Good News on Neuropathies

December 6, 2007

There is a new method to detect neuropathy, a condition that affects millions of diabetics, This painless way of detecting the condition is centered on the Meissner corpuscles which are the small features in the skin. These corpuscles are like sensors that feel any light pat.

Scientists have now shown a new pain-free way of detecting neuropathy with the use of reflectance confocal microscopy to look beneath the skin. The doctors now have a non-invasive way to check the patients' nerve damage. The journal Neurology published this research.

The chief author of this research is neurologist David Herrmann. He teamed up with a scientist from Lucid, a company that makes tools like the confocal microscopy. This tool employs light to look beneath the skin. The team studied the smallest nerves in the body to monitor the damage caused by neuropathy.

This is good news because while patients suffer and are often sent home, now with this new technique, they'll get better help due to the fact the condition is easier to diagnose. And as found during the research, the procedure is pain-free.

Mayo Clinic's Peter J. Dyck, MD. said that this is a gold standard but he pointed out that this should be tested on a larger number of participants. A lot of patients will appreciate this as more than half with diabetes develop neuropathy. Now there's hope that with the condition caught earlier. less damage will occur.

Easier to Test with New Blood Glucose Meters

There's a new blood sugar monitoring system in town. A leader in checking blood glucose levels, Roche Diagnostics has a new monitoring system that will cut the steps in half. It is designed to look like a mobile phone with all the tools needed in one device.

The Accu-Chek Compact Plus is the only one of its kind with a three solutions in one gadget. It has a lancing contraption that detaches, a test strip drum having 17 test strips and a meter which can display the test results brightly. Just push a button once and the strip comes up ready to use.

This makes it easier to do the test as it cuts the steps in half. It does away with the handling of the strips and is more hygienic with the simple and quick method. The user does not have to be concerned about accurate testing as the gadget self-codes. It takes only five seconds to test and the result is easy to read and glows in the dark.

Another good point of this new monitoring system is that it needs only one hand to operate and is practically pain-free. It is available in diabetes clinics, pharmacies for 12.99 francs or from Roche itself starting in December 2007. They will replace the present model as they run out in stores. Patient support will be provided through an Accu-Chek Customer Care Line for 365 days a year.

Diabetes Drugs Can Make Bones Weaker

Experts say that Avandia makes the body reabsorb the bones thus making them more fragile. Therefore, the bones are more prone to break. Before, the drug has been found to raise the risk of bone fractures in women. This new report just solidifies this finding and is published in Nature. Scientists say that the drug encourages the action of osteoclass which are the cells that make the bones weaker.

The leader of the team from La Jolla, California's Salk Institute for Biological Studies, Professor Ronald Evans, said that the balance between the affirmation of new bones and the taking away of old ones is delicate. Any piece of bone removed should be replaced by the same amount but with Avandia, the cells that are removed are encouraged while the cells responsible to produce bones are pacified. This makes the body break more bones than it is refilling it.

Ronald Evans emphasized that patients should not be taken off Avandia right away. Apparently there are drugs that can counteract the bone loss. The thing to do is to monitor the diabetics carefully.

Diabetics Taken Off From Avandia Most Likely to Use New Agents

Diabetes Dynamics USA reports on new research that shows just over 50% of diabetics withdrawn from Avandia were changed to new anti=diabetic drugs Januvia or Byetta between July and September 2007.

International Client Services director Philip O'Hagan said that TNS Healthcare observed a rise in Avandia withdrawals and an increase in pioglitazone withdrawal as well. With the pioglitazone withdrawal only 10% were due to cardiac problems while those with the Avandia withdrawals, 20% were due to cardiac issues.

Only half of the Avandia change resulted in the switch to another drug. In 40% the change was only in the dosage. In the other 10% the doctors withdrew their patients from Avandia but did not make any other treatment change.

Diabetes Dynamics will continue to track the changes. They will note which of the drugs will lose or gain. They know that the prescription pattern will be volatile for a period of time. They will check what happens to the patients who changed their treatment.

Diabetes Risk Rises with Short, Long Sleep

James E. Gangwisch, PhD studied the relationship between the duration of sleep and diabetes for eight to ten years from 1982 and 1992. There were 8992 participants who were between 32 and 86 years old.

It is believed that eating in an unhealthy manner and getting less physical activity are the factors that contribute to diabetes but now another feature of the modern lifestyle has come into focus as a contributor also. And this is short sleep period.

The results of this study from Columbia University in New York reveals that participants who have five or less hours of sleep and those who sleep for nine hours or more are more likely to have diabetes than those who sleep for seven hours.

The short sleep period’s effect on diabetes is likely partly related to its influence on hypertension and body weight. Studies have shown that deprived sleep lowers glucose tolerance and compromise the sensitivity of insulin. The pancreas will become overworked and this leads to type 2 diabetes.

It follows then that if sleep deprivation raises resistance to insulin and lowers glucose tolerance then if the quality of sleep is improved, this could become a form of treatment to prevent diabetes.

Regarding long sleep period it is not known how it contributes to diabetes. The medical director of Sleep Health Centers, Lawrence Epstein, MD, who is also an instructor at Harvard Medical School said that this study is one of those that have revealed that people with less sleep have higher risk of developing diabetes.

Wockhardt UK Says There’s Still Insulin Available

Bovine insulin and Hypurin porcine will still be supplied for diabetics as soon as Novo Nordisk extracts its pork insulins this coming December. This is why Wockhardt UK says they’ll be able to provide the diabetics this option for treatment.

Diabetes UK Care advisor Cathy Moulton says it is good for the diabetics to have a choice of treatment because there are no two diabetics are alike so they want to still provide animal insulin. The other point is that switching to human insulin from the animal type is not simple because of serious reaction to the change.

Diabetes UK had a report specially made for this issue that was published in the magazine Diabetic Medicine. Although many can deal with their diabetes well with human insulin, few have problems with hypoglycemia when treated with it. So the Department of Health agrees that some diabetics are more suited to bovine insulin and should therefore be made available.

Blindness Could be Prevented by Cholesterol Drugs

Fenofibrate, a cholesterol drug, has been found to reduce retinopathy in diabetics. Retinopathy is the foremost cause of blindness and now a new study from the University of Sydney reports that this cholesterol drug could save the diabetics from becoming blind.

The researchers report that the participants of the study who took the drug every day reduced their risk of having laser therapy to make their eyesight better by a third. This is when compared to those who took a placebo pill. The research studied 10,000 diabetics who were between 50 and 70 years old for five years.

Senior Science Information Officer, Jo Brodie at Diabetes UK found this interesting. It looks like that fenofibrate not only had a lowering of cholesterol function but also could reduce the risk for retinopathy. There is a problem in the sense that people who do not have cholesterol problems may have to be medicated when there is no need for it. At this point it is good to remind all diabetics to make sure they undergo a digital retinal screening every year.

Erectile Dysfunction Research in Diabetics Awarded

Professors Dr. Pedro Vendeira and Dr. Carla Costa were awarded an ESSM Award of Excellence for their study on erectile dysfunction in diabetics at Lisbon, Portugal during the 10th yearly Congress. The title of their study is Bone-marrow Derived-cell Treatment for Diabetes-associated Erectile Dysfunction.

Erectile dysfunction appears earlier due to the peripheral vascular difficulty that changes the normal blood flux to the organ. This impedes the normal erectile capacity. The study’s chief goal is to revascularize the diabetic penile tissue. This is through the use of cellular therapy which is done in diabetic rats. Healthy animal cells are transplanted to the diabetic animal’s penis.

This research was conducted at the University of Oporto’s Faculty of Medicine. The researchers received financial help for this earlier and the ESSM Award came with financial reward as well. This award was formed by the European Study for sexual Medicine in 2004 to help with the development and research in sexual health.

Older People with Diabetes Prolong Life When Depression is Treated

A study reported in the Diabetes Care's November 27, 2007 issue that elderly people with diabetes live longer when treated for depression. The study followed elderly diabetic patients in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and New York City for five years. Diabetics who received treatment for depression reduced the mortality rate more than the ones without diabetes.

Dr. Hillary Bogner who is the lead researcher and assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Department of Family Practice said that depression is common among the diabetics. This plays a role in their not following the correct diet and not taking their medication as well.

The health problems most commonly treated are diabetes and depression. Earlier studies linked these two and which also increased premature death. This new study is the first known research that investigated the link between premature death and diabetes. The findings made the researchers to come to the conclusion that there should be better care for diabetics that includes the management of depression.

The depressed diabetics with more resources for the treatment of depression were 50% less likely to die over the period of five years when compared to those who did not receive the treatment.

Best Donor of Islets for Diabetes Treatment

The solution to the scarcity of islets for transplantation is to get the islet cells from living donors. This is according to the new report in Clinical Transplantation's new study. Samples of these cells obtained from living donors showed a 94% viability for transplantation against 42% from the dead donors. Clinical Transplantation is a journal for those who care for people requiring tissue or organ transplant.

The author of the study, Dr. Kwang-Won Kim said that the only known treatment for the diabetics who are dependent on insulin is transplantation of islet cells. The trouble is there is not enough supply from dead donors especially sometimes they need two such donors to obtain adequate cells to treat just one diabetic. Living donors will solve this problem because islet cells weaken right after death.

There is a downside to this because the procedure to obtain islet cells from live donors is not free from risk. There is a chance for the donors themselves to develop diabetes and who wants that? There is therefore a need for more research on this issue in order to make certain the donors will be safe and at the same time meet the demand for islet cells.

Diabetes Study Needs Dog Owners with Type 1 Diabetes

November 26, 2007

Diabetes UK is funding a study to research anecdotal records on the dogs' reaction to the changes of their owners' change in blood sugar levels. Researchers are now asking type 1 diabetics who are also dog owners to participate in the study.

The researchers from University of London and Queen's University in Belfast are going to investigate whether the dogs can detect the change in their owners' blood sugar level. They are therefore looking for 100 people to take part in this study.

Dr. Deborah Wells of Queen's University said they know of anecdotal records that show dogs that are able to notice a drop in their owners' blood sugar level. The next issue of Balance will feature Dr. Wells' research. the Jan./Feb. 2008 issue of Balance will highlight this research.

Those who want to be part of this study will have to fill out a questionnaire by mail or through the internet. Their response to the questionnaire will be confidential. They do not have to submit their names nor any personal matter. The survey online can be accessed at the website of the Queen's University Belfast.

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