Devices

Having a notebook to record blood glucose readings is something of the past… Diabetes is a chronic disease that needs continuous monitoring by patients for information about medical conditions in order to accomplish adequate self-care. Education is key to decrease the chances of developing further complications. Patients can gain some …

David Levy, MD, FRCP      Erectile dysfunction This is the commonest neuropathic complication: 20% of men have erectile dysfunction (ED) at diagnosis, increasing to 34% at 12 years (UKPDS). The prevalence in a newly diagnosed Kuwaiti population was 30%, and nearly 50% in a large survey of Canadians attending their primary-care physicians …

David Levy, MD, FRCP      Mononeuropathies and other focal syndromes Peripheral mononeuropathies Upper limb Carpal tunnel syndrome (median nerve) Carpal tunnel syndrome is very common (remember the association with primary hypothyroidism, especially in type 1 diabetes) and may present with atypical symptoms, as it is often superimposed on diabetic polyneuropathy. Consider it …

Firas El-Khatib, PhD, explains some of the details of how the current bionic pancreas works – with three devices – and how a future design will probably only have two devices with a combination insulin/glucagon pump system. He says that, although the bionic device is not a cure, it is …

Firas El-Khatib, PhD, gives us a short introduction to himself and then explains some of his work developing the bionic pancreas focusing especially on the challenges of developing an algorithm. He also discusses the very positive results of the most recent study where patients were able to fully utilize the …

  Engineers at MIT and the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) have devised a new way to detect cancer that has spread to the liver, by enlisting help from probiotics — beneficial bacteria similar to those found in yogurt…. Many types of cancer, including colon and pancreatic, tend …

Visual Health Solutions, Inc. Free (basic version) iOS/Android   If you’re looking for a way to motivate your patients to lose weight, this app could be a huge help. Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic and the University of Colorado Anschutz Health and Wellness Center, have developed the first "scientifically accurate, …

Fluctuating glucose levels in diabetic pregnant women, revealed through continuous glucose monitoring, is associated with bigger babies… Achieving better glucose control in pregnant women with diabetes by using continuous glucose monitoring may help them give birth to healthier children, new research from the University of Leeds says. Up to 50% …

A Columbia Nursing study has found that nurses equipped with a decision support smartphone app using evidence-based guidelines diagnosed more chronic health issues…   Smartphones and tablets may hold the key to getting more nurses to diagnose patients with chronic health issues like obesity, smoking, and depression — three of …

David Levy, MD, FRCP Introduction Insulin treatment in type 1 diabetes is substitution/replacement hormone treatment, but replacement is much more variable and difficult to achieve than in other hormone deficiencies (e.g. thyroid, adrenal, gonadal hormones) because of the minute-by-minute variation in insulin secretion by the intact pancreas, which cannot yet be …