New diabetes device developed that checks saliva instead of blood
A new device developed by scientists in the United States measures blood sugar levels in saliva, so that diabetics do not have to draw blood when checking their levels.
The study, published in the journal Nano Letters, involved thousands of plasmonic interferometers being etched onto a biochip that was then able to measure the concentration of glucose molecules in water. Small alterations in the intensity of the light passing through the slit of each plasmonic interferometer provides data on the concentration of glucose molecules in solution.
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With China having the most adult diabetes patients in the world, the drug giant Novartis have announced the launch of its oral diabetes treatment Galvus (also known as vildagliptin) in the country, as well as receiving approval for Lucentis by the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA).
Galvus is an oral treatment for patients with type 2 diabetes, and is taken as either a monotherapy or in combination with metformin, a sulphonylurea, a thiazolidinedione or insulin, while Lucentis is used to treat wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the main reason for blindness and severe vision loss in the over 50s.
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A new survey has revealed that the rate of pre-diabetes and diabetes in Ireland for men is double that for Irish women, findings coincide with National Type 2 Diabetes Screening Day in the country.
The screening project into diabetes and cardiac disease, which has been carried out by VHI Healthcare since early 2009, showed that of the 2,500 patients receiving a diabetes diagnosis, 1,600 were for men, while just 900 were for women. The figures were also based on a higher number of women attending the screening, so these numbers represent 18.5 per cent of the men and 8.4 per cent of the women screened.
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Tesco today found itself under siege from both sweet-toothed shoppers and horrified anti-obesity experts after slashing the price of chocolate bars to 20p. In a move to win back customers following a Christmas slump, the supermarket chain has slashed the price of five-packs of Snickers, KitKat Chunky, Twix, Mars and Bounty to just £1. The deal means each bar costs just 20p - while bars sold individually in the shop can cost up to 54p.
Shoppers have been seen leaving Tesco stores across the country with armfuls of the chocolate. However, health experts have criticised the move as promoting poor eating habits. ‘To have this kind of promotion at this time when obesity is such as problem is frankly totally irresponsible,’ said National Obesity Forum spokesman Tam Fry. But consumers seemed more concerned with snapping up a bargain. One woman was spotted leaving a Tesco Extra in Southampton, Hants, with ten packs of Mars, which are normally on sale for 1.89 per pack. Helen Taylor, 42, said: 'My family and I are chocoholics so when I spotted this deal I couldn't resist. These will keep us going for the next few months. 'I saved nearly nine pounds on all of this.'
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Drinking coffee can help reduce the risk of diabetes, say scientists. A study found three compounds contained in the beverage can block the toxic build up of a protein, which is known to trigger the long-term condition. Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body doesn't prevent enough insulin for it to function properly but the coffee extracts were also shown to prevent insulin-producing cells from being destroyed.
Researchers now believe the coffee extracts - caffeine, caffeic acid, and chlorogenic acid - could help develop more effective treatment. Lead researcher Kun Huang from Huazhong University of Science and Technology said: 'We found three major coffee compounds can reverse this toxic process and may explain why coffee drinking is associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes.' All of the compounds were shown to have a positive effect during laboratory tests, however caffeine was the least effective of the three.
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A class of drugs taken to treat type 2 diabetes could also help patients to keep their weight down, according to a new study. The research, by scientists in Denmark, found that newer diabetes medicines such as exenatide ( Byetta, Bydureon ) could also reduce a patient’s weight.
The benefits come from both weight loss and a reduction in cholesterol often being side effects of this type of drugs, glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1), and which suppress appetite, so could be useful in the treatment of obesity.
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Eating one sausage a day or two rashers of bacon raises the risk of pancreatic cancer by a fifth, according to research. Scientists have found that even relatively small amounts of processed meat increase the chance of developing this deadly illness. Pancreatic cancer is called ‘the silent killer’ because it often does not produce symptoms in early stages.
Even when it does, the symptoms are often vague – such as back pain, loss of appetite and weight loss. By the time the disease is diagnosed it is often too late and, because of this, it has one of the worst survival rates of all cancers and only 3 per cent of patients live beyond five years. Little is known about its causes other than that smoking, excess alcohol and being overweight all seem to contribute.
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With global number of diabetes patients increasing dramatically, the news from China is that almost 10 per cent of adults in the country now suffer from the metabolic condition. The Chinese Health Education Center have stated that around 9.7 percent of Chinese who are 18 or over have developed diabetes, with the amount of patients now coming to around 97 million.
The study found that men were more likely to develop the disease than women, as 10.2 per cent of men have it as compared with only 9 per cent of women, and also that 19.6 per cent of the total are aged 60 or more. In addition, it was found that 12.3 per cent of people in urban areas have diabetes, as compared with 8.4 per cent of rural residents.
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A new study by scientists at Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust has found that patients who have weight loss surgery as a way of treating their type 2 diabetes may not be hitting the same levels of remission as previously thought.
However, the research project, which was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre and published in the British Journal of Surgery, showed that weight loss surgery, also known as bariatric surgery, can also help people control their blood sugar levels.
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A new study has claimed that the longer people have an excessive body mass index (BMI) that classified them as obese, the more chance they have of developing type 2 diabetes. The study, which involved assessing 8,446 participants, revealed that a higher level of excess BMI years was generally linked with a greater chance of developing diabetes.
The research, which was published in the Archives of Pediatrics aand Adolescent Medicine, showed that white men that are aged 40 with 200 cumulative excess BMI years experienced nearly three times the risk of developing diabetes than men of the same age and race with only 100 excess BMI years. For men those with 200 excess BMI years, there was a greater risk of diabetes for 30-year-olds as compared to those between the ages of 35 and 40 years.
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Forget that punishing exercise regime or elaborate diet. The key to losing weight could be as simple as putting your feet up and relaxing.Scientists have found a gene that makes us crave sweet and fatty foods and pile on the pounds when under stress. The 'comfort eating gene' has also been linked to type 2 diabetes - the form of the disease that usually occurs in middle-age and is related to obesity.
It is hoped that studying the gene will lead to new diabetes drugs as well as weight loss pills. But it seems finding time to relax could also do us the power of good. Researcher Dr Alon Chen set out to find out why so many people reach for the biscuit tin when under pressure at home or at work. In studies on mice, he pinpointed a gene that pumps out a protein called Ucn3 at times of stress.
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A new study has claimed that people who drink at least three cups of black tea each day could be lowering their risk of developing conditions such as diabetes and heart attacks.
It already believed that regularly drinking tea helps to prevent the blood from clotting and manages blood pressure. However, this research, based on analysis of 40 research papers and published in the UK Nutrition Bulletin, found that three cups of tea per day could reduce the risk of heart attack by up to 60 per cent and substantially lower the chances of people getting type 2 diabetes.
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Slapping a 10 per cent ‘fat tax’ on soft drinks such as cola would cut consumption and help curb rising levels of obesity in this country, experts say. The price hike would drive down sales of sugary drinks and encourage consumers to buy healthier alternatives, a study suggests.
A similar rise in the price of full-fat milk would make people drink reduced fat milks instead, researchers told the British Journal of Nutrition. Four co-authors, including Professor Susan Jebb – who has been the Government’s main adviser on obesity since 2007 – claim the change in policy would result in people making healthier choices. Denmark became the first country to introduce a fat tax in October, with a surcharge on foods high in saturated fat.
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A new study has argued that people who have developed type 2 diabetes and are taking the oral drug metformin to treat it should take more than the recommended daily allowance of vitamin B12.
The research, which was published in Diabetes Care, assessed data from the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES) in the United States between 1999 and 2006. The NHANES data showed that the prevalence of biochemical B12 deficiency was greatest for people with type 2 diabetes taking metformin compared with those with type 2 diabetes but not taking metformin and those without diabetes.
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News that NHS figures show an increase in obesity levels among children aged 10 and 11 in England raises concern about the effect of this diabetes risk factor will have on future numbers of people suffering from the metabolic condition.
The NHS reported that there are now 19 per cent of children who will leave primary school in 2012 that are classified as obese, a slight rise from 18.7 per cent level recorded in last year. It also revealed that obesity levels were greatest in London and the lowest in the home counties in the south of England, and was more prevalent in deprived and urban areas. However, it was shown that obesity was down to 9.4 per cent for children entering reception, a reduction from the 9.8 per cent recorded last year.
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A new study has found that doing short cycle sprints three times per week could help to prevent the development of type 2 diabetes.
Scientists at the University of Bath, who work was published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology, assessed the effects of two 20-second cycle sprints three times a week, finding that there was a 28 per cent improvement in the insulin function of participants. Although the short sprints in the study are not suitable for weight loss, as they don’t burn off sufficient calories, they do also offer other health benefits and help general fitness.
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In women, there is a positive association between rotating night shift work and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and, furthermore, long duration of shift work may be associated with greater weight gain. These findings from a study by Frank Hu and colleagues from Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, USA, published in this week's PLoS Medicine, are of potential public health significance as a large proportion of the working population is involved in some kind of permanent night and rotating night shift work.
The authors used data from the Nurses' Health Study I (NHS I - established in 1976, and which included 121704 women) and the Nurses' Health Study II (NHS II - established in 1989, and which included 116677 women), and found that in NHS I, 6,165 women developed type 2 diabetes and in NHS II 3,961 women developed type 2 diabetes. Using statistical models, the authors found that the duration of rotating night shift work was strongly associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes in both cohorts and that the risks of women developing type 2 diabetes, increased with the numbers of years working rotating shifts. However, these associations were slightly weaker after the authors took other factors into consideration.
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The European Commission has given approval to saxagliptin, to be marketed under the brand name Onglyza, for use as a combination therapy by adult patients with type 2 diabetes to help improve their control of blood sugar levels.
Onglyza, which has been developed by pharma giants Bristol-Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca, was approved from Phase 3b 24-week data that showed Onglyza 5 mg added to insulin, with or without metformin, could substantially lower blood sugar levels as compared with a placebo added to insulin, with or without metformin.
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It is hoped that the forthcoming World Diabetes Congress in Dubai will help build momentum regarding global diabetes awareness in what has been termed a landmark year by its organisers. The congress, which starts on December 4, follows the recent United Nations summit on the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases.
The event is taking place at an important juncture for diabetes, which organisers, the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) also hopes will be a catalyst to kick-start a greater understanding of the metabolic condition.
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New research from Queen Mary, University of London suggests that many cases of diabetes could be prevented by making use of existing prediction tools. The study, published in the British Medical Journal, shows that there are dozens of different techniques for predicting with reasonable accuracy who will develop diabetes but almost none are currently being used. The researchers say that if these tools were used by GPs and members of the public, many cases of diabetes could be prevented.
The team led by Dr Douglas Noble reviewed 145 different 'risk scores' for type 2 diabetes. While none were 100 per cent accurate, many gave a reasonable prediction of whether someone will develop diabetes over the next decade.Research suggests that up to half of all cases of diabetes can be prevented by lifestyle measures, such as diet and exercise, or medication.
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The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) says ranibizumab, sold under the brand name Lucentis, is too expensive to use in people with diabetic macular oedema. Charities say they will continue to campaign for the drug to be used. At least 50,000 people in the UK are affected by this eye condition.
Macular oedema occurs when fluid leaks from the small blood vessels in the eye.
The fluid collects in the central part of the retina at the back of the eye, called the macular area, which can lead to severe visual impairment.
Straight lines may appear wavy and people can have blurred central vision or sensitivity to light. Sight can become so impaired that the person can no longer read, work or drive. Laser treatment has been the standard treatment for diabetic macular oedema on the NHS, but this only stops vision from deteriorating further. An injection of Lucentis in the eye, however, can improve vision.NICE already recommends Lucentis to the NHS for a different eye condition called wet age-related macular degeneration.
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A new study has offered further evidence that the consumption of low-fat dairy products can help reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
The research, which was published in The Journal of Nutrition, found that eating a diet that was high in low-fat dairy products is linked with lower diabetes risk in postmenopausal women, especially in women who are also obese. The study monitored over 82,000 postmenopausal women that took part in an observational study and who had not reported their diabetes when enrolling.
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New research has revealed that high levels of air pollution from traffic could raise the risk of people developing diabetes. It was shown that those who live in places with bad traffic-related air pollution face a somewhat higher likelihood of developing the metabolic condition because of high levels of nitrogen dioxide from traffic exhausts, although it does not confirm if just the air pollution was causing the greater diabetes risk.
The study, involving data from almost 52,000 urban Danish citizens and which was published in the journal Diabetes Care, showed that people living in areas of heavy traffic are at a four per cent higher risk of being diagnosed with diabetes than those who live where there is cleaner air.
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It's the one leader board that the UK doesn't want to top. But British women have been named the fattest in Europe. Almost one in four (23.9 per cent) women in Britain are classed as obese, far worse than the rest of Western Europe. In Germany, 15.6 per cent were found to be obese, while just 12.7 per cent of French women and 9.3 per cent of Italian women have piled on the pounds.
Former Soviet states including Lativa and Estonia were among those who came closest to matching Britain's obesity rate. The European Union's statistics agency Eurostat, which collated data from 2008 to 2009, said the percentage of obese younger women was particularly notable in the UK.The figures revealed 16.6 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds were severely overweight, nearly four times as many as our gallic neighbour.
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Scientists at the University of Massachusetts in the United States have found that people who are taking second-generation antipsychotic drugs are at a four times greater risk of developing diabetes than those who do not take any psychotropic medications.
Although the study, which was published in Pediatrics, did not prove conclusive due to the small amount of diabetes cases involved, it does raise issues about the use of these drug treatments. The new types of antipsychotic drugs are known to bring about both metabolic problems and weight gain for children and adults, as well as diabetes and insulin resistance in adults.
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Worrying about the recession? Anxious about a big work meeting? Fretting over the performance of your football team? If these concerns keep you awake at night, you're not alone.
Getting a good night's sleep has never been so tricky in Britain, it seems, as 51.3% of us struggle to nod off. And women are three times more likely than men to suffer – 75% of women report problems, compared with 25% of men, say new statistics from the Great British Sleep Survey, which suggests the nation's health is suffering as a result of insomnia.
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In the UK individuals with diabetes are being reassured by doctors that new changes to the way driving licenses are issued will not end their days behind the wheel.
Adults diagnosed with diabetes are being urged by The Association of British Clinical Diabetologists (ABCD) to "steer clear" of alarmists who state that as a result of a new European directive, up to one million motorists could be forced off the roads.
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A series of papers published by the Lancet medical journal today urge action to combat chronic diseases like cancer, diabetes and heart disease which are spreading in low and middle-income countries, fuelled by obesity, alcohol and tobacco.
"What will it take to get chronic diseases on the international health agenda?", the Lancet medical journal asks today. Globalisation is taking our bad habits to every corner of the world able to afford a chocolate bar or a packet of chips. As populations become just a bit wealthier, cheap junk food and less physical work ensure that they get unhealthier. Obesity looms large in every sense. The old foes - tobacco and alcohol - are out there, too. And the result is the rapid spread of diabetes, heart disease, cancers and respiratory diseases.
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A study analyses the dietary patterns of the adult Spanish population with high cardiovascular risk. The results reveal a high consumption of both red meat and fish. However, whilst eating lots of cured meats is associated with greater weight gain and a higher obesity rate, the consumption of fish is linked to lower glucose concentrations and a smaller risk of developing diabetes.
Mercedes Sotos Prieto, lead author of the study which forms part of the Predimed study (Prevention with a Mediterranean Diet) and researcher at the University of Valencia explains how "in Mediterranean countries, consumption of foods that typically form part of the diet here has decreased in recent decades. The consumption of saturated fats mainly from red meats and industrial baking has increased and this is really worrying."
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For World Diabetes Day (14 November), the research charity Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) is organising a competition to allow 60 supporters with type 1 diabetes to visit parliament to lobby for greater awareness about the condition. The "Type 1 Parliament" will take place next year on April 25, and will provide an opportunity for the winners to discuss the condition with MPs and government officials.
The competition is being judged by chief executive of JDRF, Karen Addington, MP Adrian Sanders and Caroline Horwood from the French pharma company, Sanofi, a sponsor. The judges are assessing more than 200 applications for the event, and aim to pick adults and children that have shown dedication to raising awareness about the condition, as well as a passion for encouraging more investment into research into type 1 diabetes.
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Monday, 14th November 2011 - Diabetes charity Silver Star illuminated the headquarters of the Leicester Mercury newspaper in blue, the internationally recognised colour for diabetes. This building joined an impressive list of landmark monuments such as the London Eye and Table Mountain in South Africa, which have also been lit in blue in celebration of World Diabetes Day on November 14th. Silver Star's campaign has received financial and communications support from MSD Diabetes.
‘Diabetes Education and Prevention’ was the World Diabetes Day theme for this year and Silver Star’s campaign called on all those responsible for diabetes care to help increase awareness and management of the condition. In aid of this, Silver Star and the Leicester Mercury screened around 400 people for diabetes in London and Leicester to raise awareness of the prevalence of diabetes.
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Scientists are reporting development and successful laboratory testing of an electrochemical sensor device that has the potential to measure blood sugar levels from tears instead of blood - an advance that could save the world's 350 million diabetes patients the discomfort of pricking their fingers for droplets of blood used in traditional blood sugar tests. Their report appears in ACS' journal Analytical Chemistry.
Mark Meyerhoff and colleagues explain that about 5 percent of the world's population (and about 26 million people in the U.S. alone) have diabetes. The disease is a fast-growing public health problem because of a sharp global increase in obesity, which makes people susceptible to developing type 2 diabetes. People with diabetes must monitor their blood glucose levels several times a day to make sure they are within a safe range. Current handheld glucose meters require a drop of blood, which patients draw by pricking their fingers with a small pin or lancet. However, some patients regard that pinprick as painful enough to discourage regular testing. That's why Meyerhoff's team is working to develop a new, pain-free device that can use tear glucose levels as an accurate reflection of blood sugar levels.
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A new study by scientists in Leicester has claimed that a new lower limit should be set for obesity levels for migrant South Asians in the UK. The research, carried out at the University of Leicester and published in the journal PLoS One, found that there is a need for obesity levels to be recalibrated for South Asians so that there are substantially lower BMI and waist circumference cut points for defining obesity in South Asians.
In the first research project into reassessing the definition of obesity in a migrant UK south Asian population, the study involved monitoring data from more than 6,000 participants from Leicester that were screened for type 2 diabetes. With South Asians known to be at a heightened risk of developing type 2 diabetes and heart problems, as well as other chronic conditions at an earlier age, the research could have major implications for screening strategies.
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Members of the charity Diabetes UK and the chair of the all-party parliamentary group for diabetes Adrian Sanders MP have met with Transport Minister Mike Penning to discuss worries about forthcoming changes to rules on driving with diabetes. The rule change comes from a European directive that diabetes patients who have suffered two severe hypos within the period of a year could have their Group 1 licence revoked.
Penning admitted he would be worried if the number of diabetics who lose their licence increased drastically as a result of the changes, and agreed that there needed to be greater clarity regarding the criteria for assessing fitness to drive for people with diabetes. Since some hypos can occur when you are asleep, and the definition of severe is open to debate, the rule changes are being criticised as open to misunderstanding.
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A new study has claimed that programmes such as the Weight Watchers are more effective at helping people lose weight than the programmes offered by the NHS. The research, which was published in the British Medical Journal, also showed that the WeightWatchers programme, and other diets such as those of Rosemary Conley and Slimming World, were cheaper than that of Size Down, the health service’s programme run by advisers and dieticians.
The scientists monitored 740 obese or overweight people recruited from an NHS trust in Birmingham, with participants being separated into six groups and attending different types of weight loss class, including counselling sessions carried out at GP surgeries, one-to-one counselling in pharmacies and receiving vouchers for the local health club.
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A new study by scientists at Oxford University has claimed that the wider adoption of the average English diet could improver overall health, as well as saving many lives.
The research, which investigated mortality rates involving cardiovascular disease, stroke and a range of cancers throughout the UK between 2007 and 2009, showed that almost 22,000 more people died from heart disease and diet-related cancers in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in those years than would be expected if death rates were as low as in England.
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The charity Diabetes UK Scotland is calling for more insulin pumps to be made available, as the lack of their availability in Scotland is worrying health experts. The charity has demanded an urgent review to assess the growing need to boost the number of diabetes patients who are able to benefit from using an insulin pumps.
They are lobbying MSPs on the Public Petitions Committee at Holyrood to increase the amount of pumps available, especially as just 2 per cent of people in Scotland with type 1 diabetes are thought to have an insulin pump, as compared to 3.9 per cent in England and Wales and around 35 per cent in the US.
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The charity Diabetes UK Scotland is calling for more insulin pumps to be made available, as the lack of their availability in Scotland is worrying health experts. The charity has demanded an urgent review to assess the growing need to boost the number of diabetes patients who are able to benefit from using an insulin pumps.
They are lobbying MSPs on the Public Petitions Committee at Holyrood to increase the amount of pumps available, especially as just 2 per cent of people in Scotland with type 1 diabetes are thought to have an insulin pump, as compared to 3.9 per cent in England and Wales and around 35 per cent in the US.
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The new Scottish Health Survey has found that over a quarter of Scottish adults are now obese, a health issue that is costing the NHS more than GBP450 million every year. The survey showed that 27 per cent of Scots aged between 16 and 64 were obese last year, a dramatic increase from the 17 per cent level found in 1995.
With about 65 per cent of Scottish adults now being classified as either overweight or obese, it is thought that the numbers of obese adults in the country could amount to 40 per cent by the year 2030, adding up to a GBP3 million cost for the health service, especially as obesity pushes up the risk of people developing type 2 diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, stroke and hypertension.
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The new Scottish Health Survey has found that over a quarter of Scottish adults are now obese, a health issue that is costing the NHS more than GBP450 million every year. The survey showed that 27 per cent of Scots aged between 16 and 64 were obese last year, a dramatic increase from the 17 per cent level found in 1995.
With about 65 per cent of Scottish adults now being classified as either overweight or obese, it is thought that the numbers of obese adults in the country could amount to 40 per cent by the year 2030, adding up to a GBP3 million cost for the health service, especially as obesity pushes up the risk of people developing type 2 diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, stroke and hypertension.
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Total of 2.9 million people in the UK now diagnosed with disease. Diabetes cases in the UK have soared to nearly three million, according to a charity.
The number of people diagnosed with the disease has risen by nearly 130,000 in the past year to 2.9 million, said Diabetes UK. There are now 50% more Britons with diabetes than when GP data on the disease was first published in 2005.
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A new study from France has found that people who drink less than a couple of glasses of water every day could be at a greater risk of developing extremely high levels of blood sugar. It was found that adults who consume about only half a litre of water or less a day were more likely to develop blood sugar levels in the pre-diabetes range, as compared to those who drank more water.
However, although the results of the research on over 3,000 French adults between the ages of 30 and 65 with normal blood sugar levels showed a link between water intake and blood sugar, it did not fully prove cause-and-effect.
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A Canadian scientist has claimed that following a series of simple changes to your lifestyle could help you live to be 100 and free from disease.
Cardiologist Clyde Yancy stated that making seven lifestyle changes, involving being more active, managing cholesterol levels, having a healthy diet, managing your blood pressure, keeping at a healthy weight, managing diabetes and blood sugar levels, and avoiding tobacco can all help you become a centenarian.
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A new study has claimed that black women who suffer from gestational diabetes are at substantially higher risk of later developing type 2 diabetes. It was found that black women with gestational diabetes were at the highest risk, even though they had a lower prevalence than Asian/Pacific Islanders and Hispanics, according to the research.
The researchers from the United States, whose work was published in Diabetologia, examined data from nearly 140,000 women who underwent a singleton pregnancy between 1995 and 2008. For black women who had glucose intolerance during their pregnancy, the rate for later diabetes was 29 per 1,000 person-years, as compared to that of 3.2 per 1,000 for those with normal glucose levels during their pregnancies, a 9.2-fold higher rate of diabetes.
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New figures for the rate of diabetes in Northern Ireland have shown that the province is facing increasing problems with the metabolic condition. With around 73,000 people suffering from diabetes in Northern Ireland, about another 300 people newly diagnosed each month and a further 10,000 unaware they have the condition, the charity Diabetes UK Northern Ireland has warned that this number will grow unless steps are taken to address the problem.
The majority of those diagnosed have type 2 diabetes, usually linked to lifestyle factors, and in some cases it can be prevented through a healthy diet, regular physical exercise and maintaining normal weight levels.
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A new weekly injection treatment has been approved for the NHS as a replacement for carrying out injections twice daily for people with type 2 diabetes. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) has provisionally approved the jab, which costs GBP19 a week, for use on the NHS.
With an estimated 2.5 million people suffering from type 2 diabetes in the UK, and around 850,000 undiagnosed, the decision means that Bydureon can be prescribed to patients, which could mean an end to people having to inject exenatide two times every day.
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An overweight man has lost 100lb in weight due to taking part in a bet. Peter Heeks, a 26-year-old call centre worker from Darwen, Lancashire, won a bet with bookmakers William Hill for GBP10,000 that has left him both thinner and wealthier. His healthier lifestyle also means he is at less risk of developing chronic conditions such as diabetes.
Heeks, who admits losing a few pounds to the bookies over the years, said his latest attempt to lose weight by betting that he could offload 100lb of extra weight within a year has proved a big success.
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The health charity Diabetes UK has warned that the government plans to reform the NHS could put the health of millions of patients across the country at risk. It is lobbying for a raft of changes to the Health and Social Care Bill so that people with diabetes do not lose out on important treatment and care.
They would like the new NHS Commissioning Board and clinical commissioning groups to be forced to report every year on how it is achieving their remit of ensuring integration of services for healthcare professionals to cooperate in the best interests of patients.
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A diabetes expert in Ireland has warned that levels of the metabolic condition in the country are a national crisis, as new research reports that one in three people in Ireland have a family member with diabetes.
The study, from a survey of over 700 people, also reported that one in five people have a family member that have developed type 2 diabetes, while 77 per cent of Irish people know somebody who have the metabolic condition.
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Scientists at the Helmholtz Zentrum München have shown that people with a good vitamin D supply are at lower risk of developing Type 2 diabetes mellitus. The study, which was conducted in cooperation with the German Diabetes Center and the University of Ulm, will be published in the October edition of the renowned scientific journal Diabetes Care.
New tests performed on participants of the KORA study have shown that people with a good supply of vitamin D have a lower risk of developing Typ 2 diabetes mellitus, while individuals with lower concentrations of vitamin D in their blood have a higher risk. This effect could be attributable, amongst other things, to the anti-inflammatory effect of vitamin D. The result of the study, which was conducted at the Helmholtz Zentrum München in cooperation with Dr. Christian Herder of the German Diabetes Center in Düsseldorf and Dr. Wolfgang König, Professor of Medicine/Cardiology at the University of Ulm, could have direct consequences for the prevention of this common disease.
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Scientists at Glasgow University have found that men are at a greater risk of type 2 diabetes than women, as they have to gain less weight to develop the metabolic condition.
The study, which involved data from 51,920 men and 43,137 women in Scotland with diabetes, showed that men developed diabetes at a lower body mass index (BMI) than women, which was claimed to be behind the higher rates of diabetes in men in many places around the world. It also shown that being above standard weight was a major risk factor for developing type 2 diabetes, as well as genetics, age and ethnicity.
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The Diabetes Research Network (DRN) has launched a new campaign with the aim of encouraging people suffering from diabetes to provide permission to allow them to be approached regarding being involved in future clinical research studies.
The Help Diabeates campaign, which will last for the next year and a half across three different areas of England, the North West, the South West and the North East area of London, has been approved by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The research is targeting a range of improvements in the current treatment of diabetes, as well as for future therapies.
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The NHS has spent an estimated £625 million over the past decade on synthetic forms of insulin when the recommended human alternatives, which are considerably cheaper, would have probably been just as effective, according to new research published in BMJ Open.
Over the 10 years, the NHS spent a total of £2,732 million on insulin, with the annual cost rising from £156 million to £359 million to give an increase of 130%, say authors Sarah Holden, Chris Poole and Christopher Morgan of the Cardiff Medicentre at the University Hospital of Wales, and Craig Currie of Cardiff University School of Medicine. The researchers base their findings on an analysis of publicly-available data from the four UK prescription pricing agencies of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland for 2000-2009, adjusting the costs for inflation and reporting them at 2010 prices.
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Research has shown that snacking on fatty foods during the day or night is not the best way to manage type 2 diabetes, and could even lead to what is known as a leaky gut.
The study, which was presented at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, also said that people with diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance who eat meals with high-fat content could trigger bacterial endotoxins to pass through the intestinal wall. This could increase the amount of inflammatory cytokines already implicated in the metabolic condition.
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The X Factor star Amelia Lily has talked about the impact of having type 1 diabetes has had on her bid to become the next teen singing sensation coming out of the reality television competition.
She has to inject herself with insulin four times each day to manage her condition and prevent her getting a hypo if her levels of blood sugar went dramatically down. Lily, who has suffered from the condition since she was three years old, is now 16 and a student based in Liverpool, has discussed her concerns that her diabetes condition could affect her hopes of following her hero and being the next Lady GaGa, admitting "Singing is tiring."
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A new study has shown that drinking wine in moderation could help people to lose weight, and that the old theory linking alcohol with obesity could be incorrect. The researchers now claim that, although drinking heavily will mean you put on weight, having the occasional glass of wine could actually help you prevent putting on weight.
The study, by scientists at Navarro University in Spain and published in the journal Nutrition Reviews, showed that the moderate consumption of alcohol, especially wine, was more likely to protect against weight gain, while drinking spirits was positively associated with weight gain.
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Up to one million people with diabetes could lose their driving licences because of harsh new European rules classifying them as unfit to drive.
Experts claim the ‘unnecessarily strict’ changes will affect hundreds of thousands who have been driving for decades without problems.
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79 million American adults have prediabetes and will likely develop diabetes later in life, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As the number of people diagnosed with diabetes continues to grow, researchers are focusing on discovering why the prevalence of the disease is increasing. John Thyfault, an assistant professor in MU's departments of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology and Internal Medicine, has found that ceasing regular physical activity impairs glycemic control (control of blood sugar levels), suggesting that inactivity may play a key role in the development of type 2 diabetes.
"We now have evidence that physical activity is an important part of the daily maintenance of glucose levels," Thyfault said. "Even in the short term, reducing daily activity and ceasing regular exercise causes acute changes in the body associated with diabetes that can occur before weight gain and the development of obesity."
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Asimple finger prick test during routine eye examinations at high street opticians could help to identify millions of people with previously undiagnosed Type 2 diabetes, according to new research.
The researchers suggest earlier diagnosis could set people on the road to better management of the disease, which is the leading cause of blindness in the working age population, and that this could ultimately result in cost-savings for the NHS.
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Some diabetic patients receive no warning before they pass out from low blood sugar. A modern sweat meter could alert patients in time. Biathletes and ME patients might also benefit from the sweat meter.
By Yngve Vogt, research magazine Apollon, University of Oslo, Norway: 25,000 Norwegians have type 1 diabetes. 175,000 have type 2 diabetes. Add to this the large number of people who are unaware that they are diabetic. When the concentration of sugar in the blood drops, most patients have a hypo (a hypoglycaemic attack). Symptoms may include palpitations, sweating, a tingling feeling in your face, altered sensory experiences and intense hunger.
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An international team of researchers led by Imperial College London has identified six new genetic variants associated with type-2 diabetes in South Asians. The findings, published in Nature Genetics, give scientists new leads in the search for diagnostic markers and drug targets to prevent and treat this major disease.
People of South Asian ancestry are up to four times more likely than Europeans to develop type 2 diabetes, which is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Around 55 million South Asian people are affected worldwide, and the number is projected to rise to 80 million by 2030.
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Diabetes prescriptions now account for 8.4 per cent of the entire NHS net bill for primary care drugs in England, according to a new report from the NHS Information Centre.
'Prescribing for Diabetes: England 2005/06–2010/11' shows an increase in the cost of prescribing from £513 million in 2005/06 to £725 million in 2010/11 – an increase of 41.1 per cent. Over the same period, the number of items dispensed to treat the condition rose by 41.2 per cent, from
.1 million to 38.3 million. This means that one in every 25 prescription items written is now for diabetes.
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It's common enough for researchers to look at the impacts of prescribed drugs on the body. And if you're a diabetes researcher who believes that exercise has great benefits for those with type 2 diabetes, you're hoping your research will show that. But when Normand Boule looked at the dual impacts of exercise and metformin - two of the most commonly-prescribed modalities for glucose control - on that very outcome, the hoped-for double whammy wasn't the result.
"The study had three objectives: we wanted to look at the effect of metformin on exercise in people with type 2 diabetes, examine the effect of exercise on metformin concentrations in the body, and finally to look at the effects of metformin and exercise on glucose control, which is essential for people with diabetes," says Boulé, whose study - a randomized, double-blind, crossover study - involved a multi-disciplinary team of researchers from five faculties at the U of A.
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Researchers at the Joslin Diabetes Center have shown that an enzyme found in the mitochondria of cells is decreased in the skeletal muscle of those with type 2 diabetes, a finding that could lead to the development of drugs to boost the activity of this enzyme in an effort to fight the disease.
A paper in published online today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, showed that the enzyme, Sirt3, is decreased in the skeletal muscle of humans and animals with diabetes by at least half, compared to those without diabetes and that this may contribute to development of insulin resistance, one of the earliest manifestations of the disease. Sirt3 is found in the mitochondria, the power producers of cells that convert energy into usable forms.
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If there's a universal truth in health news lately, it's that being overweight isn't good for your health. Extra weight, especially in the form of fat, can lead to heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure, among other problems. But a new study hints that being lean doesn't get you entirely off the health hook either. In a genetic analysis involving more than 75,000 people, an international group of scientists led by Ruth Loos at the Medical Research Council in the U.K. found that lean people with a specific genetic variant were at higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes and heart disease despite their lower body fat.
The key, say the scientists, is to focus on not just the amount of fat, but the type of fat that you might have. A growing body of evidence shows that fat deposited just under the skin doesn't contribute that much to the development of metabolic disorders such as diabetes or heart problems. But fat accumulated in deeper tissues and organs, within muscle and embedded in organs like the liver, for example, can put you at greater risk of these diseases. And that goes for lean people too: they might not have much visible fat under the skin, but may be sequestering so-called visceral fat inside their body. What regulates where you store fat? Unfortunately, says Loos, much of it is out of your control - it's largely genetic and gender based. Women tend to store fat under the skin, while men are more likely to deposit it deeper in tissues. As for the genetic factor, in the current study, the researchers identified one variant out of more than 2.5 million candidate sites on the genome linked to body fat. This genetic variant seems to predispose people to depositing visceral fat as opposed to the more benign subcutaneous fat. "We think the gene we found causes an error such that it's harder for these people to store fat under the skin," she says. "So the fat is stored elsewhere, around the organs and in muscle where it disturbs the normal function of these organs."
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Many Americans suffer from diabetes and hypertension and, according to a study by researchers at the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center, these individuals may have an increased risk of developing open-angle glaucoma (OAG).
Joshua D. Stein, M.D., M.S., a glaucoma specialist at Kellogg, led a research team that recently reviewed billing records of more than 2 million people aged 40 and older who were enrolled in a managed care network in the United States and who visited an eye care provider one or more times from 2001 to 2007. The researchers found that people with diabetes alone had a 35 percent increased risk of developing OAG and those with hypertension alone had a 17 percent increased risk. For people with both diabetes and hypertension, there was a 48 percent increased risk of developing OAG, the most common form of glaucoma in the country.
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The first study to investigate the effect of the breast cancer drug trastuzumab (Herceptin) on heart and vascular function in elderly patients has found that it increases the risk of heart problems, particularly in women with a history of heart disease, diabetes or both.
Authors of the study, published in the cancer journal, Annals of Oncology today [1], looked at records for 45 women aged between 70 and 92 who had been treated with trastuzumab since 2005 and found that 26.7% (12) of the patients developed heart problems caused by the drug - a slightly higher rate than seen in earlier, clinical trials in younger, healthier women. Thirty-three percent of the women with a history of heart disease developed either asymptomatic and symptomatic heart problems as a result of taking trastuzumab, compared to only 9.1% of women without such a history, and 33.3% of women with diabetes developed problems compared to only 6.1% without the condition. When trastuzumab treatment was stopped, all but one of the women recovered fully and five of them were able to re-start the treatment.
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Scientists in the UK have identified a link between coeliac disease, a food intolerance disorder, and type 1 diabetes.
The study, partly funded by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), showed that both conditions shared a common genetic origin, which suggested that they may also be brought on by similar environmental factors. This lead the researchers to claim that the protein gluten, which is known to cause coeliac disease, could also be a trigger for type 1 diabetes.
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Newly diagnosed type 2 diabetics tend to have one thing in common: obesity. Exactly how diet and obesity trigger diabetes has long been the subject of intense scientific research. A new study led by Jamey D. Marth, Ph.D., director of the Center for Nanomedicine, a collaboration between the University of California, Santa Barbara and Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham), has revealed a pathway that links high-fat diets to a sequence of molecular events responsible for the onset and severity of diabetes. These findings were published online August 14 in Nature Medicine.
In studies spanning mice and humans, Dr. Marth's team discovered a pathway to disease that is activated in pancreatic beta cells, and then leads to metabolic defects in other organs and tissues, including the liver, muscle and adipose (fat). Together, this adds up to diabetes.
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Just two rashers of bacon a day can increase the risk of diabetes by more than 50 per cent, scientists claim.
Eating a single sausage, small burger or a few slices of salami every day drastically raises the chances of developing the illness.
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Type 2 diabetes patients, who face higher risk of cardiovascular disease, often take a combination of medications designed to lower their LDL or "bad" cholesterol and triglyceride levels while raising their HDL or "good" cholesterol because doctors long have thought that taken together, the drugs offer protection from heart attacks and improve survival.
But in a commentary in the current New England Journal of Medicine, a trio of doctors who served on a recent Food and Drug Administration panel that evaluated the drugs' effectiveness says the commonly prescribed medications have not been proven successful at preventing heart attacks in Type 2 diabetes patients with elevated cholesterol.
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Type 2 diabetes and obesity in pregnancy is a daunting duo, according to new research published this month in The Journal of Maternal-Fetal and Neonatal Medicine. The study shows that both conditions independently contribute to higher risks, opening the door to a wide range of pregnancy, delivery and newborn complications.
Study authors say the findings are important because obesity and type 2 diabetes are skyrocketing in women of childbearing age. A study in The Journal of the American Medical Association reports that between 2007 and 2008 the prevalence of obesity among adult women in the United States was more than 35 percent. A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that approximately 11 percent of women above the age of 20 had diabetes in 2010.
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Up to 30 percent of all patients develop diabetes mellitus within the first year after a kidney transplantation. This high rate could soon fall rapidly. A Medical University of Vienna research team at Vienna General Hospital's University Department of Internal Medicine III has discovered in the context of a study that pre-emptive insulin therapy drastically reduces this rate.
"We give the patients insulin immediately after the transplant even before diabetes mellitus occurs. The new thing about this is that we are giving insulin to non-diabetics and are hereby treating patients preventatively", explains Marcus Säemann from the Clinical Department of Nephrology and Dialysis. This has been a success; in a group of 25 patients who were treated with insulin therapy for the three months immediately following a transplant, the risk of developing diabetes could be reduced by around 75 percent. In the control group, which had been treated according to current care standards over the same period, over 45 percent developed diabetes within one year of the transplant. Manfred Hecking, study supervisor says, "This is sensational data that we have obtained from thousands of blood sugar measurements."
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Hydrogen sulfide is a foul-smelling gas with an odor resembling that of rotten eggs. Sometimes called "swamp gas," this toxic substance is generally associated with decaying vegetation, sewers and noxious industrial emissions. And - as odd as it may seem - it also plays a critical role in protecting blood vessels from the complications of diabetes, according to a new study from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.
In the last few years, work from several laboratories has shown that hydrogen sulfide is produced by the body in small amounts, and that this gas plays important roles in the circulatory system. In their new paper, published in the online early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the UTMB researchers describe experiments with human endothelial cells (cells from the innermost layer of blood vessels) and diabetic rats that demonstrate the importance of hydrogen sulfide levels in determining whether diabetes will lead to blood vessel complications.
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Oesearch published in The Cochrane Library found that the risk of death and cardiovascular disease, such as stroke, was unchanged whether glucose control was intense or conventional. They did find, however, that when aiming to keep blood glucose levels at the lower intensive level, the chance of damaging small blood vessels in the body, potentially leading to damage in the eyes and kidneys, is reduced. But aiming for this lower level with the more intensive glucose control substantially increased the risk that a person's blood glucose could drop too low, potentially resulting in loss of consciousness or even death if untreated.
Bianca Hemmingsen and colleagues from the Copenhagen Trial Unit in Denmark reached these conclusions after studying all published clinical trials comparing intensive glycaemic control with conventional glycaemic control. They identified 20 trials on patients with type 2 diabetes that together involved a total of 29,986 participants.
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Obesity is the main culprit in the worldwide avalanche of type 2 diabetes. But how excess weight drives insulin resistance, the condition that may lead to the disease, is only partly understood. Scientists at Joslin Diabetes Center now have uncovered a new way in which obesity wreaks its havoc, by altering the production of proteins that affect how other proteins are spliced together. Their finding, published in Cell Metabolism, may point toward novel targets for diabetes drugs.
Scientists in the lab of Mary-Elizabeth Patti, M.D., began by examining the levels of proteins in the livers of obese people, and finding decreases in number for certain proteins that regulate RNA splicing.
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An interactive computer software program appears to be effective in helping patients manage their Type 2 diabetes using their mobile phones, according to a new study by University of Maryland School of Medicine researchers. The study is being published in the September issue of the journal Diabetes Care. The study, one of the first to scientifically examine mobile health technology, found that a key measure of blood sugar control - the amount of hemoglobin A1c in a person's blood - was lowered by an average of 1.9 percent over a period of one year in patients using the mobile health software. The findings support the further exploration of mobile health approaches to manage many chronic conditions, including diabetes.
"These results are very encouraging," says Charlene C. Quinn, Ph.D., R.N., an assistant professor of epidemiology and public health at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the principal investigator. "The 1.9 percent decrease in A1c that we saw in this research is significant. Previous randomized clinical trials have suggested that just a 1 percent decrease in A1c will prevent complications of diabetes, including heart disease, stroke, blindness and kidney failure."
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A recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM) found that the greater an individual's total muscle mass, the lower the person's risk of having insulin resistance, the major precursor of type 2 diabetes.
With recent dramatic increases in obesity worldwide, the prevalence of diabetes, a major source of cardiovascular morbidity, is expected to accelerate. Insulin resistance, which can raise blood glucose levels above the normal range, is a major factor that contributes to the development of diabetes. Previous studies have shown that very low muscle mass is a risk factor for insulin resistance, but until now, no study has examined whether increasing muscle mass to average and above average levels, independent of obesity levels, would lead to improved blood glucose regulation.
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Menopause has little to no impact on whether women become more susceptible to diabetes, according to a one-of-a-kind study.
Postmenopausal women had no higher risk for diabetes whether they experienced natural menopause or had their ovaries removed, according to the national clinical trial of 1,237 women at high risk for diabetes, ages 40 to 65.
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Better data are needed to evaluate access to care by minority groups at increased risk for diabetes, such as older African Americans, and to assess the benefits of new community-based treatment strategies, including greater use of health information technology and access to multilevel diabetes education teams, according to a report in Population Health Management, the Official Journal of The Care Continuum Alliance, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. The article is available free online.
Older adults of racial or ethnic minority descent tend to have a higher incidence of diabetes than whites, and these populations often have less access to quality health care. Karen Fitzner, PhD, American Association of Diabetes Educators (Chicago, IL), David Dietz, MSW, MHSA, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (Rockville, MD), and Ernest Moy, MD, MPH, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (Rockville, MD) identify the gaps in care for underserved older adults and describe how better use of health information technology and multilevel diabetes education teams can help fill those gaps and improve health outcomes for older African Americans with diabetes.
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Diabetes rate increases in status Aboriginal adults in Alberta appear to be slowing compared with the general population, although diabetes is more common in status Aboriginals and death rates for this group are significantly higher than the general population, states an article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). Death rates have in fact remained unchanged for status Aboriginals who do not have diabetes.
Diabetes is increasing in virtually all populations world-wide. It is common in Aboriginals in Canada, with estimated rates of type 2 diabetes and its complications two to five times higher than in the general population. Most information available regarding diabetes in Aboriginals concerns status Aboriginals (First Nations) as opposed to Métis or Inuit peoples, about whom much less is known, and most of the information is static. There is little data on the long-term diabetes trends in Aboriginal populations.
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Surgeons at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center are innovating new ways to treat diabetes using techniques from weight-loss surgery, including experimental procedures to improve blood glucose levels and address a major complication of the disease.
Sleeve Gastrectomy Corrects Diabetes Complication. NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia may be the first to use sleeve gastrectomy -- a surgical technique first developed for weight-loss surgery -- in the treatment of gastroparesis, a diabetes-related condition in which the stomach is unable to empty its contents into the intestines. Early results have been promising.
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Neutrons have shown how massive enzyme complexes inside cells might determine whether sugar is burnt for energy or stored as fat. These findings will improve understanding of diabetes and a range of metabolic diseases.
Scientists using neutrons at the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) have shown how pyruvate dehydrogenase complexes (PDCs) could control the rate of sugar metabolism by actively changing their own composition. The research is published in the Biochemical Journal.
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A medicine designed to improve levels of "good" cholesterol may also help control blood sugar in people with diabetes who are taking cholesterol-lowering drugs, according to a new analysis in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Researchers made the finding while analyzing data from a clinical trial on the drug torcetrapib that was halted five years ago. Torcetrapib is a cholesterol ester transfer protein (CETP) inhibitor, a type of drug that increases levels of high-density lipoproteins (HDLs, or "good" cholesterol).
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Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have identified how a gene for a protein that can cause Type 2 diabetes, also possibly kills nerve cells in the brain, thereby contributing to Alzheimer's disease.
The gene, called SorCS1, controls the generation of amyloid-beta (Abeta) in the brain. Abeta plays a key role in the development of Alzheimer's disease. The researchers previously linked SorCS1 to Alzheimer's disease and identified where the molecules lived in the cell, but not how they control Abeta. The new data were presented at the Alzheimer's Association's Annual International Conference in Paris.
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In a study, Identification of unrecognized diabetes and pre-diabetes in a dental setting, published in the July 2011 issue of the Journal of Dental Research, researchers at Columbia University College of Dental Medicine found that dental visits represented a chance to intervene in the diabetes epidemic by identifying individuals with diabetes or pre-diabetes who are unaware of their condition. The study sought to develop and evaluate an identification protocol for high blood sugar levels in dental patients and was supported by a research grant from Colgate-Palmolive. The authors report no potential financial or other conflicts.
"Periodontal disease is an early complication of diabetes, and about 70 percent of U.S. adults see a dentist at least once a year," says Dr. Ira Lamster, dean of the College of Dental Medicine, and senior author on the paper. "Prior research focused on identification strategies relevant to medical settings. Oral healthcare settings have not been evaluated before, nor have the contributions of oral findings ever been tested prospectively."
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Eating nuts every day could help control Type 2 diabetes and prevent its complications, according to new research from St. Michael's Hospital and the University of Toronto.
In the research, published online by the journal Diabetes Care, a team of researchers led by Dr. David Jenkins (University of Toronto Department of Nutritional Sciences; St. Michael's Hospital Risk Factor Modification Centre) reports that consuming two ounces of nuts daily as a replacement for carbohydrates proved effective at glycemic and serum lipid control for people with Type 2 diabetes. The article, entitled "Nuts as a Replacement for Carbohydrates in the Diabetic Diet," is available here.
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For better or worse, a popular class of anti-diabetic drugs does more than lower blood sugar. One known as rosiglitazone (trade name Avandia) has been in the spotlight for its possible link to increased cardiovascular events, but it also seems to come with unexplained vascular benefits and an unwelcome tendency for weight gain. Now, two separate studies in the July Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication, explore those other effects of the drugs known collectively as thiazolidinediones (TZDs), both of which stem from their activity in fat.
The findings offer new biological insights into fat tissue and its role as a central component of metabolic control. They may also pave the way for the development of new and better drugs, according to the researchers.
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In some cases, an apple a day may keep the doctor away, but for people with diabetes, regular, over-the-counter Aspirin may also do the job.
A new study by University of Alberta researcher Scot Simpson has shed light on the use of Aspirin as a preventative measure for cardiovascular disease and reoccurrence in patients with diabetes.
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The first woman in Scotland to receive donated pancreatic cells to treat her diabetes has described the procedure as "life changing".
Kathleen Duncan, who has type 1 diabetes, no longer requires insulin after having a pancreatic islet cell transplant.
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Two thirds of people with Type 1 diabetes and almost half of Type 2 patients do not receive all nine annual health checks to manage their diabetes effectively, according to the biggest ever audit of diabetes in England and Wales.
The National Diabetes Audit 2010 shows children and young people are less likely to receive all the recommended checks, such as blood pressure, blood glucose and foot checks.
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Team of engineers and scientists at the University of British Columbia has developed a device that can be implanted behind the eye for controlled and on-demand release of drugs to treat retinal damage caused by diabetes.
Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of vision loss among patients with diabetes. The disease is caused by the unwanted growth of capillary cells in the retina, which in its advanced stages can result in blindness.
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The health service could face a "diabetes time bomb" according to an audit of patients in England and Wales.
The report says 800,000 Type 1 and Type 2 patients have elevated blood sugar levels which could lead to kidney failure, limb amputation and stroke.
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white sweet potato extract from the Ipomoea batatas plant may cure diabetes, adding to other recent research showing blood sugar reducing benefits from coffee, the gingko tree, and nuts. Diabetes is at epidemic proportions but traditional medicine has used plants to treat this condition worldwide.
Sweet Potato Diabetes Research Researchers are now studying the Ipomoea batatas plant, a traditional sweet potato remedy from the mountains of Japan. The white sweet potato has been used for centuries in Japan to treat high blood pressure, anemia and diabetes. The raw potatoes come from the Kagawa region of Japan, a mountainous region between Osaka and Hiroshima.
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Scientists in the United States have revealed that some treatments for rheumatoid arthritis could help to reduce the risk of developing diabetes. The research, which examined data on almost 14,000 patients with rheumatoid arthritis or psoriasis, found that TNF-inhibitor biologic agents were able to reduce the diabetes risk in patients with the inflammatory conditions.
The study, which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, showed that drugs taken for treating inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis could work to prevent patients suffering from these conditions from developing type 2 diabetes.
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A study by scientists in Spain has found that taking medicine for hypertension at bedtime helps people suffering from type 2 diabetes to better manage their blood pressure, as well as lowering the risk of a major cardiovascular event, as compared to taking it in the morning.
The research, involving 448 patients with an average age of 62.5 years who have both hypertension and type 2 diabetes, and which was published in the journal Diabetes Care, showed that people who have diabetes who take one or more types of hypertension medication at bedtime exerted better blood pressure control and cardiovascular risk reduction than those who took their medication in the morning.
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Watching TV is the most commonly reported activity in the U.S. after working and sleeping, but a new study suggests that overindulging in television viewing may be associated with a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular complications.
The University of Southern Denmark and Harvard School of Public Health researchers who conducted the study said that their findings are important because sedentary lifestyles are becoming more common throughout the Western world. This lack of physical activity is often associated with long hours spent in front of the TV. The association they uncovered between television viewing and type 2 diabetes may help explain the rising rates of the metabolic condition.
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Diabetes UK’s Diabetes Week campaign ‘Let’s talk diabetes’ – aimed at encouraging people with diabetes to talk about their condition – was mentioned during Wednesday’s Prime Minister Questions (PMQs) in the House of Commons.
'Let's talk diabetes'
Adrian Sanders, MP for Torbay, asked Prime Minister David Cameron: “This week is national Diabetes Week and the theme this year is ‘Let’s Talk Diabetes’ - to encourage people with the condition to speak out and not feel stigmatised or worried about being discriminated against or joked against in school, or in the workplace. Would the Prime Minister please support this campaign?”
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They say life begins at 40 - but according to health campaigners, that is just when everything starts to go rapidly downhill.
Researchers have found that 41 is the age when most Brits ‘let themselves go’.
Many over-40s begin to eat too much, put on weight and cut down on the amount of daily exercise they take, according to a new study.
And in a survey to mark the start of Diabetes Week, thousands of people said they wish they could turn back the clock.
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The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has issued draft guidelines recommending a drug-infused eye implant for some patients that suffer from vision loss caused by macular oedema. The findings, which were praised by the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), could benefit patients who have problems with diabetic retinopathy and central retinal vein occlusion.
The macula is a part of the retina responsible for colour and fine detail in our seeing. Macula oedemas result from the retina becoming blocked and becoming inflamed and having a build-up of fluid, which sometimes leads to severe visual impairment.
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People who receive high amounts of omega-3 fatty acids through their daily diet are less likely to develop type 2 diabetes in the long run.
Two new studies have further suggested that eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) -- two omega-3s found in fatty fish -- have protective effects against type 2 diabetes.
The study of 3,088 US elderly showed that those with the highest levels of the two omega-3 fatty acids are about one-third less likely to develop diabetes over the next decade, Reuters reported.
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Before people develop type 2 diabetes, they almost always have "prediabetes," defined as blood glucose levels that are higher than normal but not yet high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. There are 79 million people in the United States who have prediabetes. Recent research has shown that even during prediabetes both heart and circulatory long-term damage to the body may already be occurring.
Both pre-diabetics and diabetics are sometimes concerned about eating fruit due to its reported “high sugar content.” Are fruits wrongly lumped into the catch-all phrase “carbohydrate” and incorrectly classified as a sugar food?
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Recent research by scientists at the University of Warwick into cholesterol has found a new type of ultrabad cholesterol that is believed to raise the risk of heart disease . The cholesterol is more sticky than the usual, so-called, bad cholesterol, which means it is much more likely to become attached to the walls of arteries.
The cholesterol, called MGmin-LDL and which is involved in the arterial plaque deposits that can lead to heart attacks and strokes, is more common in patients suffering from type 2 diabetes, as well as the elderly.
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A new study has revealed that women who gain weight between their first and second pregnancies have a heightened risk for developing pregnancy-related diabetes in their second pregnancy.
However, losing weight between the two pregnancies appeared to reduce gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) risk during the second pregnancy.
According to researchers, GDM is associated with an increased risk of adverse perinatal outcomes as well as subsequent diabetes in women and their offspring.
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A research has indicated that small differences in diet – even without weight loss – can significantly affect risk for diabetes.
In this study, 69 healthy, overweight people who did not have diabetes — but were at risk for it — were placed on diets with modest reductions in either fat or carbohydrate for eight weeks.
"At eight weeks, the group on the lower fat diet had significantly higher insulin secretion and better glucose tolerance and tended to have higher insulin sensitivity," said Barbara Gower, professor in the Department of Nutrition Sciences at UAB and lead author of the study.
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BANGALORE: The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has proposed an initiative to introduce affordable diabetes diagnostic kit using blood and saliva. Patients will not have to pay more than Rs. 2 to 5 for this new kit.
Speaking to TNIE, Dr Vishwamohan Katoch, secretary, Department of health research and Director General, ICMR said: “We have already flouted the tenders and three pharmaceutical companies have already been shortlisted to design and develop these quick diagnostic kits. These diagnostic kits, which are expected to be available in two years will be boon for economically weaker section who shell out nearly Rs. 25 to 30 for the tests.”
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A gene that is thought to be crucial in controlling a person's fat levels has been identified by scientists.
It is hoped the discovery could lead to new treatments for obesity and related diseases such as heart disease and diabetes .
Researchers analysed more than 20,000 genes in fat samples taken from under the skin of 800 British female twin volunteers.
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Scientists in the United States have made a breakthrough in our understanding of insulin sensitivity by discovering that the removal of cholesterol by an enzyme called CEH can reduce inflammation and slow the development of type 2 diabetes .
It is hoped that the study, carried out at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine and published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, will make possible new target therapies that help predict susceptibility to the metabolic condition, and perhaps prevent diabetes in the future.
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A new study in the United States has revealed that the health benefits of apples is not just an old wives’ tale, but rooted in scientific reality. Apart from the benefits of fibre, they have also been shown to lower the levels of bad cholesterol and contain pectin and polyphenols that help improve lipid metabolism and reduce the production of pro-inflammatory molecules.
The research, led by Bahram H. Arjmandi of the Department of Nutrition, Food and Exercise Sciences at Florida State University, focused on assessing the long-term cardioprotective benefits for postmenopausal women of eating an apple every day. It involved monitoring 160 women aged between 45 and 65 in two groups, one of which consumed dried apples each day for one year, while the other received dried prunes daily for a year, with blood samples taken regularly.
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Researchers have found that a gene linked to type 2 diabetes and cholesterol levels is in fact a 'master regulator' gene, which controls the behaviour of other genes found within fat in the body.
The study involved researchers from King's College London, University of Oxford, The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, and the University of Geneva. DeCODE Genetics also contributed to the results reported in this paper.
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Ttaking a hot bath on a cold day could increase the chances of having a heart attack, new research suggests.
A study led by Chika Nishiyama at Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine School of Nursing in Japan has found that the rate of cardiac arrests following a hot bath increases dramatically from summer to winter, Reuters reports.
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People with type 2 diabetes can make a significant improvement to their glucose control by getting just over 20 minutes of exercise a day.
It’s long been known that a healthy diet and exercise regimen is an important part of diabetes treatment. Yet most studies of exercise and diabetes have been small, so it’s been hard to see how much exercise people need, and which types of exercise are best.
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Diabetes and dementia have a connection, and what we can do to delay it will be on the table during a diabetes education event in Sidney.
“I am clarifying the ties between dementia and diabetes,” said Dr. Dorothy (Sam) Williams, of her speaking engagement on May 14 at the Mary Winspear Centre.
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FRIDAY, May 6 (HealthDay News) -- People with diabetes who sleep poorly have higher blood glucose levels and a more difficult time controlling their disease, a new study shows.
Researchers compared 40 people with type 2 diabetes to 531 people without the blood sugar disease. The investigators looked at potential links between sleep quality, blood glucose levels and other measures of diabetes control.
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Researchers in Canada and the United States have uncovered a link between type 2 diabetes and problems with the body’s immune system, a breakthrough that it is hoped could lead to new immune system therapies for type 2 diabetes .
Although it has long been known that people suffering from type 1 diabetes have malfunctions in their immune system which destroy the insulin -producing cells in the pancreas, the type 2 version of the condition has not previously been seen as an autoimmune disorder .
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Washington: Einstein researchers have found a molecule in the brain that may contribute to obesity and one of its major complications – type 2 diabetes.
Nerve cells in the brain's hypothalamus detect nutrients and hormones circulating in the blood and then coordinate a complex series of behavioral and physiological responses to maintain a balance between calories eaten and calories burned.
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A report by scientists in the US has claimed that parents support the introduction of genetic testing on children, as they believe it is preferable to the negative consequences of not testing . The research, published in the journal Pediatrics, found that many parents that were offered genetic testing felt their children should also be tested in this way.
The research involved 219 parents being tested for 15 genetic variants linked to heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, osteoporosis, high blood pressure, as well as skin, colon and lung cancer . The parents were also questioned about the benefits of reassurance, knowledge and prevention, against risks such as psychological discomfort and the invasion of privacy.
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(Reuters Health) - Diet soda and other artificially-sweetened drinks - previously implicated in raising the chance of developing diabetes - are not guilty, suggests a new study from Harvard University researchers.
In a large group of men followed for 20 years, drinking regular soda and other sugary drinks often meant a person was more likely to get diabetes, but that was not true of artificially-sweetened soft drinks, or coffee or tea.
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Scientists in the United States have found that a vegetarian diet could substantially lower the risk of conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and stroke compared to those people who eat meat. The research revealed that vegetarians had a 36 per cent lower risk of metabolic syndrome, a potential precursor to these conditions, than that of non-vegetarians .
The team from Loma Linda University, whose work is published in the journal Diabetes Care, said their work showed vegetarians could be at a reduced risk of developing these conditions.
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A new study has clarified the link between high-fat diet and type 2 diabetes.
A diet high in saturated fat is a key contributor to type 2 diabetes, a major health threat worldwide. Several decades ago, scientists noticed that people with type 2 diabetes have overly active immune responses, leaving their bodies rife with inflammatory chemicals.
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Scientists in Italy have identified a link between wrist size and a major risk factor for diabetes and heart disease in overweight children . They found that levels of insulin resistance were related to the size of the wrist bone, not the amount of fatty tissue around it. The scientists hope that measuring wrist size may offer an early warning sign for diabetes.
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Many commonly prescribed medications for patients with diabetes type 2 may be much less effective at preventing cardiovascular disease and death than oral metformin, Danish researchers revealed in the European Heart Journal this week. Diabetes drugs, such as glimepiride, glibenclamide (USA, Canada: glyburide), known as ISs (insulin secretagogues) have been commonly prescribed for many decades.
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Researchers in the US have shown that the body mass index (BMI) of teenagers could help predict their future risk of diabetes and heart disease due to levels of obesity .
The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that a high BMI (but that still lies within the normal range) in a young adult is associated with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular problems. However, those teenagers with a high BMI who then become thin as an adult can practically eliminate the predicted risk of developing diabetes because of obesity.
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The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) has issued new foot care guidelines to hospitals for the treatment of people with diabetes .
Diabetic patients are significantly more at risk from foot problems than others with about 100 people with diabetes needing a lower leg or foot amputation every week. This is a high number of amputations and the guidelines from NICE sets out to reduce the incidence.
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Regularly going a day without food may reduce your risk of heart disease and diabetes, research has suggested.
Doctors studied the health and habits of more than 200 residents in the state of Utah, where fasting for at least one day a month is a way of life for many Mormons.
X-ray scans revealed narrowing of the arteries in around 75 per cent of those who didn’t fast. In contrast, clogged arteries affected 63 per cent of those who said they often skipped meals.
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A new study has found that patients in their 50s with diabetes have nearly double the risk for developing ''geriatric'' ailments.
According to experts from the University of Michigan Health System and VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, middle-aged adults with diabetes are much more likely to develop age-related conditions than their counterparts who don't have diabetes.
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There is now a cure for a widespread disease that is sometimes deadly, diabetes.
26 million people in the United States have it and another 7 million have it but haven't been diagnosed.
Terri Adcock has suffered from Type 2 diabetes most of her life and she was also carrying a little extra weight. She had a surgery three years ago that left her diabetes free and full of life.
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A new report has found that an increasing number of children in the US are being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, a condition that used to be known as adult-onset diabetes.
The study, by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, showed that around 3,700 people in the US under the age of 20 are diagnosed every year for type 2 diabetes, and that the trend has been growing over the last decade.
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Smoking is a health hazard for anyone, but for people with diabetes or a high risk of developing the disease, lighting up can contribute to serious health complications.
Researchers have long known that diabetes patients who smoke have higher blood sugar levels, making their disease more difficult to control and putting them at greater danger of developing complications such as blindness, nerve damage, kidney failure and heart problems. Now a new study offers the most definitive evidence why: the nicotine in cigarettes.
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A new study shows that people who are high risk of developing Type 2 diabetes may be able to prevent the disease by taking pioglitazone (sold as Actos), a common drug for diabetes treatment. But experts say that doesn't mean everyone with high blood sugar levels should be taking the medication.
Diabetes often progresses from a condition of impaired insulin sensitivity to the full-blown disease. Doctors have long been eager to find medications or lifestyle changes that can slow this progression or stop it altogether.
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esearch by scientists at the Mayo clinic and Olmsted Medical Center in Minnesota in the United States has found an apparent link between asthma and an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, as well as heart disease.
The study, involving data from a total of 2,392 asthma patients with age and gender factors taken into account, revealed that asthma was associated with an increased risk of developing diabetes and heart disease but not inflammatory bowel syndrome and rheumatoid arthritis . The incidence rate of diabetes for asthmatics was shown to be 138.4 per 100,000 people as compared with 104 per 100,000 people for non-asthmatics.
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Daily intake of safflower oil over a 16 week period could be an effective way to reduce the risk of heart problems, and also can prevent type-2 diabetes According to the new study in United States. Safflower cooking oil can also help postmenopausal women who suffer from type 2 diabetes. It is said that women who add as little as one and two-third teaspoon of cooking oil to their diets can improve the blood sugar test score, cholesterol levels, inflammation and insulin sensitivity.
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Studies have already shown that weight loss surgery, such as the gastric band, can reduce the symptoms of type 2 diabetes or even cure it altogether.
Now new research published in the Annals of Surgery has provided even more impressive figures monitoring obese patients with type 2 diabetes who had bariatric surgery – a massive 72% were cured of their diabetes with no symptoms a couple of years later.
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A new study by scientists in Boston has found that the more second-hand smoke that people are exposed to, the higher the risk of them getting type 2 diabetes . The research showed that smoke from cigarettes can increase the chances of type 2 diabetes, both for smokers and other people around them exposed to their smoke.
The study, which was published in Diabetes Care and shows the possible risk of second-hand smoke for the first time, examined submitted questionnaires regarding the amount of time spent around cigarette smoke from over 100,000 female nurses participating in a national study since 1982.
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A blood test that reveals if someone is at risk of diabetes at least a decade before symptoms appear has been developed.
By measuring levels of five markers in the blood, doctors are able to predict the onset of type 2 diabetes.
It could act as an early warning for those most at risk – giving them time to improve their diet or change their lifestyles.
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What a woman eats while pregnant could increase her child’s risk of developing potentially life-threatening diseases in adulthood.
Research pinpointed how eating habits during the nine months of pregnancy affect a gene linked to diabetes, which is in turn associated with heart disease and kidney failure.It is thought these genetic changes could be inherited and passed on to future generations.
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Scientists have identified a gene variant present in some people of white European descent who have type 2 diabetes.
Although it's not yet clear how the gene works, it may prove a future target for treatments, among other benefits, say the authors of a study published March 2 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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