Diabetes Health » September 2006

September 29, 2006

Basketball star Adam Morrison of the Charlotte Bobcats has spoken often about diabetes. He is a hero to many young people with the disease. In this video, he speaks about living with diabetes.

Posted by Staff at 5:07 PM | Comments (0)

There was a post a while back about cinnamon and diabetes in Eat This! and I thought it would be appropriate to link to it from Diabetes Health. A short quote from the post:

In one lab study, the team said it found that cinnamon contains polyphenols, or antioxidants, that boost proteins that are important in activating insulin, transporting glucose and responding to inflammation, Web site WebMD reported.

Full post: Cinnamon and Diabetes

Related:
Health Benefits of Cinnamon

Posted by Staff at 4:30 PM | Comments (0)

September 27, 2006

A new study has shown that diabetes drug Actos (pioglitazone) reduces the risk of recurrent heart attack in diabetics by 28 percent. While many were excited by the news, others were more cautious.

"This should draw attention to the use of pioglitazone, and it should get serious consideration, but it's a first, so it needs validation," said Dr. Robert H. Eckel, president of the American Heart Association. "One study should not make a paradigm for management."

Diabetes Drug Pulls Double Duty

Posted by Staff at 6:45 PM | Comments (0)

A new study has shown that results for islet cell transplant in patients with diabetes are mixed.

The good news is that nearly half of those who receive an islet cell transplant are insulin-free at one year after transplant; the bad news is that by the end of the second year that number drops to about one in seven. Still, researchers expect that with improvements in the technical aspects of the procedure, and better anti-rejection drugs, those numbers will improve.

Islet Cell Transplants Not Cure for Type 1 Diabetes Yet

Posted by Staff at 6:33 PM | Comments (0)

September 26, 2006

GlaxoSmithKline is touting its diabetes drug Avandia as a way to prevent diabetes in those who are at risk. Some are asking if healthy people taking a pill with serious possible side effects is wise and are suggesting diet and exercise instead.

Indeed, a recent drug trial showed those taking Avandia had a slight increase in heart failure rates as well as weight gain. Putting people who don't even have diabetes at risk for these things is silly. It's just like putting postmenopausal women on Fosamax to prevent osteoporosis even though their bone density scores are fine.

Not enough sick people in the world? Drug companies will invent them!

From the viewpoint of pharmaceutical companies nothing looks better than a pill that healthy people take every day for the rest of their lives. Anti-cholesterol statins, with U.S. sales exceeding $15 billion a year, serve as the shining example. It is hardly surprising that GlaxoSmithKline, the manufacturer of Avandia, along with two other drug companies, paid for the DREAM trial and actively publicized the results.

Diabetes pill works — but is it worth the cost?

Posted by Staff at 11:14 AM | Comments (1)

September 25, 2006

A new study from researchers at the National Cancer Center in Tokyo, Japan has found that adults with diabetes may have a higher risk of certain types of cancer.

In the study, men with diabetes were found to have more liver, kidney, and pancreatic cancers than men without the disease. And women with diabetes had more stomach and liver cancers than women who didn't have diabetes.

Diabetes May Raise Cancer Risk

Posted by Staff at 6:04 PM | Comments (0)

September 22, 2006

A new study at the University of Chicago. suggests that lack of sleep may affect blood sugar levels in people with diabetes.

"We've known for some time that skimping on sleep can impair glucose tolerance even for healthy people," writes lead author Kristen Knutson, a University of Chicago researcher. "Now we have evidence connecting chronic partial sleep deprivation and reduced blood-sugar control in patients with diabetes."

Lack of Sleep Affects Health of Diabetics

Posted by Staff at 11:30 PM | Comments (0)

A new study has found that teens who practice weightlifting twice a week lower their risk of Type II diabetes.

Specifically, the study found that the weightlifting boys lowered their insulin resistance, a condition in which the body fails to process blood sugar and which can lead to Type 2 diabetes. That's the most common form of diabetes. It's linked to obesity and is showing up more often in young people.

L.A. study suggests weightlifting lowered diabetes risk in teens

Posted by Staff at 10:57 PM | Comments (0)