Bone & Joint

Diabetic patients with poor control of blood glucose face an increased risk of post-surgical complications and death following total hip or knee arthroplasty, according to a new study.

Diabetics undergoing total joint replacement often are at a higher risk of experiencing complications after surgery due to various pre-existing health conditions, but those complications are less likely to occur when a diabetic patient has glucose levels under control.

Dr. Aaron Vinik, principle investigator for the study at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, is testing a new diabetes drug, Prochymal.  It’s part of a first-of-its-kind study for finding a possible cure.

Lead author Claudia Sedlinsky, MD, of GIOMM – La Plata National University, La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina stated that, both metformin and rosiglitazone are widely used in the treatment of Type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome. 

The largest study to date looking at whether the risk of bone fractures is increased in the setting of thiazolidinedione drugs (TZDs) suggests that fracture risk is more than 40% higher in people taking TZDs and that both men and women are vulnerable 

Researchers have found that transplanting cells that replenish blood vessels can also restore nerve function in an animal model of diabetic neuropathy.

Long-term use of a class of drugs for type 2 diabetes doubles a woman’s risk of breaking a bone, research suggests.

People with type 1 diabetes who undergo total hip or knee replacement generally fare worse than people with type 2 diabetes, who in turn do worse than non-diabetic patients, according to study findings.

Researchers at Columbia University in New York have discovered that certain bone cells produce a hormone called osteocalcin, which influences beta-cell proliferation and controls the metabolism of blood sugar (glucose) and fat deposits through previously unknown mechanisms.

Researchers have used cells from human bone marrow to repair damaged pancreatic beta cells in mice. The study offers hopes that these stem cells could be used to treat diabetes in humans. The stem cells also halted damage to the kidneys caused by diabetes.