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May 2013
I spent a month in a major insulin pump center and saw several things. Many of the female patients seemed to have wings on their sides where the pump tubing was inserted and they got lipohypertrophy from localized injections, but that was the least of it. None of them actually had remotely normal blood sugars.
0 comments - Posted May 15, 2013
People today have an incredible array of methods for finding the latest news and information about diabetes: the Internet, social media, and print publications. But perhaps the most powerful is the strong relationships they develop within the tight-knit diabetes community.
0 comments - Posted May 10, 2013
I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes 10 years ago. My response to the news, very typical, was to begin a routine of vigorous exercise and dieting. With a beginner's enthusiasm, I lost almost 30 pounds (down from 220) and drove my A1c three months after my diagnosis down to 5.6%.
0 comments - Posted May 6, 2013
People with type 1 diabetes who exercise may need to reduce their insulin to counteract the effects of their workouts, according to a new study.
0 comments - Posted May 4, 2013
April 2013
I wanted to interview my husband about my diabetes. He played a huge part in helping me accept my type 1 diabetes and he has never made me feel inferior for having it. Rick and I just celebrated the 15th anniversary since our first date, and since I've only had diabetes for 18 years, he's been there for most of it. He was there during the times I was out of control and in denial, and he's been there while I work on treating myself right and trying to take good care of myself.
0 comments - Posted Apr 27, 2013
Insulin, shots, meter, blood
Emotions are about to flood
DKA - Hospital stay
I just don't know what to say
0 comments - Posted Apr 20, 2013
The FDA recently approved the next-generation OmniPod from Insulet, giving people with insulin-dependent diabetes an even less invasive way to manage their diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Apr 19, 2013
I've had type 1 diabetes for 18 years and whenever I hear bad news about someone with diabetes it hits me hard.
0 comments - Posted Apr 3, 2013
March 2013
Diabetes is insanely expensive. I often wonder how much it has cost me over the 18 years I've been funding it. Sometimes I had enough money to purchase all my supplies, sometimes I didn't. I felt like a loser every time I had to leave supplies at the pharmacy. You'd think I'd have gotten used to it at some point, but no, I cried every single time.
0 comments - Posted Mar 22, 2013
Dawn phenomenon is the situation where the liver removes insulin from the blood in the morning hours, which causes morning blood sugars to go up, even if breakfast is skipped.
0 comments - Posted Mar 21, 2013
Dawn phenomenon is the situation where the liver removes insulin from the blood in the morning hours, which causes morning blood sugars to go up, even if breakfast is skipped.
0 comments - Posted Mar 13, 2013
February 2013
For people who take insulin, one of the hardest parts of their routine is injecting themselves before a meal, then having to wait 20 or 30 minutes before eating. For anybody who's hungry and raring to dine, the wait can be frustrating.
0 comments - Posted Feb 27, 2013
I heart carbohydrates, and sometimes, I hate carbohydrates.
0 comments - Posted Feb 18, 2013
Sean Glass learned about the time he was in kindergarten that his type 1 diabetes was ultimately his alone to manage.
0 comments - Posted Feb 15, 2013
My previous boss once said to me as I freaked out about having to get some blood work drawn, "They should do a study on you."
0 comments - Posted Feb 7, 2013
If you have been diagnosed with pre-diabetes, you have to start looking seriously at how you live your life. Talk to any persons who are insulin-dependent and they will tell you how much they wish they could be in your situation: a point where you can make changes to avoid getting to their stage of the illness.
0 comments - Posted Feb 6, 2013
I have decided to start using an insulin pump.
0 comments - Posted Feb 5, 2013
Sooner or later most type 2s face the choice of whether they should begin using insulin. As the effectiveness of metformin or sulfonylureas fades, physicians often look to insulin as the safest, most effective means of asserting control over blood sugar levels.
0 comments - Posted Feb 3, 2013
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."
0 comments - Posted Feb 2, 2013
In a 10-5 vote, an FDA panel has recommended that the agency approve the marketing of Johnson & Johnson's InvokanaTM (canagliflozin), an oral once-daily drug for treating type 2 diabetes in adults.
0 comments - Posted Feb 1, 2013
January 2013
Scientists have known for almost 100 years that insulin is the key to achieving both the control of blood sugar and its metabolization by the body. But what they have not figured out is exactly how insulin interacts with the body's cells.
0 comments - Posted Jan 31, 2013
Michelle Gaylord has lived more than 30 years with type 2 diabetes, but the diagnosis is one that she now sees a bit like a gift.
0 comments - Posted Jan 22, 2013
Share Your NovoLog® (insulin aspart [rDNA origin] injection) Community Star Story for the Chance to Win a Donation to the Charity of Your Choice!
0 comments - Posted Jan 22, 2013
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.
0 comments - Posted Jan 19, 2013
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.
0 comments - Posted Jan 17, 2013
December 2012
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.
0 comments - Posted Dec 18, 2012
No less an authority than the New York Times wrote in May 2006 that Halle Berry has type 1 diabetes, listing her as one of several "stars who have type 1 - Gary Hall, the Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer; Adam Morrison, the Gonzaga University basketball star; [and] Halle Berry."
0 comments - Posted Dec 17, 2012
Jay Hewitt is 41 years old and has lived with type 1 diabetes since 1991. He is an elite Ironman triathlete (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride, 26.2 mile run) and three-time member of the U.S. National Team for Long Course Triathlon. He is a lawyer, the father of a 16-month-old daughter, and a motivational speaker. He speaks to people with diabetes and others all over the world on fitness, nutrition, and achieving goals in life and business. Jay is also captain of Team Joslin at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, MA. Visit Jay's website at www.jayhewitt.com.
0 comments - Posted Dec 12, 2012
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 Dec 10, 2012
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.
0 comments - Posted Dec 4, 2012
CeQur SA, a Swiss company that develops insulin delivery devices, has received approval to market its PaQ® insulin delivery device in Europe.
0 comments - Posted Dec 2, 2012
November 2012
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 Nov 29, 2012
Danish researchers report that high levels of transferrin may contribute to the destruction of insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. Transferrin is a glycoprotein that binds with iron and transfers it to cells.
0 comments - Posted Nov 28, 2012
Australian researchers have released a study on stem cells that potentially could lead to type 1s being able to make their own insulin, erasing the need for regular injections.
0 comments - Posted Nov 27, 2012
I really look forward to Thanksgiving. For me, it’s a great time to spend with family and friends, watch some ballgames on TV and eat. All those wonderful traditional dishes that taste so good are ready for my undivided attention. But for a diabetic, Thanksgiving dinner can be a bit tricky when it comes to controlling your blood glucose levels.
0 comments - Posted Nov 21, 2012
Good news for Eli Lilly & Co., as well as for type 2s who appreciate the addition of new drugs to treat their condition: Lilly says its once-weekly injectible drug, dulaglutide, has outperformed three other widely taken diabetes drugs in three just-concluded Phase III studies.
0 comments - Posted Nov 20, 2012
Recently while I was out shopping with my sister, I tested my blood sugar and found that I had a high reading of 217. Because I had just downed a non-fat pumpkin spice latte and still had active insulin in my bloodstream, I skipped correcting it with an insulin shot and went on trying on clothing and chatting with my sister. When I got to my car afterward, I realized that I felt a little like I was drunk, so I figured that I'd better test my blood sugar again. It was 58.
0 comments - Posted Nov 19, 2012
To see if tightly controlling blood sugar provides improved results in patients who received a kidney transplant, a group of diabetic post-transplant patients were followed for three days. A subset of the randomly assigned group had their blood glucose kept in tight range with IV insulin, while a control group received insulin as they ordinarily would, via injections.
0 comments - Posted Nov 14, 2012
October 2012
As a little girl, I was scared at night that something evil might be under the bed. If I had to get up to go to the bathroom, I made sure to leap as far away from the bed as possible. As an adult, I'm still afraid that something will get me at night, but it's no longer a monster: It's the life-saving insulin that I take.
0 comments - Posted Oct 28, 2012
Author’s note: Throughout this series, I will inject my own opinion, which frequently differs from that of the medical establishment in this field. Having had diabetes for more than 66 years, I place my emphasis on the well-being of fellow patients.
0 comments - Posted Oct 21, 2012
Scientists generally think that decreased insulin production by the pancreas, a hallmark of type 2 diabetes, is due to the death of the organ's beta cells. However, scientists at Columbia University Medical Center report that the beta cells do not die, but instead revert to a more basic cell type.
0 comments - Posted Oct 16, 2012
Roche Diagnostics says that its ACCU-CHEK Combo insulin pump system is now available in the US market. The system uses Bluetooth wireless technology to allow a glucose meter/insulin pump combination exchange data.
0 comments - Posted Oct 10, 2012
Lantus and Levemir have a lot in common. Both are basal insulin formulas, which means that they last for a long time in the body and act as background insulin, with a slow feed that mimics the constant low output of insulin produced by a healthy pancreas.
0 comments - Posted Oct 7, 2012
Q: How do I lower my blood sugar when it goes over 200 mg/dl? I have Type 2 diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Oct 6, 2012
When I became a type 2 diabetic, I wanted to find a way to manage my weight and blood sugar with diet and exercise. I tried the high carb diet recommended by my doctor and dietitian for a time. It worked wonderfully well while my blood sugar level was high, but when my blood sugar stabilized and I was able to go off medication, I started gaining weight again. The next thing I tried was low carbohydrate dieting. I found it to be a very effective way to lose weight rapidly, but I was unable to endure the regimen for more than a short time.
0 comments - Posted Oct 2, 2012
September 2012
To a casual observer, Dr. Nat Strand might look like an over-achiever. After all, she and her partner won Season 17 of her favorite television show, "The Amazing Race." Winning the race opened her world up to the diabetes community, which, interestingly enough, inspired her to take better care of herself. Her mission now is to encourage everyone with diabetes to connect with the diabetes community and benefit from knowing others who understand the daily challenges of managing type 1 diabetes. When I caught up with Dr. Strand, we began by talking about what drove her to enter the Amazing Race.
0 comments - Posted Sep 5, 2012
August 2012
Recently, while scrolling through discussions posted on an online diabetes forum, I came across one from a man in his thirties who wrote about how paramedics had found his twin brother face down in a sauna, in an insulin shock coma. How did he end up in such a state? The appalling answer is, he didn't have enough glucose strips to test before he got into the hot tub. A few weeks before the sauna incident, his insurance company had limited his glucose strips to just four per day.
0 comments - Posted Aug 25, 2012
The other day, I read a post in which someone wrote that he had to take a "ton of insulin" to cover some carbs in his meal, and he disclosed the exact dose. The funny thing is, I have often taken that amount to cover my meals. Admittedly, they were higher carb meals, but I never really thought of it as being a "ton" of insulin. When you read something like this, you can't help but wonder if you are doing something wrong on a regular basis. I suddenly felt that maybe I was out of line in taking that particular dose at a normal meal.
0 comments - Posted Aug 23, 2012
The new Accu-Chek Nano was approved for diabetes patients in January 2012, and distribution of the product began in April. Jennifer Aspy, the director of product marketing and operations, sat down with me at the American Association of Diabetes Educators to talk about the merits of this new medical device.
0 comments - Posted Aug 21, 2012
Right from the start, Andy Mandell thought of walking the perimeter of the US to raise awareness for diabetes as a military objective, a special ops mission to draw attention to the dangers of the disease. As someone who has lived with type 2 diabetes for more than 20 years, Mandell saw his role as that of an educator, and he took it seriously, wanting to help others avoid the mistakes he had made after his diagnosis. An active guy who loved running, he followed his doctor's orders--to a degree. He checked food labels to make sure that he wasn't consuming too much sugar, and he continued his vigorous lifestyle. He felt good, so he saw no reason to worry.
0 comments - Posted Aug 17, 2012
As CEO of a company that manufactures insulin syringes and pen needles for the US and Canadian markets, I have been closely monitoring the regulations and trends pertaining to the safe disposal of the products we produce. Surveys indicate that less than five percent of the over three billion sharps devices sold in the US annually are disposed of in some type of closed container. Most of the remaining 95 percent are deposited, unprotected, in the household trash. Significant changes may be pending with regard to the disposal of used sharps devices, and it's likely that pharmacists will be affected by these changes.
0 comments - Posted Aug 14, 2012
Endocrinologist Robert Cuddihy, MD, joined Sanofi US over a year ago to be the company’s Vice President and Medical Diabetes Head in the United States. He is responsible for developing and executing the US strategy for Sanofi’s Diabetes Division, including pharmaceuticals, devices, and other technologies. He previously served as the medical director for several organizations, including the International Diabetes Center-Park Nicollet in Minnesota.
0 comments - Posted Aug 13, 2012
Jersey-based BD Medical, a division of Becton, Dickinson and Company, has introduced the Hyflow™ needle, a 27-gauge thin-wall needle designed for use with the company’s prefillable syringe systems.
0 comments - Posted Aug 11, 2012
July 2012
In a small study of 10 type 1 children under the age of seven years, closed-loop insulin delivery improved their nighttime glycemic control. The therapy, delivered at Children's Hospital Boston, used an algorithm-controlled pump and continuous glucose monitor to deliver insulin on an as-needed basis as the children slept.
0 comments - Posted Jul 23, 2012
Immediately starting intense therapy for newly diagnosed type 2s preserved their beta cell functioning for 3.5 years, according to a University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center study.
0 comments - Posted Jul 18, 2012
On a Sunday morning, a busy couple and their school-age children enter a superstore for their weekly grocery shopping. As they move through the center of the store, their shopping cart fills with packs of flavored yogurt, fruit sauces, fruit bars, fruit juices, flavored milk, prepared school lunches, snacks, and family meal packs.
0 comments - Posted Jul 15, 2012
New York researchers have reported that obese patients with type 1 diabetes who do not respond well to insulin may be able to improve their blood sugar control by adding liraglutide to their therapy. Liraglutide (brand name Victoza) is an injectible GLP-1 analog* that was introduced to the US market in 2010 to treat people with type 2 diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Jul 14, 2012
Kyrra Richards, who has type 1 diabetes, has transformed her desire for a stylish diabetes carrying case into a thriving business. Her sense of style has struck a chord with a large audience, including a company that is working with her to customize her line to its pump. It’s been several years since Diabetes Health interviewed Kyrra at an AADE conference (http://www.diabeteshealth.com/tv/play/182.html). I spoke to her recently to catch up and see how things were going.
0 comments - Posted Jul 8, 2012
Diabetes affects nearly 25 million Americans, and that number is expected to grow substantially every year. It's the fifth leading cause of death in America, more than breast cancer and AIDs combined. And according to a report released last week from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), it's a disease that’s costing Americans $83 billion a year in hospital fees — 23 percent of total hospital spending.
0 comments - Posted Jul 5, 2012
June 2012
A small Chinese study has reported that 15 of 28 young type 1 patients, aged 14 to 30 years, who underwent an experimental adult stem cell procedure were able to stay off insulin injections for an average of 18 months. Though not conclusive, the study highlights an interesting avenue of research that could eventually dramatically reduce insulin dependence among type 1s.
0 comments - Posted Jun 29, 2012
My insulin pump has changed my life. My A1C has improved, I've felt more energetic, and I've controlled my diabetes more effectively overall. It has been the biggest and best change in my diabetes treatment since I started on insulin a quarter-century ago.
0 comments - Posted Jun 25, 2012
I've had type 1 diabetes for nearly 14 years. I have fallen off the wagon a few times, battled diabulimia, survived numerous insulin shock comas and ketoacidosis episodes, and struggled with acceptance: I have my scars. Despite these mistakes, I've picked myself up countless times and have prevailed. I've persevered with a disease that doesn't take vacations for even a minute, and I've come out on top. I'm alive and healthy, with a full life and a child of my own.
0 comments - Posted Jun 21, 2012
Dexcom Proudly Sponsors Historic Diabetes Flight Formation Trip To Raise Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Funds
SAN DIEGO - June 15, 2012 - Dexcom, the leader in continuous glucose monitoring, is proudly sponsoring the efforts of the Diabetes Formation Flight USA(DFFUSA.org) - three pilots with insulin-dependent diabetes using Dexcom's Seven Plus as part of their effort to set new transcontinental world speed records while raising funds for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF).
0 comments - Posted Jun 20, 2012
Last year, I gave birth to my daughter and shared my pregnancy and birthing experiences with you. The pregnancy was a very difficult but extremely rewarding experience. A few months after our daughter was born, my husband and I discussed whether we'd have another child. On one hand, I went through several insulin shock comas, severe insulin resistance, and pre-eclampsia, ending in an emergency cesarean section. Because my first pregnancy was so tough, we weren't sure if we wanted to risk another one. On the other hand, if we did have two children, we wanted them to be very close in age so that they could bond well. We figured that if the two children were around fifteen months apart, then my daughter would be too young to feel any tension about having another baby in the house. We hoped they'd be close enough in age that they would always have one another as a companion.
0 comments - Posted Jun 18, 2012
A clinical study has begun of a wearable device that continuously delivers basal insulin to people with type 2 diabetes. The device, PaQ®, is manufactured by CeQur SA, a Swiss company that has operations in Denmark and Massachusetts. Designed to provide three days of basal insulin delivery along with on-demand bolus insulin, the device incorporates a disposable insulin infuser reservoir attached to a reusable insulin monitor.
0 comments - Posted Jun 16, 2012
This is an open letter to marketers who target people with diabetes. From the point of view of a person with diabetes, marketers often make the following mistakes when promoting their products to us.
0 comments - Posted Jun 15, 2012
A Florida-based endocrinologist and his team have reported that an intensive 16-week wellness program aimed at type 2 patients yielded some dramatic results: Patients were able to decrease their insulin by 46 percent and their oral medication by 12 percent. They saw their 30-day prescription costs drop by an average of more than $140 per month, reduced their BMI by 3.07, and experienced a drop of 0.7% in their A1C.
0 comments - Posted Jun 14, 2012
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of Novo Nordisk's Levemir basal insulin for type 1 children aged two to five years. The FDA decision makes Levemir (insulin detemir [rDNA origin]) the only basal insulin approved for use in this age group.
Levemir, introduced to the US market in 2006, was previously approved for older children and adults with type 1 diabetes, as well as insulin-using type 2s.
0 comments - Posted Jun 7, 2012
The following article documents a very personal way of approaching diabetes. Always check with a healthcare professional before changing your diet or your diabetes care regimen.
0 comments - Posted Jun 6, 2012
A short animated video narrated in a woman's reassuring tone provides a basic look at diabetes. The presentation touches on the science behind the condition and explains important terms, including "pancreas," "glucose," and "insulin." It stresses the importance of regular A1C checks and taking medication if needed, while pointing out the dangers associated with not staying on top of blood sugar levels.
0 comments - Posted Jun 5, 2012
Not long ago, celebrity chef Charles Mattocks, who was recently diagnosed with diabetes, came across the twitter account that I use to connect with the diabetes community. He called me and told me about his idea for making a documentary about diabetes and asked if I would like to participate. Charles saw the need for an up-close view of our disease that would be very supportive of the diabetes community. Having had type 1 diabetes for 12 years, I jumped at the opportunity to be a part of a film that focuses on the struggles of dealing with diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Jun 2, 2012
I'm about to tell you a secret that I've kept for 15 years. I know that we all make mistakes with our diabetes, but the one I made back then was literally a wake-up call. While I cringe at telling this unflattering story, I hope that it will help others realize how scary things can get quickly if you ignore your diabetes. Thankfully, the scenario that unfolded all those years ago helped bring me out of my reckless state and showed me the way to a better life with diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Jun 1, 2012
May 2012
I've had type 1 diabetes for six years, and it never fails that during the dreaded "time of the month," I become increasingly insulin-resistant. Just looking at a carbohydrate makes my sugar skyrocket. I'm exhausted, and my mood goes from my usual positive to cranky and sensitive.
0 comments - Posted May 27, 2012
I once had a doctor ask me what I'd do if someone offered me a drink or a cigarette. I was a teenager, recently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, and it was the first time that I had seen her. When I told her that I didn't drink or smoke, she kept hounding me with questions as if I were lying. I grew tired of telling her the same thing over and over. She just didn't seem to hear what I was saying. Maybe she was just trying to scare me from starting, but I left feeling annoyed and convinced that I needed to find a different doctor.
0 comments - Posted May 25, 2012
Recently, I was cuddling my sleeping toddler and watching a recorded episode of The View. If you've never seen the show, five well-known women discuss "hot topics" and interview guests. On the day I watched, their guest co-host was Paula Deen, the Southern chef who is best known for adding endless sticks of butter to her recipes.
0 comments - Posted May 23, 2012
Scientists meeting recently at the International Liver Congress in Barcelona, Spain, say that microbiota-tiny organisms specific to a part of the body-transplanted from healthy people to people at risk of diabetes or nonalcoholic fatty liver disease may prevent the later onset of those conditions. The procedure involves implanting small quantities of fecal matter from healthy donors into the colons of pre-diseased recipients.
0 comments - Posted May 18, 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
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
April 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.
0 comments - Posted Apr 27, 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.
0 comments - Posted Apr 23, 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.
0 comments - Posted Apr 13, 2012
March 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.
0 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.
0 comments - Posted Mar 26, 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.
0 comments - Posted Mar 17, 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."
0 comments - 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.
0 comments - 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.
0 comments - Posted Feb 26, 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.
0 comments - Posted Feb 20, 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.
0 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.
0 comments - Posted Feb 16, 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.
0 comments - Posted Feb 3, 2012
January 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.
0 comments - Posted Jan 30, 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."
0 comments - Posted Jan 15, 2012
December 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.
0 comments - Posted Dec 27, 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
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?
0 comments - Posted Dec 18, 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.
0 comments - Posted Dec 13, 2011
November 2011
There's nothing quite like wondering how you're going to pay for prescriptions. I find it odd that we usually don't know what our out-of-pocket cost will be until we're standing in front of the pharmacy staff and praying that we have enough in our wallet to cover it. I often feel like a reality show contestant waiting for the grand total. My pharmacy-based reality show would probably be called "The Biggest Payer," or perhaps "The Amazing Guess," or, aptly, "Survivor." If you've ever walked away from the pharmacy counter embarrassed, panicked, or depressed, you know the feeling I'm referring to. It's a pain no prescription can cure.
0 comments - Posted Nov 26, 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.
0 comments - Posted Nov 21, 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.
0 comments - Posted Nov 14, 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.
0 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.
0 comments - Posted Nov 10, 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.
0 comments - Posted Nov 6, 2011
October 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.
0 comments - Posted Oct 21, 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.
0 comments - Posted Oct 15, 2011
September 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?
0 comments - Posted Sep 29, 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.
0 comments - Posted Sep 27, 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.
0 comments - Posted Sep 22, 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.
0 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
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.
0 comments - Posted Sep 14, 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.
0 comments - Posted Sep 8, 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.
0 comments - Posted Sep 6, 2011
August 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.
0 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
In 2004, pro snowboarder Sean Busby was on the top of the world.
0 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
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.
0 comments - Posted Aug 3, 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
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.
0 comments - Posted Jul 27, 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
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
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.
0 comments - Posted Jul 13, 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.
0 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.
0 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.
0 comments - Posted Jul 9, 2011
June 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.
0 comments - Posted Jun 15, 2011
May 2011
Here's news that has been receiving big play in U.S. and European media: British scientists have found that a gene called KLF14 acts as a "master switch" that controls other genes found in body fat-genes that are major factors in such conditions as type 2 diabetes, obesity, high cholesterol levels, and levels of glucose and insulin. The finding, by researchers at King's College London and Oxford University, could lead to treatments for diabetes, obesity, and related metabolic disorders by targeting the gene.
0 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.
0 comments - Posted May 29, 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.
0 comments - Posted May 25, 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.
0 comments - Posted May 18, 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.
0 comments - Posted May 10, 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?
0 comments - Posted May 5, 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."
0 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.
0 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.
0 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
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.
0 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.
0 comments - 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.
0 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.
0 comments - Posted Apr 20, 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.
0 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.
0 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
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.
0 comments - Posted Apr 7, 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.
0 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
This List defines terms that people with prediabetes commonly encounter as they learn more about the condition.
0 comments - Posted Mar 29, 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.
0 comments - Posted Mar 21, 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."
0 comments - Posted Mar 15, 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."
0 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."
0 comments - 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.
0 comments - 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 7, 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.
0 comments - 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
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
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
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.
0 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
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.
0 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.' "
0 comments - Posted Feb 16, 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
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
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
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
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.
0 comments - Posted Feb 1, 2011
January 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:
0 comments - 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.
0 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.
0 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?"
0 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
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. .
0 comments - Posted Jan 25, 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
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.
0 comments - Posted Jan 20, 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?
0 comments - Posted Jan 17, 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.
0 comments - 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
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
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
0 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.
0 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.
0 comments - Posted Jan 6, 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.
0 comments - Posted Jan 3, 2011
December 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.
0 comments - Posted Dec 30, 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.
0 comments - Posted Dec 27, 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.
0 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.
0 comments - 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.
0 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."
0 comments - Posted Dec 21, 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.
0 comments - 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 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
(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.
0 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.
0 comments - Posted Dec 13, 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
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).
0 comments - Posted Dec 9, 2010
November 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
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
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.
0 comments - Posted Nov 22, 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 15, 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.
0 comments - Posted Nov 12, 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.
0 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).
0 comments - Posted Nov 10, 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
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."
0 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
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
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
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
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.)
0 comments - Posted Oct 19, 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.
0 comments - Posted Oct 18, 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
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
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.
0 comments - Posted Oct 9, 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
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.
0 comments - 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
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
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
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.
0 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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
"Absolutely not. I'm not going to mess with that."
0 comments - Posted Aug 18, 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
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
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
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
July 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
0 comments - Posted Jul 10, 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
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
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
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.
0 comments - Posted Jun 25, 2010
City of Hope researchers have found that bone marrow transplantation with islet cell transplantation shows promise as a treatment for late-stage type 1 diabetes. This combination may enable patients to make their own insulin again. Results from laboratory research led by Defu Zeng, MD, associate professor in the departments of Diabetes Research and Hematology & Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation at City of Hope, were published online this month in the journal Diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Jun 25, 2010
Researchers from the National Jewish Health and University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus have found a specific protein fragment, or peptide, that stimulates an immune system attack resulting in diabetes. Their experiments in mice contradict conventional wisdom about such peptides and support work by scientists studying autoimmune diseases.
0 comments - Posted Jun 24, 2010
The American Diabetes Association and the American Cancer Society have issued a joint consensus statement that acknowledges some links between diabetes and cancer but also notes there are numerous questions that have yet to be answered.
0 comments - Posted Jun 23, 2010
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
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 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
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
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
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.
0 comments - Posted Jun 2, 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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
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.
0 comments - Posted May 8, 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.
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.
0 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.
0 comments - Posted May 4, 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.
0 comments - Posted Apr 30, 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.
0 comments - 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.
0 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.
0 comments - Posted Apr 26, 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
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.
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).
0 comments - Posted Apr 18, 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.
0 comments - Posted Apr 14, 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.
0 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.
0 comments - Posted Apr 9, 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.
0 comments - Posted Apr 6, 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
March 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..
0 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
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.
0 comments - Posted Mar 27, 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
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
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.
0 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.
0 comments - Posted Mar 22, 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.
0 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.
0 comments - Posted Mar 19, 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.
0 comments - Posted Mar 18, 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?
0 comments - Posted Mar 16, 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."
0 comments - Posted Mar 13, 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 8, 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.
0 comments - Posted Mar 5, 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.
0 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?
0 comments - 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?
0 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.
0 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.
0 comments - Posted Feb 27, 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.
0 comments - Posted Feb 26, 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.
0 comments - Posted Feb 24, 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.
0 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.
0 comments - Posted Feb 22, 2010
This is the third - and final - installment of our three-part series "Handing Down the Genes." Part III: "Nutrition and Exercise Tips"
0 comments - Posted Feb 19, 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).
0 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.
0 comments - Posted Feb 17, 2010
This is the second installment of our three-part series "Handing Down the Genes." Part II: "Preventing Type 2 in Children"
0 comments - Posted Feb 13, 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.
0 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.
0 comments - Posted Feb 11, 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.
0 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.
0 comments - Posted Feb 9, 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.
0 comments - Posted Feb 3, 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.
0 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
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.
0 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
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.
0 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.
0 comments - Posted Jan 27, 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.
0 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.
0 comments - Posted Jan 21, 2010
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Diabetes may hasten progression to dementia in older people with mild thinking impairment, new research shows.
0 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.
0 comments - Posted Jan 19, 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.
0 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.
0 comments - Posted Jan 15, 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.
0 comments - Posted Jan 13, 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?"
0 comments - Posted Jan 6, 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?"
0 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.
0 comments - Posted Jan 4, 2010
December 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.
0 comments - Posted Dec 31, 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.
0 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."
0 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.
0 comments - Posted Dec 28, 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.
0 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.
0 comments - Posted Dec 24, 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.
0 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).
0 comments - 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.
0 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.
0 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
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.
0 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.
0 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.
0 comments - Posted Dec 9, 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.
0 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.
0 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
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.
0 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.
0 comments - Posted Nov 30, 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."
0 comments - Posted Nov 26, 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!
0 comments - 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."
0 comments - Posted Nov 24, 2009
Q: How do I lower my blood sugar when it goes over 200 mg/dl? I have type 2 diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Nov 20, 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.
0 comments - Posted Nov 20, 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
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.
0 comments - Posted Nov 12, 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.
0 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.
0 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.
0 comments - Posted Nov 7, 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
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.
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.
0 comments - Posted Oct 27, 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.
0 comments - Posted Oct 24, 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.
0 comments - 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.
0 comments - Posted Oct 16, 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.
0 comments - 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.
0 comments - Posted Oct 12, 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.
0 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.
0 comments - Posted Oct 8, 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.
0 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.
0 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.
0 comments - Posted Oct 2, 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
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
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.
0 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.
0 comments - Posted Sep 26, 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
Even if they don't lose weight, a moderate aerobic exercise program can improve insulin sensitivity in obese adolescents who are sedentary.
0 comments - Posted Sep 23, 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.
0 comments - Posted Sep 20, 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.
0 comments - Posted Sep 19, 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.
0 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
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.
0 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.
0 comments - Posted Sep 11, 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.
0 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.
0 comments - Posted Sep 9, 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
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.
0 comments - Posted Sep 4, 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
August 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.
0 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.
0 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
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.]
0 comments - Posted Aug 24, 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.
0 comments - Posted Aug 21, 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
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
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.
0 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.
0 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.
0 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.
0 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:
0 comments - Posted Aug 12, 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.
0 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.
0 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.
0 comments - 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.
0 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
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.
0 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."
0 comments - Posted Aug 3, 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.
0 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.
0 comments - Posted Aug 1, 2009
July 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.
0 comments - 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.
0 comments - Posted Jul 27, 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?
0 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.
0 comments - 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
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.
0 comments - Posted Jul 21, 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
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.
0 comments - 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.
0 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?"
0 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.
0 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!
0 comments - Posted Jul 10, 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?
0 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
0 comments - Posted Jul 8, 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).
0 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.
0 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.
0 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.
0 comments - Posted Jun 29, 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.
0 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.
0 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
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.
0 comments - Posted Jun 22, 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.
0 comments - 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?"
0 comments - Posted Jun 18, 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.
0 comments - Posted Jun 16, 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
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.
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.
0 comments - Posted Jun 2, 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
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
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.
0 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.
0 comments - 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.
0 comments - Posted May 26, 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."
0 comments - 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.
0 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.
0 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.
0 comments - Posted May 20, 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.
0 comments - 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.
0 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.
0 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.
0 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).
0 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.
0 comments - Posted May 11, 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.
0 comments - Posted May 8, 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.
0 comments - Posted May 6, 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
0 comments - Posted Apr 30, 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.
0 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.
0 comments - 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.
0 comments - 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.
0 comments - 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
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
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.
0 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.
0 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.
0 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
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
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.
0 comments - Posted Apr 7, 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?
0 comments - Posted Apr 2, 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.
0 comments - Posted Apr 1, 2009
March 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.
0 comments - 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?"
0 comments - Posted Mar 27, 2009
The first time Chris Matthews heard the words "high blood sugar" was in 2002 at a doctor's office in Washington, DC, where he was being treated for malaria after a trip to Zimbabwe. He didn't pay a lot of attention to the warning about his glucose levels after a blood test. The malaria was subsequently cured, and he continued at his usual rapid-fire pace, traveling the country giving speeches about his best-selling books ("Life is a Campaign" is his latest; "Hardball" is his best known) and his work both inside the White House, where he was a speechwriter for President Carter, and outside, where he was administrative assistant to House Speaker Tip O'Neill on Capitol Hill. Then there's his work on television, where he is host of Hardball on MSNBC and the Chris Matthew Show, which airs on Sundays just before Meet the Press on NBC. He stayed busy, and his schedule remained overbooked. He let the warning about high blood sugar go into the background-so far back it was out of sight and definitely out of mind. Besides, there just wasn't any room in his life to deal with it.
0 comments - Posted Mar 26, 2009
If you fancy cat naps and think that they might be a handy way to circumvent the ill effects of too little sleep at night (see Sleeping Less Than 6 Hours a Night? Your Risk of Developing a Type 2 Precursor Is Nearly 5x Higher), think again: A British study of the napping habits of more than 16,000 people in China has concluded that taking a nap even once a week can increase your risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 26 percent over people who never take naps.
0 comments - Posted Mar 25, 2009
If you get less than six hours of sleep per night, your risk of developing impaired fasting glucose rises by a factor of 4.56, according to a report from the American Heart Association.
0 comments - Posted Mar 25, 2009
The FDA has announced that starting in early April, its Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee will begin looking into two new drugs for type 2 diabetes: saxagliptin tablets from Bristol-Meyers Squibb and liraglutide, an injection drug from Novo Nordisk.
0 comments - Posted Mar 24, 2009
In a study funded by Novo Nordisk, researchers at Ohio State University have found that type 2s who move from oral meds to insulin would be wise to start with an insulin pen rather than a syringe.
0 comments - Posted Mar 21, 2009
Physicians who treat people with type 2 diabetes face difficult choices when selecting the best medical therapy for each patient. The decision process is further complicated by the fact that because type 2 diabetes is a progressive disease, therapeutic agents that were initially successful may fail five or ten years later.
0 comments - Posted Mar 20, 2009
Sanofi-aventis U.S., a maker of insulin as well as many other pharmaceuticals, announced last month the launch of their new YouTube diabetes channel that's designed to challenge the barriers, myths, and misperceptions about insulin use and empower people living with type 2 diabetes to make better-informed decisions for managing their condition. The channel is part of their broader GoInsulin campaign, a multi-media resource for people living with type 2 diabetes to help dispel the myths about insulin.
0 comments - Posted Mar 19, 2009
New cases of adult type 2 diabetes have increased by more than 90 percent in the past 10 years, according to recent data from the Centers for Disease and Prevention.(1) Equally troubling is the dramatic rise in type 2 diabetes among children. Recent reports reveal a 200 percent increase in hospitalizations for children with type 2 diabetes, a condition that was rarely diagnosed in children decades ago.(2) In the words of the CDC, "Diabetes is common, disabling, and deadly."(3)
0 comments - Posted Mar 18, 2009
Novo Nordisk has redesigned the FlexPen®, the number one selling pre-filled insulin pen in the world, to not only require less force when pushing the button to inject insulin, but also to clearly identify each type of insulin with prominent color branding. The FlexPen® is available with three Novo Nordisk insulin products: 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 Mar 18, 2009
Obesity has long been accepted as a risk factor for diabetes. The results of four recently published studies, however, have revealed that the real risk factor may be the insecticides present in that fat. The initial investigations showed that the expected association between obesity and diabetes/insulin resistance was absent in people who had low levels of organochlorine insecticides in their blood (1, 2). However, the expected association between obesity and diabetes/insulin resistance increased with levels of these insecticides. In the last year, two additional studies have linked these insecticides with diabetes (3, 4).
0 comments - Posted Mar 13, 2009
Researchers funded by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation have found two chemical compounds that can trigger the growth of insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. The discovery could become the basis for medicines designed to regenerate the pancreas in people with type 1 diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Mar 11, 2009
Whenever Diabetes Health publishes an article about high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), we receive mountains of printed material from corn industry advocates. They argue that the effects of HFCS cannot be extrapolated from research because the "studies look at the effects of fructose independently." They claim, in the words of Christopher Mohr, MS, RD, LDN, of the Corn Refiners Association, that "the absence of glucose makes pure fructose fundamentally different from HFCS."
0 comments - Posted Mar 11, 2009
It was in the spring of 2005 that I received a call from the director of the diabetes camp in the state where I lived and worked as a sales rep for a blood glucose meter company. He was calling to ask if I would volunteer as a counselor at the week-long camp, which served around 200 campers, the vast majority with type 1 diabetes. I'd known for years that counselors were always in demand at the camp, but had never stepped forward to volunteer. I'd heard the stories of how tough and exhausting it was keeping up with your group, performing 2:00 AM blood sugar checks, and ensuring that they all stayed safe and had fun. Frankly, I'd always had serious doubts as to whether I was up to it. This, however, was the first time that I had been directly asked to volunteer, and something inside me made me grudgingly agree. As I drove to the campsite to begin that week in June, though, I'd be lying if I did not admit to being as nervous as any of the kids who were attending.
0 comments - Posted Mar 6, 2009
Chances are that you know somebody who can pack away the highest-fat foods-marbled steak, cheese, butter, and ice cream-and never gain weight. If you've always shrugged it off and said, "It must be genetic," it turns out that you may be right.
0 comments - Posted Mar 5, 2009
A few quick, intense bursts of energy, such as 7.5 minutes per week of sprints on a stationary bicycle, may be just as good as 30 minutes per day of moderate exercise in reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes. In fact, say researchers at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland, such short bursts may be even more effective.
0 comments - Posted Mar 5, 2009
I was diagnosed with type 1 relatively late in life, at age 24. People sometimes remark to me, with genuine kindness, that it must have been harder on me. Perhaps they think I recall what it was like to be a "normal" child and young adult, to do and eat what I wanted without insulin, checking blood sugar, or worrying about highs and lows or long-term complications. I appreciate their sincerity, but I always correct them. Diabetes is not harder for me. It is hard on everyone. Whether you were diagnosed as a child or an adult, it complicates your life and the lives of your family.
0 comments - Posted Mar 4, 2009
A complex sugar derived from glucose during the body’s metabolic processes could be a way to reliably detect a pre-diabetes condition, say researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. If it does, the “biomarker” (an indicator of an organism’s state of health) could provide enough early warning that patients nearing the onset of type 2 diabetes could take steps to slow or even halt it through lifestyle changes.
0 comments - Posted Mar 3, 2009
A few years ago a young man named Jeff came into my office seeking help to lose weight. He was 5'10" tall and weighed 130 pounds. Jeff denied starving himself, denied making himself throw up, and denied over-exercising. I tried to convince him that he was actually 30 pounds underweight. As I looked for the most effective ways of motivating him to restore his health, he brought up the fact that he had type 1 diabetes. Jeff said that he rarely gave himself insulin and that he had "diabulimia." I had never heard of diabulimia and had no idea what I was dealing with. I gave him a list of clinicians and asked him to call me back after he made appointments with an endocrinologist and a psychotherapist.
0 comments - Posted Mar 3, 2009
February 2009
Do infusion sets refuse to stick to your skin?
0 comments - Posted Feb 27, 2009
DM-99, a drug under development by the Canadian drug company DiaMedica, Inc., has just finished a phase 2a "proof of concept" trial with 40 type 2 patients in Europe. Although the company did not release performance figures from the trial, it found them sufficiently encouraging to move further into phase 2 testing.
0 comments - Posted Feb 26, 2009
A report in the February 4, 2009, issue of Cell Metabolism says that babies born with neonatal diabetes might be able to avoid irreversible damage to the pancreas if doctors treat them quickly with sulfonylureas rather than insulin.
0 comments - Posted Feb 25, 2009
Georgia researchers believe that a powerful enzyme that inhibits or modifies immune system response could be the basis for a vaccine administered to children at high risk for developing type 1 diabetes.
0 comments - Posted Feb 25, 2009
I admit it: I've had diabetes for seven years, and only recently did I even think about buying a medical alert ID. It's not like me to be this irresponsible, but diabetes crept up on me, rather like type 2 does, although I'm a type 1. My diabetes is a slowly progressing adult-onset form, sometimes called type 1.5. For the first five years after my diagnosis, I controlled the disease with diet.
0 comments - Posted Feb 24, 2009
Data from a phase 3 study of the Novo Nordisk drug liraglutide shows that when it is used in combination with glimepiride, it is more effective at reducing A1c's than glimepiride by itself or glimepiride in combination with the drug rosiglitazone.
0 comments - Posted Feb 19, 2009
Sanofi-aventis U.S. and Children with Diabetes have announced the arrival of a multimedia resource, called the KidCare Kit, which gives families the tools and information they need to get through the challenging first 30 days after a diagnosis of type 1.
0 comments - Posted Feb 18, 2009
Over the past few years, Team Type 1, a team of elite and professional cyclists living with type 1 diabetes, has competed in races like the Tour of Georgia and the AT&T Austin Downtown Criterium, and it has twice won the ultra-endurance, 3,052 mile Race Across America (RAAM).
0 comments - Posted Feb 18, 2009
Editor's note: We recently received the following heartbreaking letter. The article that follows was first published in May, 2006. Little has changed.
0 comments - Posted Feb 12, 2009
Keep this letter-number sequence in mind: CXCL10. You'll probably be reading a lot more about it.
0 comments - Posted Feb 11, 2009
Remember that public service advertisement that showed a frying egg and then announced, "This is your brain on drugs"? Well, now American researchers think that insulin might be able to shield that brain from the ravages of Alzheimer's disease.
0 comments - Posted Feb 10, 2009
Cards, gifts, chocolates, flowers, and romantic gestures. Isn't that what Valentine's Day is supposed to be about? My husband Brian and I had been going on that theory until 2002, when the holiday had the audacity to come around again one month after our son Danny was diagnosed with diabetes. That year, we woke up, wished each other Happy Valentine's Day and started talking about blood sugar levels, carbohydrates, insulin, exercise and pharmacies. We hit those same topics during the day by phone, and although we vaguely planned to go out for dinner, by evening Danny wasn't feeling well, and we spent part of the night on the phone to Children's Hospital. We did remember to kiss goodnight before we collapsed into a restless sleep, but were poised for the alarm to wake us, so we could test Danny's blood sugar levels again at midnight.
0 comments - Posted Feb 9, 2009
Baxter International, Inc., which produces the peritoneal dialysis solution Extraneal (icodextrin), has teamed with MedicAlert Foundation International to encourage peritoneal dialysis patients to add a warning to their MedicAlert bracelets regarding the fact that icodextrin may cause false readings on non-specific glucose monitors.
0 comments - Posted Feb 5, 2009
By introducing a protein called cdk6 into human insulin-producing adult beta cells via a virus, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine researchers have induced the cells to replicate "robustly." Previously, scientists believed that beta cells could be induced to regenerate slowly at best, and usually not at all.
0 comments - Posted Feb 5, 2009
Asia, which covers an area almost twice the size of North America and is home to three billion people-half of humanity-is often seen as a homogenous entity in the minds of many Westerners, even scientists. But a land that stretches 6,000 miles from east to west is anything but homogenous. The Israelis and Arabs in western Asia, for example, are far different ethnically from the Hmong mountain people in Southeast Asia, the Ainu in northern Japan, or the Filipinos in the southwestern Pacific.
0 comments - Posted Feb 3, 2009
Cards, gifts, chocolates, flowers, and romantic gestures. Isn't that what Valentine's Day is supposed to be about? My husband Brian and I had been going on that theory until 2002, when the holiday had the audacity to come around one month after our son Danny was diagnosed with diabetes. That year, we woke up, wished each other Happy Valentine's Day, and started talking about blood sugar levels, carbohydrates, insulin, exercise, and pharmacies. We hit those same topics during the day by phone, and although we vaguely planned to go out for dinner, by evening Danny wasn't feeling well, and we spent part of the night on the phone to Children's Hospital. We did remember to kiss goodnight before we collapsed into a restless sleep, but were poised for the alarm to wake us so we could test Danny's blood sugar levels again at midnight.
0 comments - Posted Feb 1, 2009
January 2009
A study published in the Journal of Hospital Medicine has found that the glucose control practices at academic medical centers are below par and fail to meet the current standards set by the American Diabetes Association (ADA).
0 comments - Posted Jan 30, 2009
Air polluted with particulate matter at concentrations found in many U.S. metro areas may be a contributing factor in obesity and to the onset of diabetes, say researchers at the Ohio State University Medical Center.