brain could have formulated the thought to try. I could not speak, but I lived alone, so there was no one to hear anyway. I did not know what day it was, but the hot July 4th late afternoon sun was shining brightly through the windows. After an unknown period of time, my brain must have had a flash of coherence that I was having severe hypoglycemia.
8 comments - Posted May 8, 2010
Early management of type 2 diabetes with an integrated team of specialists, including a dietitian, diabetes educator, endocrinologist, cardiologist, and nephrologist, can significantly reduce the incidence of complications and lower healthcare costs, according to an online survey of more than 300 endocrinologists and family practice physicians. The survey was supported by Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., with the goal of determining the most common obstacles for physicians in treating type 2 diabetes patients and preventing complications. Sermo, the largest physician only online community, conducted the survey. A significant number of these physicians (44 percent) reveal that 50 percent of their patients develop at least one of the following serious complications: cardiovascular disease, nerve pain, kidney disease, stroke, blindness, or limb amputation.
2 comments - Posted May 8, 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 new study to be published in the June issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM) says that a single night of too little sleep can induce insulin resistance.
2 comments - Posted May 6, 2010
Diabetes Education and Camping Association's (DECA's) young adult leadership team "DLEAD" takes on Boston at "D-TREAT" - a unique 3-day event at Northeastern University, May 28-30, 2010 - to encourage young adults with diabetes to network, share insights and meet peers during an awesome event.
0 comments - Posted May 6, 2010
My last ten tips were meant to give you an idea of what to think about before you plan your day (Tyler's Top Ten Tips). Now I'm going to give you my top ten tips for how to manage your blood glucose levels while playing sports. These should help you keep everything in control and allow you to relax and have fun while playing.
4 comments - Posted May 5, 2010
CINCINNATI - The popular diabetes medication metformin works in different fashion than the current widely accepted view. This new finding could lead to wider use of the drug-particularly in people with cancer.
1 comment - Posted May 4, 2010
Chicken Caesar Salad is undoubtedly one of the most popular (if not the most popular) entrée salad featured on restaurant menus. But what most people don't realize is that most recipes for Chicken Caesar Salads contain more fat and calories than a loaded Big Mac-that's a big problem, especially if you are watching out for your health. Here's an easy way to create a delicious and healthful restaurant-quality Chicken Caesar right at home. To enjoy it as a side salad, simply leave out the chicken.
1 comment - Posted May 3, 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
Bret Michaels suffered a brain hemorrhage last week, and his official website states that he remains in critical condition in ICU under 24-hour supervision by doctors and medical staff. His doctors are hopeful that he can make a full recovery, but that could take weeks or months.
3 comments - Posted May 1, 2010
Clinical studies at 52 different sites nationwide have shown that combining standard laser treatments with injections of the drug ranibizumab (Lucentis) offers substantially better results for treating macular edema than laser treatments alone. The research showed that almost 50 percent of patients treated with the combination therapy showed substantial improvement in their vision after one year, compared with 28 percent of patients who had been treated solely with laser.
1 comment - Posted May 1, 2010
April 2010
Are you the parent of a child with type 1 diabetes? Do you often wish that you could find a babysitter who understands the "ins-and-outs" of type 1 so that you could enjoy an evening out, assured that your child is in good hands? Or are you a teenager with type 1 who is looking for a way to help children manage their disease, while making a little extra money at the same time? Then look no further than www.SafeSittings.com. Launched over six years ago in Manhattan by teenager Kimberly Ross, www.SafeSittings.com is a free online service that matches type 1 families with babysitters who also have the disease.
4 comments - Posted Apr 30, 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
NEW YORK, April 27, 2010 - The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation announced today that it is partnering with Living Cell Technologies (LCT), a New Zealand-based biotechnology company focused on developing cell based therapeutics, in a Phase II clinical trial to study the safety and effectiveness of transplanting encapsulated insulin-producing cells from pigs as a treatment for type 1 diabetes with significant hypoglycemia unawareness.
1 comment - Posted Apr 28, 2010
Last week the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced an initiative to evaluate safety problems that may occur with external infusion pumps. These devices are used to deliver fluids or medications to patients in a controlled manner. Insulin pumps, for example, release insulin into the body at a controlled rate to compensate for a lack of insulin production in people with type 1 diabetes.
8 comments - Posted Apr 27, 2010
Dear Diabetes Health, I am a 60 year old married woman who was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes eight years ago. In the last two years, I have lost interest in sex. I just don't feel like it, although I still like hugs.
3 comments - Posted Apr 26, 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
May is National Correct Posture Month, so take a look at how hours of computer hunching, slouching while cell phone texting and video-game slumping is affecting your posture. It's not just kids with backpacks or cane-carrying seniors---studies show poor posture is a major cause of back and neck pain for all ages, and over time often contributes to digestive and cardiopulmonary problems. The good news: there are easy things people can do to strengthen posture.
5 comments - Posted Apr 24, 2010
A team of researchers from Case Western University published an article revealing their invention of a "smart" insulin molecule that binds considerably less to cancer receptors and self-assembles under the skin. To provide a slow-release form of insulin, the compound self-assembles under the skin by "stapling" itself together with zinc ions. Zinc staples connect the pieces of the insulin puzzle together to create a functional protein.
0 comments - Posted Apr 23, 2010
In the early hours of Saturday, February 27th, an 8.8-magnitude earthquake hit Chile, eventually leaving 1.5 million displaced from their homes. At 6 a.m. that same morning, Hawaiians awoke to the news that a tsunami was barreling towards them and evacuation was necessary. Within minutes, many had left their homes for safe ground.
0 comments - Posted Apr 23, 2010
The study, published in the journal Diabetes Care, adds to evidence that metformin, a generically available drug commonly used for type 2 diabetes, may have anti-cancer effects.
0 comments - Posted Apr 22, 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
Researchers at Loyola University have discovered a group of immune system cells called natural killer T (NKT) cells that slow the wound healing process. Their findings pave the way for potential new treatments to accelerate the healing process in slow-to-heal wounds that can occur in people with autoimmune disorders such as type 1 diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Apr 21, 2010
Admit it, Type 1s. In weaker moments, you look down your noses at the Type 2 diabetics. You know that their disease can result from poor lifestyle choices. You know that their treatment regimen, compared with yours, is simple.
35 comments - Posted Apr 19, 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
The first human trials of the latest design of an artificial pancreas for people with type 1 diabetes found the device worked without causing low blood sugar (hypoglycemia).
8 comments - Posted Apr 18, 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
YMCA of the USA, the nation's leading non-profit service organization dedicated to healthy living, and UnitedHealth Group, a diversified health and well-being company, today announced a partnership to reduce the burden of type 2 diabetes in the United States. In this first of its kind collaboration, UnitedHealth Group will reimburse YMCAs offering the YMCA's Diabetes Prevention Program.
2 comments - Posted Apr 16, 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
Roche and Elron Electronics Ltd. announced that they have signed an agreement under which Roche will acquire 100% of Medingo Ltd., a majority-owned subsidiary of the Elron group. Medingo Ltd. is engaged in the development of a semi-disposable insulin patch pump (Solo MicroPump). Under the terms of the agreement, Roche will pay Medingo Ltd.'s shareholders an upfront payment of US$ 160 million as well as up to 25% of the upfront payment in performance related milestones.
5 comments - Posted Apr 14, 2010
Successful clinical trials of a topical drug called mecamylamine may lead to a potent new treatment for the diabetes-induced eye disease known as macular edema. Diabetic macular edema* involves the part of the retina called the macula. High blood sugar levels inflame its blood vessels, leading to leakiness and fluid accumulation. Left uncontrolled, those symptoms can lead to blurriness, impaired vision, and even blindness.
1 comment - Posted Apr 14, 2010
A gene that mutated half a billion years ago and now shows up in modern sea creatures could hold the key to understanding a rare form of diabetes. The disease, called diabetes insipidus (not to be confused with diabetes mellitus), causes sufferers to urinate more than three-fourths of a gallon every day. An estimated 41,000 U.S. patients suffer from diabetes insipidus.
1 comment - Posted Apr 13, 2010
The idea of parasitic worms causes a shudder in most people. The very thought of some wriggly segmented thing latching onto an internal organ and ransacking it for nourishment is not pleasant. But the scientists who study the creatures may be on to a whole new tack in the fight against type 1 diabetes. It turns out that people who suffer from parasitic worms experience an unexpected beneficial side effect: the worms exert control over the human immune system that seems to protect against several inflammatory diseases, including asthma, Crohn's disease, multiple sclerosis, allergies, and... type 1 diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Apr 12, 2010
The first concrete evidence of a genetic link between low birth weight and the potential for developing type 2 diabetes has been published in the April 6 issue of the journal Nature Genetics. Scientists previously believed that lower birth weight babies were more at risk, but the cause remained unclear.
0 comments - Posted Apr 11, 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
Healthy, insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas have a relatively long life and typically do not replicate under normal conditions. Any loss of beta cells, therefore, is usually permanent. In the case of type 1 diabetes, for example, the destruction of beta cells by the body's own immune system is permanent.
2 comments - Posted Apr 9, 2010
Using a sophisticated nanotechnology-based "vaccine," researchers were able to successfully reverse type 1 diabetes in mice and slow the onset of the disease in mice at risk for the disease. The study, co-funded by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, provides new and important insights into understanding how to stop the immune attack that causes type 1 diabetes, and could even have implications for other autoimmune diseases.
2 comments - Posted Apr 9, 2010
If you're a regular visitor to the Diabetes Health website, chances are you've been diagnosed with type 1 or type 2 diabetes for some time. Your experience with the disease has taught you a lot about its warning signs and the lifestyle habits that can make it worse.
0 comments - Posted Apr 8, 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
(Reuters Health) - Adding soy supplements to the diet may not improve blood sugar control in older women who are at high risk of or in the early stages of type 2 diabetes, a new study suggests.
0 comments - Posted Apr 7, 2010
Most people who have pre-diabetes know that exercise is a key element in successfully avoiding full-on diabetes. But lack of time-either for real or as an excuse-often gets in the way.
2 comments - Posted Apr 6, 2010
When I was first diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, someone said brightly to me, "Well, at least you don't have cancer!" Others told me with naïve confidence, "You can beat this thing!" Another person remarked to my mother, "If anyone could do a good job with diabetes, it's Rachel! I'm too scared of needles." Not one of these comments, nor about ninety percent of the others I received, was helpful, encouraging, or beneficial.
18 comments - Posted Apr 5, 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
Diabetes Health is excited to welcome you to "Ask Nadia", a new column by founder and editor-in-chief, Nadia Al-Samarrie. Nadia's adeptness in diabetes health comes from more than 20 years experience as a caregiver, managing the myriad of Type 1, Type 2 and pre-diabetes related issues in her own family, as well as from the knowledge acquired through her devoted and passionate tenure as the publisher of the prominent Diabetes Health Magazine.
2 comments - Posted Apr 3, 2010
After generations of warnings that obesity is one of the biggest risk factors for heart failure and cardiovascular disease, a University of Rochester study says that it's actually skinny people who run a higher risk of sudden death from cardiac failure. Scientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York found that non-obese patients who suffered heart failure had a 76 percent greater risk of sudden cardiac death than obese patients.
2 comments - Posted Apr 3, 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
People with type 1 or type 2 diabetes who find it difficult to trust others or reach out for emotional support may be shortening their own lives. That's the conclusion of a five-year University of Washington study that showed a 33 percent higher mortality rate among diabetes patients who did not interact well with their healthcare providers or other people.
1 comment - Posted Apr 2, 2010
While the words "diabetes" and "camp" may not sound like they belong in the same sentence for most people, they sure do for thousands of kids across the country. Diabetes camp is their time to share experiences, learn, and have fun with other kids who have diabetes. You'll find the usual camping activities like hiking, arts and crafts, boating, swimming, and sitting around the campfire, but also lessons on adjusting your insulin pump to compensate for sports and how to give yourself an injection.
0 comments - Posted Apr 1, 2010
The Diabetes Education and Camping Association (DECA) mission is to "promote communication, provide education, share resources, and serve as a worldwide voice to advance diabetes education and camping programs that meet the diverse needs of individuals and families." DECA provides an international databse of diabetes camping organizations, and "Best Practices" tools for diabetes camp management.
0 comments - Posted Apr 1, 2010
March 2010
I do not conceal the fact that I love dessert. I believe that it is something that I deserve, a reward for working out that morning, keeping my blood sugar in check, monitoring my carbohydrate intake, going to work, and taking care of household duties.
15 comments - Posted Mar 31, 2010
Dr. Stan De Loach is a bicultural, trilingual, Certified Diabetes Educator (one of the first 13 in Mexico) and clinical psychologist, not to mention a pianist, composer, and writer. Born and educated in the U.S., he has been a resident of Mexico for decades, and his first love is the annual bilingual diabetes camp that he co-founded, the four-day Campamento Diabetes Safari in Mexico..
3 comments - Posted Mar 30, 2010
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has withheld approval of Bydureon, the once-weekly version of the popular type 2 diabetes drug Byetta. The agency has asked its manufacturer, Amylin, for more information regarding Bydureon's manufacture, labeling, and risk management plan. It did not, however, request further information on tests of the drug itself-an indication that the agency probably intends to grant marketing permission once it has dotted all the i's and crossed all the t's involved in the approval process.
0 comments - Posted Mar 29, 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
A University of Texas researcher who genetically modified mice with type 1 diabetes to control their disease with leptin instead of insulin is now ready to extend his experiment to human test subjects. Dr. Roger Unger, a researcher at the UT Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, will begin the tests as soon as leptin manufacturers can assure him of a steady supply of the hormone.
2 comments - Posted Mar 27, 2010
Over the past few months, there has been a discernible shift of opinion among healthcare providers about which test best reveals a high risk of acquiring diabetes. The old standby, fasting glucose, seems to be giving way to the hemoglobin A1c test as the preferred method.
1 comment - Posted Mar 26, 2010
According to researchers at the Emory University School of Medicine, obesity and metabolic syndrome may be partially brought on by intestinal bacteria that increase appetite and insulin resistance. The two can lead to overeating and high blood sugar levels - both important factors in the eventual onset of type 2 diabetes. Perhaps even more interesting, the scientists found that the bacteria can be transferred from one mouse to another, creating increased appetite and insulin resistance in an animal that had previously experienced neither.
0 comments - Posted Mar 26, 2010
Experience is a great teacher, but sometimes it's not the best way to learn, especially when it comes to your medical needs. Smart people learn from their mistakes, but wise people learn from other people's mistakes. In my ten years with diabetes, I have found that to eliminate problems, you need to anticipate your needs. A few moments of preparation can ensure a great afternoon of fun with your friends, a better grade on a test, or participation in a sporting competition without any complications.
7 comments - Posted Mar 25, 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
You may not have heard of GAD, but it's a hot topic in the world of type 1 diabetes research. GAD, which stands for glutamic acid decarboxylase, is an enzyme in the brain and the pancreas that plays several roles in the body. As an enzyme, it converts the excitatory amino acid glutamate into the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA, which nerve cells use to communicate. But it also has a less helpful role, as an autoantigen (an element of self that provokes the generation of antibodies) in autoimmune diabetes.
4 comments - Posted Mar 23, 2010
MINNEAPOLIS - March 17, 2010 - Medtronic, Inc. today announced it has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the MiniMed Paradigm® REAL-Time RevelTM System, the next generation of the industry's only integrated diabetes management system (insulin pump therapy, continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) and diabetes therapy management software). The system incorporates new innovative CGM features including predictive alerts that can give early warning to people with diabetes so they can take action to prevent dangerous high or low glucose events.
3 comments - Posted Mar 22, 2010
Results from a landmark study involving more than 9,000 people showed that the high blood pressure medicine valsartan (Diovan) delayed progression to type 2 diabetes in patients with cardiovascular disease or risk factors and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), a common pre-diabetic condition.
0 comments - Posted Mar 20, 2010
I grew up around the corner from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In high school, long ago, I thought that NIH scientists were "bad guys" who mistreated animals in the name of medical research. I later moved to the West Coast and became a registered obstetrical nurse. Over the years, along with sharing the joys of new moms and new babies, I cared for patients with devastating conditions like cancer and quadriplegia, people whose lives could potentially be saved or improved by medical research., Yet it wasn't until many years later, after moving back to the DC area, that I really began to see the NIH in a new light.
4 comments - Posted Mar 20, 2010
According to Duke University researchers, a mutation that causes the lack of an insulin-controlling molecule may be a factor in the development of type 2 diabetes. The molecule, ankyrin B, is activated in response to the smell and taste of food and leads to the production of insulin in preparation for food intake.
1 comment - Posted Mar 19, 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
At a two-day meeting (March 16 and 17, 2010) to review blood glucose meters, Food and Drug Administration officials and staff pointed to a number of issues that can prevent people from getting proper treatment and sought input from medical experts and industry on ways to improve test results with the widely used devices.
1 comment - 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
Dear Diabetes Health, I am a 55-year-old man who was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes two years ago, and I think it made me depressed. The depression eventually got so bad that I didn't want to get out of bed in the morning. My doctor referred me to the psych clinic, where they put me on Paxil (paroxetine). The medication is helping my depression, but ruining my sex life. Basically, I can't get an erection, but I don't really care because I'm not interested anyway. I have no desire. My wife is still interested, however, and she is really upset about my lack of desire for sex. I don't like hurting her, and I don't want us to break up over this, but the depression was awful. I don't want to go back to that. What can I do?
4 comments - Posted Mar 16, 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
Allen, Texas - When Pam Henry's daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2003, she never even thought she would be part of something that could revolutionize health care. "When Sarah was diagnosed, my only goal was to do all I could to keep her as healthy as possible. What I created was something just to help keep her that way."
4 comments - Posted Mar 13, 2010
A scientist's discovery that dolphins have a genetic ability to turn diabetes on and off, depending on the availability of food, could lead to research into whether humans might have a similar-although dormant-gene.
1 comment - Posted Mar 13, 2010
The sooner people with diabetes start taking metformin, the longer the drug remains effective, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published in the March issue of Diabetes Care, a journal of the American Diabetes Association.
2 comments - Posted Mar 12, 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
A university study of 20,000 Chinese adults aged 50 and older says that people who nap four to six days a week have a higher rate of type 2 diabetes than people who either never take a daily snooze or do so less often.
2 comments - Posted Mar 10, 2010
The study started out with nearly 20,000 trim middle-aged and older women. Over time, women who drank alcohol in moderation put on less weight and were less apt to become overweight compared to non-drinkers. This was true even after taking into account various lifestyle and dietary factors that might influence a woman's weight.
2 comments - Posted Mar 9, 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
Working with a small group of type 2 patients, Japanese scientists think that they may have found one reason why some people develop obesity that can eventually lead to diabetes: poor impulse control.
2 comments - Posted Mar 6, 2010
The benefits of using insulin to treat diabetes far outweigh the risks, but a review just published online by IJCP, the International Journal of Clinical Practice, suggests that commonly used diabetes therapies may differ from each other when it comes to their influence on cancer risk.
1 comment - Posted Mar 5, 2010
Being a teenager is hard enough, but being a teenager with diabetes can be brutal (and being the parent of a teenager with diabetes can turn you into a basket case). Last month, I wrote about the challenges of being newly diagnosed. This month, let's talk about handling diabetes during the teenage years.
5 comments - Posted Mar 5, 2010
If you regularly take metformin, one of the oldest and most respected tools in doctors' anti-diabetes kits, chances are that you don't detect the unpleasant odor that turns some type 2s against the drug. Some think it has fishy smell, while others say that it reminds them of the inside of an inner tube.
10 comments - Posted Mar 4, 2010
Amylin Pharmaceuticals has announced that it expects to begin selling a once-weekly version of its diabetes drug, Byetta, by the end of the year. The company reports that the FDA is nearing final inspections of its manufacturing plant and could give the go-ahead for U.S. sales in early March.
2 comments - Posted Mar 4, 2010
The demand for diabetes research funding clearly exceeds the funds available. In the United States, 23.6 million children and adults (7.8 percent of the population) have diabetes, and we spent $174 billion on diagnosed diabetes alone in 2007 (the most recent year for which data are available). It is imperative that we take action, but where is the research funding coming from? Can it possibly be sufficient, and how is it being spent?
1 comment - Posted Mar 3, 2010
When I was undiagnosed and sick, I was very angry with God. I didn't understand why I was weak, fatigued, constantly thirsty and hungry, scarily thin, and mentally foggy. I prayed and prayed for an answer. I cried, I cursed, and I yelled. Nothing. For a year and a half. When I received my diagnosis in a local emergency room, I felt instant relief. Finally, I had an answer, a name, and some hope. But soon after, the anger reappeared, this time because God had failed to pass over me. I had done nothing to earn this fate. Why me?
18 comments - Posted Mar 2, 2010
This is a terrific family favorite. The thick and velvety Parmesan cream sauce that adorns this dish mimics rich Alfredo sauce (only without the requisite butter and cream). If you don't have bowtie pasta on hand, feel free to substitute any pasta.
3 comments - Posted Mar 2, 2010
An enzyme that destroys pancreatic beta cells in lab mice has now been observed in human beta cells. Because scientists already know how to delete the mouse gene that produces the enzyme, they are hopeful that the same therapy can eventually be applied to people with type 1 diabetes. If so, it would be one of the most powerful therapies yet for addressing the destruction of insulin-producing beta cells that causes type 1.
4 comments - Posted Mar 1, 2010
February 2010
Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk has received Food and Drug Administration permission to begin marketing its type 2 drug Victoza® in the United States.
Victoza, the brand name for liraglutide, is a GLP-1* analog that is taken one a day by injection to help control blood sugar-and in some cases, help with weight loss-in patients with type 2 diabetes.
5 comments - Posted Feb 27, 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
My four-year-diabetes-diagnosis anniversary is almost here. It falls on March 24th, a day just like any other to most people, but a day full of sadness, loss, and victory for me. Will I celebrate? I'm not sure if reflection is a form of celebration. I'd much prefer a birthday-like affair featuring balloons, cards, and, of course, something sweet to eat. But I also feel as if the impending date is much like a funeral on the calendar, a time for mourning as well as reflection.
28 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
As part of an extensive program to support the needs of adults with type 1 diabetes, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International announced the introduction of a key support program, the JDRF Adult Type 1 Toolkit, to meet an immediate need for resources and community for adults more recently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes - a chronic autoimmune disease often first diagnosed in children.
3 comments - Posted Feb 24, 2010
The North Carolina-based not-for-profit DiabetesSisters (DiabetesSisters.org) is pleased to announce that registration for the first annual Weekend for Women conference to be held May 22-23rd in Raleigh is two-thirds full, and will likely close by April 1.
0 comments - Posted Feb 23, 2010
The Staff Report of the Senate Committee on Finance draws conclusions on the safety of Avandia (rosiglitazone) that are based on analyses that are not consistent with the rigorous scientific evidence supporting the safety of the drug. In addition, the report cherry-picks information from documents, which mischaracterizes GlaxoSmithKline's comprehensive efforts to research Avandia and communicate those findings to regulators, physicians and patients. In fact, the safety and effectiveness of Avandia is well characterized in the label approved by the FDA.
1 comment - Posted Feb 23, 2010
A hormone responsible for the body's stress response is also linked to the growth of insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, according to JDRF- funded researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in California. The findings are the latest advances to underscore the potential for regeneration as a key component of a possible cure for type 1 diabetes.
2 comments - Posted Feb 22, 2010
A U.S. Senate Finance Committee report released on February 20 says that Avandia, GlaxoSmithKline's drug for type 2 diabetes, may have caused as many as 83,000 heart attacks between 1999, when the drug was introduced, and 2007. The Senate report, culminating a two-year inquiry into the drug, also says that Glaxo knew about the drug's potential risks years before suspicions began to form regarding a connection between Avandia and heart problems.
2 comments - Posted Feb 22, 2010
For as long as I can remember, I have disliked meat. I believe it started with my sensitive gag reflex as a child. I could hardly chew and swallow pork chops, pineapple, or anything else that didn't go down easily. In high school I became best friends with a girl who didn't eat meat. It seemed like a really cool lifestyle, so I joined ranks with her. Instead of eating meat, we consumed french fries, fruit punch, and snack cakes. This became our definition of vegetarianism. Then, during my junior year of high school, my doctor informed me that my chronic low blood sugars might be improved by more protein consumption, so I forced myself back into the life of a carnivore, not knowing then that protein consumption didn't have to equal a slab of meat at every meal.
7 comments - Posted Feb 20, 2010
This is the third - and final - installment of our three-part series "Handing Down the Genes." Part III: "Nutrition and Exercise Tips"
1 comment - Posted Feb 19, 2010
Bayer's A1CNow SELFCHECK, cleared by the Food and Drug Administration last year, is the first and only system of its kind with at-home results in five minutes. It enables patients to more closely watch their A1C level in between doctor visits so they may have a more informed discussion with their healthcare provider to ensure their diabetes plan is working.
2 comments - Posted Feb 18, 2010
Feb. 11, 2010 - At the 3rd International Conference on Advanced Technologies and Treatments for Diabetes (ATTD) in Basel, Switzerland, Roche Diabetes Care, the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB), and Sansum Diabetes Research Institute announced their expanded collaboration in the Artificial Pancreas Project sponsored by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF).
3 comments - Posted Feb 18, 2010
A university study says that aerobic exercise, a known means of increasing insulin sensitivity, is most effective if the meals following it are low in carbohydrates. The study also revealed that consuming a low-calorie meal after exercising does not increase insulin sensitivity any better than eating a low-carb meal after a workout. In addition, it found that the beneficial effects of exercise are immediate and do not build up over time or last very long. Improvements in metabolism, including insulin sensitivity and lowered blood pressure, occur directly as a result of the latest exercise session, but taper off within hours or days. There is no "storing up" the benefits of exercise.
3 comments - Posted Feb 17, 2010
Thwarting a protein that carries an otherwise benign enzyme into the nuclei of cells in the retina, where the enzyme kills the retinal cells, may hold the key to preventing blindness in patients with diabetes. That's the conclusion of a two-year study by researchers at Michigan State University seeking a way to treat retinopathy, the disease that often leads to blindness in people with diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Feb 16, 2010
A university survey of 92 doctors and their 1,200 patients who have diabetes and hypertension shows that the two groups don't always agree on which conditions are the most important to manage. The survey, conducted by the University of Michigan Medical School, asked doctors and patients to rank their top treatment priorities. While 38 percent of the doctors ranked treating hypertension as the most important, only 18 percent of their diabetes patients gave it the same ranking. Instead, diabetes patients are more likely to list pain and depression as the most important targets for treatment. In fact, the patients suffering the most from those conditions were the most likely to list them as priorities.
1 comment - Posted Feb 16, 2010
CVS/pharmacy, the nation's leading retail pharmacy, today announced its "A Su Salud" (To Your Health) health fairs for 2010. The community wellness program offers free comprehensive health risk assessments and screenings to help people in underserved areas with early detection and disease prevention. More than 800 events are scheduled for 2010 in cities including Miami, Los Angeles, Dallas/Fort-Worth, Houston, Corpus Christi, San Francisco, Sacramento and Fresno.
0 comments - Posted Feb 15, 2010
Kris Freeman, a member of the United States cross-country ski team has a story unmatched in Olympic competition history. Freeman, 28, is the first athlete with Type 1 diabetes to compete in an Olympic endurance event.
0 comments - Posted Feb 15, 2010
This is the second installment of our three-part series "Handing Down the Genes." Part II: "Preventing Type 2 in Children"
1 comment - Posted Feb 13, 2010
Foods that are sugar free, no sugar added, or low carb, typically have the sugar replaced with sugar alcohol. Sugar alcohols have a significantly diminished impact on blood sugar levels as compared to regular sugar because they are incompletely absorbed into the blood stream from the small intestine. They also have fewer calories than sugar, and are not as sweet as sugar. Some common sugar alcohols are: glycol, sorbitol, xylitol, mannitol, and lactitol. The simplest sugar alcohol, ethylene glycol, is the sweet but notoriously toxic chemical used in antifreeze. Sugar alcohol is typically derived from fruits and vegetables.
3 comments - Posted Feb 12, 2010
I can't think of a better way to say " I love you," than a perfect Red Velvet Cupcake. These easy-to-make one-bowl cupcakes take the cake with just 180 calories and a mere teaspoon of added sugar. (For comparison, a typical cupcake bakery Red Velvet Cupcake with Cream Cheese Frosting has over 500 royal calories and a whopping 15 teaspoons of sugar).
9 comments - Posted Feb 12, 2010
Sacramento- February 10, 2010 -- Assistant Speaker pro Tempore Isadore Hall, III (D- Compton) today introduced AB 1802, which would clarify existing law by allowing, but not requiring, a parent/guardian-designated teacher, administrator or school employee to administer insulin to a diabetic student while on a school campus.
3 comments - Posted Feb 11, 2010
Results of a 22-year study by researchers at Cardiff University School of Medicine in Wales indicate that older type 2s who try too hard to drive their A1c's down to "normal" (4.5% to 6%) may significantly increase their chances of early death. In fact, the study, just published in the British medical journal The Lancet*, found that type 2s with the lowest risk of death had A1c's of 7.5% -- a figure that few authorities on the disease have recommended as ideal.
15 comments - Posted Feb 11, 2010
A California study that tracked 77 obese adolescents for almost two years indicates that metformin XR, an extended-release version of the popular anti-diabetic drug, may help lower body mass index in overweight teens who do not have diabetes.
1 comment - Posted Feb 10, 2010
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Alarmed that nearly a third of U.S. children are obese or overweight -- and likely to stay that way all their lives -- President Barack Obama launched an initiative on Tuesday to roll back the numbers and put his wife in charge of promoting it.
5 comments - Posted Feb 9, 2010
Researchers at RIKEN and Fukuoka University have pinpointed the mechanism responsible for early rejection of transplanted pancreatic islet cells in the treatment of type 1 diabetes. A new system based on this mechanism has been shown to vastly increase transplant efficiency, setting the stage for the development of powerful new treatment techniques.
5 comments - Posted Feb 9, 2010
Steel-cut oats are whole grains, made when the groats (the inner portion of the oat kernel) are cut into pieces by steel. Also known as coarse-cut oats or Irish oats, they are golden and look a little like small pieces of rice. They gain part of their distinctive flavor from the roasting process after being harvested and cleaned. Although the oats are then hulled, this process does not strip away their bran and germ, allowing them to retain a concentrated source of their fiber and nutrients.
4 comments - Posted Feb 9, 2010
White fat is the "bad" gut fat associated with obesity and enlarged abdomens. When a pound of new white fat forms in the body, it requires a full mile of new blood vessels to nourish and sustain it. That's because white fat is much like a tumor in requiring a steady blood supply. To build the new blood vessels, it depends on a process called angiogenesis.
1 comment - Posted Feb 8, 2010
Many of us have a "BFF" (Best Friend Forever), but people with diabetes or pre-diabetes need a BFF who understands the importance of maintaining a healthy diabetic lifestyle -- a "DFF" (Diabetes Friend Forever). To honor these unsung heroes, Dreamfields Pasta is launching a first-of-its-kind contest to pay tribute to the special people who help make living with diabetes a manageable experience.
2 comments - Posted Feb 6, 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
CHICAGO, IL - On Thursday, February 4, Oprah, Dr. Oz, Bob Greene, Art Smith, Dr. Ian Smith and more reveal the staggering human cost of the growing diabetes and pre-diabetes epidemic on a special episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show. Before a studio audience comprised of all diabetics and their families, Oprah and Dr. Oz reveal the latest facts and figures, share stories of those affected, and hold a no-holds-barred, revealing conversation about risk factors, diet and lifestyle.
17 comments - Posted Feb 4, 2010
This is the beginning of our three part series "Handing Down the Genes." Part I: "When to Worry-and When Not to-About Your Child's Increased Risk for Diabetes."
3 comments - Posted Feb 4, 2010
Australian researchers who tracked the TV viewing habits of 8,800 people over a six-year span have some sobering statistics for people who love the tube too well: (1) If you watch TV more than two and up to four hours a day, your risk of dying from cardiovascular disease increases by 19 percent. (2) If your viewing habit is more than four hours a day, your risk of death from cardiovascular disease skyrockets by 80 percent.
4 comments - Posted Feb 4, 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
Dear Diabetes Health, I'm 26 years old and engaged to a woman I've known since college. We live together, love each other, and have good sex, but now I'm having doubts. A year ago, she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. She started taking insulin, and it has been rough. Four times now she has started sweating and shaking and saying strange things. Twice this happened during sex.
11 comments - 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
Depression raises risks of advanced and severe complications from diabetes, according to a prospective study of Group Health primary-care patients in western Washington. These complications include kidney failure or blindness, the result of small vessel damage, as well as major vessel problems leading to heart attack or stroke.
3 comments - Posted Feb 2, 2010
Denmark-based Novo Nordisk has begun a Phase 1 trial of a pill form of a GLP-1 drug very similar to its Victoza product. The trial will involve 155 British patients with type 2 diabetes. The test on human subjects, although very early-stage, puts the company in the lead to develop an oral form of a GLP-1 drug.
0 comments - Posted Feb 1, 2010
January 2010
On Monday, take a look at our new Feb\March digital edition. DiabetesHealth sat down to talk with Kris Freeman, the first Olympian with type 1 diabetes to compete in the endurance sport of cross country skiing. He has shared his story about what it is like to follow your dreams regardless of the obstacles in place. Working with Eli Lily, Kris spends time traveling around the country talking with kids about their aspirations and diabetes. He wants his story to inspire other people with type 1 diabetes to follow their own dreams. "Diabetes doesn't have to hold you back."
0 comments - Posted Jan 30, 2010
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Researchers have transformed ordinary mouse skin cells directly into neurons, bypassing the need for stem cells or even stemlike cells and greatly speeding up the field of regenerative medicine.
0 comments - Posted Jan 29, 2010
Thousands of elite athletes from around the world are making their final preparations for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia. Every snowboarder, short track speed skater, ski jumper and hockey player shares a dream of standing on the medium wearing an Olympic gold medal.
7 comments - Posted Jan 29, 2010
Altruism is unselfish concern for the welfare of others. It is a traditional virtue in many cultures, and a core aspect of various religious traditions such as Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism among others.
0 comments - Posted Jan 29, 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
Novo Nordisk announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the new drug application for Victoza (liraglutide injection), the first once-daily human glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analog for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Victoza is indicated as an adjunct to diet and exercise to improve blood sugar control in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
4 comments - Posted Jan 28, 2010
Researchers at Sansum Diabetes Research Institute and University of California, Santa Barbara have concluded that changing the height of a conventional insulin pump in relation to its tubing and infusion set can significantly impact expected insulin delivery rates. Such changes can occur during routine daily activities like dressing, sleeping or showering. The study, "Siphon Effects of Continuous Subcutaneous Insulin Infusion Pump Delivery Performance," evaluated the siphon or hydrostatic pressure action effects on continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion and was published in the January issue of Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology.
11 comments - Posted Jan 27, 2010
I have a long-standing obsession with baking. The art of creating cookies, bars, pies, and cakes got me through some of the most stressful times in my life, including holidays, college final exams, and a new job. After I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of twenty-four, however, I learned that my traditional ingredients, including white flour, sugar, and excessive amounts of chocolate, lead to high blood sugars and of course, fatigue, fogginess, and other undesirable side effects.
15 comments - Posted Jan 26, 2010
University of Florida engineers have designed and tested versions of a sensor for applications ranging from monitoring diabetics' glucose levels via their breath to detecting possible indicators of breast cancer in saliva. They say early results are promising - particularly considering that the sensor can be mass-produced inexpensively with technology already widely used for making chips in cell phones and other devices.
2 comments - Posted Jan 26, 2010
1 comment - Posted Jan 25, 2010
An international research consortium has found 13 new genetic variants that influence blood glucose regulation, insulin resistance, and the function of insulin-secreting beta cells in populations of European descent. Five of the newly discovered variants increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, the most common form of diabetes.
2 comments - Posted Jan 23, 2010
The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) announced today an innovative program aimed at improving the treatment of type 1 diabetes by developing novel insulin delivery products to enhance the use of insulin pumps.
0 comments - Posted Jan 22, 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
Although my boys love to order Chicken Parmesan when we dine out, the health content is always a concern - especially because it usually arrives thickly breaded, deeply fried, smothered in cheese, and served on a mountain of spaghetti. Here's a terrific and easy stove-top recipe that's filled with all of the same great flavors, but none of the excess fat and carbs.
0 comments - Posted Jan 20, 2010
Bestselling cookbook author and nutritionist Marlene Koch (pronounced, serendipitously, "cook") has been dubbed a "magician in the kitchen" when it comes to creating great-tasting, healthy recipes that everyone can enjoy, including those with diabetes!
1 comment - Posted Jan 20, 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 (Reuters Health) - Diabetes may hasten progression to dementia in older people with mild thinking impairment, new research shows.
2 comments - Posted Jan 19, 2010
Many meaningful events, experiences, and accomplishments have gone into making me the person that I am today. In my life, most of the important milestones came and went as they do for every kid. But for some of us, life throws a curveball and introduces a trauma or an unexpected event that will forever change our lives. When my most meaningful event occurred, on May 22, 2000, there were no cheers, applause, or laughter in the room. That was the day I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
21 comments - Posted Jan 19, 2010
Diabetes Health Magazine (www.diabeteshealth.com), a local Marin Publishing Company, is proud to have successfully nominated Lisa Shenson for a prestigious award. Shenson, a true humanitarian, will be honored by the Marin Human Rights Commission and awarded its 2010 Martin Luther King Humanitarian Award at an annual Gala Dinner on January 21st, and to be held at the Sheraton Four Points in San Rafael. Mother turned activist, Shenson has been fighting for the human and civil rights of children with diabetes, especially in the schools, for over a decade.
1 comment - Posted Jan 18, 2010
NEW YORK, Jan. 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Montefiore Medical Center continues to expand its portfolio of options for patients in need of organ transplantation. The new Pancreas Transplant Program will treat patients with severe, end-stage diabetes. As the only Pancreas Transplant Program in the Bronx and Westchester, and one of only several in Greater New York, patients will be able to receive world-class care close to home. The program currently has nine patients medically approved and waiting for a pancreas transplant.
2 comments - Posted Jan 16, 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
A five-year study of 2,613 people treated for diabetes at Italian clinics shows that tight blood sugar control may not be the number-one priority for patients who have other medical problems.
5 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
Tampa, Fla. - On January 18, 2010, the Obesity Action Coalition (OAC) will launch a national weight and health awareness campaign aimed to encourage the American public to assess their weight and urge them to speak to their doctor about their weight. The goal of this campaign is to get the American public to start looking at weight and its impact on their health and the health of their loved ones.
1 comment - Posted Jan 12, 2010
Dear Diabetes Health, I hope you can help me. I am 49 years old and was diagnosed with type 2 five years ago. My husband still wants sex. I don't even want him to touch me. He is very mean to me. He yells at me and calls me names.
16 comments - Posted Jan 12, 2010
A simple self-assessment questionnaire developed by researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City may be the best means yet for screening people who are unaware that they have diabetes or who are at risk of developing it. The questionnaire asks about six factors that have proven to be the most reliable in predicting diabetes: age, gender, level of physical activity, hypertension, obesity, and family history of diabetes.
1 comment - Posted Jan 11, 2010
German and Swiss researchers have found that high-density lipoprotein, or HDL-so-called "good" cholesterol-does not protect blood vessels in people with type 2 diabetes as well as it does in people who don't have the disease. However, their follow-up experiment, which added doses of extended-release niacin, shows that HDL's efficacy in type 2s might be sharply increased simply by the addition of a daily niacin pill.
0 comments - Posted Jan 9, 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
BEDFORD, Mass. and BURGDORF, Switzerland, Jan. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Insulet Corporation (Nasdaq: PODD), the leader in tubing-free insulin pump technology with its OmniPod® Insulin Management System, and Ypsomed AG (SIX Swiss Exchange: YPSN), a leading independent diabetes specialist and technology provider of innovative injection systems for self-medication in Europe, today announced an exclusive agreement for the distribution of the OmniPod Insulin Management System in nine countries across Europe, as well as China and Australia.
0 comments - Posted Jan 7, 2010
The first time that my fiancé Richard and I got, um, "intimate," I had some explaining to do. "Er, that's for my diabetes. So's that. And this thing. Oh, and this too." Richard was a bit overwhelmed. I think his exact words were, "Are you bionic or something?"
2 comments - Posted Jan 6, 2010
Using a pedometer as part of a structured education programme could reduce the chances of Type 2 diabetes by more than 50 per cent in those at risk of developing the condition, reveals a new Diabetes UK-funded study1 out today.
1 comment - Posted Jan 5, 2010
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Studies reporting a link between sugar-sweetened beverages and weight gain have garnered a lot of attention, but actual research on the issue has yielded mixed results, researchers note in a new report.
2 comments - Posted Jan 5, 2010
"You have diabetes." Have you just heard these words? Or maybe you recently heard it about your son or daughter. The oxygen rushes out of your body. A knot forms in your stomach. "What now?"
11 comments - Posted Jan 4, 2010
ROSEMONT, IL - Exercise is a critical piece of a healthy lifestyle, however those who suffer from diabetes may see an even greater impact, according to a study published in the January/February 2010 issue of Sports Health: A Multidisciplinary Approach. Authors confirm that exercise can aid in diabetes treatment by improving glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity.
1 comment - Posted Jan 4, 2010
DiabetesSisters is pleased to announce OPEN REGISTRATION for the Weekend for Women Conference hosted by DiabetesSisters and TCOYD on May 22-23, 2010 at Marriott City Center in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina.
2 comments - Posted Jan 3, 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
According to Marlene, finding the perfect mix of ingredients is key when creating healthier versions of your favorite foods. From composing a healthier sandwich to perfecting pasta dishes and creating delightful desserts, Marlene reveals some of her tastiest ingredient tips:
1 comment - Posted Dec 31, 2009
December 29, 2009 - The American Diabetes Association (ADA) revised clinical practice recommendations for diabetes diagnosis promote hemoglobin A1c (A1c) as a faster, easier diagnostic test that could help reduce the number of undiagnosed patients and better identify patients with prediabetes. The new recommendations are published December 29 in the January supplement of Diabetes Care.
2 comments - Posted Dec 31, 2009
I have never been one to make New Year's resolutions. This probably stems from my life experiences. Every year at my fitness club, the place is flooded with new faces from January until late February. Then, as the days tick by, the club becomes less and less crowded.
8 comments - Posted Dec 30, 2009
BOSTON, Mass. - Dec. 23, 2009 - Cells in your body are constantly churning out poisonous forms of oxygen (oxidants) and mopping them up with a countervailing force of proteins and chemicals (anti-oxidants). This balancing act of oxidative stress is particularly likely to go haywire in beta cells, the insulin-producing cells that malfunction and then start to die off in type 2 diabetes.
2 comments - Posted Dec 29, 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
BOSTON/NEW YORK, Dec 23 (Reuters) - The shares of Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc (AMLN.O) fell nearly 10 percent on Wednesday after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration requested that the company conduct additional safety studies on its diabetes drug, Byetta.
1 comment - Posted Dec 28, 2009
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Combining artificial sweeteners with the real thing boosts the stomach's secretion of a hormone that makes people feel full and helps control blood sugar, new research shows.
2 comments - Posted Dec 26, 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
A 20-year study that tracked 704 women from before their first pregnancy onward suggests that the first year mothers breastfeed, they reduce their risk of acquiring type 2 diabetes within the next 15 years by 15 percent. Each subsequent year of breastfeeding further reduces the risk by 15 percent. For example, a mother who has two children and breastfeeds each for a year could enjoy a 30 percent reduction in her risk of type 2 over a 15-year period.
2 comments - Posted Dec 25, 2009
Denmark-based Novo Nordisk A/S has begun phase 1 testing of an insulin pill that, if successful, could replace injections as the primary means of blood sugar control for millions of people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. The company has enrolled 80 volunteer German test subjects in the study and expects to have preliminary results by the first half of 2011. The test group consists of both people with diabetes and people without it.
12 comments - Posted Dec 24, 2009
Regardless of age, men undergoing prostate cancer treatment via androgen deprivation therapy have an increased risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. A study published in early December by Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston noted that although androgen deprivation therapy has been associated with a higher risk of diabetes and cardiovascular problems in older men, this is the first time the connection has been noted among men of all ages.
1 comment - Posted Dec 24, 2009
FRIDAY, Dec. 18 (HealthDay News) -- Blacks tend to carry around less of a particularly unhealthy type of abdominal fat than whites, even though they suffer more from obesity-linked illness, researchers report.
0 comments - Posted Dec 23, 2009
REYKJAVIK, Iceland, December 16/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Scientists at deCODE genetics, Inc. (Nasdaq:DCGN) publish in the journal Nature the discovery of a version of a common single-letter variant in the sequence of the human genome (SNP) with a major impact on susceptibility to type 2 diabetes (T2D). The impact of the T2D variant is not only large, but unusual: if an individual inherits it from their father, the variant increases risk of T2D by more than 30% compared to those who inherit the non T2D-linked version; if inherited maternally, the variant lowers risk by more than 10% compared to the non T2D-linked version. Nearly one quarter of those studied have the highest risk combination of the versions of this SNP, putting them at a roughly 50% greater lifetime risk of T2D than the quarter with the protective combination. This is the second largest effect of any genetic variant for T2D apart from SNPs in TCF7L2, discovered by deCODE in 2006.
0 comments - Posted Dec 22, 2009
The combination of type 2 diabetes and mild heart disease is a double whammy that in many cases leads to such intrusive therapies as angioplasty* and can result in death from some sort of cardiovascular event. But a five-year university study of 2,368 type 2 patients with moderate heart disease shows that lifestyle changes and non-intrusive treatments can work just as well at lowering mortality rates as surgery.
0 comments - Posted Dec 22, 2009
Rituxamab, a drug that treats lymphoma and rheumatoid arthritis, may soon be used to help combat the destruction of pancreatic beta cells in newly diagnosed cases of type 1 diabetes. Researchers at Indiana University have found that the drug, originally developed and sold by Genentech as Rituxan, temporarily slows or stops the destruction of the 10 or 20 percent of beta cells that type 1s typically have remaining when they are first diagnosed.
0 comments - Posted Dec 21, 2009
NEW YORK, Dec. 17, 2009 - The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, a leader in setting the agenda for diabetes research worldwide, said today that it will begin working with The Johnson & Johnson Corporate Office of Science and Technology, and its affiliates, to speed the development of drug targets and pathways to promote the survival and function of insulin-producing cells in people who have diabetes. The program will look to fund research at academic centers around the world that could eventually lead to novel drug targets and industry collaborations for the treatment of type 1 diabetes.
2 comments - Posted Dec 19, 2009
Good injection practices - such as proper injection technique, site rotation, and appropriate needle use - are as important to your glucose control as your type and dosage of insulin (1). But over time, you may have developed your own injection technique, which may not exactly accord with professional guidelines and standards. For instance, you might reuse your needles. It's a very common practice, despite the fact that guidelines issued by regulatory agencies call for all insulin injection needles to be labeled single-use only. However, changes to injection technique can alter insulin absorption and may lead to problems down the road. So maybe it's time for a refresher in the official line on appropriate insulin injection practices - injection technique, site rotation, and proper needle use (2).
7 comments - Posted Dec 18, 2009
CHICAGO, Dec. 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Chicago Bears' quarterback Jay Cutler and Eli Lilly and Company (Lilly) have already helped send 44 children to American Diabetes Association diabetes camps next summer - with four games left in the NFL season.
1 comment - Posted Dec 18, 2009
‘Tis the season to be jolly? The most wonderful time of the year? Joy to the world? Between Black Friday, meal preparations, decorating, dealing with clashing family members, and party after party, the holiday season can be one of the most stressful times of the year. The joy and jolly that we sing about in Christmas carols hardly resonates in our lives as we prepare for and then attempt to survive the stress of the holidays.
3 comments - Posted Dec 17, 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
A gene named HHEX/IDE, which has already been implicated in the development of type 2 diabetes (see research article), may also contribute to childhood obesity. While the gene does not appear to affect birth weight and does not necessarily predispose an adult to become obese, it may set the stage for obesity in some children.
0 comments - Posted Dec 16, 2009
The dictionary defines a sugar plum as a small round or oval piece of sugary candy. But for most of us, visions of sugar plums dancing in our heads conjures up a far vaster array of sweet holiday treats. From cakes, cookies, and pies, to sugar-laced seasonal beverages, and yes, plenty of sweet confections, the holiday season is arguably the sweetest time of the year - and the most difficult when one is trying to keep carbohydrates and calories in check.
0 comments - Posted Dec 15, 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
CHICAGO - Individuals who drink more coffee (regular or decaffeinated) or tea appear to have a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to an analysis of previous studies reported in the December 14/28 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine. A previously published meta-analysis suggested drinking more coffee may be linked with a reduced risk, but the amount of available information has more than doubled since.
4 comments - Posted Dec 14, 2009
BOSTON, DECEMBER 8, 2009 -- In a recent study conducted by the Center for Connected Health, a division of Partners HealthCare, new data revealed that parents of children with diabetes were receptive to using novel health technology - such as a mobile phone that could collect and transmit the child's blood sugar readings to a doctor - to help manage their child's diabetes. This study was published in the November issue of the Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology (Volume 3, Issue 6, November 2009).
0 comments - Posted Dec 11, 2009
If you have diabetes and are wondering whether you're prepared for a unexpected disaster, then head for the website of the American Association for Diabetes Educators. There you'll find a Diabetes Disaster Response Toolkit that contains an abundance of information on nearly every aspect of getting prepared and helping your local diabetes community do the same. The toolkit, which was put together by the Alamo Association of Diabetes Educators in Texas, will help any educator or member of the public get ready to handle diabetes during a flood, earthquake, or any other natural or human-made disaster.
3 comments - Posted Dec 10, 2009
Dear Diabetes Health, I am 57 years old. About five years ago, I saw my doctor because I was feeling tired. My waist size was up, and I was not interested in sex. I almost never got an erection. The doctor diagnosed type 2 diabetes and put me on metformin. He also prescribed Viagra, which helped sometimes, but not all the time.
5 comments - Posted Dec 10, 2009
WORCESTER, Mass., Dec 3, 2009 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX News Network) -- Published in the journal Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, an independent review of clinical trials of Generex Oral-lyn(TM) shows that the oral insulin spray has a faster onset of action and shorter duration of action than insulin delivered subcutaneously.
6 comments - Posted Dec 9, 2009
We'd all prefer it if there were no nasty side effects to our treatments, but that isn't always the case. Sometimes it is worth risking a side effect for the greater good of our health. On that note, researchers continue to emphasize that the benefits of cholesterol-lowering statins on heart disease far outweigh any risk that they might slightly increase the chance of developing diabetes. More studies needs to be done in this area, but in light of the fact that cardiovascular disease is responsible for nearly two-thirds of deaths in people with diabetes and is the number one killer of women in the United States, it seems better to stick with the statins.
2 comments - Posted Dec 8, 2009
Dr. Bill Polonsky, PhD, CDE, knows diabetes. Among other things, he has served as Chairman of the National Certification Board for Diabetes Educators, as a Senior Psychologist at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, and as an Instructor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He is the founder and president of the Behavioral Diabetes Institute (BDI) in San Diego, California, and a member of Diabetes Health's Advisory Board.
18 comments - Posted Dec 7, 2009
Researchers at the Loyola University Medical Center near Chicago report that 20.7 percent of all American adults who have type 2 diabetes are "morbidly obese," a description that applies to people who are 100 or more pounds overweight. The researchers said that the figure for African Americans is even higher, with one out of three type 2s in that group falling under the definition of morbidly obese.
3 comments - Posted Dec 5, 2009
Chevy Chase, MD- According to a new study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM), youth with type 1 diabetes have now been found to have abnormal insulin resistance. Having abnormal insulin resistance appears to negatively affect heart, blood vessel and exercise function in this population.
7 comments - Posted Dec 5, 2009
The road to my diabetes diagnosis was anything but easy. Over Thanksgiving break during my first semester of graduate school, I fell ill with a horrific stomach virus. I was too busy to be sick, swamped with student essays to grade and papers to write for my own classes. But as the following year and half progressed, I felt worse and worse. I suffered from chronic sinus infections, drastic weight loss, extreme thirst, and constant fatigue. As I bounced from doctor to doctor, I grew increasingly discouraged. No one could figure out what was wrong with me.
16 comments - Posted Dec 4, 2009
A Swedish biotechnology company, TikoMed AB, has received notice that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is granting orphan drug designation to its IBsolvMIR® drug for preventing the rejection of transplanted pancreatic islet cells in type 1 patients.
0 comments - Posted Dec 4, 2009
Fifty science and medical diabetes experts, representing 22 international organizations*, have issued a consensus statement that calls for bariatric surgery to be used as a treatment for type 2 diabetes. The statement, published online November 23 in the Annals of Surgery, is seen by attendees at the recent Diabetes Surgery Summit in Rome as the precursor to the establishment of a new medical discipline, "diabetes surgery."
2 comments - Posted Dec 4, 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
It's been known for some time that omega-3 fatty acids decrease the risk of heart disease, but no one has really known if one dietary source is better than another. For that reason, Lixin Meng, MS, a PhD candidate at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, designed a study to compare sources, types, amounts, and frequencies of omega-3 in diets, while taking into account gender and ethnic groups. The study was presented at the American Heart Association's 2009 Scientific Sessions.
2 comments - Posted Dec 2, 2009
"Fat is better in the butt than in the gut," in the words of Nancy Bohannon, MD, FACP, FACE, Director of the Clinical Research Cardiovascular Risk Reduction Program in San Francisco. Dr. Bohannon explained in a recent CA-AADE conference that fat is supposed to be subcutaneous. But when you have too much fat, your body has nowhere to put it, so it starts parking it where it doesn't belong-in the muscles or around the heart. This visceral fat, or belly fat, is the bad kind of fat, and it puts stress on the body and organs, including the heart.
0 comments - Posted Dec 1, 2009
November 2009
Many autoimmune diseases, such as lupus erythematosis and type 1 diabetes, are caused by autoantibodies. An autoantibody is an antibody (a protein) produced by the immune system of an individual, which is directed against a different protein of the the same individual.
4 comments - Posted Nov 30, 2009
A study presented at the American Heart Association's 2009 Scientific Sessions said that eight percent of obese people misunderstand their body size and don't feel they need to lose weight.
3 comments - Posted Nov 30, 2009
PRINCETON, NJ (November 27, 2009) - The diabetes population in the United States will almost double over the next 25 years and annual medical spending on the disease is projected to hit $336 billion, up from $113 billion today, according to a study published in the December issue of Diabetes Care. The National Changing Diabetes® Program (NCDP), a program of Novo Nordisk, commissioned the analysis by a team from the University of Chicago.
5 comments - Posted Nov 27, 2009
NEW YORK (Nov. 23, 2009) - A first-of-its-kind consensus statement on diabetes surgery is published online today in the Annals of Surgery. The report illustrates the findings of the first international consensus conference - Diabetes Surgery Summit (DSS) - where an international group of more than 50 scientific and medical experts agreed on a set of evidence-based guidelines and definitions that are meant to guide the use and study of gastrointestinal surgery to treat type 2 diabetes. The document is considered to be the foundation of diabetes surgery as a medical discipline of its own.
1 comment - Posted Nov 27, 2009
HORSHAM, Pa.-- (BUSINESS WIRE)--Nutrisystem, Inc. (NASDQ: NTRI), a leading developer of weight loss products and services, today announced its company-wide support for the recently launched Stop DiabetesSM movement from the American Diabetes Association. On the heels of the successful launch of Nutrisystem D, its program designed to help people with type 2 diabetes lose weight, Nutrisystem has implemented a $5.00 contribution for every person who shares their story on the American Diabetes Association's Stop Diabetes website, up to $100,000 through December 31, 2009.
3 comments - Posted Nov 26, 2009
Dr. Jennie C. Brand-Miller, from the University of Sydney stated that, "The food insulin index (FII) may provide a better way to adjust insulin dose in Type 1 diabetes.... In time, it may also enable us to design diets to prevent diabetes."
2 comments - Posted Nov 26, 2009
The official site launch for Accu-Chek Diabetes Link Canada was Monday November 16, and is the first of many proposed sites being developed by Roche to link people with diabetes to various resources.
0 comments - Posted Nov 25, 2009
We hear it all the time, from the diet ads on television to the lectures from our doctors and dietitians. What matters is not only what you eat, but also how much you eat. But how can you control your portions? Is it possible to have a healthy relationship with food? How can you make sure you are full, but not stuffed? Can you keep your blood sugars under control? The answer to all these questions is yes!
1 comment - Posted Nov 24, 2009
For 2,000 years, diabetes has been recognized as a devastating and deadly disease. A Greek by the name of Aretaeus described its destructive nature in the first century AD, naming the affliction "diabetes," the Greek word for "siphon." Eugene J. Leopold, in his text "Aretaeus the Cappodacian," described Aretaeus' diagnosis: "...For fluids do not remain in the body, but use the body only as a channel through which they may flow out. Life lasts only for a time, but not very long. For they urinate with pain, and painful is the emaciation. For no essential part of the drink is absorbed by the body, while great masses of the flesh are liquefied into urine."
4 comments - Posted Nov 24, 2009
CRANBERRY CHUTNEY Every year during the holidays, I make cranberry chutney to serve with turkey. Chutneys combine vinegar with sugar for a balance of sweet and sour flavors, but this one also has a touch of heat from red pepper flakes, along with a lovely hint of orange. Make another batch or use leftover chutney as a great spread for cold turkey sandwiches. This chutney also really dresses up pork tenderloin.
1 comment - Posted Nov 23, 2009
Q: How do I lower my blood sugar when it goes over 200 mg/dl? I have type 2 diabetes.
6 comments - Posted Nov 21, 2009
Bridgewater, NJ, November 19, 2009 - Sanofi-aventis U.S. announced today that GoMealsTM, a new iPhone application (app) designed to help people living with diabetes make healthy food choices, is now available for download at the iTunes App store. GoMealsTM is a food tracking tool which allows users to search thousands of foods and dishes from popular restaurants and grocery stores to easily see the nutritional content of meals and snacks.
0 comments - Posted Nov 20, 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
The body's immune system is supposed to "tolerate" itself and distinguish "self" from "non-self." Autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes result from the breakdown of this system, causing immune cells to attack and destroy insulin-producing beta cells or "self." In the November issue of Nature Immunology, Brian Fife, PhD and collaborators including senior author Jeffrey Bluestone, PhD share how they have uncovered a basic process that helps control immune cell activation and tolerance.
0 comments - Posted Nov 17, 2009
The Food and Drug Administration has given ARKRAY, Inc., a 510(k)* clearance to begin marketing its new GLUCOCARD® VitalTM blood glucose monitoring system in the United States.
3 comments - Posted Nov 17, 2009
The Genetic Information Non-discrimination Act of 2008 (GINA) was signed into law by former President George W. Bush on May 21, 2008, and is set to become effective Nov. 21, 2009. The law covers all employers with 15 or more employees. It prohibits employers from considering a person's genetic background in promotions, hiring, or firing. It also prohibits health insurers from using genetic information to deny coverage.
0 comments - Posted Nov 16, 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
Do you ever stand in the fruit and vegetable section of your food store and wonder if it's really worth it to buy organic produce? Or do you wonder which conventionally grown items you can buy to save money and which items you should absolutely buy organic? I sure do. And I always resent standing there at the market, having to choose between a piece of fruit that has been exposed to chemicals and one that hasn't. Who should have to make a choice like that? Especially if you are taking that food home to your children. No one wants to eat poison.
3 comments - Posted Nov 13, 2009
"Spanish for Diabetes Educators" is a January, 2010 course arranged through Language Link, the U.S. Office for the Spanish Language Institute and the Multi-Cities chapter of the AADE (McAADE) in California.The course consists of a week of Spanish study (five days of classes) concentrated on your professional specialty. You will have 30 contact classroom hours, as well as opportunities outside the classroom for professional use of your Spanish. This course will qualify for continuing education units.
2 comments - Posted Nov 13, 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
World Diabetes Day is a global awareness campaign that's celebrated every year on November 14. The goal is to encourage action to further the prevention, treatment, and care of diabetes, as well as to support the United Nations Resolution on Diabetes. Landmarks and monuments across the world are lit in blue to create a united voice for diabetes awareness, and diabetes events are held around the globe. As of Monday evening, November 9, the World Diabetes Day website reports that 366 registered diabetes events are scheduled for November 14th, in countries ranging from Saudi Arabia to Argentina to Morocco. In addition, 623 monuments are being lit in blue around the globe. More are sure to be added to the list as the day draws closer and closer.
1 comment - Posted Nov 12, 2009
Princeton, NJ - November 10, 2009 -- Diabetic foot ulcers are the primary cause of hospital admissions for diabetics. Foot ulcers that heal improperly are at risk for infection, which can lead to amputation. According to the American Diabetes Association, one in four patients with diabetic foot ulcers will eventually require lower-limb amputation. Now science has found a way of mobilizing stem cells within the body to treat this health issue, which affects more than three million Americans annually.
0 comments - Posted Nov 11, 2009
When I was a child, my mother always said, "Think before you speak." Have you heard of this before? If not, please digest my words. If you have heard of this simple yet beneficial policy, please reconsider its merit and then implement it into your practice.
34 comments - Posted Nov 7, 2009
The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) and the College of Endocrinology (ACE) released online a one-page resource for physicians and healthcare providers for the management of glycemic control in type 2 diabetes.
2 comments - Posted Nov 7, 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
I recently ran into Theresa Garnero at the California AADE annual meeting and discovered that Diabetes Health had not yet reviewed her book, Your First Year with Diabetes: What To Do, Month By Month. We regret the oversight because it's a great resource for anyone dealing with the shock of a diabetes diagnosis. And Garnero is the perfect author for a book like this. She's an award-winning certified diabetes educator (CDE) and advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) with board certification in advanced diabetes management (BC-ADM), and she earned an Master of Science in Nursing (MSN). She is also a former national educator of the year, a cartoonist, and the 2008 global recipient of Inspired by Diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Nov 6, 2009
Fingertip blood-oxygen monitors, called pulse oximeters, measure oxygen in the blood using light and color. The noninvasive device, which clips onto a fingertip or earlobe, typically has a pair of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) facing a sensor. Light of a certain wavelength (a certain color) travels through a translucent part of the body like the fingertip or an earlobe, and is picked up by the sensor. The amount of oxygen in the blood (actually, oxygenated hemoglobin) affects how much light from each diode finally makes it through the finger and reaches the sensor. The result is an effective measurement of the amount of oxygen in the blood.
6 comments - Posted Nov 5, 2009
If you bought Vytorin® and/or Zetia® to lower your cholesterol between November 1, 2002, and September 17, 2009, you may be entitled to some money. A lawsuit against Merck & Co., Inc., Schering-Plough Corporation, Merck/Schering-Plough Pharmaceuticals, and other defendants has reached a proposed settlement in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. The lawsuit, according to vytorinzetiasettlement.com (the authorized website for the settlement), claims that Vytorin and Zetia "were marketed as being more effective than other anti-cholesterol drugs and were sold at higher prices, when they were no more effective than less expensive anti-cholesterol drugs". The defendants, according to the website, "deny any wrongdoing and are settling this lawsuit to avoid the costs and expenses of further litigation."
0 comments - Posted Nov 5, 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
Professor Peter Schwartz, MD, is a very busy man in the European diabetes community. He's a professor of medicine, a scientist, and a medical doctor in the Division of Prevention and Care of Diabetes, Department of Medicine, University of Dresden. It's a mystery how he finds enough hours in the day to do what he does. Diabetes Health recently interviewed him via email since he lives and works in Dresden, Germany.
0 comments - Posted Nov 3, 2009
The California Association of American Diabetes Educators held its second annual meeting October 22 through 24, 2009, in Monterey, California, and Diabetes Health was there. The clinical and educational program, put together by Debra Norman and Kim Higgins, was called "Tidal Wave of Diabetes." The invited speakers shared innovation, research, and new techniques with the attendees.
2 comments - Posted Nov 3, 2009
October 2009
San Diego, CA (October 28, 2009) - Novocell, Inc., a preclinical stage diabetes company, today announced that it will receive a Disease Team award totaling $20 million from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). The Disease Team includes a group of scientists at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), led by Dr. Jeff Bluestone, which is contracted to receive $2.8 million. The funding will advance Novocell's development of a first in kind cellular therapy for the treatment of diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Oct 31, 2009
Dear Diabetes Health, Hello! I am 60 years old and have had type one for about 24 years. It has been quite some time since I had a relationship, and now I have one coming at me. The problem is, I am very dry. The commercially sold products don't seem to help, and Intercourse isn't comfortable. What do you recommend that I try? And what about a libido enhancer? I need this relationship to work because living alone is tough, and my partner likes his intimacy. Please!!!
2 comments - Posted Oct 31, 2009
Taking your child to the pediatrician for annual vaccinations is bad enough, but if your child requires daily injections, fingersticks, and infusion set changes, it can be traumatic over and over again. Thankfully, help is here! When a pediatrician by the name of Amy Baxter, MD, realized that kids were being told to "just deal with it" when it came to shots, she thought there had to be another way and came up with a nifty FDA-compliant device called a Buzzy.
0 comments - Posted Oct 29, 2009
October 27, 2009 - Huntsville AL-Qualitest Pharmaceuticals today issued a voluntary nationwide recall of all Accusure® Insulin Syringes. The distributed syringes are of the following descriptions and NDC numbers: 28G 1/2cc, NDC 0603-6995-21;28G 1cc, NDC 0603-6996-21; 29G 1/2cc NDC 0603-6997-21, 29G 1cc, NDC 0603-6998-21, 30G 1/2cc, NDC 0603-999-21, 30G 1cc, NDC 0603-7000-21, 31G 1/2cc, NDC 0603-7001-21; and 31G 1cc, NDC 0603-7002-21. All Accusure® Insulin Syringes regardless of lot number are subject to this recall. These syringes were distributed between January 2002 and October 2009 to wholesale and retail pharmacies nationwide (including Puerto Rico). The syringes in these lots may have needles which detach from the syringe.
0 comments - Posted Oct 29, 2009
LEXINGTON, Mass., October 27, 2009 - GI Dynamics, a leader in non-surgical treatments for type 2 diabetes and obesity, today announced data which support the safety and efficacy of the EndoBarrierTM Gastrointestinal Liner for pre-surgical weight loss treatment, along with a positive effect on glucose homeostasis in morbidly obese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. According to the study, mean excess weight loss (EWL) achieved after 12 weeks post implantation was 19.0 % for EndoBarrier patients versus 6.9 % for control patients (p<0.002). The results of this European weight loss study were published today in the advance online publication of Annals of Surgery.
2 comments - Posted Oct 29, 2009
While the relationship between Alzheimer's and diabetes is far from clear, there does seem to be an interesting connection. And that connection just became a little more complicated according to a French study published in the October 27th issue of the journal Neurology.
0 comments - Posted Oct 29, 2009
Montreal, Canada - 20 October 2009 - This October marks the one-year anniversary of the international launch of the ground-breaking diabetes Conversation MapTM education tools. Created by Healthy Interactions, a global leader in health education, in collaboration with the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), Eli Lilly and Company and other leading diabetes experts, the unique Conversation MapTM education tools have been implemented in 68 countries, excluding the United States, in 31 different languages in the last 365 days. To complete the global launch, redesigned diabetes Conversation MapTM education tools will be unveiled throughout Canada in January 2010, along with a new Map designed for parents and children to learn together. New tools will also be introduced to several Sub-Saharan African countries by early next year.
0 comments - Posted Oct 29, 2009
The statistics are chilling. Children born today have a one-in-three chance of developing type 2 diabetes. For Latinos, however, that risk is one-in-two.
2 comments - Posted Oct 27, 2009
A South African university pharmacologist has found that simultaneous consumption of metformin and grapefruit juice raises lactic acid to dangerous levels in rats (and conceivably in people) with type 2 diabetes. Too much acid in the blood can cause low pH levels that interfere with the body's metabolic functions. Conceivably, says Dr. Peter Owira, a pharmacologist at the University of KawZulu-Natal, such low levels could be fatal.
5 comments - Posted Oct 26, 2009
While Googling recently, I found a link to Soul-Food-Advisor, a website devoted to "African American cuisine and soul food, mostly known as Southern or comfort food." It sounded, frankly, delicious. But as someone with pre-diabetes, I am trying to eat fewer carbs, avoid anything fried, and turn the other cheek when I see macaroni and cheese-my favorite comfort food since I was a little kid. So instead of looking at Soul Food Advisor, I turned my attention to the American Diabetes Association (ADA) MyFoodAdvisor online tool.
2 comments - Posted Oct 24, 2009
A recent and contentious meeting of diabetes experts at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes in Vienna, Austria, has continued the intense international debate over whether bariatric surgery should become a treatment for type 2 diabetes or continue to be reserved only for the extremely obese.
13 comments - Posted Oct 24, 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
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A number of traditional Chinese herbs may help control blood sugar levels in people at high risk of diabetes, a new research review suggests.
0 comments - Posted Oct 22, 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
Eurotech, an 84-year-old technology company, recently introduced its EverywareTM Medical Gateway, a remote monitoring device that it hopes will bolster the already notable effectiveness that home care diabetes monitoring has had in reducing hospital admissions. Along with several partners, including IBM and Roche, Eurotech demonstrated the device at the October Continua Health Alliance Fall Summit and Plugfest held in Boston.
1 comment - Posted Oct 22, 2009
Fort Worth, Texas - Trey Weir, founder of Trey Weir Media, LLC, announces the launch of Type2Friendly, a digital restaurant guide for Type 2 Diabetics. Weir, a former professional arena football player and veteran mobile and Internet technology entrepreneur, was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes in 2008. After his diagnosis, he struggled to find information on restaurants that served "Diabetic friendly" food. As a result, he became frustrated with the limited options he had for dining out.
1 comment - Posted Oct 22, 2009
A large Kaiser Permanente study, published this month in Diabetes Care, has found that women with diabetes are 26 percent more likely to develop the very rapid and irregular heartbeat known as atrial fibrillation (AF) than women without diabetes. Although not a killer on its own, AF is a serious condition that requires medical treatment and can cause complications. In addition to fatigue, the poor circulation that results from AF can lead to blood pooling and clotting, ultimately causing a stroke.
3 comments - Posted Oct 21, 2009
MONTREAL, Canada, 19 October 2009 - The International Diabetes Federation's 20th World Diabetes Congress opened today at the Palais de Congress in Montreal, Quebec. The five-day congress brings thousands of international delegates to the Canadian city to discuss burning issues in diabetes care and examine local, national and regional solutions to a growing global problem.
1 comment - Posted Oct 19, 2009
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Oct 13 - Women with metabolic syndrome in early pregnancy have a higher risk for preterm birth, according to study findings reported in the October 1st issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology.
0 comments - Posted Oct 16, 2009
The National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health (CDC) recommends that everyone, especially people with diabetes and other diseases, get both a seasonal flu vaccination and an H1N1 flu ("swine flu") vaccination this year.
6 comments - Posted Oct 16, 2009
October 12, 2009. Philadelphia, Pa. - Children in Philadelphia who attended public schools and shopped at corner stores before or after school purchased almost 360 calories of foods and beverages per visit, according to new research published in the journal Pediatrics. Chips, candy and sugar-sweetened beverages were the most frequently purchased items. This is the first study to document both what foods and beverages children purchased in local corner stores on their way to and from school, and the nutritional content of those items.
0 comments - Posted Oct 15, 2009
The human body is an amazing machine. The biological clock that ticks inside us to keep the machine running efficiently not only prompts us to sleep and eat on regular basis, but also apparently regulates blood sugar.
1 comment - Posted Oct 15, 2009
HealthDataManagement Breaking News, October 13, 2009 - All three health reform bills in the U.S. House and both of the Senate proposals include provisions to mandate increased use of electronic standards-based administrative/financial transactions, according to an analysis by the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA), Englewood, Colo.
1 comment - Posted Oct 15, 2009
San Francisco, California - October 7, 2009 - MDLiveCare, an on-demand telehealth company, announced today at the Health2.0 conference in San Francisco a partnership with Google Health. The partnership includes the secure flow of medical data between MDLiveCare and Google Health, an online Personal Health Record (PHR). Specifically, any Google Health user that has an MDLiveCare HIPAA secure video, phone or email telehealth consultation with a board certified physician or mental health therapist will be able to share his or her medical records with the doctor in advance of the appointment and get records back after the appointment from that doctor.
0 comments - Posted Oct 14, 2009
"Self-monitoring blood glucose" (SMBG), a staple in the lives of most people with diabetes who take insulin, involves consistently monitoring and recording blood glucose levels before and after specific activities, such as eating, exercising, sleeping, and taking insulin. By observing the effects of certain foods and activities on their blood glucose levels, patients can learn exactly what works to raise or lower them. Thus, SMBG affords a kind of "fine tuning" approach to diabetes that empowers patients to adjust their medicine, modify their behavior, and manage their disease without always needing expert intervention.
1 comment - Posted Oct 13, 2009
A law signed by New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine that allows teachers to give emergency glucagon shots to students with diabetes has parents elated but has drawn strong opposition from teachers and nurses. The law also allows students with diabetes to test their own blood glucose levels and use insulin pumps while they are in the classroom, two activities that were not previously allowed.
15 comments - Posted Oct 12, 2009
Hyperglycemia is known to cause microvascular damage, which then creates complications such as proliferative retinopathy. However, this microvascular damage may also affect cognitive functioning even before it is reflected by more easily observed complications such as retinopathy. A study carried out by Eelco van Duinkerken and colleagues in the Netherlands found that "functional connectivity", which is "an indicator of functional interactions and information exchange between brain regions," was different in type 1's as compared to controls.
0 comments - Posted Oct 10, 2009
Taking Control Of Your Diabetes TCOYD (www.tcoyd.org) and DiabetesSisters (www.diabetessisters.org) are nationwide non-profit organizations with similar missions of motivating and educating people with diabetes. In 2010, TCOYD and DiabetesSisters are partnering to bring a unique, life-changing learning experience to women with diabetes. The First Annual Weekend for Women Conference hosted by DiabetesSisters and TCOYD will begin at 5pm on Saturday, May 22nd (immediately following the TCOYD Conference) in Raleigh, North Carolina and end at 5pm on Sunday, May 23rd. The Weekend for Women Conference will take place at Marriott City Center in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina. All participants will receive a single room at the hotel.
4 comments - Posted Oct 10, 2009
MSGI Security Solutions, which "serves the needs of counter-terrorism, public safety, law enforcement, and commercial security," has moved into a new area: diabetes detection. In fact, it has developed a handheld sensor that detects diabetes by measuring the level of acetone in the breath. The device, which employs carbon-based chemical sensors that detect organic vapors, is based upon nano sensors that NASA originally developed to make scientific measurements during space missions.
7 comments - Posted Oct 9, 2009
So close, and yet so far. It looks like there will be no marketing partnership for MannKind's ultra rapid-acting insulin product Afresa anytime soon. The company had planned to enter into a deal with a large pharmaceutical company by the end of this year, but now approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for their inhaled insulin won't be until January 2010, at the earliest.
3 comments - Posted Oct 8, 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
The demise of Fen-phen dealt a body blow to hopes for an obesity pill that is actually effective. Unfortunately, the fen in Fen-phen, fenfluramine, caused grave pulmonary hypertension and heart valve problems. The phen part of the drug, though, was apparently just an innocent bystander. And now phen (phentermine) has resurfaced in a new pill that has posted some amazing results in Phase III clinical trials. Patients who were treated for 56 weeks with the new drug, Qnexa, lost an average of 14.7 percent of their weight, or 37 pounds.
8 comments - Posted Oct 7, 2009
A study coming out in the November issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology is reporting that type 2 men whose blood contained a high count of eosinophils, a sign of allergic inflammation, also had albumin in their urine, which is an early indication of kidney disease. Eosinophils are white blood cells that increase in number during an allergic reaction. Albumin is a protein in the blood that helps regulate blood volume and acts as a carrier for other molecules. Albumin is not normally found in the urine, however, because when healthy kidneys filter the blood, they retain what the body needs (like proteins) and allow only smaller "impurities" into the urine. But during diabetes, too much blood sugar can damage the filtering structures of the kidneys, causing them to thicken and become scarred. Eventually, they begin to leak, and protein (albumin) begins to pass into the urine.
0 comments - Posted Oct 6, 2009
Nature is wonderfully complex. During the second trimester of pregnancy, when the fetus is growing rapidly, hormones from the placenta begin to reduce the ability of the mother's insulin to bind with insulin receptors. Because the mother's insulin is consequently less able to shuttle glucose out of her bloodstream, the growing fetus is guaranteed a good supply of blood glucose.
0 comments - Posted Oct 6, 2009
The enthusiasm for inhaled insulin has waned, to say the least, since Exubera was pulled off the market by Pfizer. Following the Exubera debacle, the development of two other inhaled insulins (AIR by Eli Lilly and Alkermes, and AERx by Novo Nordisk) was halted as well.
14 comments - Posted Oct 5, 2009
Researchers at Children's Hospital in Boston think that they may have created the most reliable means yet of delivering drugs that cannot be taken orally. Their solution is to combine nanotechnology and magnetism to create a delivery system that is simple, but extremely durable and accurate.
2 comments - Posted Oct 3, 2009
"Poor medication adherence," the latest euphemism to replace the much-disliked "poor compliance," is a hot topic these days. According to the New England Health Institute, a third to a half of American patients don't take their medications as prescribed. And people with chronic conditions, including diabetes, are reportedly the worst when it comes to medication adherence and "persistence" (the length of time they continue to take a prescribed drug).
5 comments - Posted Oct 3, 2009
Having diabetes involves a lot of pretty complex arithmetic. You've got to calculate carbs from nutrition labels, total the calories and carbohydrates in a meal, calculate insulin dosage based on insulin-to-carbohydrate intake, and on and on. These tasks aren't simple: They require an understanding of measurement, estimation, time, logic, and multi-step operations, and the knowledge of which math skills to apply to each problem.
3 comments - Posted Oct 2, 2009
Dear Aisha and David - I am a 22-year-old woman with type 1, on a pump. I've only had one real boyfriend, and we broke up two months ago. He said that my diabetes didn't have anything to do with it, but I'm not sure. I think that the lows scared him. Sex with him was good, but I don't have much to compare it with.
7 comments - Posted Oct 2, 2009
Dr. Kenneth P. Moritsugu, MD, MPH, FACPM is a very interesting man. He served as the Acting Surgeon General of the United States in 2006 and was made Chairman of the Johnson & Johnson Diabetes Institute in October 2007. The Johnson & Johnson Diabetes Institute is designed to serve as a home for the diabetes family and a trusted place of diabetes learning that will inspire diabetes innovation, improved care, and better outcomes worldwide. Through the Institute, Johnson & Johnson is opening and operating state-of-the-art instructional facilities around the world to provide health professionals with education and training aimed at improving diabetes patients' outcomes by working at the community level.
0 comments - Posted Oct 1, 2009
"Ask any of the elite who have become truly massive beasts which anabolic substance has had the most profound effect upon their physique, and the answer from the largest mammals will unanimously be insulin." That's a quote from Iron Magazine, a publication for body builders. Apparently, injecting insulin for its anabolic properties is not uncommon among the "massive beasts," as several body-building websites actually contain instructions on how to do it and what types of insulin to use.
0 comments - Posted Oct 1, 2009
African Americans are more prone to type 2 diabetes than white Americans: In 2008, the CDC reported that the rate of diagnosed diabetes in African Americans was 11.8 percent, nearly twice that of whites at 6.6 percent. But why? Is it all in their genes? Previous nationwide studies, which may have seemed to support this conclusion, did not account for socioeconomic and environmental differences between African American and white communities. According to a new study, however, when African Americans and whites live in the same community and have comparable incomes, their rates of diabetes are similar.
3 comments - Posted Oct 1, 2009
According to the American Diabetes Association, "one out of every three children born today will face a future with diabetes if the current trends continue." It's a sobering thought. Because November is designated American Diabetes Month, it seems a good time for those of us in the diabetes community to reach out to those who will face diabetes in the future: the 57 million Americans who are currently at risk for type 2 diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Oct 1, 2009
In August, I had the pleasure of traveling to Atlanta, Georgia to attend the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) annual meeting. I sat in on several seminars, the most interesting of which are summarized here.
0 comments - Posted Oct 1, 2009
In our June/July 2009 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. Her letter 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.
0 comments - Posted Oct 1, 2009
September 2009
Clinical trials are conducted before a new drug is released for sale, in part to test for bad things that might happen when people take it. But clinical trials don't involve all that many people: several thousand at the most. After the clinical trials are successfully completed, however, the drug is sold to millions upon millions. Merck's sales of Januvia and Janumet, for example, totaled over a billion dollars in the first six months of this year alone.
1 comment - Posted Sep 30, 2009
The South, which swept a 2009 survey for fattest region, has achieved that dubious honor again when it comes to prevalence of type 2 diabetes. According to a recent study published in Population Health Metrics, it's the region with the highest percentage of type 2 diabetes when both diagnosed and undiagnosed cases are included. Mississippi is at the very top of the heap, followed by West Virginia, Louisiana, Texas, South Carolina, Alabama, and Georgia (15.8 to 16.6 percent for men and 12.4 to 14.8 percent for women).
0 comments - Posted Sep 28, 2009
One thing that really frustrates people with diabetes mellitus is the biopharma industry's focus on treatments rather than cures. A cure is what the diabetes community wants, not another band-aid. So the existence of a biopharma company that calls itself "CureDM" is promising, and its first product, Pancreate, seems to be on its way to fulfilling that promise.
21 comments - Posted Sep 28, 2009
The way information is presented to us makes a big difference in whether we are able to integrate that information into our daily lives. Although graphs and numbers may sway some people, putting educational materials into a culturally relevant context can be more effective. A recent study, for example, has found that a dietary program based on the Medicine Wheel Model for Nutrition can change eating patterns among Native Americans, who have the highest rates of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease of all ethnic groups.
2 comments - Posted Sep 26, 2009
For most of us, the biggest problem with losing lots of weight is the demoralizing process of watching ourselves gain it all back. But some people who lose weight manage to keep it off for good. How do they do it? Researchers from the Miriam Hospital recently examined their brain activity with functional magnetic resonance imaging and actually saw their restraint in action.
1 comment - Posted Sep 25, 2009
September 22, 2009 - A recent study of the economic burden of U.S. health disparities provides staggering proof that race is a social reality in America, with dramatic and troubling effects. According to the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, racial inequalities in health care access and quality added more than $50 billion a year in direct U.S health care costs from 2003 to 2006.
0 comments - Posted Sep 25, 2009
Metformin has always been the old reliable for treating new onset type 2 diabetes, but it's beginning to look like it's got a new calling as a cancer treatment. Diabetes Health recently reported on the fact that metformin reduces a type 2 person's risk of pancreatic cancer by up to 62 percent. It's also been observed that people with type 2 who take metformin have a much lower cancer incidence than those who don't. Now it appears that metformin can help with breast cancer treatment as well. A study of mice with breast cancer generated from human breast cancer cells has found that they remained tumor-free for nearly three months on metformin combined with doxorubicin, a standard cancer chemotherapy. In mice given only the doxorubicin, the tumors recurred.
1 comment - Posted Sep 25, 2009
Scientists have noted for a long time that the hormone leptin suppresses appetite. That's why they have been puzzled by the high levels of leptin found in obese people-shouldn't leptin decrease their appetites and act as a curb on their weight? Leptin also suppresses bone mass accrual, yet obese people do not suffer from loss or weakening of bone mass, despite their high leptin levels.
0 comments - Posted Sep 25, 2009
DAVIS, CA, SEPTEMBER 17, 2009 - While health officials have long suspected the link between obesity and soda consumption, research released today provides the first scientific evidence of the potent role soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages play in fueling California's expanding girth.
4 comments - Posted Sep 24, 2009
Even if they don't lose weight, a moderate aerobic exercise program can improve insulin sensitivity in obese adolescents who are sedentary.
4 comments - Posted Sep 23, 2009
Kansas City, Mo. - Moises Aldape helped Team Type 1 stamp its authority on the Tour of Missouri Sunday by winning the Michelob Ultra King of the Mountains title.
1 comment - Posted Sep 22, 2009
Suppose you've always wanted to start exercising, but you've procrastinated for awhile, a very, very long while. In fact, you are a comfortably sedentary 85 years old now, and it seems like it's too late to do any good. Well, according to new research published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, it's never too late.
0 comments - Posted Sep 21, 2009
That old dog is me (thirty-seven years living with diabetes). There's a lot to be said for teaching someone who's lived with diabetes for years new ways to manage diabetes, and some new things that have come into the marketplace recently.
9 comments - Posted Sep 20, 2009
We're drinking so much sugar-sweetened soda that it's become a taxing problem, according to a Health Policy Report published recently in the New England Journal of Medicine. Between 1977 and 2002, Americans doubled their intake of sugary beverages. Unfortunately, that's not good news for anyone but the beverage companies. Although high fructose corn syrup, sucrose, and fruit juice concentrates are naturally derived sweeteners (as opposed to artificial low- or no-calorie sweeteners), this added sugar has been linked to obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.
24 comments - Posted Sep 19, 2009
By reprogramming skin cells from people with type 1 diabetes, scientists have produced beta cells that secrete insulin in response to changes in glucose levels. Dr. Douglas Melton and his colleagues at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute started by using the skin cells to generate induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. Once they had iPS cells, the researchers manipulated them into developing into pancreatic islet (beta) cells.
4 comments - Posted Sep 19, 2009
Alexandria, VA (September 10, 2009)-This year, thousands of people in communities across the country will come together to demonstrate their support in the fight against diabetes by participating in the American Diabetes Association's Step Out: Walk to Fight Diabetes® event. Step Out is a fundraising walk that takes place in more than 160 cities to raise awareness about diabetes and to raise much needed funds to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Sep 19, 2009
Researchers at the Karolinsky Institute in Sweden have discovered that in people with type 2 diabetes, a gene in muscle tissue is "methylated"; that is, an extra methyl group is stuck to it, causing it to respond differently. The gene in question, PGC-1α, controls other genes that affect how glucose is metabolized by muscle cells. The end result of methylated PGC-1α is that muscle cells are less able to use glucose as an energy source.
0 comments - Posted Sep 18, 2009
For a while now, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) has been conducting clinical trials on the effectiveness of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) for people with type 1 diabetes. Last year, they issued their first two reports on their findings, showing that CGMs can improve control even for people who already have A1c's below 7%. That information has already had a powerful impact: It's convinced a number of large health insurers (including Aetna, Cigna, Kaiser Permanente, United Healthcare, and Wellpoint) to cover CGMs for type 1s, and it's led to the inclusion of CGMs in national standards of care for type 1 diabetes.
6 comments - Posted Sep 17, 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
Those of you who are familiar with the South know what kudzu is. An Asian vine that can grow a foot taller every day, it was brought to the American Southeast in the 1930s in a sadly boneheaded attempt to control erosion. Unfortunately, the little green visitor liked it here so much that in the decades since, it has colonized 10 million acres of farms and woods, becoming a massive and costly nuisance.
0 comments - Posted Sep 16, 2009
You might think that people with type 2 diabetes would know better than most what they should put into and leave out of their diets. At least, that was the expectation of researchers at the Wake Forest School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, when they set out to learn why people with type 2 are often overweight. What they found, however, surprised them. Their study of 2,757 type 2s showed that:
7 comments - Posted Sep 15, 2009
An Italian study of people with type 2 diabetes has found that 70 percent of those who followed a low-fat diet eventually needed diabetes drugs, as opposed to only 44 percent of those who ate a Mediterranean diet.
4 comments - Posted Sep 14, 2009
ALEXANDRIA, VA, Sep 01, 2009 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) - The American Diabetes Association Research Foundation has selected two scientists, University of Virginia Health System researcher Zhenqi Liu, MD, and Stanford University School of Medicine researcher Gerald Reaven, MD, to receive the American Diabetes Association-Novo Nordisk Clinical/Translational Research Award.
0 comments - Posted Sep 12, 2009
Visceral adipose tissue (VAT), familiarly known as visceral fat, has long been associated with metabolic risk. But VAT is closely correlated with liver fat, also called intrahepatic triglyceride (IHTG) content. As a result, Samuel Klein of the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, set out to determine if liver fat is more closely correlated with complications in obese patients than VAT.
0 comments - Posted Sep 12, 2009
Adults newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes generally don't take to the idea of using insulin right off the bat. They're worried about gaining weight and fear low blood sugars. They're also concerned about whether they can manage the regimen and fear that taking insulin will lower their quality of life. Those concerns, however, might be assuaged by a study recently conducted by Ildiko Lingvay and his colleagues at the University of Texas Southwestern.
5 comments - Posted Sep 12, 2009
I remember it like it was yesterday. It was the night before Thanksgiving, and my family and I were driving to my parents' house for the holiday weekend. I am usually the one who drives, but this time my wife insisted on taking the wheel because I was so dizzy and light-headed that I could hardly stand upright. Over the course of the previous week, I had not been feeling well. I had been getting up frequently at night to use the bathroom, was insatiably thirsty, and had been so dizzy that I had actually fallen down several times.
7 comments - Posted Sep 11, 2009
The American Heart Association, noting a direct link between sugar consumption and the development of such conditions as cardiovascular disease and diabetes, has called upon Americans to drastically reduce their consumption of "added sugar." Added sugar is defined, reasonably enough, as sugar added to foods during processing, cooking, or at meals.
3 comments - Posted Sep 10, 2009
Juice extracted from North American lowbush blueberries, biotransformed with bacteria from the skin of the fruit, holds great promise as an anti-obesity and anti-diabetic agent. The study, published in the International Journal of Obesity, was conducted by researchers from the Université de Montréal, the Institut Armand-Frappier and the Université de Moncton who tested the effects of biotransformed juices compared to regular blueberry drinks on mice.
3 comments - Posted Sep 10, 2009
It's not on the market yet, but a patch composed of tiny needles, each the width of a few human hairs, could eventually replace hypodermic needles for most drug injections. Preliminary experiments with people with diabetes have shown that the patch can deliver insulin successfully and with less pain than a hypodermic.
5 comments - Posted Sep 9, 2009
Scientists and healthcare professionals have known for some time that low levels of vitamin D almost double the risk of cardiovascular disease in people with diabetes. But until now, they haven't known why.
1 comment - Posted Sep 8, 2009
Here's a sweet bit of news: Drinking sugar-free beverages sweetened with low-calorie sweeteners increases "dietary restraint," the ability of people to maintain long-term weight loss.
5 comments - Posted Sep 7, 2009
A South Carolina study has found that the DASH diet, originally designed to treat hypertension, is linked to a lower rate of type 2 diabetes in whites, but not in blacks or Hispanics.
0 comments - Posted Sep 4, 2009
Nick Jonas is only 16 years old, but he's already been a pop star for years. He's also had type 1 diabetes for nearly four of those years. When he spoke to journalists at the National Press Club recently, he was one of the youngest guests ever invited to speak there.
3 comments - Posted Sep 4, 2009
The famous Diabetes Control and Complications Trial, known to its friends as the DCCT, was the first to prove the power of "intensive control" of blood glucose to reduce the complications of diabetes. Although the ten-year study ended in 1993, researchers have continued to follow about 90 percent of the nearly 1,500 original DCCT volunteers. And the follow-up study, called the Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications (EDIC), is measuring up to its illustrious parent in terms of demonstrating the value of tight control. According to results published in the July 27, 2009 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, microvascular and cardiovascular complications of type 1 diabetes are cut in half for patients with near-normal glucose.
11 comments - Posted Sep 4, 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
Even though autumn is just around the corner, many places in the country still have a couple of hot spells left. And those surprise heat waves can be bad news for people with diabetes. It’s no secret that the elderly, the obese, and people with heart disease or respiratory conditions are vulnerable to heat-related illnesses. It’s less well known, however, that people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes are more likely than non-diabetics to suffer heat stroke, heat exhaustion, and heat cramps.
1 comment - Posted Sep 3, 2009
Researchers at Stanford University recently discovered that a mutated version of a gene may contribute to type 1 diabetes by sabotaging the functioning of the gene's normal version. Experiments conducted on mice with a diabetes-type disease showed that the mutated variant may prevent the healthy version from protecting the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas from attack by the immune system.
0 comments - Posted Sep 3, 2009
Eating fat is usually not very helpful when it comes to losing weight. According to a researcher at Ohio State University, however, two natural oils that contain "good fats" can melt away pounds in postmenopausal obese women with type 2 diabetes.
1 comment - Posted Sep 2, 2009
Research by Utah scientists has clarified the mechanism behind the long-held notion that sugar somehow "feeds" tumors. In addition to suggesting a new way to fight cancer, the findings provide insight into how the body metabolizes glucose and may eventually affect treatments for diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Sep 1, 2009
August 2009
In a Canadian study involving 42 patients with type 1 diabetes, nearly half of the subjects had an abnormal response to wheat proteins. Scientists at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and the University of Ottawa, who conducted the study, found that the patients' over-reaction to wheat is linked to genes that are associated with type 1 diabetes.
6 comments - Posted Aug 31, 2009
See the new video on DiabetesHealthTV with columnist Riva Greenberg. She discusses her new book 50 Diabetes Myths That Can Ruin Your Life: And the 50 Diabetes Truths That Can Save It.
0 comments - Posted Aug 28, 2009
Being a protein can be a dirty, sticky job. Most proteins in the body have carbohydrates stuck all over them. And when a carbohydrate sticks to a protein, it may change the way the protein works or how the protein interacts with other proteins.
1 comment - Posted Aug 28, 2009
A Japanese company whose biggest moneymaker is the sale of synthetic fabrics announced a few days ago that it has developed an insulin nasal spray for people with diabetes. The news brought an investor surge that lifted the value of its stocks by 10 percent.
0 comments - Posted Aug 28, 2009
Our genes are like a recipe for a human. It's a very complicated recipe, determining how much of this protein and how much of that enzyme need to be added into the mix in order for us to function properly, but our genes are pretty good at getting it right. Although we are still learning how the recipe works, what ingredients (gene products) are involved, and when are they are produced, our knowledge is growing fast.
2 comments - Posted Aug 28, 2009
Everyone knows that eating only high fat food is unhealthy way down the road, but we don't really worry that eating a burger will hurt us by next week. Unfortunately, however, it turns out that a high fat diet damages our health (and our brain functioning) a lot sooner than we would like to think. In fact, new research shows that the effects are felt within only ten days. As far as I'm concerned, this was already shown conclusively in the film "Super Size Me," in which director Morgan Spurlock personally examined the effects of fast food on the human body. For one month, he ate only at McDonald's, ordering everything on the menu and "super-sizing" his order whenever asked. Right before our eyes, Spurlock began looking sicker and sicker.
12 comments - Posted Aug 28, 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 PreDx Diabetes Risk Score determines risk of developing type 2 diabetes within five years
0 comments - Posted Aug 26, 2009
A new glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analog for type 2s that might require dosing only once a month is now in pre-clinical (animal) studies. GLP-1, which increases insulin secretion from the pancreas, is a mighty helpful molecule, but with a sadly brief lifespan. It's broken down in the body within minutes by the enzyme DPP-4. That's why drugs like Merck's Januvia, a DPP-4 inhibitor, is effective: blocking DPP-4 subsequently increases the amount of GLP-1 in the system.
0 comments - Posted Aug 25, 2009
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning against the use of GDH-PQQ blood glucose test strips by people with diabetes who are taking medications that contain non-glucose sugars. [Note: GDH-PQQ is the abbreviation of "glucose dehydrogenase pyrroloquinoline quinone," a chemical that reacts with the non-glucose sugars maltose, galactose, and xylose, which are contained in some therapeutic products.]
10 comments - Posted Aug 24, 2009
Deferoxamine, a drug already FDA-approved for the treatment of disorders related to excess iron in the blood, may help doctors heal stubborn leg and foot wounds in people with diabetes. Scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine found that with deferoxamine, small cuts in diabetic mice healed 10 days faster than they did in untreated mice: 13 days as opposed to 23 days. If deferoxamine works similarly on humans, it could significantly speed the healing of diabetic wounds.
5 comments - Posted Aug 22, 2009
Concerned by the huge number of Americans - 57 million - who are now considered to have prediabetes, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) has launched "My Health Advisor."
2 comments - Posted Aug 22, 2009
Three days after a routine physical last November, 84-year-old Louis Zorich was called by his doctor and told that he had type 2 diabetes. The first words out of the seasoned actor's mouth were "There's been a mistake." Louis, who's been married to Academy Award-winning actress Olympia Dukakis for 47 years, proceeded to explain (incorrectly) to his doctor, "Men don't get diabetes. My three brothers don't have it, but my mother had it....It may be genetic, but only the female side of my family can have diabetes."
2 comments - Posted Aug 21, 2009
It's called an anti-Ras drug, but it's got no problem with reggae. It's a multi-talented new pill against pancreatic cancer that just might also come to the rescue of pancreatic beta cells. Its pancreatic cancer-fighting attributes are currently being tested in a human clinical trial, but a modified version has been shown to maintain normal insulin production in diabetic mice.
1 comment - Posted Aug 21, 2009
South African researchers have found that in areas where tuberculosis is endemic, nearly one in three children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes tests positive when given a skin test for the disease. Although the positive test results do not mean that these young people will inevitably develop active TB, they do run a very high risk of doing so.
4 comments - Posted Aug 20, 2009
In June, I attended the ADA's 69th Scientific Sessions Conference that was held in New Orleans this year. Among other presentations, I listened to Mary Sullivan's very interesting talk offering practical advice on better inpatient diabetes care. We've written numerous times online about how hospital glycemic control needs to be improved. For example, you can read our article on DiabetesHealth.com called, "U.S. Academic Medical Centers Are Not Cutting the Mustard."
0 comments - Posted Aug 20, 2009
One of the major complications of diabetes is diabetic nephropathy, a loss of kidney function that may lead to renal failure. As kidney disease progresses, the barrier that keeps large molecules out of the urine, called the glomerular barrier, begins to break down. With the barrier failing, certain large molecules begin to migrate into the urine. One of those hefty molecules is immunoglobulin M, or IgM.
1 comment - Posted Aug 19, 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
The theory of unintended consequences has gotten another boost. Although two drugs designed to slow the loss of kidney function in people with type 1 diabetes turned out to be busts, they had a wonderful but entirely unexpected side effect: Eye damage was reduced by 65 to 70 percent in the patients taking them.
6 comments - Posted Aug 17, 2009
Only a handful of studies have examined the relationship of a woman's menstrual cycle to her blood glucose control, but they have one finding in common: menstruation's effect on blood glucose is as varied as each individual's disease. As a result, blood glucose testing remains the only way to know how a woman's monthly cycle affects her diabetes control.
9 comments - Posted Aug 15, 2009
Onglyza (saxagliptin), a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitor produced by AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb, has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.
2 comments - Posted Aug 15, 2009
If it's a pump, then where's the tubing? Well, it looks like another company has put a patch on that problem. Medingo Ltd., a company held by Elron Electronic Industries, has received FDA approval to market the Solo MicroPump Insulin Delivery System. The Solo System consists of an insulin-dispensing patch and a remote control device that increases or decreases the patch's rate of secretion.
6 comments - Posted Aug 15, 2009
This year the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) went deep south for its annual conference, hosting the event in Atlanta, Georgia, from August 3rd through August 9th. Diabetes Health was there, hobnobbing with thousands of attendees and hundreds of companies, and it was an amazing experience.
0 comments - Posted Aug 15, 2009
Endocrinologists at the University of Chicago say that lack of sufficient sleep may contribute to insulin resistance and decreased glucose tolerance, two conditions that up the long-term risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Aug 14, 2009
There's a gene whose name you should remember because it could mark a crucial point in the war on type 1 diabetes.
3 comments - Posted Aug 13, 2009
Now there's an iPhone and iPod Touch app for diabetes. AgaMatrix, Inc., the makers of the WaveSense line of blood glucose monitoring products, has announced the launch of the WaveSense Diabetes Manager, an electronic diabetes logbook software application that runs on the two Apple products.
The WaveSense Diabetes Manager, in development and testing for over a year, lays the foundation for a series of upcoming products that will take advantage of the iPhone and other mobile platforms to help people with diabetes manage the disease. AgaMatrix reports that the WaveSense app provides users with the following features:
2 comments - Posted Aug 12, 2009
Researchers have recently reported that people with the lowest levels of a protein that regulates sex hormones, "sex hormone-binding globulin," were 10 times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those with the highest levels of SHBG. In short, the lower a person's SHBG levels, the higher his or her risk of developing the disease.
0 comments - Posted Aug 11, 2009
A 43-year-old Iraq war veteran with diabetes is living in Texas with his wife and four young children when he is told that he must prepare for the amputation of one of his legs. The spreading, non-healing wounds and their complications make the amputation necessary to save not just his limb, but his life, his doctors tell him. But he refuses to proceed with the amputation surgery.
6 comments - Posted Aug 10, 2009
Until the twentieth century, type 1 diabetes was a fatal disease. Once we came to understand how insulin works in the body, however, everything changed. The discovery of the role of insulin was a group effort by people who didn't know each other, but built on each others' work. In 1869, a German medical student named Paul Langerhans figured out the regulatory role of insulin in the mammal body. In honor of his efforts, his name was given to the islets of Langerhans, where insulin is synthesized within the beta cells of the pancreas. Other Europeans and North Americans made important advancements right up until January 23, 1922, when a 14-year-old boy who was dying of diabetes at Toronto General Hospital was given the first successful injection of cow insulin.
2 comments - Posted Aug 10, 2009
Last May, 24-year-old Charlie Kimball was in Car #35, taking Turn 3 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the Firestone Freedom 100. He was in radio contact with his pit crew, who informed him that he had a headwind coming out of the turn and onto the 5/8 mile "straight." Charlie kept an eye on the car next to him, moving closer and beginning to crowd it on the inside. Having raced professionally for six years, he knew that he had to make a move, and soon. He shifted into sixth gear and accelerated.
2 comments - Posted Aug 8, 2009
A study from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston says that magnetic resonance imaging could become a useful tool for diagnosing diabetes and helping doctors determine the proper course of treatment.
3 comments - Posted Aug 8, 2009
A study of the sugar consumption habits of 30,000 Americans by the American Dietetic Association concludes that race/ethnicity, family income and education levels are important factors in how much sugar a person eats.
1 comment - Posted Aug 8, 2009
Initially diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, Rob subsequently discovered that he had type 1. Knowing that he needed to exercise more, he returned to professional surfing. Today, he is a sponsored professional athlete who uses a CGM.
10 comments - Posted Aug 7, 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
Metformin is one of the oldest and most tried-and-true diabetes treatments around, but apparently it has a new talent. According to research from the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas, good ol' metformin reduces a type 2 person's risk of pancreatic cancer by 62 percent.
2 comments - Posted Aug 5, 2009
In April of 2008, our healthy nine-year-old son, Gaspar, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. After his two days in the ICU and a week in the hospital, a new life began for all of us. Although we couldn't immediately grasp all its implications and were simultaneously dealing with our shaken world, we gave the situation a "think outside the box" approach. When the endocrinologist told us, "That's the way it is. Just focus on the controls and all will be fine," we asked whether the condition might be cured or attenuated if we acted quickly at the beginning. We were met with the usual answer: "There's nothing you can do. Just focus on the controls."
8 comments - Posted Aug 3, 2009
Eating fat is usually not very helpful when it comes to losing weight. According to a researcher at Ohio State University, however, two natural oils that contain "good fats" can melt away pounds in postmenopausal obese women with type 2 diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Aug 2, 2009
Eating fat is usually not very helpful when it comes to losing weight. According to a researcher at Ohio State University, however, two natural oils that contain "good fats" can melt away pounds in postmenopausal obese women with type 2 diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Aug 2, 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
It's very likely that you, like most people, believe many myths about diabetes. If you do, you might actually be doing yourself harm. Learning the truth can empower you (as it did me) to make choices and take actions that increase the quality and length of your life.
9 comments - Posted Aug 1, 2009
In 1994, Kelli Kuehne was on a roll. That year, she won the United States Girls Junior Amateur Golf Championship and a year later, she won the U.S. Women's Amateur Golf Championship, repeating that win in 1996 while also taking the British Ladies Amateur Golf Championship. The roll continues. Today, Kelli Kuehne is still playing matches in the LPGA and, through it all, has never allowed type 1 diabetes to beat her on the golf course or in her life.
0 comments - Posted Aug 1, 2009
Because we have good health insurance, my son sees his endocrinologist twice a year, his diabetes health educator twice a year, and his nutritionist once a year. Meanwhile, he sees his school nurse one to three times a day. As you know, this relationship can make a difference for the rest of a child's life.
0 comments - Posted Aug 1, 2009
Xenotransplantation ("zee-no-transplantation") may sound like something from a space invasion novel, but it's actually the practice of transplanting organs, cells, or tissues from one animal species into another. With scientific advances taking place so rapidly and with so many patients desperate for organ transplants, it seems plausible (and pretty likely) that one day xenotransplantation will be commonplace.
1 comment - 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
San Francisco's Winterland Arena, an old ice skating rink converted into a music venue in 1966 by rock promoter Bill Graham, became legendary for the shows that happened there. It was the site of some of the most memorable moments in rock ‘n' roll history, and through its back door once walked some of the greatest stars ever known. Although Winterland no longer exists, its door lives on, and that very door is now available for purchase!
0 comments - Posted Jul 30, 2009
May 5 - Ann Arbor, MI - In the first study of the effects of statins on the concentrations of both low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C; known as the "bad" cholesterol) and low-density lipoprotein particles (LDL-P) in patients with metabolic syndrome, it was shown that even though the statins lowered the concentrations of LDL-C to target levels, the patients retained considerable residual risk for cardiovascular events because LDL-P concentrations were not reduced to a similar extent. A pre-print version of the study in Diabetes Care is available online at http://dx.doi.org/10.2337/dc08-1681, and the final version will be available in print in the June 2009 issue, as well as online at the same URL.
0 comments - Posted Jul 29, 2009
A protein that builds up in the pancreases of baboons and leads to the suppression of insulin-producing beta cells, may provide one of the most significant indicators yet for predicting the onset of type 2 diabetes.
1 comment - Posted Jul 28, 2009
Banting Gives It Away - Insulin was discovered in 1921 by Fred Banting and Charles Best. In a generous gesture that unfortunately didn't start a trend, they sold the patent for a dollar so that cheap insulin would quickly become available. It worked like a charm: within two years, Eli Lilly had sold 60 million units of its purified extract of pig and cow pancreas.
22 comments - Posted Jul 27, 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
Researchers at Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, have found a brain enzyme that, when blocked, curbs appetite and increases energy levels-both crucial factors in controlling and losing weight.
0 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
Never underestimate the power of people with diabetes and their families. When we as a consumer group purchase more fruits and vegetables, walk or bicycle instead of taking the car, and educate ourselves about a healthy lifestyle, we are addressing global issues as well as personal ones and can have a strong, positive effect on the future.
1 comment - Posted Jul 23, 2009
For obese people, who often go on to develop type 2 diabetes, the magic bullet would be a drug that causes weight loss without surgery or the misery of drastic diets that often fail. So, news about a drug that produced dramatically slimmer lab rats in just a week should make them-and people with diabetes-perk up.
0 comments - Posted Jul 23, 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
Could the medical community be overlooking 2.5 million people who have diabetes? Currently, 23.6 million children and adults in the United States, or 7.8 percent of the population, have diabetes. Although an estimated 17.9 million of them have been diagnosed, 5.7 million (nearly one quarter) are unaware that they have the disease. If lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) people comprise 10 percent of the U.S. population, then 10 percent of people with diabetes are part of the LGBT community-about 2.5 million people.*
3 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
Growth hormones, peer pressure, independence struggles, and mood swings: welcome to the teenage years! There's nothing like a warning glance from a fed-up teenager to make a parent retreat. As your child takes more control of his or her diabetes, it becomes ever more tempting to step back and avoid the friction that sometimes comes from being involved. Nevertheless, your teenager needs your reliable presence more than ever. The beauty, strength, and sheer courage our kids exhibit in meeting their teenage challenges can inspire us to stand up and work with them to keep their health and well-being firmly in the forefront of their minds. Each child and each situation is different, but here are a few suggestions for staying on your teen's diabetes team.
0 comments - Posted Jul 17, 2009
The Organic Center (TOC), a leading research institute focused on the science of organic food and farming, announced that a balanced, organic diet-both before and during pregnancy-can significantly reduce a child's likelihood of becoming overweight or obese or developing diabetes.
1 comment - Posted Jul 17, 2009
This article was submitted by GlaxoSmithKline, makers of LOVAZA, a medication to lower very high triglycerides, made from omega-3 fish oil.
0 comments - Posted Jul 16, 2009
Rhode Island researchers say they have found strong evidence that links the level of nitrates in the environment and food supply to increases in deaths from such diseases as diabetes, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's-all insulin-resistant ailments.
1 comment - Posted Jul 16, 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
Obesity has always been one of the major precursors to type 2 diabetes because of its ill effects on the body's ability to properly use insulin. But until now, scientists haven't been able to say with certainty just what happens in obese people to increase their insulin resistance.
0 comments - Posted Jul 14, 2009
People often ask me, "Why limit diabetes-related services to the iPhone when there are so many other cell phones out there?" I always answer them by asking, "How many applications have you downloaded onto your cell phone?"
15 comments - Posted Jul 13, 2009
April 2009 was an exciting month at the University of Alberta. It marked the tenth anniversary of an unprecedented approach to islet transplantation, recognized globally as the "Edmonton Protocol." Each year since that milestone has produced evidence of progress in the art of islet isolation and the science of the transplant process. I know this because I lived it. I am patient number thirty-three, one of the many who have witnessed the evolution of this continuing innovation.
7 comments - Posted Jul 11, 2009
Dear Aisha and David: I am a 66-year-old woman who has had diabetes for over 64 years. My husband is 52. He wants sex two or more times day. I hate it. I have no sexual drive, and most of the time it is painful. It was not always like this, but he has always wanted more sex than any man I know! We talk about things, but he basically ignores a lot of what I say when it comes to sex. He is actually a very caring person and has put up with a lot considering all the complications I have after 64 years of diabetes. We have been together for 18 years (married for nine). He waits on me hand and foot. I have to tell him to let me do things myself!
14 comments - Posted Jul 10, 2009
A 24-week study of the effects of red yeast rice on the cholesterol levels of people who cannot take statins shows that the ancient Asian food could be a viable statin alternative.
3 comments - Posted Jul 9, 2009
Women who frequently snore-at least three nights a week-run a substantially higher risk of developing gestational diabetes during pregnancy than non-snorers.
0 comments - Posted Jul 9, 2009
Of all the quests that researchers have undertaken in search of a cure or decisive treatment for type 1 diabetes, the search for a vaccine has to be the boldest. But how would you develop such a vaccine, and how would it work?
2 comments - Posted Jul 9, 2009
I would exercise if I had more time... if I had a health club membership... if it didn't hurt so much... if I knew what exercises to do... if I could do it with my family... if I could control my blood sugar...
0 comments - Posted Jul 8, 2009
Roche Diabetes Care Announces Unique Coaching Program for Diabetes Educators as Part of Long-Term Commitment to Fight the Disease
1 comment - Posted Jul 8, 2009
The National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP) is working hard to change people's attitudes about diabetes. A federally funded program sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the NDEP has more than 200 partners at the federal, state, and local levels, all working together to reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Jul 7, 2009
The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) has called for urgent assessment and responses from regulatory authorities into a possible link between the use of insulin glargine (an insulin analog) and increased risk of cancer. The proposed link is based on findings published on June 26, 2009, in Diabetelogia, the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD).
2 comments - Posted Jul 6, 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
Scientists have identified five genetic biomarkers that predict how well a type 2 patient will respond to the drug Actos. Their work could be the first step toward a system that would allow doctors to predetermine which drugs will best help each person with diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Jul 3, 2009
By inhibiting the expression of a gene called sirtuin 1, Yale researchers have been able to reduce blood glucose levels, decrease the liver's production of glucose, and increase insulin sensitivity in rats conditioned to exhibit type 2 symptoms. A happy byproduct of their research is a simultaneous lowering of cholesterol levels.
0 comments - Posted Jul 3, 2009
How many times during your work with young people and their families have you wished that you could really help them through a rough time in their lives? Young people with diabetes and their families often feel overwhelmed, both physically and emotionally, by all that they must learn and manage. They can feel very alone if they don't know anyone who can understand their diabetes fears and trials.
0 comments - Posted Jul 2, 2009
Patriotism, parades, parties, and pyrotechnics - July Fourth is a high intensity day of celebrations and national pride. In many towns, families move from one exciting event to the next, and the day can be very unpredictable. Still, parents of children with diabetes want carefree time with their families, and children don't want to think about diabetes details. A bit of advanced planning and packing can make this festive day much easier.
0 comments - Posted Jul 2, 2009
Genentech, a bioscience firm famous for its development of antibodies designed to combat cancer, has entered a $350 million agreement with Bayhill Therapeutics to assist in development of BHT-3021, a drug that treats type 1 diabetes by reducing or stopping immune system attacks on pancreatic beta cells.
2 comments - Posted Jul 1, 2009
June 2009
Every time I return from the American Diabetes Association (ADA) Scientific Sessions conference, my head is so full of information that I need a week or two to sort through it. But now I've had a chance to choose what I think are the top five things that you need to know. Here they are...
0 comments - Posted Jun 30, 2009
Until now, care for insulin-dependent diabetes has focused on the delivery of insulin combined with frequent blood glucose (BG) testing. Keeping your A1c down is, and always will be, the name of the game. But numerous studies have shown us in the last few years that having access to continuous glucose data has a huge impact. How you deliver the insulin doesn't necessarily matter-you can use a pump, a syringe, or an insulin pen, it's knowing your personal BG trends that makes all the difference.
11 comments - Posted Jun 29, 2009
The National Changing Diabetes Program (NCDP) is an organization working within the healthcare community to elevate diabetes on the national health agenda and improve the lives of people with this devastating disease. Recently, the NCDP commissioned a new study on the growing influence of diabetes on the U.S. economy and population. The NCDP also is taking steps to reduce the increasing impact of diabetes on the United States.
1 comment - Posted Jun 26, 2009
Rachel and her husband adopted a beautiful baby girl in November of 2008. Their daughter is now seven months old. You can read Rachel's article about diabetes and adoption here.
5 comments - Posted Jun 26, 2009
In May, 2009, a jury in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia found that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) discriminated against Jeff Kapche when it refused to hire him as a Special Agent because of his diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Jun 26, 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
One of the fondest hopes of people with type 1 diabetes has long been for the creation of an artificial pancreas, a reliable combination of automated glucose monitoring and insulin delivery that could serve in place of a defunct pancreas.
16 comments - Posted Jun 24, 2009
With Type 2 diabetes emerging as an epidemic, primary care clinicians need to become savvy at initiating and adjusting insulin. Given the nationwide shortage of endocrinologists, referring all patients on insulin for endocrine appointments is not realistic in most areas of the country.
0 comments - Posted Jun 24, 2009
A surgeon who has been at the forefront of exploring bariatric surgery as a potentially curative treatment for type 2 diabetes is calling for it to be made accessible to more people.
5 comments - Posted Jun 23, 2009
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has learned that some stolen vials of the long-acting insulin Levemir made by Novo Nordisk Inc. have reappeared and are being sold in the U.S. market. Three lots or a total of 129,000 vials of this product were stolen in all. These stolen insulin vials may not have been stored and handled properly and may be dangerous for patients to use.
1 comment - Posted Jun 22, 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
In 2008, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration published strong warnings that the type 2 diabetes drug exenatide (trade name Byetta) might increase risk of acute pancreatitis, a painful inflammation of the pancreas. The FDA's action came in the wake of reports that 30 exenatide users had come down with pancreatitis and that six of them had died from the condition.
1 comment - Posted Jun 19, 2009
I hear voices in my surroundings as the cloud of confusion gradually begins to lift. "Curtis, can you hear me?" "Curtis, what was the score of the football game?" "Curtis, do you know where you are?"
6 comments - Posted Jun 18, 2009
This is a nice salad to serve with a summer barbecue. It also makes a wonderful addition to a summer picnic. Double the recipe to serve more people.
0 comments - Posted Jun 18, 2009
The A1c test (also called the HbA1c test), which establishes average blood sugar levels over a three-month period, should replace fasting plasma glucose and oral glucose tolerance tests as the standard for diagnosing diabetes.
6 comments - Posted Jun 17, 2009
I attended the annual meeting of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE), held from May 14th to 18th, 2009. Here's a re-cap of the buzz about ICU glycemic control, prediabetes, and vitamin D.
0 comments - Posted Jun 17, 2009
Introduced to South Africa by the Cape Malays, this Indonesian curried meat loaf is to South Africa what Moussaka is to Greece and Lasagne is to Italy. Traditionally, Bobotie is served with yellow rice (add turmeric), chutney and banana slices dipped in milk. This is a tasty meat loaf to pack in the cooler for a summer picnic.
0 comments - Posted Jun 16, 2009
Gale Fullerton is a 65-year-old Californian who has the distinction of being a Joslin 50-Year medal winner. Elliott P. Joslin, M.D., knew that good self-management was the key to minimizing long-term diabetes complications, and the medal program was designed as an incentive for those committed to good diabetes care. In 1970, Joslin Diabetes Center expanded the program and began awarding a 50-year bronze medal. They presented the first 75-year medal in 1996.
24 comments - Posted Jun 16, 2009
Drug companies spend billions of dollars on research, and it's obvious that they spend more billions on advertising. Well, according to the New York Times, they spend the most billions on giving nice things to doctors: pens, samples, banquets, trips, and educational opportunities among them. For doctors, in fact, there is a free lunch: Pharma companies spend as much as a billion a year just on lunches for doctors. And over 90 percent of doctors have accepted at least some of this largesse from the industry.
5 comments - Posted Jun 12, 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
A previously unknown human protein, called CHC22, may give scientists a powerful new tool for understanding type 2 diabetes, according to researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, and Harvard Medical School.
0 comments - Posted Jun 11, 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
University of Cambridge researchers are reporting that people with type 2 diabetes who maintain strict control of their blood sugar-defined as lowering their A1c levels by 0.9% over a five-year period-can lower their risk of non-fatal heart attacks by 17 percent.
2 comments - Posted Jun 5, 2009
As you probably know by now, President Obama's first nominee to the Supreme Court is Judge Sonia Sotomayor. If she is confirmed to the lifelong post, Sotomayor will be not only the first Hispanic to sit on the high court, but also the first Justice with type 1 diabetes.
59 comments - Posted Jun 5, 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
CRx-401, an insulin sensitizer intended to assist metformin in type 2 diabetes therapy, has successfully completed a Phase 2 clinical trial in which patients taking it saw their fasting plasma glucose drop by 12 mg/dl after 90 days.
1 comment - Posted Jun 3, 2009
The 2009 North American Diabetes Exercise & Sports Association's North American Conference will be held June 25th to 28th at the Joseph B. Martin Conference Center at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts.
0 comments - Posted Jun 3, 2009
Novo Nordisk has announced that results from a study show that almost 60 percent of type 2 patients taking once-daily doses of its Levemir insulin analog were able to reach the average blood sugar level recommended by the American Diabetes Association.
3 comments - Posted Jun 2, 2009
Here’s a handy meter to have if reading your meter is a challenge. The Prodigy Autocode meter speaks your test results in seconds, and it’ll do so in English or Spanish. The audible function also promotes team work by allowing you to hear your child’s or spouse’s test result from across the room and work together as a team to manage diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Jun 1, 2009
Diabetes most commonly occurs in middle age to older dogs and cats, but occasionally occurs in young animals. When diabetes occurs in young animals, it is often genetic and may occur in related animals. Diabetes occurs more commonly in female dogs and in male cats, according to the Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine.
0 comments - Posted Jun 1, 2009
The polls are open for voting for new members of the AADE board, AADE officers, and the nominating committee. The good news is that you can vote for three people! Diabetes Health wishes Board of Directors candidates and former DH Guest Editors, Jane Jeffrie Seley, Kim Higgins, and Deborah Greenwood, the best of luck.
0 comments - Posted Jun 1, 2009
As the article in this issue discusses, smoking and diabetes is a dangerous combination. Smoking is bad enough on its own. I am writing to you as a former smoker of eight years. I started smoking in France in the 1970’s in a Parisian café. I thought smoking Gauloises at the age of 15 made me sophisticated and in vogue. I imagined I looked stylish and mature like the adults I knew who smoked. Their smoking seemed to justify my habit. It never occurred to me that I was risking my health or that I was starting something that would take me years to quit.
1 comment - Posted Jun 1, 2009
Never underestimate the power of people with diabetes and their families. When we as a consumer group purchase more fruits and vegetables, walk or bicycle instead of taking the car, and educate ourselves about a healthy lifestyle, we are addressing global issues as well as personal ones and can have a strong, positive effect on the future.
0 comments - Posted Jun 1, 2009
May 2009
In a recent 16-week randomized, open-label pilot study, 169 patients were randomized to receive Welchol (n=57), Januvia (n=56), or Avandia (n=56).1 The results demonstrated that Welchol (colesevelam HCl) significantly improved glycemic control and reduced mean LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) when added to metformin monotherapy in patients with type 2 diabetes. In the study, Januvia® (sitagliptin) and Avandia® (rosiglitazone) also significantly improved glycemic control, but LDL-C increased in patients on both of these treatment regimens.
0 comments - Posted May 29, 2009
Researchers at Wayne State University and the University of Michigan have found that a common blood test for triglycerides may allow doctors to predict which patients with diabetes are more likely to develop neuropathy.
5 comments - Posted May 29, 2009
For generations, people have run hot and cold on the usefulness of vibrating exercise machines. There are plenty of comedy sketches in 1930s movies that portray overweight people being violently shaken around the midriff by a vibrating machine in the hope of strengthening their muscles and metabolizing fat. Those who have disdained such machines have reasoned that they substitute a mechanism's work for the work that exercisers should be doing themselves. After all, how can a machine do for you what you won't do for yourself?
2 comments - Posted May 28, 2009
United Way recently presented the 2009 United Way Spirit of America award, its highest national award, to Eli Lilly and Company. "In these challenging times, it's more important than ever to have generous partners like Lilly who are committed to strengthening our nation's communities," said Brian Gallagher, president and CEO of United Way. "Whether it's serving as a ReadUP tutor or donating life-saving medicines, Lilly and its employees understand that improving lives in this environment requires resources coupled with active and dedicated volunteers. United Way is proud to honor them with our highest national award."
0 comments - Posted May 28, 2009
A study of Merck's Januvia (sitagliptin), a drug for patients with type 2 diabetes, has found that its use can lead in some patients to a low-grade form of pancreatitis and an increased risk of pancreatic cancer in the long term. However, the study, conducted at the Larry L. Hillblom Islet Research Center at UCLA, also found that the risks associated with Januvia as a monotherapy are removed when the drug is used in conjunction with metformin (trade name Glucophage). Metformin, a low-cost drug that controls glucose production by the liver, is one of the oldest and most benign standbys in the anti-diabetes arsenal.
0 comments - Posted May 27, 2009
Wow. It's like discovering that the orchestra's second violinist, who does a good job but just isn't as glamorous as the first violinist, also has a fantastic operatic singing voice. In this case, the surprise comes from metformin, the solid performer that since the 1950s has been the first non-insulin drug that doctors prescribe to newly diagnosed type 2s.
4 comments - Posted May 27, 2009
Pump Wear has a new product called a "Draw Pak"-it's a pump pack that you can truly make your own. The pack, which is made of black cordura, has a white vinyl front that your can decorate yourself with "Sharpie" permanent markers. (Hint: Costco sells a package of every color you could possibly need.) Want to practice your picture? Use washable markers to play with your ideas, then wipe it clean until you're ready for the final design. Test your creativity and create your own sports design, fun fashion design, or special events logo-it's all up to you.
1 comment - Posted May 26, 2009
If you have type 2 diabetes, you know that regular sustained exercise is one of the best and easiest ways to manage the disease. At the same time, proper nutrition-eating low glycemic foods, avoiding carbohydrates, and taking supplements, such as vitamins and omega-3 fatty acids-is the other key to non-medicinal control of blood sugar levels.
6 comments - Posted May 26, 2009
Sometimes complex problems have simple answers. Take the alarming rise in obesity in the United States since 1970. Researchers have speculated in the past that the cause might be a combination of factors, perhaps a lack of exercise working in concert with the spread of cheap high-calorie junk food.
3 comments - Posted May 23, 2009
Doctors who treat diabetes must often feel like moms who spend 18 years reminding their kids to pick their socks up off the floor. "It just takes two seconds, and your reward is a clean room and a less grumpy mother."
1 comment - Posted May 22, 2009
On May 1, 2009, American Diabetes Wholesale paid tribute to Joyce Malaskovitz, PhD, RN, CDE, the winner of their 2nd Annual Diabetes Educator of the Year contest. They also recognized esteemed Diabetes Educator of the Year finalists Suzanne Laws, MS, RD, LD, CDE, and Laura Terrio, RN, BS, CDE.
1 comment - Posted May 22, 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
My husband, Simon, was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in October 2004. It was managed via oral medication at first, but his blood sugar levels were hard to control, and his doctor prescribed insulin to stabilize his condition.
0 comments - Posted May 21, 2009
Humanin (HN) is a mitochondrial peptide* that in some research has shown the ability to protect against the death of neurons, the devastating consequence of diseases like Alzheimer's. According to the leader of a research team at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University in the Bronx, however, it also significantly improves the insulin sensitivity of diabetic rats and sharply drops their glucose levels.
2 comments - Posted May 20, 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
A ten-year study that tracked 652 women with type 1 diabetes found that 35 percent of them reported some sort of sexual problem, including loss of desire (57 percent of those reporting problems), problems experiencing orgasm (51 percent), pain during intercourse (21 percent), reduced arousal (38 percent), or decreased vaginal lubrication (47 percent).
4 comments - Posted May 19, 2009
The polls are open for voting for new members of the AADE board, AADE officers, and the nominating committee. Diabetes Health wishes Board of Directors candidates and former DH Guest Editors, Jane Jeffrie Seley, Kim Higgins, and Deborah Greenwood, the best of luck.
1 comment - Posted May 19, 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
Dear Sex & Diabetes, I have had type 1 diabetes since the age of ten. When my husband and I were first married, I had no trouble with my sex drive. After the births of our three children, however, I noticed a big decrease in desire. I have also had a hysterectomy and have gained 50 pounds since we were first married. Do you think my weight has something to do with it? I really don't feel it is fair to put my husband through my lack of desire. He still seems to want me.
2 comments - Posted May 12, 2009
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has just approved the marketing of Cycloset, a type 2 diabetes drug that works by affecting a brain chemical that helps govern metabolism. In doing so, it helps reduce the rise in blood sugar levels that typically occurs after meals. Cycloset will be offered as a monotherapy or in conjunction with sulfonylureas, metformin, or other combination type 2 drug therapies.
2 comments - Posted May 12, 2009
After American and Brazilian researchers implanted 23 newly diagnosed type 1 patients with their own adult stem cells, 12 of the patients became insulin-free for periods lasting from 14 to 52 months (the mean was 31 months).
16 comments - Posted May 12, 2009
It has been an interesting month for San Diego-based Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc., the co-manufacturer of Byetta (exenatide) with Eli Lilly & Co., and Alkermes Inc. First, the company announced that it will reduce its sales force by 35 percent-200 employees-in hope of saving $20 million this year and $45 million annually starting in 2010. The company plans to retain 325 representatives to sell its diabetes products to doctors and endocrinologists. At the same time, Amylin has petitioned the FDA to approve the marketing of Byetta LAR, a form of the type 2 drug that requires injection only once a week.
1 comment - Posted May 11, 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
Rachel Humphrey, a Manhattan Beach, CA, teenager with type 1 diabetes, was granted her biggest wish (well, almost) when she came face to face with her hero, Nick Jonas of the Jonas Brothers. Rachel, 13, was selected to appear on the number 1 new syndicated talk show, "The Doctors," but she had no idea that she would meet Nick Jonas on the set! The segment, titled Giving is Good Medicine, will air on Friday, May 8th.
8 comments - Posted May 8, 2009
Thanks to sponsorship from the Medtronic Foundation, the Diabetes Education and Camping Association (DECA) and the Diabetes Camp Leadership Development Council (DLEAD) are offering a diabetes retreat for young people with type 1 diabetes who are between the ages of 18 and 25. The retreat, which will take place at Villanova University from May 29th to 31st, is completely free and includes accommodations, meals, and participation in activities. All you have to provide is your own travel and incidentals. Join them for an awesome weekend!
4 comments - Posted May 8, 2009
Dental researchers are reporting that resolvins, products derived from omega-3 fatty acids, may have the ability to restore the soft tissue and even bone lost in periodontal (gum) disease.
0 comments - Posted May 7, 2009
Brave. Fight. Grandpa. Life. Alive.
Those words are some of the answers to the question "What would people living with diabetes or with somebody who has it tell you is the one word that sums up their own experience with the disease?"
3 comments - Posted May 7, 2009
The European Union's drug regulation agency has recommended that the EU approve the marketing of "Victoza" (liraglutide), a type 2 drug developed by Novo Nordisk.
2 comments - Posted May 6, 2009
"I think I'm the only blind principal in Los Angeles," stated Connie Gibson after she developed diabetic retinopathy, which later led to sudden vision loss after complications from laser surgery. Now age 59, Gibson is currently legally blind, but has been able to move forward with her life. She continues working and living an active lifestyle despite her disability.
5 comments - Posted May 6, 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 second annual "Caring and Sharing Weekend" was held last weekend at the Double H Ranch in Lake Luzerne, New York. The free three-day weekend, which is organized by Pump Wear Inc., offered 15 families in the diabetes community an opportunity to relax, bond, and become inspired. The families, who either recommended themselves or were recommended by someone else, enjoyed beautiful weather, horseback riding, swimming, campfires, lots of hugs, and memories.
0 comments - Posted May 5, 2009
The American Diabetes Association has released a list of "superfoods" it says "have necessary nutrients for good diabetes management, including fiber, potassium, healthy fats, magnesium and antioxidants."
22 comments - Posted May 5, 2009
Voglibose*, a generic drug often used in combination with sulfonylureas to control blood glucose levels, appears to delay or even prevent the onset of diabetes in people who are predisposed to the disease.
6 comments - Posted May 1, 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
What do you eat in a 140 mile Ironman triathlon? I get that question a lot. It's been said that the Ironman race is 10% fitness, and 90% nutrition. That's a bit of an exaggeration, but for those of us with diabetes, that's our daily life. Nutrition affects everything we do. Exercise, sleep, driving a car, all of those activities require a person with diabetes to think about the carbohydrates they have consumed and when they will eat or drink them again
2 comments - Posted Apr 30, 2009
Nick Jonas, who has type 1 diabetes, and Bayer Diabetes Care are working to inspire young people with diabetes to achieve Simple Wins: small, everyday victories for managing diabetes that can lead to big differences over time. Their "Express Your Simple Win Creativity Contest" is designed to show kids that, like Nick, they don't have to let diabetes get in the way of their dreams. Nick wrote the song "A Little Bit Longer" about having diabetes, and he considers his Simple Wins to be writing lyrics, performing, and making music.
1 comment - Posted Apr 30, 2009
Experts have been warning of a worldwide outbreak of a horrific influenza ever since 1997, when the first human cases of so-called H5N1 avian influenza were reported in Hong Kong.
28 comments - Posted Apr 29, 2009
When Smiths Medical announced in late March that it was discontinuing the manufacture and sales of its Deltec Cozmo insulin pumps, the company's annual sales of that product were about $36 million. In contrast, Medtronic, manufacturer of the Minimed line of insulin pumps reported sales of $727 million in the nine months from April 2008 to January 2009.
8 comments - Posted Apr 29, 2009
Although researchers reporting the phenomenon can't quite put their fingers on how it works, a newly released study says that severe hypoglycemic episodes requiring hospitalization among older people with type 2 diabetes create a greater risk - 32 percent - for developing dementia.
1 comment - Posted Apr 29, 2009
Insulin pens have been very popular in Europe for quite some time and interest is building steadily in the United States. Many people prefer an insulin pen over the standard syringe and vial because the pens are more convenient and more accurate. Pre-filled disposable insulin pens are the easiest of all, because you don't never have to install a new cartridge when the pen is empty-you just toss it out.
4 comments - Posted Apr 28, 2009
Diabetes Health has joined the social networking sphere. Join us as a fan on Facebook, talk to us on Twitter, and subscribe to our RSS feed. Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, Nadia Al-Samarrie wants to hear your thoughts and she'll be reading what you have to say with great interest.
1 comment - Posted Apr 28, 2009
Many people with diabetes who have ditched multiple daily injections in exchange for an insulin pump regret not doing so sooner. Ask them why they didn't, and arguably the most common answer has something to do with vanity. Still, while many might feel overjoyed by their optimum blood sugar control, they're not in love with their new appendage and may struggle with self-image as a result.
1 comment - Posted Apr 25, 2009
Women hate their bodies. At least, an overwhelming collection of statistical data suggests as much. Consider the following facts compiled by Liz Dittrich, Ph.D, at About-Face.org, which aims to combat negative and distorted images of women:
0 comments - Posted Apr 24, 2009
Three studies just published in the New England Journal of Medicine have discovered that most adults have several grams of brown fat sequestered in little pockets on their necks and backs. It's a tiny amount, but it's big news because brown fat is not your everyday fat, the unwelcome white variety that stores calories and makes us hate mirrors. Brown fat is a busy little heat-producing fat that actually burns calories. It's brown because it contains special mitochondria, tiny factories within the fat cells that produce heat, lots of it, when activated by cold.
2 comments - Posted Apr 24, 2009
In an Australian study that tracked 11,140 people with diabetes, researchers found a strong relationship between the presence of atrial fibrillation-abnormal heart rhythm-and an increased risk of cardiovascular problems and death.
1 comment - Posted Apr 23, 2009
The following list shows 50 of the ways we have "convenienced" ourselves into diabesity. Before the technology boom, most Americans were active at work, at home, and at play. Much of what we did was manual, so we burned off the calories that we took in. When you consider that we did many of these activities on a regular basis, it is easy to see how we were able to remain trim. Obviously, no single one of these activities burns a large amount of calories by itself, but taken together, it is easy to see that the number of calories burned really begins to add up. (By the way, if you remember any of the things on this list, you don't have to tell anyone.)
12 comments - Posted Apr 23, 2009
Long before Joy Pape, RN, BSN, CDE, WOCN, CFCN, served a stint as the clinical editor and contributing columnist for Diabetes Health Professional, she was a seasoned diabetes expert who knew her way around almost every aspect of the disease.
0 comments - Posted Apr 22, 2009
The 18th annual Napa Valley Tour de Cure will take place this year on Sunday, May 3rd. It's the nation's largest cycling event that raises money for finding the Cure and helping people with diabetes. This year they have a special Red Rider program: If you are a cyclist with diabetes, the Tour is recognizing your "participation, spirit, struggles, courage, and discipline" by awarding special issue jerseys made for the event. (Participants must raise a minimum of $200.)
0 comments - Posted Apr 22, 2009
Well, it's official: If you're elderly and fat, you're more likely to have problems getting around than if you're thin and elderly. A new study proves it. But here's the real kicker: If you're thin and elderly, but you used to be fat, you're more likely to develop problems getting around than people who were never fat. As a matter of fact, you're almost as likely to have mobility problems as people who are fat and elderly. Apparently, you just can't win for losing.
3 comments - Posted Apr 21, 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
The need to investigate and determine normoglycemia in Mexican children under the age of six begins with a lack of relevant published data. Another motive for reviewing the currently recommended glycemic goals for children and adolescents with type 1 stems from the well-known observation that children and adolescents who do not have type 1 do not develop microvascular diabetic complications. Today, thanks to insulin analogs and basal/bolus therapy regimens, children with type 1 have the option of achieving true euglycemia and of potentially benefiting from its advantages.
14 comments - Posted Apr 17, 2009
There is an old schoolyard chant that starts out with an image of two people "sitting in a tree" and "K-I-S-S-I-N-G." This is followed by, "First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage." The natural progression of life is to find one's "soul mate," tie the knot, and then have children.
37 comments - Posted Apr 17, 2009
Understanding which proteins help control blood glucose during and after exercise could lead to new drug therapies or more effective exercise to prevent type 2 diabetes and other health problems associated with high blood sugar.
0 comments - Posted Apr 16, 2009
Pregnant women who have gum disease run a higher risk of developing gestational diabetes than pregnant women who have healthy gums, says a study from the New York University College of Dentistry.
2 comments - Posted Apr 16, 2009
Results from DURATION-2, a 26-week test comparing the diabetic drugs Januvia, Actos, and experimental long-acting Byetta (Byetta LAR) show that Byetta produced lower A1c's and more weight loss than the other two drugs.
5 comments - Posted Apr 15, 2009
A study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism of The Endocrine Society says that low birth weight could be associated with a higher incidence of inflammation in adulthood, setting the stage for heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
1 comment - Posted Apr 15, 2009
Two-and-a-half years ago, my seven-year-old granddaughter, Liliana, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. In less than a day, I was on an airplane to Portland so that I could be there to support my daughter and son-in-law. The week that followed was a heart-wrenching experience for all of us. I stayed with Liliana as much as possible so that her parents could go through extensive education and instruction on what would be in store for them. I wanted to learn more about type 1, but I felt that there was time for that. It was more important that they became the experts, and I became the shoulder on which to lean.
2 comments - Posted Apr 14, 2009
Welcome to Diabetes Health's new column on sex and diabetes, by David Spero RN and Aisha Kassahoun. Once a month, we'll publish questions submitted by our readers, along with David and Aisha's responses. Send your questions to love@diabeteshealth.com and watch for their answers to appear in this column.
9 comments - Posted Apr 14, 2009
Has your doctor told you that you have impaired fasting glucose? That means that the glucose level in your blood, after you haven’t eaten for at least eight hours, is still higher than 100 milligrams of glucose per deciliter of blood. In other words, your blood is too sweet because your insulin is not clearing the sugar out of your blood very well. You have pre-diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Apr 10, 2009
Finally some good news!
1 comment - Posted Apr 10, 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
Scientists at Jilin University in Changchun, China, have used an ancient trick, employing sugar-loving bacteria, to produce a low-sugar, low-calorie vegetable juice aimed at people with diabetes and pre-diabetes who have abnormally high blood sugar.
4 comments - Posted Apr 9, 2009
The Insight Foot Care Scale is a unique bathroom weight scale designed to help people with diabetes check their feet every day. As most people with diabetes know, daily foot observation is an important step in managing diabetes. Neuropathy, a common complication of diabetes, can cause complete loss of sensation in the extremities, which makes it possible for minor cuts and sores to go unnoticed until they are problematic.
1 comment - Posted Apr 8, 2009
Diane Helms has spent most of her life struggling with her weight. She's tried just about every diet you can name and, despite them all, has watched the pounds pile on year after year.
0 comments - Posted Apr 8, 2009
Buoyed by its recent successful phase 1 human clinical trial of a patch that delivers basal insulin through the skin, Atlanta-based Altea Therapeutics says it will work with Eli Lilly and Company and Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc., to develop a daily transdermal patch that deliver sustained levels of Byetta (exenatide). The patch, in a 12- and a 24-hour form, will use the company's proprietary PassPort Transdermal Delivery System. Lilly and Amylin will fund all development, manufacturing, and marketing activities for the product.
2 comments - Posted Apr 7, 2009
A new research report by the Pacific Research Institute (PRI) reviews three decades of the Food and Drug Administration's performance and concludes that the agency is over-funded, over-staffed, and denies hundreds of thousands of Americans timely access to new medicines. Leviathan's Drug Problem: The Federal Monopoly of Pharmaceutical Regulation and Its Deadly Cost was authored by John R. Graham, Director of Health Care Studies at PRI.
5 comments - Posted Apr 7, 2009
A 12-month university study of 130 persons who ate either a USDA food pyramid-inspired high-carb diet or a diet moderately high in protein showed that members of the higher protein group lost 23 percent more weight and 38 percent more body fat than their high carb counterparts.
0 comments - Posted Apr 3, 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
Last week we published an article about how the CDC says too many people are still smoking. The federal government has a Healthy People 2010 goal of reducing adult smoking rates to 12 percent or less by 2010. Of the 50 states, only Utah has thus far achieved that goal.
1 comment - Posted Apr 2, 2009
Being overweight is something all doctors and most laypeople know significantly increases the risk of acquiring type 2 diabetes. In fact, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) says that more than 90 percent of people who are newly diagnosed with type 2 are overweight. But why does excess fat increase the risk of diabetes? Isn't the disease, after all, one that involves the body's inability to metabolize glucose?
3 comments - Posted Apr 2, 2009
University of Cambridge researchers are reporting that people with type 2 diabetes who maintain strict control of their blood sugar-defined as lowering their A1c levels by 0.9% over a five-year period-can lower their risk of non-fatal heart attacks by 17 percent.
0 comments - Posted Apr 1, 2009
University of Cambridge researchers are reporting that people with type 2 diabetes who maintain strict control of their blood sugar-defined as lowering their A1c levels by 0.9% over a five-year period-can lower their risk of non-fatal heart attacks by 17 percent.
0 comments - Posted Apr 1, 2009
My whole childhood, I was a bit of a pudgy girl. At the age of eight, I weighed over 110 pounds, wore a woman's size 8, and stood a mere five feet tall. I wasn't grossly obese, by any means, but it was enough to keep me off the cheerleading squad and out of the popular crowd at school. I didn't really have any health issues besides the weight.
27 comments - Posted Apr 1, 2009
Canadian scientists studying the effects of glucose on cellular aging have discovered an unusual effect that could change how doctors treat diabetes and even address the human lifespan.
2 comments - Posted Apr 1, 2009
March 2009
The following is a Q&A with Judith Waldrop, who participated in Living Well, a week-long residential program designed for women with type 2 diabetes. The program is a joint effort of the healthy weight loss pioneers at Green Mountain at Fox Run and the Joslin Diabetes Center. This year, Living Well will take place April 19-25, 2009.
1 comment - Posted Mar 31, 2009
The American Diabetes Association (ADA) and American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) released a statement last week in response to the study published online in the New England Journal of Medicine which suggested that intensive blood glucose control for critical care patients with hyperglycemia doesn't improve outcomes and is associated with an increase in deaths.
1 comment - Posted Mar 31, 2009
One of the most impressive feats of endurance in the animal world is performed by the sled dogs that run up to 100 miles per day in such races as Alaska's Iditarod, a grueling 1,161-mile trek from Simpson to Homer.
0 comments - Posted Mar 31, 2009
I hear voices in my surroundings as the cloud of confusion gradually begins to lift. "Curtis, can you hear me?" "Curtis, what was the score of the football game?" "Curtis, do you know where you are?"
5 comments - Posted Mar 27, 2009
AR9281, a drug developed by the University of California at Davis and now under further development by a California-based pharmaceutical company, has entered Phase II of human clinical trials.
1 comment - Posted Mar 27, 2009
