http://medicineworld.org/blogs/diabetes/diabetes-watch-blog.html Diabetes watch blog from medicineworld.org adds a personal touch to the stories related to diabetes. This diabetes watch blog brings you stories of success, stories of endurance and latest news and research related to diabetes. Tue, 13 Jan 2009 05:49:46 GMT en-us http://medicineworld.org/images/diabetes-blog.jpg http://medicineworld.org/blogs/diabetes/diabetes-watch-blog.html 90 98 http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/1-2009/diabetes-dementia-and-brain-injuries.html http://medicineworld.org/stories/lead/1-2009/diabetes-dementia-and-brain-injuries.html Tue, 13 Jan 2009 05:49:46 GMT Patients with dementia and diabetes appear to display a different pattern of injuries in their brains than patients with dementia but without diabetes, as per an article posted online today that will appear in the March print issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. "The association between diabetes mellitus and increased risk for dementia in the elderly is well documented," the authors write as background information in the article. Several possible mechanisms have been proposed for this association, including the direct effects of high blood glucose and insulin, the build-up of beta-amyloid plaques in the brain and the effects of diabetes-related vascular disease on blood vessels in the brain........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/1-2009/controlling-diabetes-with-low-carbohydrate-diet.html http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/1-2009/controlling-diabetes-with-low-carbohydrate-diet.html Tue, 13 Jan 2009 05:49:46 GMT In a six-month comparison of low-carb diets, one that encourages eating carbohydrates with the lowest-possible rating on the glycemic index leads to greater improvement in blood sugar control, as per Duke University Medical Center researchers. Patients who followed the no-glycemic diet experienced more frequent reductions, and in some cases elimination, of their need for medicine to control type 2 diabetes, as per main author Eric Westman, MD, director of Duke's Lifestyle Medicine Program. The findings are published online in Nutrition and Metabolism....... ]]> http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/12-2008/type-1-diabetes-and-celiac-disease-linked.html http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/12-2008/type-1-diabetes-and-celiac-disease-linked.html Tue, 13 Jan 2009 05:49:46 GMT Type 1 (juvenile) diabetes and celiac disease appear to share a common genetic origin, researchers at the University of Cambridge and Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, have confirmed. Their findings, which are reported in this week's edition of the New England Journal (NEJM), identified seven chromosome regions which are shared between the two diseases. The research suggests that type 1 diabetes and celiac disease may be caused by common underlying mechanisms such as autoimmunity-related tissue damage and intolerance to dietary antigens (foreign substances which prompt an immune response)........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/11-2008/more-data-on-key-genes-in-diabetes.html http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/11-2008/more-data-on-key-genes-in-diabetes.html Tue, 13 Jan 2009 05:49:46 GMT One of the most reliable indicators to predict that a person will develop type 2 diabetes is the presence of insulin resistance. Insulin is produced in the pancreas and is the hormone responsible for ensuring that glucose reaches several tissues and organs in the body, such as muscles. Typically insulin resistance is characterized by the lack of tissue response to insulin and is counteracted by a greater production of insulin by the pancreas. When the pancreas does not have the capacity to produce the amount of insulin mandatory for tissues to receive glucose, glucose in blood increases to pathological levels and the individual goes from being insulin-resistant to suffering type 2 diabetes. Eventhough it is unclear what makes people develop insulin resistance, several studies report that resistant subjects show functional alterations in mitochondria. These intracellular organelles are responsible for transforming glucose into energy that the cell will then use to perform several functions. A study performed by the researcher Marc Liesa, a member of Antoni Zorzano's lab at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), describes a new control pathway of a gene responsible for mitochrondrial fusion, a process that contributes to the correct function of these organelles. This pathway could therefore be a key component in the development of insulin resistance. The results of this study have been reported in the scientific journal PloS One........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/10-2008/type-1-diabetes-not-so-much-bad-genes.html http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/10-2008/type-1-diabetes-not-so-much-bad-genes.html Tue, 13 Jan 2009 05:49:46 GMT Investigators combing the genome in the hope of finding genetic variants responsible for triggering early-onset diabetes may be looking in the wrong place, new research at the Stanford University School of Medicine suggests. Early-onset diabetes, also known as type-1 diabetes, is an autoimmune disease, caused when the immune system attacks and destroys insulin-producing cells in a person's pancreas........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/10-2008/green-tea-may-delay-onset-of-type-1-diabetes.html http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/10-2008/green-tea-may-delay-onset-of-type-1-diabetes.html Tue, 13 Jan 2009 05:49:46 GMT A powerful antioxidant in green tea may prevent or delay the onset of type 1 diabetes, Medical College of Georgia scientists say. Scientists were testing EGCG, green tea's predominant antioxidant, in a laboratory mouse with type 1 diabetes and primary Sjogren's syndrome, which damages moisture-producing glands, causing dry mouth and eyes........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/10-2008/find-genes-for-type-1-diabetes.html http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/10-2008/find-genes-for-type-1-diabetes.html Tue, 13 Jan 2009 05:49:46 GMT Genetics scientists have identified two novel gene locations that raise the risk of type 1 diabetes. As they continue to reveal pieces of the complicated genetic puzzle for this disease, the scientists expect to improve predictive tests and devise preventive strategies. "As we add to our knowledge of the biology of type 1 diabetes and better understand details of the disease's genetic risk, we will be able to develop better diagnostic tests that meaningfully predict who will develop diabetes," said study leader Hakon Hakonarson, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Center for Applied Genomics at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/6-2008/unique-drug-combination-for-type-i-diabetes.html http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/6-2008/unique-drug-combination-for-type-i-diabetes.html Tue, 13 Jan 2009 05:49:46 GMT Promising results from a study that tested a new approach for reversing Type 1 diabetes are being presented this week at the American Diabetes Association's 68th Annual Scientific Session in San Francisco. The study tested the combination of Lisofylline (LSF), a drug that is being developed to halt immune damage to insulin producing cells, and Islet Neogenesis Associated Protein peptide (INGAP), a drug based on a naturally occurring protein produced by the pancreas. (ADA abstract number: 1620-P Unique Drug Combination for Reversal of Type 1 Diabetes, by Tersey, Carter, Kropf, Rosenberg, Nadler, available online at http://scientificsessions.diabetes.org)........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/5-2008/natural-compounds-in-cocoa-and-type-2-diabetes.html http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/5-2008/natural-compounds-in-cocoa-and-type-2-diabetes.html Tue, 13 Jan 2009 05:49:46 GMT Researchers have observed that consuming cocoa flavanols naturally occurring compounds in cocoa may offer a benefit to those affected by type-2 diabetes. Consuming a cocoa flavanol-rich beverage daily may have the potential to positively impact the blood vessel dysfunction linked to diabetes, suggests a first-of-its-kind study recently reported in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology by an international group of scientists. Study participants who regularly consumed a cocoa flavanol-rich beverage made using the Mars, Incorporated Cocoapro process experienced a 30 percent improvement in measured vessel function at the completion of a 30-day trial........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/5-2008/how-slow-growth-as-a-fetus.html http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/5-2008/how-slow-growth-as-a-fetus.html Tue, 13 Jan 2009 05:49:46 GMT Intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR), which results in a baby having a low weight at birth, has been associated with the development of type 2 diabetes in adulthood. It has been suggested that this is because the expression of key genes is altered during fetal development and that this affects disease susceptibility during the later part of life. Evidence to support this hypothesis and indicating that the changes in gene expression might be permanent has now been provided by Rebecca Simmons and his colleagues, at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, using a rat model of IUGR........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/4-2008/benefits-of-drug-therapy-for-diabetic-eye-disease.html http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/4-2008/benefits-of-drug-therapy-for-diabetic-eye-disease.html Tue, 13 Jan 2009 05:49:46 GMT A JDRF collaboration between Johns Hopkins scientists and Genentech has shown that a drug for the therapy of diabetic eye disease haccording toformed better in clinical trials than the current standard therapy using laser surgery. These findings, representing the six-month end-point evaluation of the READ-2 clinical trial coordinated by The Johns Hopkins University, were presented Monday at the 2008 Annual Meeting of The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/11-2007/tweens-double-use-of-diabetes-drugs.html http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/11-2007/tweens-double-use-of-diabetes-drugs.html Tue, 13 Jan 2009 05:49:46 GMT Americas tweens more than doubled their use of type-2 diabetes medications between 2002 and 2005, with girls between 10 and 14 years of age showing a 166 percent increase. The likely cause: Obesity, which is closely linked to Type 2 diabetes. The finding is included in a study of chronic medicine use in children 5 to 19 reported Wednesday, Nov. 7 at the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association by scientists from the Saint Louis University School of Medicine and School of Public Health and pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts. In addition to diabetes, utilization patterns for blood pressure, cholesterol, asthma and depression medications were also examined........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/7-2007/adult-type-2-diabetes-exercise-seems-good.html http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/7-2007/adult-type-2-diabetes-exercise-seems-good.html Tue, 13 Jan 2009 05:49:46 GMT There are no high quality data to assess how well dietary therapys for type 2 diabetes work in people who have just been told they have the disease, but there is evidence that taking on exercise seems to be one way of improving blood sugar levels, as per the findings of a Cochrane Systematic Review........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/7-2007/selenium-supplements-and-risk-of-type-2-diabetes.html http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/7-2007/selenium-supplements-and-risk-of-type-2-diabetes.html Tue, 13 Jan 2009 05:49:46 GMT Selenium, an antioxidant included in multivitamin tablets thought to have a possible protective effect against the development of type 2 diabetes, may actually increase the risk of developing the disease, an analysis by scientists at the University at Buffalo has shown. Results of a randomized clinical trial using 200 micrograms of selenium alone showed that 55 percent more cases of type 2 diabetes developed among participants randomized to receive selenium than in those who received a placebo pill........ ]]> http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/7-2007/new-option-for-treating-type-2-diabetes.html http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/7-2007/new-option-for-treating-type-2-diabetes.html Tue, 13 Jan 2009 05:49:46 GMT A review of prior studies indicates that use of a class of medications known as incretin-based treatment, which act via certain pathways that affect glucose metabolism may provide modest effectiveness and favorable weight change outcomes for the therapy of type 2 diabetes and may represent an alternative to other hypoglycemic therapies, as per an article in the July 11 issue of JAMA........ ]]>