Latest Diabetes Medical News

Medical News Nuggets

Here are some snippets of diabetes medical news just to keep you current:

Hope Grows at Luncheon for Diabetes Walk

February 28, 2009
These are voices worth listening to because they give us hope. We know that there is no cure yet for diabetes, but the progress has been tremendous just the same in the forms of glucose self-monitoring device and the insulin pump. This has made glucose control so much easier, but I have a beef about this. Why can't Medicare or the health insurance companies cover these items for every diabetic?

Here's another additional alert not related to the above: IHS has provided millions of dollars for a diabetes prevention program for Indian tribes and the programs springing from this grant are showing such promise. One program I saw had children running a race where they were having fun and exercising at the same time.

What Can I Eat?

February 27, 2009
This person is handling the diabetes really well. It would be nice if you would read what she does and tell me if I am wrong. She has such good attitude in enjoying her life, eating what she wants and yet aware of her blood sugar level.

Click here to read more

Here's another additional alert not related to the above: The American Diabetes Association has signed up with Mullen to handle its account. Among things Mullen will handle are the strategic planning and marketing. ADA will do much better, I'm sure as it can then concentrate on its mission to help all diabetics.

Identification Of New Cause Of Critical Illness Hyperglycemia

February 26, 2009

Hyperglycemia in children differs as to its endocrinologic origin depending on the progression of the condition. This is what the researchers said in the journal called Critical Care. They said that the dysfunction of the primary beta cells and the peripheral insulin resistance can lead to CIH in children.

What is CIH? It is acronym for Critical Illness Hyperglycemia. Mark Rigby and Catherine Preissig of Atlanta's Emory University School of Medicine studied 41 children who were receiving intensive care treatment. Here's what they found.

They found that the CIH in children who had both cardiovascular and respiratory problem was caused by the dysfunction of the beta cells. Those with respiratory failure only, the CIH was caused by elevated insulin resistance. Understanding these may impact the course of the condition and the treatment approach.

What is known about beta cells dysfunction? Research has shown there are five stages to this. The first stage is when the secretion of insulin increases to compensate with the resistance to insulin and the decrease in the mass of the B-cell. The glucose levels begin to rise in step 2 while step 3 is characterized by a period of instability with the glucose level rising rapidly.

Stage 4 is when decompensation is more stable with the B-cell dedifferentiation more severe. The final stage 5 is characterized by more severe decompensation with the B-cell greatly reduced and progression to ketosis is on.

There is a need for more studies to determine if treatment with insulin for both groups is effective since in addition to the differences mentioned above, those with both respiratory and cardiovascular failure had more severe CIH than those with either the respiratory or cardiovascular alone was present.

Knowing that this condition is the result of the dysfunction of the beta cells in children who are critically ill with cardiovascular and respiratory failure will lead to appropriate therapeutic measures. The treatment option may be different if the cause is respiratory failure. Then the approach will not be the same for this hyperglycemia.

Medical News Nuggets

Here are some snippets of diabetes medical news just to keep you current:

JDRF Researchers Identified Compounds that Trigger Beta Cell Replication

February 26, 2009
There is a relatively new way to approach research on finding a cure for type 1 diabetes. They are now targeting the regeneration or re-growing of the beta cells so they can start producing insulin again. Thanks to the JDRF volunteers who have worked tirelessly and so enabled the organization to grant $1.3 billion to find cure for type 1 diabetes.

Here's another additional alert not related to the above: Merck has launched a project to reach out to the minority communities in the hope that they will be helped more fully. This is great because these people are at a higher risk to develop diabetes and on top of that they may not receive the care they should be getting.

Lowering BP Decreased Risk for Kidney Disease

February 25, 2009
There is a possibility raised in the recent research that the type 2 diabetics should be considered to have antihypertensive treatment. Why? Because they found out that of the 11,140 diabetic patients in their study, the risk for kidney disease was reduced by 21%. The risk was also decreased among those who did not have high blood pressure.

Click here to read more

Here's another additional alert not related to the above: A Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation branch will honor Joan Pagones in their 10th annual Hope Gala for her work on improving the life in the community. She is making a difference in the research for a cure for all the children afflicted with diabetes.

Diabetes Rising Among Children

February 24, 2009
Here is a wonderful way to help the children with diabetes. They have an educational camp where they teach the children how to live with their diabetes. At the same time, the kids are having fun. And you know what? This is their 10th annual camp. Oh, I just wish they have something like this all over the US.

Click here to read more

Here's another additional alert not related to the above: Scientists from the University of Oxford are working on finding a cure for diabetes. I am hoping they will come close to it because they are approaching their research from a different angle. Their focus is on the small molecules that change the functionality of the proteins.

Making a Difference at Five!

February 23, 2009
Here's a young boy making a difference for diabetes and he's only five years old. He's off to Washington with his parents to present the diabetes case to the congressmen. Hopefully, they will succeed as diabetes needs funding for research to find a cure. This boy lives from day to day battling diabetes and trying to live a normal life. Thanks to his parents, he is doing just that. Click here to read more

Here's another additional alert not related to the above: It's about the overweight costing more in Sheffield each year so the government is trying its best to get the people off their couches and moving again. They have a strategy in place to make sure people understand the importance of physical activity to health and wellbeing.

Extension Service Offering Program for Diabetics

February 22, 2009
This is an offer for people to attend an exercise workshop where the participants will be given a tape and the equipment needed to do the exercises in the tape. The only thing is the commitment is three months which is as good as being a member in a private gym. They'll provide assessment for blood pressure, A1c, blood glucose LDL cholesterol and glucose level to check the progress.

Click here to read more

Here's another additional alert not related to the above but almost similar: There's a Diabetes Expo that will provide free screening by no less than the American Diabetes Association. It is a free-one day event that includes healthy eating and active lifestyles, cooking samples. Information is both in English and Spanish. For more information or to join the list of exhibitors, call 1-888-DIABETES.

The Skinny on Diabetes Drugs

February 21, 2009

This article has a list of diabetes treatment that I like because it will give us an option as to the form of treatment we need. It could be oral or to be injected and even with the last one, there is a choice as to the number of injections one can tolerate.

Click here to read more

Here's another additional alert not related to the above: If you’re taking metformin do you know that it is useful in the treatment of diabetes type 2 but that it could lead to Vitamin B 12 deficiency which could cause fatigue, confusion and trouble walking? If so on your next visit to your doctor find out if you need Vitamin B 12 supplements .

Diabetes Symposium Includes Screenings

February 20, 2009
readyThere will be a diabetes symposium in Knoxville sponsored by no less than The American Diabetes Association. It will be on February 28 from 8:00 AM to noon hour. The venue will be at Bearden High School at Kingston Pike. The beauty of this symposium is that there will be screenings for diabetes, blood pressure, eye exams and bone density tests. On top of these there will be presentations from diabetes experts.

Click here to read more

Here's another additional alert not related to the above: This is the story of two people living with diabetes. Sandy Brown who has been diagnosed in 1990 when pregnant with her first child, said she’s lived with it since then with medicine, exercise and diet to lose weight. She said it’s great when it’s under control. Then there’s David Brown who is a physician assistant and has had diabetes since he was a little child. It is not a death sentence he said and that the key is moderation so occasionally he can have a piece of cake and regular soda.

Blood Pressure Drug Combination Reduces Kidney Disease Risk In Diabetics

February 19, 2009

Blood pressure lowering drugs also lower the risk for kidney disease among diabetics. Even among patients without high blood pressure, the reduction of kidney risk is 20% when a combination of two drugs is taken. What are these two drugs, you asked? And how did they come to this conclusion? Read on.

They arrived to this conclusion after analyzing the data from a study called ADVANCE. The number of type 2 diabetics who participated in this study was 11,140. They divided these patients into two groups. One group was given a combination of two blood pressure-lowering drugs.

The two drugs received were the ACE or angiotensin-converting enzyme (inhibitor perindopril) and the indapamide which is a diuretic drug. How about the second group? Well, they were given inactive placebos. Most of the participants had high blood pressure except for 20% whose blood pressure was normal with a reading of less than 130/80.

Dr. Vlado Perkovic, MBBS, PhD of Sydney, Australia's The George Institute for International Health said that the results of the study revealed that reducing the blood pressure through the diuretic/ ACE inhibitor combination prevents kidney disease. It even reversed the early symptoms of kidney disease. This happened regardless of whether the patient had high blood pressure or not.

The researchers followed up these patients so they could compare the kidney disease events from the least of the condition like a drop in the functioning of the kidney all the way to the failure of the kidney itself. What do you think they found about four years later?

The patients who received the combination of diuretic/ACE inhibitor had considerably lower rate of the kidney disease than the group that received the placebo. The former had a 21% lower rate of kidney problems than the latter group.

And listen to this. Those who had the early symptoms of kidney disease related to diabetes, had their kidney functioning going back to normal while they were treated with the drugs. Even the patients who did not have high blood pressure who were given the combination drugs reduced the events of kidney problem.

The research has some drawbacks. For one thing, the analysis was done on a previous clinical trial so more research is needed. Just the same, it appears that there should be consideration made on giving type 2 diabetics anti-hypertensive treatment whether or not they have high blood pressure.

Medical News Nuggets

Here are some snippets of diabetes medical news just to keep you current

Nibbles: Prevent Diabetes in 7.5 Minutes

February 18, 2009

I love these nibbles pertaining diabetes. One is on sprints that says 7.5 minutes of heavy workout a week may be enough to help sedentary people improve their health. The next nibble is one on the number of teens needing cholesterol lowering drugs. It is less than one percent and as for kids 12-17 years old, the number is less than .8 percent. Whether artificial sweeteners help weight loss depends on how one uses it is another one included in these nibbles.

Click here to read more

Nurse Shortages Endangering Lives of Diabetic Children

February 17, 2009

The shortage in nurses will clearly have a negative impact on the children with diabetes as the heavy load the nurses have will not provide them enough time to care for the children. This has been proven by the results of the care the children have been receiving. More than 80% of the diabetic children have not achieved the recommended blood glucose level. Click here to read more

Here's another additional alert not related to the above: Gateway Medical Center has a diabetes self-management education program that has received a recognition award from the American Diabetes Association. Why? Their program has health professionals who provide pertinent information on diabetes management.

Early Signs of Diabetes

February 16, 2009

We have had this several times but they keep popping up in the internet. Anyway it is an important issue so it bears repeating. The earlier one catches the condition, the better it is all around. The difficult part is recognizing the symptoms as sometimes they do not appear. Heed the recommendation of the American Diabetes Association. As of today they recommend adults 45 years and over to get tested every three years. But check the data to make sure they have not changed to a more frequent testing. After all changes come and go as dictated by needs.

Here's another additional alert not related to the above: Predictions sometimes do not work due to different demographics and other factors just like in this study where they found out that two calculators did not give accurate predictions.

New Mexico Senator Asked FDA to Ban Aspartame Use in USA

February 15, 2009

The senator from New Mexico has asked that the FDA rescind its approval of the use of aspartame. Apparently there has been quite a few health hazards brought about by this sweetener. This was not what made me take a second look at this but rather the mention of diabetics as ones that have fallen victim to this as mentioned by the request from Hawaii that the aspartame approval be withdrawn. Click here to read more

Here's another additional alert not related to the above: Stem Cell researchers from the University of California in San Diego have found that progenitor cells could be made to produce insulin. Imagine that. If that is the case, then the treatment option to make this happen cannot be far behind.

Univ. of Florida / Extension Classes: Taking Charge of Diabetes

February 14, 2009

The University of Florida did it again. It is offering classes for type 2 diabetics with professional health workers and educators as teachers from from March 2 to April 20 from 6 to 8 p.m. The only thing I don't like is the $75 fee but they are offering a limited number of scholarships. Click here to read more

Here's another additional alert not related to the above: It is not surprising that the incidence of diabetes has increased once again. The director of the Diabetes Epidemiology Program, Catherine Cowie, PhD and her group are recommending lifestyle modification especially in the area of weight management and more physical activity.

Happy Valentine's Day to All!

Bag of Hope for Young Diabetes Patients

February 13, 2009

This is such a great resource not only for the child with diabetes but also for the parents and caretakers who have to look after him. Not only will the child get a toy in Rufus the Bear but also he will get a monitor and diabetes bracelet and other materials. The only thing that bugs me with this is that the child in order to qualify will have been diagnosed only in the last three months. Click here to read more

Here's another additional alert not related to the above: I particularly like this alert because it is what we should strive for. We really should try to have a balanced life especially for the diabetics because that will help keep their diabetes under control.

Obesity-Related Cardiovascular Damage Prevented By Decreasing Insulin Resistance

February 12, 2009

Researchers have found out that knocking out one gene that is a factor in insulin resistance can prevent damage to the cardiovascular system. This is usually associated with obesity. The number one health threat of obesity is cardiovascular disease.

Before developing diabetes, obese people have a blood glucose reading that is a bit off the normal reading. By this time, this is already harming the circulation of the body. So said Dr. David Stepp who is the co-director of the MCG's Diabetes and Obesity Discovery Institute. This is when the intervention should be done.

The researchers at the Medical College of Georgia are attempting to understand how knocking out the PTP1B (protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B) in fat mice with diabetes will help. If this is true then using drug to target the PTP1B in obese non-diabetic people whose blood sugar control is a bit off, will get help.

The principal investigator of this, Dr. Stepp is working on a five-year, $2.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health. He hopes to find the answer to this although they have already found that the cardiovascular function has improved when knocking out the gene.

Dr. David Stepp, who is also the vascular biologist of the MCG Vascular Biology Center said that the problem may be the resistance but that this time it's to nitric oxide. Nitric oxide is the dilator of the blood vessels. As one overeats, the body increases the production of insulin in order to meet the demand.

The body learns to misjudge the amount of insulin needed and loses control. Thus begin the erratic high and low blood sugar levels swing. The blood vessels then stop dilating, and the walls become thick and inflamed leading to the formation of clots. Here are some snippets of diabetes medical news just to keep you current:

Bee Gee Barry Gibb to Perform For Diabetes Research

February 11, 2009

That is nice of Barry Gibb of the Bee Gee fame to participate in this worthy cause of raising funds for diabetes research. The per person cost is $500 so I will not be able to attend but it's okay because that would mean more money for diabetes research. This is great for the focus of the University of Miami's Miller School of medicine is to cure diabetes. Here's another additional alert not related to the above: Sorry to be such a nag on this but it is imperative to get tested for diabetes when one is at risk because the risk for diabetes can be greatly reduced. If overweight, over 45 years old, Asian or African American and with a family history of diabetes, get tested now.

Exercise Improves Quality of Life

February 10, 2009

This is a good alert for all of us to exercise. It is easy to see that it will improve one's quality of life because one gets more energy and so is in a better mood. However, there is something in this alert that did not sit well with me. It is mentioned at the end that obese men and women live longer than those who are of normal weight. Gee, there must be something I missed. Let me know, okay? Here's where you will get the full story: Click here to read more

Here's another additional alert not related to the above: There's no excuse for this type of mistake of improper injection procedures. Imagine having used the same insulin pens to thousands of people. Employees have to be very careful to pay attention to what they are doing especially when administering some type of medication instead of talking to their co-employees which I have found too often when I visit the hospital.

Check for Diabetes Before It's Too Late

February 9, 2009

Here's an organization that shares my mission in developing this diabetes website and that is: Get as many people who are at risk to get tested for diabetes so they can have a system in place to fight this condition to the point that they will avoid the complications. The Otero County Diabetes Education and Prevention Coalition is doing just that by providing diabetes education, resources and screening. Click here to read more

Here's another additional alert not related to the above: The Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi is an organization that cares for all the residents of their state who have diabetes. They do not only pay lip service to this worthy cause but also do things like having an auction to raise funds to assist patients. Is that great or what? Hope all states have an organization like this.

Dallas Mother Accused of Neglect in Diabetic 9-year-old's Death

February 8, 2009

This mother's neglect of her diabetic child is beyond comprehension. Forgetting to send in the results of glucose testing once in a while I can understand a bit but feeding her child with candies and cupcakes is beyond me. The state should have done something about this too because they had a lot of complaints before regarding the situation in that house. Click here to read more

Here's another additional alert not related to the above: A West Virginia State University Extension Service is offering a free Diabetes Cooking School. Just in case you live around there, the first class is on February 12, 2009 from 1 to 3 pm. There will also be classes in March and April. For more information, call the First Church of the Nazarene at (304) 768-7417.

FDA Peanut-Product Recall Expands

February 7, 2009

I'm so glad this insurance for children has passed. It is just ridiculous not to have it. I knew the president, either Obama or Clinton, will do this presidential act. Gaining this coverage is such a welcome relief for parents especially if their child has diabetes. Click here to read more

Here's another additional alert not related to the above: Here's a controversial debate on whether coffee is good or bad. WebMD is saying it may benefit diabetes but on the other hand, coffee may also contribute to the clogging of the arteries and raise the cholesterol level. What to do is to monitor the body's reaction to the coffee consumption and adjust the intake to what the body can tolerate.

Diabetes Education Is Enhanced With the New U.S. Diabetes Conversation Map(R) Tools

February 6, 2009

Diabetes education will be greatly improved when Mid-Atlantic States Region declared that they are now going to use the Healthy Interactions U.S. Diabetes Conversation Map tools. They said this will help the diabetics better rather than the former way of just being told what to do.

The American Diabetes Association helped with the development of these five Conversation Map tools. The Merck Journey for Control Program sponsored the development of these tools. These they say are a great way to help the diabetics in getting the diabetes education to improve the self-management of the condition.

The director of the Mid-Atlantic Prevention Program of Kaiser Permanente, Shannon Hines, believe the tools are a new standard in educating the patients. In fact, they have already seen more involvement in the patients. The patients find the sessions fun and so look forward to participate.

The use of the tools has been seen as so successful so they are working to introduce the respiratory tools of the Healthy Interactions into the Diabetes Conversation Map tools. It is easy to see therefore why the adoption of these are steadily increasing.

The president of Healthy Interactions, Peter Gorman, said that these new ways of helping the diabetics change the way they experience their condition will help them understand more the intricacies of the condition. As a result, millions of people are getting the help they need to live the best way they can. The people with diabetes will certainly benefit from the use of these tools.

U.S. Marketing leader, Kathryn Hayward, of Diabetes at Merck & Co. Inc. said that her company is proud to introduce these innovative tools to the Health Professionals and is dedicated to improve the lives of millions. They are committed to improve this type of learning through their flagship program, aptly called Journey for Control.

They will make sure that the patients with diabetes will have the resources they need in order to do the self-management of the condition. To do the self-care, it is clear how important it is to continue with the necessary diabetes education.