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Setting Specific Goal Can Help Improve Dietary Habits of Diabetics

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:07:00 GMT

A specific goal to eat a set number of daily servings of low-glycemic-index foods can improve dietary habits of people with Type 2 diabetes, researchers say. Study participants were given a goal to eat either six or eight daily servings of foods with a low glycemic index - carbohydrates that are digested slowly and are less likely to spike blood-sugar levels than would carbohydrates with a high glycemic index.

Anti-Obesity Drug Now In Clinical Trials May Cause Rapid Bone Loss

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:05:00 GMT

An endocrine hormone used in clinical trials as an anti-obesity and anti-diabetes drug causes significant and rapid bone loss in mice, raising concerns about its safe use, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have shown. The hormone, fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21), promotes bone loss by enhancing the activity of a protein that stimulates fat cells but inhibits bone cells, researchers report in a study available online in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Epidural Steroid Injections Do Not Benefit Spine Patients

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:04:00 GMT

Researchers at the Rothman Institute at Jefferson examined data on patients being treated for lumbar stenosis and the degenerative spine condition spondylolisthesis and found that patients who received epidural steroid injections (ESI) had a higher rate of crossover to surgery and fared worse in physical health and bodily pain versus those who did not receive ESI, dispelling their pre-study hypothesis.

Antenatal Thyroid Screening Fails To Improve IQ In 3-Year-Olds

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:03:00 GMT

Children of mothers screened and treated for reduced thyroid function during pregnancy show no signs of improved IQ compared to women who receive no treatment, new research has uncovered. Scientists from Cardiff University's School of Medicine working with colleagues from The Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine at Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, and colleagues from Turin, Italy took blood samples from more than 20,000 women at about 13...

Decaffeinated Coffee Might Boost Brain Power for Type 2 Diabetics

Mon, 6 Feb 2012 13:52:00 GMT

Decaffeinated coffee could help patients living with Type 2 diabetes. According to researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine, decaf coffee was found to improve glucose energy metabolism in the brain in mouse studies. Type 2 diabetes is linked to cognitive decline, dementia and Alzheimers disease that stems from impaired breakdown of glucose needed for optimal brain function.

USC study: Depo-Provera Birth Control May Increase Diabetes Risk for Obese Women

Mon, 6 Feb 2012 13:51:00 GMT

Obese women who take long-term birth control injection Depo-Provera may be at greater risk for developing diabetes, according to a new USC study. Researchers at the Keck School of Medicine found that obese women who received the Depo-Provera injection become more resistant to insulin. That means they were less able to lower their blood sugar levels, which leaves them more susceptible Type 2 Diabetes.

Diabetes Quadruples Birth Defects Risk, Say Researchers

Mon, 6 Feb 2012 13:48:00 GMT

The risk of birth defects increases four-fold if the pregnant mother has diabetes, researchers say. The Newcastle University study, published in the journal Diabetologia, analysed data from more than 400,000 pregnancies in North East England.

Ulcer-Causing Bug Tied to Higher Diabetes Risk

Mon, 6 Feb 2012 13:44:00 GMT

People who have been infected with the ulcer-causing bacteria Helicobacter pylori are more than twice as likely to develop diabetes later on as people who do not have signs of the infection, according to a new study of Latino adults in California. The results don't prove that the bug causes diabetes, but "it is strongly related to predicting type 2 diabetes," said Allison Aiello, the senior researcher on the study and a professor at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

FDA Approves Once-A-Day Drug for Type 2 Diabetes

Mon, 6 Feb 2012 13:42:00 GMT

The new formulation, meant to be used as an adjunct to diet and exercise to improve glycemic control, combines sitagliptin (the active component of Januvia [Merck]), with extended-release metformin. The new formulation, meant to be used as an adjunct to diet and exercise to improve glycemic control, combines sitagliptin (the active component of Januvia [Merck]), with extended-release metformin.

Insulin Secretion Impaired in the Insulin-Resistant

Fri, 3 Feb 2012 14:11:00 GMT

Individuals with impaired glucose tolerance or type 2 diabetes have impaired glucose-stimulated insulin secretion after exposure to insulin compared with healthy individuals, according to a study published in the February issue of Diabetes.

GAD-alum Antigen Therapy Fails to Halt Progression of Type 1 Diabetes

Fri, 3 Feb 2012 14:10:00 GMT

Antigen therapy with glutamic acid decarboxylase 65 formulated with alum failed to induce immunologic tolerance and stem the loss of stimulated serum C-peptide in a phase III clinical trial of new-onset type 1 diabetes, according to a report in the Feb. 2 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Weight Loss May Prevent Urinary Incontinence in Diabetes

Fri, 3 Feb 2012 14:08:00 GMT

Overweight women with diabetes may be able to cut their risk of urinary incontinence if they lose some weight, a new study suggests. Some studies have found that when overweight women drop even a modest amount of weight, they reduce their risk of incontinence. Type 2 diabetes is also a risk factor for incontinence, regardless of weight.

How Red Wine's Resveratrol Confers Health Benefits

Fri, 3 Feb 2012 14:07:00 GMT

Scientists have found out why resveratrol, a chemical naturally found in red wine, grapes, and some other fruit and vegetables, has health benefits, according to an article published in the journal Cell, February 3rd issue. The researchers, from the Laboratory of Obesity and Aging Research at the NIH's National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, explain that resveratrol inhibits PDEs (phosphodiesterases), proteins (enzymes) that play a crucial role in cell energy regulation.

American Diabetes Association Names Robert E. Ratner, MD, FACP, FACE as Organization's Chief Scientific and Medical Officer

Fri, 3 Feb 2012 14:02:00 GMT

The American Diabetes Association announced today that Robert E. Ratner, MD, FACP, FACE has been named Chief Scientific and Medical Officer, effective May 7, 2012. Dr. Ratner is currently Professor of Medicine at Georgetown University Medical School and Senior Research Scientist at the MedStar Health Research Institute in metropolitan Washington, DC.As Chief Scientific and Medical Officer for the American Diabetes Association, Dr. Ratner will serve as the primary medical and scientific represent...

Merck Profit Beats Analyst Estimates on Diabetes Drug Sales

Thu, 2 Feb 2012 13:45:00 GMT

Merck & Co., the second-largest U.S. drugmaker, reported fourth-quarter profit that topped analyst estimates on higher sales of the Januvia diabetes drug. The company forecast 2012 earnings that matched estimates. Net income was $1.51 billion, or 49 cents a share, compared with a loss of $531 million, or 17 cents, a year earlier when Merck took a $1.7 billion charge to write down the value of an experimental blood thinner, the Whitehouse Station, New Jersey- based company said today in a sta...

Pneumonia Survival May Improve With Stimulation Of Brain Hormone Action

Thu, 2 Feb 2012 13:43:00 GMT

An international research team may have found a way to block a second wave of death that can result from pneumonia treatment. Antibiotics are effective at killing pneumococcus - the cause of about 50 percent of pneumonias - but as it dies the bacterium releases potentially lethal toxins.

Study Finds Testosterone Makes Us Less Cooperative And More Egocentric

Thu, 2 Feb 2012 13:42:00 GMT

Testosterone makes us overvalue our own opinions at the expense of cooperation, research from the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging at UCL (University College London) has found. The findings may have implications for how group decisions are affected by dominant individuals.

New Diabetes Combo Agent Gets FDA Nod

Thu, 2 Feb 2012 13:40:00 GMT

The FDA has approved another combination of metformin plus a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitor for type 2 diabetes, makers of the drug announced. Jentadueto combines linagliptin with the older agent for a twice-daily pill to improve glycemic control, in combination with diet and exercise, according to a release from Eli Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim.

Autoantigen Tx Benefits Some Type 1 Diabetics

Thu, 2 Feb 2012 13:37:00 GMT

Autoantigen treatment of new-onset type 1 diabetes was unsuccessful in preserving pancreatic beta-cell function overall, but the treatment did appear to help in certain prespecified patient subgroups, a phase III European study found.

Glooko Raises $3.5M to Sync Diabetes Glucose Meters to iPhone App

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:29:00 GMT

Glooko has raised $3.5 million in a new round of funding that will enable it to release new versions of its solution to help people with diabetes monitor their glucose intake more easily. The round was led by The Social+Capital Partnership along with existing investors. The companys product is one more example of the quantified self trend, where people can gain self-knowledge through quantification of the things they do in life.

New Actavis / Bioton Alliance to Shake Up Diabetes Market

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:27:00 GMT

Actavis and Bioton announced that they have formed a joint venture company for the development and registration of insulins, including analogue insulins. Within the framework of the joint-venture, Bioton will be responsible for the development and manufacture of insulin products, while Actavis will be granted an exclusive licence to commercialise those products under the Actavis brand throughout the European Union and the United States of America, as well as in Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina,...

Animal Fat and Cholesterol May Increase Gestational Diabetes Risk: Study

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:25:00 GMT

A pre-pregnancy diet that is high in animal fat and cholesterol could almost double the risk of pregnancy related diabetes, says new research.

Survival Reduced for Patients With Cancer Who Have Diabetes

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:24:00 GMT

Patients with cancer generally have reduced survival if they also have type 2 diabetes, although this depends on the type of cancer and diabetes treatment, according to a study published online Jan. 20 in Diabetes Care. Craig J. Currie, Ph.D., from Cardiff University in the United Kingdom, and colleagues examined survival in 112,408 patients newly diagnosed with cancer, of whom 7.5 percent also had type 2 diabetes.

Caffeine Alters Estrogen Levels

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:22:00 GMT

Researchers at the National Institute of Health, along with other institutions, have released a study online in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, stating that Asian women have higher estrogen levels when drinking 200 milligrams or more of caffeine a day. This is about 2 cups of coffee. On the other hand, white women who drank the same amount tended to have lower estrogen levels than those who did not drink this amount of caffeine. The study goes on to say that African American women wh...

Fewer Diabetes Patients Lose Limbs

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:51:00 GMT

Patients with diabetes are less likely to face foot or leg amputations than they once were, although they're still at higher risk of losing a limb than the general population, researchers found. Among diabetes patients ages 40 and up, hospital discharge rates for nontraumatic lower-extremity amputation fell an average of 8.6% per year between 1996 and 2008 (P<0.01), Nilka Rios Burrows, PhD, of the CDC, and colleagues reported in Diabetes Care.