"The Diabetic & Diabetes Center"

There are more and more ways to deal with diabtes these days, and more than that there are more discoveries every day. People with type 1 diabetes who got stem cell transplants were able to go as long as four years without needing insulin treatments, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.

They said the process, which involves injecting people with stem cells made from their bone marrow cells, appears to have a lasting effect. The study involved patients with Type 1 diabetes, formerly called juvenile diabetes, which occurs when the immune system goes haywire and starts attacking itself, destroying insulin-producing cells in the pancreas needed to control blood sugar.

These patients typically need daily insulin therapy to control their diabetes.

Dr. Richard Burt of Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago and colleagues first reported on the short-term success of the procedure, known as autologous non-myeloablative hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation, in 2007 but have since looked at how long it persisted.

Writing in this week’s Journal of the American Medical Association they said 20 of 23 patients “became insulin free — 12 continuously and eight transiently — for periods as long as four years.” The transient group of eight had to restart insulin at reduced levels.

The patients ranged in age from 13 to 31.

To find out if the change was lasting the research team said they measured levels of C-peptides, which show how well the body is producing insulin. They found those levels increased “up to 24 months after transplantation and were maintained until at least 36 months,” their report said.

Even in the group which had to restart insulin there was still a significant increase in C-peptide levels that lasted at least two years, the researchers said.

They said the procedure was able to induce “prolonged and significant increases of C-peptide levels” in the small group of patients who were taking little or no insulin.

“At the present time (it) remains the only treatment capable of reversing type 1 diabetes mellitus in humans,” the team wrote.

“Randomized controlled trials and further biological studies are necessary to confirm the role of this treatment in changing the natural history of (the disease),” they added.

Reproduced through Reuters

Many of us – even those who have diabetes or live with someone who has diabetes, are under the impression that as long as you leave sugar out of your diet, your blood glucose levels will be fine and your diabetes will stay under control.

This is partially true. If you have diabetes sugar isn’t a good thing to pour into your body on a regular basis – especially. On the other hand, if you are eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly and doing other things to keep your body as healthy as possible, a bit of sugar here and there will not push you into an extreme situation.

For instance, if you eat a lot of whole foods, lean meats, good fruits and vegetables and keep your diet balanced; if you take your insulin or other medicine and you do other things to stay healthy a little sugar here and there won’t hurt. You could have a small serving of ice cream or slice of pie or cake (pie is better due to less carbs).

One of the big leaps forward when it comes to food for individuals with diabetes is the variety and quality of sugar free sodas, juices and desserts. There used to be vanilla or chocolate pints of ice cream that tasted like frozen chalk with saccharin in it. Then there were hard candies made wit saccharin and wrapped in individual wrappers.

These days, Hershey’s, Dove, Russell Stover, Sees and other candy makers are creating tasty sugar free candy for individuals with diabetes. Add to that, sugar-free pie, sugar free and low-carb ice cream, cereal and a tremendous variety of other products that help people with diabetes have fun, sweet choices for sweets, treats and desserts that will not make the situation worse.

So if you happen to have diabetes and have some cravings for a little sweet dessert or snack here or there remember that it’s not the sugar every once in a while, it’s the entire diet and lifestyle. And a nice choice of snacks and desserts not just for people who have diabetes but for people who would like to stay healthy in general.

We continue to find the results of research that help individuals with diabetes have more medication and other tools to control diabetes and the symptoms that go with it. One new discovery is a new diabetes pill from Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and AstraZeneca PLC did not increase the risk of heart attack or stroke in a US review, boosting shares in New York and London as investors bet the drug will be approved.

The medicine, saxagliptin, meets new guidelines for cardiovascular safety, according to a staff report posted on the Food and Drug Administration’s website. Outside advisers to the FDA will consider the findings when they meet tomorrow to discuss whether the companies should be allowed to sell the drug in the United States under the name Onglyza.

The FDA review of saxagliptin focused primarily on six core studies submitted by Bristol-Myers and AstraZeneca that followed patients for at least one year after the initial three-to-six month study period. It found an overall low rate of major cardiovascular events, according to Monday’s documents. In higher-risk patients, the rates appeared to be similar between patients taking saxagliptin and those getting a placebo or, in one study, the popular diabetes drug metformin, at about 2%.

Drug makers are striving to introduce new treatments for the 24 million Americans with diabetes, as some older therapies pose heart risks and fail to control blood sugar. Bristol-Myers and AstraZeneca need new products to revive sales and replace drugs facing generic competition, and analysts have been worried that safety concerns at the FDA may preclude saxagliptin’s approval.

AstraZeneca agreed in January 2007 to pay Bristol-Myers as much as $1.35 billion for rights to develop and market saxagliptin and another diabetes drug called dapagliflozin. AstraZeneca’s share of annual sales may reach $578 million in 2015 and $893 million by 2018, according to Deutsche Bank AG analyst Brian Bourdot.

An FDA panel will also consider liraglutide, an experimental shot for diabetes made by Novo Nordisk A/S. The agency usually follows the recommendations of its advisers.

The search for medications and treatments for individuals with diabetes continues aggressively and is making strides. There is some good news that just came out regarding the medication Byetta that many individuals with diabetes are using to help control their diabetes, is doing even better than thought.

The experimental long-acting version of Byetta, being developed by Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc (AMLN.O) and Eli Lilly and Co (LLY.N), demonstrated superior blood sugar control and weight loss when compared to two other widely used diabetes medicines in a head-to-head study.

The drug only needs to be taken once a week and in this time when the economy is so difficult, the results of the research about Byetta sent Amylin shares up as much as 19 percent on Tuesday, while shares of Lilly, the much larger drugmaker, were 2 percent higher.

Amylin expects to file for regulatory approval of once weekly Byetta by the end of June. The version of Byetta currently on the market is typically injected twice a day. This would eliminate a lot of injections and control diabetes in most individuals much better than the options they have now.

The 26-week study compared Byetta LAR, also known as exenatide once weekly, with maximum doses of Merck & Co Inc’s (MRK.N) Januvia, known chemically as sitagliptin, and pioglitazone, sold under the brand name Actos by Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd (4502.T).

Type 2 diabetes patients taking Byetta LAR experienced a reduction in A1C — a measure of average blood sugar over three months — which wa more than the other medications and these results are significant because they can change the way diabtes is treated and controlled in the near future. In addition, there has been excellent weight loss during the study and researchers feel that the weight loss wil increase over the next trial.

Some quotes and statistics from Reuters.

Is it possible for a show about disease to help people?

At lunch at a fancy Philadelphia restaurant, advertising entrepreneur Howard Steinberg lifts his shirt and shows off two gadgets that he keeps connected to his bloodstream at all times. One measures his blood sugar, and the other is a computerized pump that dispenses insulin. “I’m doing what my pancreas isn’t,” he says between bites of diabetes-friendly sashimi.

Steinberg, 50, was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes at age 10 and started out in denial. Away at a sleepover camp, he ran out of insulin, didn’t tell his counselors and almost died three days later. Ever since he’s been compulsive about staying on top of his diabetes.

In 2004 he founded a company called DLife, which sounds the message far and wide that people can control and master their diabetes just like he has. The half-hour television show–a disguised infomercial– airs on CNBC on Sunday nights. A related Web site with 720,000 members is filled with chat boards, advice and a shopping mall.

The show is hosted by a former Miss America with diabetes, and offers tips on health, cooking and travel, as well as interviews with celebrities who have diabetes, like Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler and CBS newsman Bob Schieffer on how they manage their diabetes and the difference in symptoms, medication, diet, exercise and more – showing that every person is unique and there is no exact “one size fits all” way to deal with diabetes. This shows that if you have diabetes, you can create your own regimen and adapt it to your own particular lifestyle so that you can stay healthy and enjoy life in the best way for you.

In one segment a correspondent with juvenile (type 1) diabetes flies to Guatemala to see Mayan ruins. He surveys the country’s understocked pharmacies and hospitals. Says a shopkeeper: “No tiene insulina.” 229,000 households tune in to any given segment, so thousands of people see this particular segment and many can possibly help.

No question patients can use more information and prodding. Twenty-four million Americans suffer from diabetes, which can lead to heart disease, kidney failure, blindness and limb amputation, and nearly half fail to keep the disease under control. One study found that 46% of recently diagnosed adult diabetics (type 2) don’t take their medicine correctly. Diabetics rack up $174 billion a year in health spending, according to government estimates.

But there is a question as to whether the show is really reaching people who don’t take their meds – or does it just help sell expensive gadgets to motivated patients who are already doing better than most? One certainty: Steinberg’s media company has profit potential. DLife, in Westport, Conn., has 33 employees and should break even this year on $15 million in ad sales. Steinberg buys the 30 minutes on CNBC and sells the ads himself. Advertisers include Ocean Spray (light cranberry juice), Merck (nyse: MRK – news – people ) (Januvia), Abbott Laboratories (nyse: ABT – news – people ) (glucose monitors) and Rite Aid (nyse: RAD – news – people ), which gets 31% of its sales from diabetics.

Steinberg says he doesn’t interfere with editorial content. Yet the show avoids controversial subjects that might offend potential advertisers. In 2007 GlaxoSmithkline’s Avandia was linked to higher rates of heart disease. The program didn’t cover the controversy.

The physician view: Patient education is a good thing, but let’s not kid ourselves that the average American can be as effective as Steinberg at managing blood work and pills on his own. “I have 1,500 people under my care. Maybe 2 or 3 are like that,” says Mount Sinai School of Medicine’s Zachary Bloomgarden, who hasn’t seen the show. “If you are your own doctor, you have a fool for a doctor.” Steinberg says he isn’t against doctors. But he thinks that anything that gets more patients to pay more attention to their diabetes and make more of a concerted effort of keeping it under control can feel better longer and slow down the progression of the disease. It’s great if people purchase any of the items offered on the show, but the larger purpose is to tune them in to effective ways to take care of themselves, whether they ever purchase anything or not.
Encouraging people to take their medication and live a healhy life is a good thing no matter what other information is provided.

Some quotes courtesy of FORBES.

We have long heard – and written here – that diabetes is pretty overwhelming and insidious and can all but destroy your vision, your kidneys, circulation and more. We’ve even heard about a possible link to Alzheimer’s disease. Doctors have discovered more information regarding the link between Alzheimer’s and diabetes, as well as the possible speeding up of dementia.

Doctors long suspected diabetes damaged blood vessels that supply the brain. It now seems even more serious than thought before, that the damage may start before someone is diagnosed with full-blown diabetes, when the body is beginning to lose its ability to regulate blood sugar.

Alzheimer’s and dementia are both a little different, however, they are both affected by diabetes and it is important to do what is necessary to keep an eye on your diabetes and have your doctor be aware of both.

“Right now, we can’t do much about the Alzheimer’s disease pathology,” those sticky plaques that clog patients’ brains, says Dr. Yaakov Stern, an Alzheimer’s specialist at Columbia University Medical Center. But, “if you could control these vascular conditions, you might slow the course of the disease.”

More than 5 million Americans have Alzheimer’s, and cases already are projected to skyrocket in the next two decades as the population ages. The question is how much the simultaneous obesity-fueled epidemic of Type 2 diabetes may worsen that toll. In addition how will it be possible to treat and help the millions of people that will end up with the disease.

There are about 18 million people with Type 2 diabetes who are considered to have at least two to three
times a nondiabetic’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s. Still, Type 2 diabetes often leads to heart disease and other conditions that kill before Alzheimer’s typically strikes, in the 70s.

If you have diabetes, this is not a sure thing and you may never end up with dementia, stresses Dr. Ralph Nixon of New York University, vice chairman of the Alzheimer’s Association’s scientific advisory council. Dr. Nixion has made it clear that the prime risk factor for dementia are genetics.

“It by no means means that you’re going to develop Alzheimer’s disease, and certainly many people with Alzheimer’s don’t have diabetes,” he said.

The latest research strengthens the link, and scientists are researching diabetes and its relation to Alzheimer’s .
Some of the findings include the fact that brain functioning subtly slows as Type 2 diabetics’ blood-sugar rises, most often a long time before people have any obvious memory problems.

In a major national study, doctors gave a battery of cognitive tests to nearly 3,000 indiiduals with diabetes. For every 1 percentage point increase in their A1C score — an average of glucose control over a few months there were small but meaningful drops in memory, the ability to multitask, and other cognitive tasks. Wake Forest University scientists documented the findings last month in the Journal of Diabetes Care.

At Columbia, Stern is co-directing a a historical, critical and powerful study. Hundreds of aging New York City residents have agreed to regular testing while they were still healthy. They are allowing scientists to determine the very earliest signs of dementia. Stern tracked yearly changes in 156 who developed Alzheimer’s, and found that those who had a history of diabetes and high cholesterol worsened faster. His findings are reported in a special issue of Archives of Neurology dedicated to the Alzheimer’s-Diabetes link.

Type 2 diabetes occurs as a result of insulin resistance, as the body gradually loses sensitivity to this hormone that’s essential for turning blood sugar into energy. There is a similar effect in the brain which helps explain the dementia link, Dr. Suzanne Craft of the Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System concludes in a research review also published in that journal.

There are other factors — such as brain inflammation and cell-damaging oxidative stress — that can play a role, too. More affected is a dysfunction of glucose control that is not obvious and that does not suddenly begin after diabetes is diagnosed, in fact, as some of the other issues we have discussed, this is another issue that is quiet and insidious as it progresses.

If you have diabetes, closely follow your doctor”s advice for controlling it.
Try to lower high cholesterol and blood pressure that can harm the brain”s blood supply.
Eat a healthful diet and get plenty of exercise. See your doctor regularly and keep track of your symptoms.

Some information is quoted from The Associated Press.

Everyone reacts differently to physical and mental stress. Often, individuals dealing with stress are able to deal with it in a heathy way and stay calm or use various techniques to keep stress from escalating. Often it simply involves thinking things through and/or “talking themselves down” especially in situations where there is no immediate solution for the stress. But managing stress is particularly important to people with diabetes, since the body’s reaction to stress can trigger a dramatic change in blood glucose levels.

Anyone who is dealing with diabetes has at least some knowledge – hopefully more, rather than less – regarding the issues that blood glucose going up and down can do to your body and how you feel.

According to the American Diabetes Association, a diabetic’s “fight-or-flight” response to stress doesn’t work properly. In people with type 2 diabetes, this can trigger a dangerous increase in blood glucose. Stressed people with type 1 diabetes, however, may experience either a rise or fall in blood glucose.

In addition, people under stress often forget to take care of themselves. They may forget to exercise, eat the wrong foods, or drink too much alcohol. All of these habits can significantly affect blood sugar. On top of that, they can forget their medicine, not get enough sleep and various other things that can make things worse with their diabetes, their general health and just the way they feel while this stress and imbalance continues.

The ADA advises that you can learn to help control your reaction to stress. Performing relaxation techniques can help keep you calmer during stressful times, and making lifestyle changes can help avoid sources of stress altogether, the association says. to find information go onto any of the main search engines and look up stress – and there are a lot of pages that discuss stress, stress and heath plus dealing with stress.

Though stress can increase problem – be it diabetes or other health problems – the more we research and the more we are able to do, the better we will will be able to control our stress and the heathier we will be.

According to the American Diabetes Association, a diabetic’s “fight-or-flight” response to stress doesn’t work properly. In people with type 2 diabetes, this can trigger a dangerous increase in blood glucose. Stressed people with type 1 diabetes, however, may experience either a rise or fall in blood glucose.

In addition, people under stress often forget to take care of themselves. They may forget to exercise, eat the wrong foods, or drink too much alcohol. All of these habits can significantly affect blood sugar.

The ADA advises that you can learn to help control your reaction to stress. Performing relaxation techniques can help keep you calmer during stressful times, and making lifestyle changes can help avoid sources of stress altogether, the association says.

Here are some “Diabetes Daily Tips” from Msnbc

“People can reduce the likelihood of developing diabetes by taking charge of their lives in simple and healthy ways,” added Dr. Metz. “According to results of the Diabetes Prevention Program study, adults 60 and older who are at high risk for diabetes can reduce their likelihood of developing this disease by 71 percent over three years through healthy lifestyle interventions. We urge seniors to make these lifestyle changes to reduce the risk of diabetes and enhance their lives.”

Six Lifestyle Changes to Reduce Your Diabetes Risk

1. Eat Healthy, Whole Foods

Eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables daily, focusing on non-starchy green vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, green beans, and Brussels sprouts. Include dried beans such as kidney beans and lentils, and use brown rice and whole grain pasta rather than white rice and pastas. Eat fewer processed and pre-packaged foods.

2. Read Food Labels

On any pre-packaged or processed foods that you do buy, read the nutrition label first. Look for foods with labels showing they are low in fat and cholesterol. Eliminate foods with high sugar content, such as sodas and candy, and those with high levels of sodium. Be aware of the carbohydrates in the product. Research has shown that the type of carbohydrate (complex versus simple or refined) as well as the total amount of carbohydrate per serving can have a significant effect on blood sugar levels.

3. Maintain a Healthy Weight

Most people know that being overweight can increase their risk of chronic disease, such as heart disease and high blood pressure. But overweight and obesity are also the leading risk factors for pre-diabetes and diabetes. Check with your doctor to determine your target weight and make changes in your diet and exercise regimens to help you maintain that healthy weight.

4. Commit to an Exercise Program that You Enjoy

If the word “exercise” brings images of a drill sergeant demanding 20 more push-ups, it’s no wonder you might be intimidated. If this sounds like you, it’s time to rethink exercise. Remember that it can be social and fun (dancing and playing tennis), meditative (yoga), or it can challenge you to accomplish a goal (improving your golf game or planting that garden you’ve always dreamed about). Seniors who have specific exercise needs or physical challenges can hire a personal trainer or join a senior wellness program like Silver&Fit, which caters to the health and exercise needs of older adults. The key is to do something you enjoy so that you’ll stick with it for years to come. Always check with your doctor before starting a new exercise program to understand what level of exercise best suits your health status.

5. Know the Risk Factors for Diabetes

The primary risk factors for diabetes include overweight or obesity, high blood glucose levels, high blood pressure, unhealthy cholesterol, physical inactivity, smoking, a family history of diabetes, and ethnicity. According to the Centers for Disease Control, certain ethnic groups are at higher risk for diabetes including American Indians, Latino Americans, and African-Americans.

6. Get Regular Blood Glucose Checkups

Make a blood glucose test a regular part of your annual health checkup if you are an older adult. Make it a point to have a blood glucose test on Diabetes Alert Day this March!

“Reducing your risks for diabetes is an important step toward remaining healthy, happy, and independent your entire lifetime,” added Dr. Metz.

About Silver&Fit and American Specialty Health

Silver&Fit is a fitness and healthy aging program designed to help older adults achieve better health through regular exercise. Silver&Fit provides: a no-cost membership at a local participating fitness club, including use of cardiovascular equipment and weights, whirlpools, exercise classes, and saunas, where available; specialized senior exercise classes; access to an online health library, a quarterly newsletter and health monitors; a health store; and, support from Silver&Fit’s toll-free member services hotline and Web site. Unless required by their health plans, Silver&Fit members pay no copays, coinsurance, or deductibles to participate in these activities. Ask your Medicare Advantage plan if it offers the Silver&Fit program.

Silver&Fit is provided by American Specialty Health Incorporated (ASH) and its subsidiaries and is offered through contracts with certain Medicare Advantage plans. American Specialty Health is a national health and wellness company that provides wellness and prevention services, specialty network management programs, and fitness and exercise services to health plans, insurance carriers, employer groups, and trust funds. Based in San Diego, ASH has 700 employees and covers over 15 million members.
CONTACT: American Specialty Health Incorporated

Parts of this article are reprinted through Globe Newswire

It is widely known that depression is often connected with pregnancy – both during pregnancy and after pregnancy. It is also known that many women develop gestational diabetes when they are pregnant. When looking at all of these conditions together – pregnancy, diabetes and depression – there are many reasons for concern regarding what any or all of these conditions can do to a woman’s body and her unborn child.

A study of 11,000 low income pregnant woman revealed that low income women with diabetes who are pregnant or recently gave birth have twice the risk of getting depression as opposed to women who do not have diabetes. The study showed that it didn’t matter whether the women developed diabetes before or during pregnancy, or if they were taking insulin or oral medications. The risk of depression was still much stronger for women with diabetes.

“Those with diabetes have nearly twice the risk of depression during pregnancy and post-partum,” said the study’s lead author, Katy Backes Kozhimannil, a research fellow in the department of ambulatory care and prevention at Harvard Medical School in Boston. She added that women who’d never been depressed before appeared to be at risk, too. “One in 10 women who had no indication of prior depression received a diagnosis of depression within a year following delivery,” she said.

The study did not look at the reasons for the connection, but Kozhimannil said there are biological changes that occur with diabetes that might increase the risk of depression. She also said the stress of managing a chronic illness might contribute to the risk of depression.  In addition, the hormone changes that come with pregnancy are also a factor.

“Health-care facilities need to pay particular attention for depression in women with diabetes during the post-partum period,” said Kozhimannil. “Both diabetes and depression in the post-partum period are treatable.”

For quite some time Diabetes has been one of the leading causes of severe illness and linked to many deaths throughout the world with the U.S. leading the way until recently when the UK took the lead in the numbers of individuals with diabetes. Most of the rise in diabetes in both countries are attributed to obesity.

Type 1 Diabetes comes on usually during pre-teen and teen years. There is too much glucose in the blood and it can make you ill. Type 2 diabetes usually comes on gradually, often after the age of 35 or 40, however those figures are getting lower and lower. People who are extremely overweight are most likely to get Type 2 Diabetes.

Researchers have found that diabetes is affecting more and more people and more and more are being diagnosed in the UK, the US and other developed countries. Using a large database of medical records, studies were done on nearly 2 million people with diabetes in the UK. The studies showed that in 1996 in the UK, there was nearly 3% of UK citizens with diabetes. By 2005 there was an overall increase of 54%, with type 2 diabetes being up over 66%.

The researchers have also looked at the rise of diabetes in both countries over the past decade. Diabetes has increased in the US approximately 41% and 66% in the UK. The difference in the two countries could be that campaigns and research to deal with diabetes in the US has been going on longer than in the UK, creating an awareness and various programs to help control diabetes sooner in the US.

Regardless, it is important and essential that research continues, programs continue and awareness of how to avoid, treat and control diabetes also continue, no matter where it takes hold anywhere in the world.