Feature Channels: Diabetes

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People diagnosed with type 2 diabetes often resist taking insulin because they fear gaining weight, developing low blood sugar and seeing their quality of life decline.

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Childhood cancer survivors treated with total body or abdominal radiation may have an increased risk of diabetes, according to a report in the August 10/24 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. This correlation does not appear to be related to patients' body mass index or physical inactivity.

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Researchers at the Joslin Diabetes Center have linked another gene to a rare form of diabetes, a finding that could prove beneficial to those with the more common type 2 diabetes.

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A research team led by Dr. Tony Lam at the Toronto General Research Institute and the University of Toronto discovered a novel function of a hormone found in the gut that might potentially lower glucose levels in diabetes.

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Short sleep times, experienced by many individuals in Westernized societies, may contribute to the development of insulin resistance and reduced glucose tolerance, which in turn may increase the long-term risk of diabetes, according to a new study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).

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Taking the most commonly-prescribed anti-diabetic drug, metformin, reduces an individual's risk of developing pancreatic cancer by 62 percent, according to research from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, published in the Aug. 1 issue of Gastroenterology.

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Pediatric researchers have found that a gene previously shown to be involved in the development of type 2 diabetes also predisposes children to having a lower birth weight. The finding sheds light on a possible genetic influence on how prenatal events may set the stage for developing diabetes in later childhood or adulthood.

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Older patients with diabetes who take antipsychotic medications appear to have an increased risk of hospitalization for hyperglycemia (elevated blood glucose level), especially soon after beginning treatment, according to a report in the July 27 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

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The rates of serious complications among individuals with type 1 diabetes appear lower than reported historically, especially when patients are treated intensively, according to a report in the July 27 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

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A cellular protein that may prevent nerve cells from dying also helps to improve insulin action and lower blood glucose levels, according to a study by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University in collaboration with scientists at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

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Protein buildup changes the microenvironment of a key area of the pancreas, resulting in a hormone imbalance that ultimately leads to type 2 diabetes, according to a new study from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and collaborating institutions.

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Scientists have identified a master regulator gene for early embryonic development of the pancreas and other organs, putting researchers closer to coaxing stem cells into pancreatic cells as a possible cure for type1 diabetes. The study appears in the July 21 Developmental Cell.

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Black women ages 20 to 29 are more prone to pack on unhealthy abdominal and visceral fat than Hispanic women the same age, and as compared to their elders, according to researchers from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and colleagues.

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For years researchers have been searching for a way to treat diabetics by reactivating their insulin-producing beta cells, to no avail. Now, they may be one step closer. A protein, whose role in pancreatic development has long been recognized, has been discovered to play an additional and previously unknown regulatory role in the development of cells in the immature endocrine system. These cells ultimately give rise to pancreatic islet cells, which include beta cells.

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By understanding if bitterness sensitivity is linked to type 2 diabetes, there is a potential to screen individuals for bitterness sensitivity and to use that information as a predictive marker for the disease and other chronic disease such as heart disease and obesity.

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Persons with higher levels of adiponectin, a protein that is produced by fat cells and that has anti-inflammatory and insulin-sensitizing properties, have an associated lower risk of type 2 diabetes, according to an analysis of previous studies, reported in the July 8 issue of JAMA.

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New cooperation between UMass Amherst nutritionists"•expert in adipogenesis at the molecular level"•and a Korean medical center will explore Asian medicinal herbs as tools for managing the global epidemic of Type II diabetes and obesity now sweeping through developed and developing countries alike.

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Five articles recently posted online in the medical journal Diabetologia studied the possible connection between the use of insulin glargine (Lantus) and the development of cancer. While one of these studies suggested an increased risk of cancer, the other four did not come to the same conclusion.

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Tune in for the Vascular Disease Foundation's "Ask the Doctor" chat as Dr. Peter Sheehan answers general questions about diabetes and vascular disease live online! Join us on Tuesday, July 7 at 4pm EST.

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New study finds controlled glucose levels help decrease chance for complications.

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Men and smokers don't tend to follow up as often with heath-care professionals to manage their health condition: study.

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Spring Point Project gains Lions Clubs support in mission to provide an unlimited source of pig islet cells for human transplantation.

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Obesity is probably the most important factor in the development of insulin resistance, but science's understanding of the chain of events is still spotty. Now, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have filled in the gap and identified the missing link between the two. Their findings, to be published in the June 21, 2009 advance online edition of the journal Nature, explain how obesity sets the stage for diabetes and why thin people can become insulin-resistant.

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Men with low testosterone should have their hormone levels retested after they fast overnight because eating may transiently lower testosterone levels, a new study concludes. The results were presented at The Endocrine Society's 91st Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.

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New research from Mount Sinai School of Medicine has found that the price in New York and New Jersey of the medications most commonly prescribed for patients with diabetes varies widely depending on where you shop.

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Researchers at the University of Virginia Health System are reporting remarkable results from their pilot clinical study of the artificial pancreas, a computerized, subcutaneous system that could one day revolutionize the way Type 1 diabetics manage their disease.

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Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) will present new findings at the American Diabetes Association's 69th Scientific Sessions June 5 - 9. Research includes helping diabetes avoid post-exercise hypoglycemia and the role of pancreatic beta cells in the progression of diabetes.

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Mayo Clinic researchers have shown that very low doses of inhaled carbon monoxide in diabetic mice reverses the condition known as gastroparesis or delayed stomach emptying, a common and painful complication for many diabetic patients. The findings will be presented on June 1 at Digestive Disease Week in Chicago.

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The eyes may be the window into the soul, but they may also contain important medical information. According to new research to be presented at the American Thoracic Society's 105th International Conference in San Diego on May 19, patients with diabetes who have retinopathy should also be screened for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

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A common blood test for triglycerides may allow doctors to predict which patients with diabetes are more likely to develop the serious, common complication of neuropathy. A new study suggests that diabetes patients with neuropathy should control lipid counts as rigorously as they do glucose levels.

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Only slightly more than half of the 18 million Americans diagnosed with diabetes had their blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure under optimum control in 2006. And another 6 million Americans may have diabetes but don't know it.

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Research from the Johns Hopkins Children's Center reveals that the drug most commonly used in type 2 diabetics who don't need insulin works on a much more basic level than once thought, treating persistently elevated blood sugar "” the hallmark of type 2 diabetes "” by regulating the genes that control its production.

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A story about how type 2 diabetes symptoms can show up 10 years before diagnosis without warning.

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For patients with type 1 diabetes who need a kidney transplant, simultaneous pancreas-kidney (SPK) transplantation offers a higher survival rate than other options"”but with some increased risks, reports a study in an upcoming edition of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN). "This study helps patients with type 1 diabetes and their providers decide upon the best transplant treatment option," comments Alexander Wiseman, MD (University of Colorado).

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A drug widely used to treat Type 2 diabetes may have unintended effects on the pancreas that could lead to a form of low-grade pancreatitis in some patients and a greater risk of pancreatic cancer in long-term users. Sitagliptin, sold in pill form as Januvia, caused abnormalities in the pancreas of some test rats.

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Obese workers with type 2 diabetes report less productivity on the job than their normal-weight co-workers, and diabetes in itself has an effect on work impairment.

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Researchers at Rush University Medical Center have shown that depression is linked with the accumulation of visceral fat, the kind of fat packed between internal organs at the waistline, which has long been known to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

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Research promoting a painless new method for detecting diabetes, utilizing saliva, will be revealed Friday, May 15, at the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) 18th Annual Meeting & Clinical Congress in Houston, Texas.

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New research highlighting the relationship between steroids and insulin requirements suggests a possible treatment algorithm in post-liver transplant patients. This research will be presented on May 15, 2009 at the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) 18th Annual Meeting & Clinical Congress in Houston, Texas.

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Having hypoglycemic (low blood sugar level) episodes that are severe enough to require hospitalization are associated with a greater risk of dementia for older adults with type 2 diabetes, according to a study in the April 15 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on diabetes.

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The majority of patients with type 1 diabetes who underwent a certain type of stem cell transplantation became insulin free, several for more than three years, with good glycemic control, and also increased C-peptide levels, an indirect measure of beta-cell function, according to a study in the April 15 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on diabetes.

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The use of pancreatic islets (hormone-producing cells) is increasing in diabetes research and may play an important role in future treatments, according to an article in the April 15 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on diabetes.

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Researchers at the Joslin Diabetes Center have demonstrated that adult humans still have a type of "good" fat previously believed to be present only in babies and children.

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Researchers at the Joslin Diabetes Center have shown for the first time that insulin plays a key role in suppressing levels of glucagon, a hormone involved in carbohydrate metabolism and regulating blood glucose levels.

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People with diabetes who feel they have better control over life events are more likely to take good care of themselves and to believe they have the condition under control, but these factors do not translate to improved blood sugar levels, according to a new study from Duke University.

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New plain-language consumer and clinician guides compare the efficacy, effectiveness, and side effects of newer premixed insulin analogues to conventional insulin (human insulin) and other preparations used to control Type 2 diabetes.

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A study published online today in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that intensive blood glucose (sugar) control for critical care patients with hyperglycemia (high blood glucose) does not improve outcomes and is associated with an increase in deaths. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) maintain that the findings of the Normoglycemia in Intensive Care Evaluation-Survival Using Glucose Algorithm Regulation (NICE-SUGAR) study should NOT lead to an abandonment of the concept of good glucose management in the hospital setting.

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The amount of calcium your body absorbs might depend, in part, on the amount of dietary fiber you consume.

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The prevalence of diabetes is at least twice as high in some ethnic groups as it is in whites, even among people with similar body mass index (BMI) numbers, a large new study finds.

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An Indiana University School of Optometry faculty member's company is nearing completion of a diagnostic camera that could aid in saving the vision of millions of people worldwide.