Facts

BPA Again Tied to Diabetes Risk

A new study suggests that people with higher urinary levels of the controversial chemical have a higher risk of diabetes. Bisphenol A (BPA) is a so-called endocrine disruptor, which means it may affect normal hormone activity in the body. This...

Decaf Impairs Glucose Metabolism

Decaf Impairs Glucose Metabolism: Some types of decaffeinated coffee may acutely impair glucose metabolism but less than caffeine. The results showed that, within the first hour of the OGTT, glucose and insulin were higher for decaffeinated coffee...

Five Reasons Why Type 1 Diabetes is on the Rise

Five Reasons Why Type 1 Diabetes is on the Rise: A 2009 study in The Lancet found that new cases of Type 1 diabetes in kids could double in the next 10 years. Possible reasons for this dramatic rise include: (1)Too big too fast. The "accelerator...

US Ponders Populationwide Salt-reduction Policies

US Ponders Populationwide Salt-reduction Policies: In most developed countries, more than 75% of the salt consumed comes from processed foods. The WHO advises that adults consume no more than 5g per day. The average consumption of salt in most...

Experts Design Tiny Beads to Monitor Blood Sugar

Experts Design Tiny Beads to Monitor Blood Sugar: Minimally invasive glucose sensors could be fabricated using the beads for people who need to continuously monitor their blood glucose levels. When implanted, the glowing, fluorescent beads can...

Obesity Linked to Lower Paychecks

Obese Americans have smaller paychecks than those who aren't overweight, and this difference is especially strong among women, a new study finds. The analysis of data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth revealed that in 2004, overall...

FDA Approves Labeling Changes for All Statins

These clarifications include but are not limited to: Use may be associated with hyperglycemia and elevated A1c; Use may be associated with the potential for cognitive adverse effects; Periodic monitoring of liver function tests is no longer...

America's Waistlines Grow and Costs Soar

U.S. hospitals are ripping out wall-mounted toilets and replacing them with floor models to better support obese patients. The Federal Transit Administration wants buses to be tested for the impact of heavier riders on steering and braking. Cars...

Memphis Is the Fattest City in the US

With nearly a third of its population considered obese, Memphis is America's fattest city, says Newsweek. It's the city that turned barbecue into an art form and bought a special ambulance this March to transport super-sized patients....

Yogurt Drink Good for Diabetes

A Middle Eastern yogurt drink known as "doogh" and fortified with vitamin D decreased inflammatory markers in people with type 2 diabetes, researchers found. Those who drank the doogh fortified with vitamin D, or vitamin D plus calcium, had...

Eating Eggs Increases HDL Metabolism and Reduces Appetite

A new study has suggested that a carbohydrate-restricted diet with some individuals eating three whole eggs per day and others eating an equivalent amount of egg substitute improved HDL measures. Participants in the study were followed for 12...

One Million More American Adults Slipped into a Sedentary Lifestyle in 2011

The number of inactive persons in the U.S. increased to 68.2 million in 2011 from 67.2 million in 2010, according to a new report from the Physical Activity Council. To combat this, Utah and other states have begun programs to increase activity...

Belief in Self Linked to Better Diabetes Control

Belief in yourself and your own skills may help to improve your diabetes management. A recent study found that people who had high self-efficacy had better control of their diabetes. Self-efficacy is the belief and confidence in a person's own ab...

High Fiber Makes a Difference in Controlling Diabetes

R.E. Post of Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston and colleagues led the study, finding that dietary fiber can both reduce fasting blood glucose and improve HbA1c in type 2 patients. The authors say previous studies did not come to the...

Losing Belly Fat Improves Blood Vessels

Overweight people who lose weight, especially belly fat, can improve blood vessel function no matter what diet they choose, U.S. researchers say. They studied 60 men and women who weighed an average of 215 pounds at the start of the program. Half...

Prevalence of Diabetic Retinopathy May Exceed 90 Million People

Based on data from nearly 23,000 people with diabetes, the age-standardized prevalence of any diabetic retinopathy was 34.6%, which translates into an estimated 92.6 million adults worldwide. The prevalence of PDR was 6.96% (about 17.2 million...

Walnuts Boost Memory and Improve Cognitive Function

Walnut consumption in a Mediterranean diet was associated with better memory scores and cognitive function. In a recent study, results suggested that antioxidants present in walnuts and other Mediterranean dietary patterns may help counteract...

One Third of Empty Calories Come from Snacks

The ARS Food Surveys Research Group analysis looked at data on US snacking habits, taken from interviews with more than 5,000 adults 20 years or older. The latest data show that the empty calories from snacks account for about 32% of the daily...

Prediabetes Linked to Complications? New Research May Break that Link

A recent study found that the rates of diabetic polyneuropathy are similar in people with prediabetes and healthy people. This finding suggests that prediabetes may not be to blame for many cases of nerve damage and does not directly cause higher...

NDDP Gets $10 million in Funding

The Department of Health and Human Services is providing $10 million in fiscal year 2012 funding for the CDC's National Diabetes Prevention Program. The NDPP is an initiative, authorized in 2010, which provides local communities with lifestyle...

Endocrinologists Would Prescribe Bydureon for 20 Percent of Patients

Endocrinologists would prescribe a newly approved weekly treatment for Type 2 diabetes to one-fifth of their patients, a new survey showed. Decision Resources announced the results of a survey of US endocrinologists who said they would prescribe...

Valentine's Day Is the Worst Time to Kiss

Be careful when you kiss this Valentine's Day. "Mid-February is usually the peak season for infectious diseases, such as the seasonal and H1N1 flu, mononucleosis, colds and coughs," says Jorge Parada, MD, medical director, infectious disease at...

"Spam" in a Can Tied to Diabetes Risk

Native Americans who often ate processed meat in a can (generically known as "spam," a common food on reservations, and subsidized by the U.S. government) had a two-fold increased risk of developing diabetes over those who ate little or none,...

Fewer Diabetes Patients Lose Limbs

A study found that fewer diabetes patients are being hospitalized for foot or leg amputations, though they're still at higher risk of losing a limb than the general population. Among diabetes patients ages 40 and up, hospital discharge rates for...

Low Pregnancy Vitamin D Levels Up Child's Diabetes Risk

Lower maternal serum concentrations of 25-hydroxy-vitamin D (25-OH D) during pregnancy are associated with an increased risk of offspring developing type 1 diabetes during childhood, according to a study. Using radioimmunoassay, 25-OH D levels were...

FDA Grants Clearance for the Freestyle Test Strip to be Used with Insulet's OmniPod System

The FDA has notified the company that the new Abbott Freestyle test strip has been cleared for use with the OmniPod system. The companies are in the midst of updating the product label and will be communicating with customers once that has been...

Rates of Obesity Doubled in 30 Years

The world is becoming a heavier place. Obesity rates worldwide have doubled in the last three decades, even as blood pressure and cholesterol levels have dropped, according to three new studies published last week, in The Lancet. Researchers said...

Most Americans Gain Almost 2 Pounds Over the Holidays

And they don't typically lose the weight they gained when the holidays are over. That's the finding in a New England Journal of Medicine study. Dec. 2011.

Linagliptin Trial Results In

Linagliptin, a DPP-4 inhibitor currently under clinical development for type 2 diabetes, produced "meaningful" reductions in blood sugar, according to results of a late-stage clinical study. The results of a 24-week, open-label arm of a phase-3...

The Four Drugs Which Cause the Most Adverse Events

Adverse drug events (ADEs) cause an estimated 100,000 emergency hospitalizations for seniors each year, yet two thirds involve just a handful of anticoagulants and diabetes medications. A study by researchers from the US CDC, singles out 4 drugs...

More Physicians Embrace Web-Based Health Solutions

Datamonitor, the London-based market research firm, estimates the market for telehealth services in the U.S. and Europe will grow from $3 billion in 2009 to nearly $8 billion by 2012. A 2010 survey by Intel also found that 89% of health care...

Metformin May Reduce Risk of Cancer

Metformin may reduce the risk of diabetes-associated cancers, including breast cancer. Michigan State University pediatrics professor James Trosko and colleagues from South Korea's Seoul National University focused on the concept that cancers...

New GDM Diagnosis Criteria and Testing

International Association of Diabetes and Pregnancy Study Group have proposed new guidelines to test for GDM with a 2 hour 75 gram oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). GDM can be diagnosed if the woman exceeds any one of these glucose thresholds:...

Oral Insulin Substitute Could Replace Injections

Erik Helmerhorst, professor at Curtin University, and colleagues, looked at three million compounds on pharmaceutical databases over 10 years to try to emulate the molecular map of insulin. They found one, and are developing it to "take the needle...

Vegetarian Diet Lowers Diabetes Risk Among African-Americans

In the study, led by Serena Tonstad, African-American participants who followed a vegetarian diet and exercised at least three times a week significantly reduced the risk of diabetes. Vegan African-Americans had a 70% reduced risk of diabetes,...

Schools Struggle to Feed Kids Healthy Food

Schools Struggle to Feed Kids Healthy Food: The No. 1 meal served to children in U.S. schools is chicken fingers and French fries. Processed food is much cheaper to serve than fresh produce. A 2009 study published in the Journal of the American...

Europe Holds Firm on Actos, Allowing It to Stay

A committee for the European Medicines Agency has reaffirmed an earlier decision to allow the type 2 diabetes drug pioglitazone (Actos) to remain on the market despite a risk of bladder cancer. In July, the Committee for Medicinal Products for...

Parenthood Correlated With Significant Weight Gain

This will come as little surprise to those with kids but being a parent speeds up weight gain over a lifetime, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Texas at Austin and other universities. They analyzed data from a national...

FDA Approves Cialis for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia

The FDA has approved Cialis (tadalafil) as a once-daily treatment for men with erectile dysfunction and benign prostatic hyperplasia, also known as BPH, as well as for BPH alone. BPH is a condition in which the prostate enlarges, which can cause...

Glucose Variability Affects Hemoglobin A1c

At any given average glucose level, high variability results in higher glycosylated hemoglobin level. In a study involving 427 diabetic patients (63% had type 1 diabetes), investigators obtained about 2700 blood glucose measurements per patient...