September 24, 2008

Lancet reported a finding of a study that said nasal insulin does not prevent diabetes in children. Dispensing insulin through the nasal cavity does not delay or prevent the appearance of diabetes in children who are at a high risk of developing the condition due to the presence of autoantibodies and having a member of the family with the disease.

Dr. Olli Simell, Dr. Kirsti Nanto-Salonen both of the Finland's University of Turku and their peers conducted a clinical trial after a study on animals showed positive outcome. The animal study showed that insulin therapy could lessen the occurrence of type 1 diabetes with the best results happening when nasal insulin is done on young animals at the beginning of the disease.

That said, the researchers started analyzing the blood samples of 116,720 babies from three Finland hospitals as well as those of their 3,430 brothers and sisters. They found an increased risk in 17,397 babies and 1,613 siblings.

Of the aforementioned numbers, 11,225 and 1,574 agreed to be screened for diabetes every 3-12 months. The controlled group consisted of 264 children. The insulin group numbered 137 children while the placebo group's number is 127. The length of the intervention is 1.8 years.

What did they find? From the insulin group 49 children were diagnosed to have type 1 diabetes. Almost the same number, 47 in fact from the placebo group developed the condition so the difference was not significant at all. This led the authors to conclude that dispensing nasal insulin did not prevent nor delay the occurrence of type 1 diabetes.

Dr. John Todd and Dr. David B. Dunger both of UK's University of Cambridge gave their opinion on the Nanto-Salonen findings. They said that there may be an autoantibody seroconversion in the first three years of life that suggests there is an early susceptibility to the condition.

Diabetes Medical News Nuggets

Retired Hawaii Teachers Warn of Diabetes Dangers

September 23, 2008

Here are retired teachers from Hawaii who are spending their retirement years wisely. They're making the diabetes presentations to schoolchildren, office workers, etc. They want to lower the people's risk of developing diabetes by making some lifestyle changes. What a difference they're making in people's lives!

September 17, 2008

Let us first study the review of the effectiveness and safety of premixed insulin for type 2 diabetics. The result of the National Health Interview Survey reported 28% of type 2 diabetics use insulin alone or a combination of oral antidiabetic medication to manage their blood sugar levels.

This survey was conducted because of the rising statistics of type 2 diabetes and the increasing number of those who use premixed insulin for glycemic control. Along with the significance of glycemic control to lower morbidity and mortality, the researchers thought it was good to compare them as to the safety and effectiveness of premixed insulin and oral medication.

What did they find? Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) researchers found that premixed insulin offers tighter glycemic control than their long-acting insulin cousins. They also provide better glycemic control than the oral antidiabetic medication. They did say though that there should be a longer follow-up on this to make sure of the long term results.

Now on to the guidelines issued by the American College of Physicians as part of the news from the Annals of Internal Medicine. It is an essential guideline for the men and women who need treatment as a result of osteoporosis. This is also known as low bone density.

Osteoporosis, we know is a serious disease that afflicts approximately forty million Americans. On top of this, about thirty four million are at an increased risk of developing this condition because they have low bone mass.

So now the new guideline recommends for doctors to propose drug treatment for men and women who have osteoporosis or suffered from fracture before. This is the same recommendation to prevent fracture to those who are at risk to develop osteoporosis.

As for the drugs to use, the writers did not mention any specific ones. They left the decision to the doctors depending on the benefits, risks and side effects of the said drugs. Why did they leave it up to the doctor? It is because they did not find any one drug that stands out as better than the others.

Diabetes Medical News Nuggets

Classes Teach Diabetics How to Avoid Problems

September 16, 2008

The registered dietitian Nancy Maza is doing a great service for people with diabetes by imparting her knowledge and skills at these classes. Indeed in menu planning, the problem is in the details and not in avoiding carbohydrates, as an example. Hope Ms. Maza will travel all around the country to spread the message.

September 10, 2008

The American Journal of Preventive Medicine will publish next month an article on the report from the School of Medicine at Indiana University. The researchers say that YMCA and similar organizations can help with educating the public about the prevention of diabetes.

YMCA has more than 2500 facilities in over 10000 inner-city, suburbs and rural areas. These can indeed be mobilized in helping dispense diabetes prevention strategies since it has a track record of implementing health promotion programs.

The researchers conducted a study to see how this can be done. The participants are from two YMCA facilities in Indianapolis, Indiana. One facility used the Diabetes Prevention Program on diet and exercise to reduce or delay diabetes. The other used the standard advice on the prevention of diabetes.

There were 92 participants who were divided into two groups of 46 each. Both groups were given educational materials but one group received 16 meetings lasting 60-90 minutes over 16-20 weeks. They discussed how to set goals, self-monitor and solve problems. This is the intervention group while the other is the control group.

After four to six months, the weight of the intervention group went down by 6% (5.7 kg or 12.5 lbs) compared to the control group that achieved only a weight loss of 2% (1.8 kg or 4 lbs). The researchers think the difference is significant.

The same happened in cholesterol concentration. Here the intervention participants had a total cholesterol concentration of -21.6 mg/dL while the control group had +6 mg/dL. The differences remained during the follow-up at 12-14 months.

Ronald T. Ackermann, MD, MPH said that this very first study shows that YMCA is an effective tool to use for people to participate in the Diabetes Prevention Program. This should be studied further in order to reduce the risk for diabetes.

Diabetes Medical News Nuggets

Continuous Monitoring Help Control Diabetes

September 9, 2008

Here's a study that may just make the insurers agree to cover payment for the use of the continuous monitoring device as this study showed that not only will it help patients see how their lifestyle changes affect their blood glucose level but also they will be able to see the trend and then make changes to correct whatever needs correction.

September 3, 2008

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence will transform the way diabetes is managed in children. With insulin pump, they will have more freedom and control of their diabetes. They now recognize the impact of insulin pump therapy on the life of the diabetics.

As a result of this new guideline, the approximately 20,000 British school kids who start this school year will have a better time since the pumps may replace the injection of insulin. As expected, the insulin injections have been known to disrupt the school hours.

The world leader in the care and management of diabetes, Roche, has been working hard to raise awareness for insulin pump therapy. That is why they are very happy over the newly released guidelines recommending more access to the insulin pump.

"There are significant psychosocial benefits associated with insulin pump therapy, particularly improved quality of life," so says one of the chief authorities in the UK on this issue. She is Dr. Katherine Barnard PhD at the University of Southampton's School of Psychology.

The new guidelines will allow greater access to the insulin pump. This will benefit not only the diabetic children but also their families. Life at home and school will be so much easier. One can just imagine the benefits and the impact of this therapy as being priceless.

There will be less hypoglycemic events for one thing. The diabetic children will be able to take part in sports without so much careful planning. They will also be able to eat a more assortment of food since the insulin pump can be adjusted to provide the correct insulin amount each time.

They say that UK is behind other countries when comes to the use of insulin pump. Apparently 1% uses this type of therapy in the UK, with USA and Germany having 15-20% usage. With the diagnosis of type 1 diabetes multiplying at five times the rate among the under five year old group, it is time to open up access to the insulin pump therapy. They will live a more normal life.