USA's Top Diabetes Magazine on its 60th Year

December 27, 2007

Diabetes Forecast starts the 60th year by releasing its annual supplement, the 2008 Resource Guide on diabetes. To help the diabetics, the supplement offers the readers with a summary of new and established products. This overview will provide the information needed for diabetes care.

This Resource Guide will have different sections. There will be news on new products such as new medications, blood glucose monitors that continuously keep track of blood sugar levels. It will also provide ways to control type 2 diabetes with drugs especially now that there are six classes of pills and a number of combinations of pills.

For insulin users, the supplement will provide an overview of the chief characteristics of insulin and the ones used in the US and helpful guidelines on labeling, shipping and storage. In addition, it will give data on pumps, pens, jet injectors, syringes and infusers. It will help users decide which tools match their needs.

The diabetics will also learn to determine which blood glucose monitor is the best tool. There will be tips on how to handle hypoglycemic episodes and how to prevent them from happening. It will give information on how to test for ketones as well.

There will be an alphabetical list of distributors and manufacturers of diabetes goods. And this is not all. There will be eight steps on how to make good on the New Year's Resolution to lose weight. The hints will help anyone to stick to this resolution.

I will report on all of these in more detail as I believe this is an important resource for people who have diabetes. It is good to have such information handy within one's reach at all times. Self-care will be more manageable with such resource on hand.

Transition Program for Inhaled Insulin

Pfizer will establish a transition program for Exubera which is inhaled insulin. After talks with Diabetes UK they will have a transition period of up to twelve months to supply this inhaled insulin. It will depend on its availability and dates of expiration.

The official withdrawal date for this product is January 16, 2008. Pfizer would like to have people time to change to another type of treatment. Also this will give time for another pharmaceutical company to continue the production of this product.

In talks with Pfizer, Diabetes UK agrees to the plan for they want to see a solution that will stand the test of time. They will contact UK and US pharmaceutical companies to see which will be able to take over the production of inhaled insulin.

The Director of Care at Diabetes UK's Information and Advocacy Services, Simon O'Neill, said that the planned transition period is useful because it is important that the diabetics have different treatment options in order to make sure they are able to do self care in the most efficient manner.

The diabetics who want to go on the transition program should request their diabetologist to register them with the Customer Care of Pfizer. Their doctor will then be able to give them a prescription for six months which Pfizer will send to the hospital to hand out.

Oral Treatment for Diabetes Discovered?

University of Haifa researchers in the Biology Department of Faculty of Science and Science Education uncovered a matter that may treat diabetes and its accompanying complications orally. This substance is a derivative of a yeast called GTF, an acronym for Glucose Tolerance Factor.

They tested this substance on rats that had diabetes which subsequently have been found to have lowered the lipids and sugar levels in their blood. The one conducting the research is Dr. Nitsa Mirsky who said that the next step is to assess if GTF will work successfully as well on people.

Acknowledged as a world-wide health crisis, diabetes has an effect on 5-10% of people in developed countries and has been declared an epidemic in developing countries. A lasting illness with no cure, it has many complications like blindness, heart disease, kidney failure and others.

About half of people with diabetes are injected with insulin while the others take oral medications that are not easy to control and frequently with side effects. Treatment with insulin may not be effective because resistance to it can slowly develop.

There is another problem with insulin in the sense that it has to fit the diabetic's activities and sometimes it doesn't to the point that taking a large dose before meals could trigger hypoglycemia which could lead to coma and even death.

Dr. Mirsky's research involved two levels, first on rats that were diabetic and on the molecular cells. The findings showed that GTF reduced the glucose level and the bad cholesterol and raised the good cholesterol. This glucose tolerance factor kept back the process of oxidation that could lead to atherosclerosis that in turn could result in heart attacks and strokes.

And here's even better news. If GTF is given early, it could stop or at least slow down renal problems. It has also shown to stop damage to the retina and could help prevent cataracts. It also helps improve the efficacy of insulin. There is a need though for more research to combine both insulin and GTF treatment for diabetics.

Amputation Linked to Mental Health

A study reported in the magazine General Hospital Psychiatry's November/December issue that American veterans who are diabetics have an increased chance of major amputations when they score low on a mental health functioning test.

This news item suggests the need to evaluate patients for mental health issues as this seems to be a risk factor. This way, some suitable intervention can be undertaken to reduce the risk for amputation. So did the senior authors of the VA Health Care System in New Jersey report.

Dr. Tseng and his team studied almost 115000 diabetics at Veteran Health Administration Clinic during the period of 1998-2000. These patients completed a mental health functioning test. They then evaluated the results of the test.

Here's what they found. In 2000, 450 patients underwent amputations of the ankle to above which are considered major while 431 had toes to ankle amputations which are considered minor. They then compared this with the findings on the measurement of the mental health functioning.

The ones who scored lower showed a greater risk for amputation. This was the finding after taking into account the other factors like obesity, less health care, poor diabetes control and smoking. The major amputation rate was .5% among those who scored below average, .3% for those who obtained above average and .2% for those who have the highest score in the test.

It goes to show that increase in mental health functioning score of five points was linked to a reduced risk of major amputation by 5%. And when adjustment was made, mental health functioning stopped being a major risk for amputations that are minor.

The link between mental health functioning and diabetes was mentioned before but this is the first time that it has been formally studied. Mental health issues may get in the way with the care of people with diabetes including complications with the foot care. Being aware of this could lead to fewer amputations and better care for the diabetics.

Alzheimer's Disease a Type 3 Diabetes?

Scientists started naming Alzheimer's disease a type 3 diabetes. Why? Because they think there's a strong relationship between diabetes and Alzheimer's disease. They have found new proof linking resistance to insulin and the disorder of the brain.

The team of researchers at the Northwestern University in the United States declares that when the brain stops the insulin from doing its job correctly, the result is chemical imbalance. This disproportion of the chemicals then could help out in activating Alzheimer's disease.

The research undertaken is suggesting that patients with dementia have brains with protein that ties to the tips of the end of nerves. This leads to resistance to insulin which plays a role and therefore important for the brain in order for it to learn, accumulate information and knowledge and then remember them along with the memories.

The leader of this study is Dr. William Klein who said that type 2 diabetes drugs may be helpful in treating Alzheimer's disease. Even Diabetes UK Care advisor, Libby Dowling, said there are other researches that link diabetes and Alzheimer's disease.

There is a need though for more studies on this matter in order to arrive at a more definitive conclusion as to the relationship between Alzheimer's and diabetes. There is no doubt for this because the speed at which change in medical science occurs is breathtaking.

Just look at the latest announcement regarding the stem cells resulting from adult skin cells that were genetically engineered. We all need these weapons so we can win the battle with diseases including diabetes. These are imbedded in the minds of these researchers who are tireless in their quest for new ways to make things better for all, regardless of motivation.

Taxus Liberte Gets CE Mark to Use for Diabetics

Senior vice president of Boston Scientific International, David McFaul announced that Taxus Liberte stent has been given a CE Mark approval to use for diabetics. He further said that clinical trials and real life statistics have shown it has benefited patients with diabetes and coronary artery disease.

Taxus Liberte is the drug-eluting stent technique most often used in Europe. Getting the approval for use in diabetic patients is quite a milestone for Boston Scientific whose aim is to offer patients the latest treatment option for cardiovascular disease.

Since the diabetics are at a higher risk for cardiovascular events, this is a helpful solution. The patients they examined, 1529 of them, were treated with Taxus Liberte stent system at their clinical trial. Of this number, 413 were diabetics. Four trials showed the effectiveness and safety of this system for diabetics.

About 50% of patients with CAD (coronary artery disease) in Europe are diabetics. These patients showed worse results after revascularization due to their blood vessels that show a tendency to have more plaque. Their CAD also develops more rapidly and so is the most frequent cause of death among those with diabetes in Europe.

Taxus Liberte is not available yet in the United States but Boston Scientific is waiting for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve it. For now, it is available outside the United States. It comes in a wide variety of sizes to treat a range of lesion lengths and vessel sizes in patients suffering from coronary artery disease.

Diabetes UK Added 150 New Recipes for Christmas

Diabetes UK has a recipe finder online and now has made an addition to it. It has put in an additional 150 recipes to make your Christmas merrier. There will be dozens of mouth-watering recipes to try for the whole family to make eating meals during the holiday season a healthy experience.

There is a rating counter to each recipe where one can put his assessment of it. As well, one will be able to access other people's rating so the most popular recipes will be there for every one to see, based on the vote as a whole.

There will be recipes for roast turkey stuffed with fruit, rice pudding with cinnamon, Christmas pudding that is home-made, chocolate sultana that is low-fat and so on. There's even a recipe for making a liver pate. That will certainly spice up the Christmas meal.

There is a nutritional fact accompanying every recipe in addition to the voting counter. So each recipe will show how much protein, energy, fat and carbohydrate content it has. This will make it easy to incorporate these recipes with the prescribed meal plan.

Traditional dishes have been modified to use low-fat alternatives so the favorite dish will not be missed. The whole family can enjoy these healthy recipes without expanding the waistlines. Diabetes UK has also a festive food guide for this season. Merry Christmas to one and all!

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