Facts

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 age-related cognitive decline and reduce the incidence of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s. The investigators believe that …

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 rates of diabetic neuropathies, even though the condition precedes …

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 change programs for preventing type 2 diabetes. “Expansion of the NDDP will allow …

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 Bydureon to 20% of their patients taking into consideration the reimbursement hurdles and …

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 Loyola University Health System. “And drinking from the same wine glass or sharing …

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, according to a U.S. study. Native Americans are at especially …

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 nontraumatic lower-extremity amputation fell an average of 8.6% per year …

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 same conclusion as to how dietary fiber would affect …

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 completed, probably next week. The latest version …

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 measured on late pregnancy samples from 109 women whose offspring developed type 1 diabetes before …