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There are mainly two types of diabetes, type-1 and type-2 diabetes. Type-2 diabetes is much more common than type-1 diabetes. Type-2 diabetes accounts for almost 90% of all cases diabetes. Diabetes is an extremely common disease all over the world. Currently nearly 17 million Americans suffer from this disease. Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States. Despite the fact that about 17 million Americans have type-2 diabetes only half of these people are aware that they have diabetes. People who suffer from diabetes have lower survival rates compared to those who have no diabetes. Patients with diabetes have 11-fold increased mortality compared to persons without the disease. Type-2 diabetes affects the elderly population than the younger folks.

The occurrence of diabetes in persons 45 to 64 years of age is 7 percent, but the diagnosis rate significantly increases in persons 65 years of age or older. All over the world, Type-2 diabetes accounts for more than 90% of all diabetes. Over 100 million people worldwide have type-2 diabetes, and the prevalence is increasing significantly in both the developed and developing worlds. Type-2 diabetes is a lifelong chronic illness, which generally starts in middle age or later part of life, but can start at any age.

Protein reverses diabetic retinopathy in mice

Two major eye diseases and leading causes of blindnessage-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathycan be reversed or even prevented by drugs that activate a protein found in blood vessel cells, scientists at the University of Utah School of Medicine and several other institutions have announced in a new study. Damage from both diseases was prevented and even reversed when the protein, Robo4, was activated in mice models that........Go to the Diabetes-watch-blog (Added on 3/16/2008 9:27:42 PM)

ADVANCE diabetes trial

Data from the ADVANCE Study, involving 11,140 high-risk patients with type 2 diabetes, provides no evidence of an increased risk of death among those patients receiving aggressive therapy to lower blood glucose.........Go to the Diabetes-watch-blog (Added on 2/28/2008 10:14:59 PM)

Intensive blood sugar treatment on trial

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health has stopped one therapy within a large, ongoing North American clinical trial of diabetes and cardiovascular disease 18 months early due to safety concerns after review of available data, eventhough the study will continue. In this trial of adults with type 2 diabetes at particularly high risk for heart attack and stroke, the medical strategy to........Go to the Diabetes-watch-blog (Added on 2/6/2008 9:30:24 PM)

Carrot cake study on sugar in type 2 diabetes

Patients with type 2 diabetes are often advised to cut out sucrose (table sugar) all together. However, in recent years this traditional advice has been questioned by some scientists who suggest that moderate amounts of sugar can be safely consumed as part of the diet of patients with diabetes. Now a new study has been published that is consistent with this revised approach. It showed that patients who increased their daily sugar intake (in the........Go to the Diabetes-watch-blog (Added on 1/8/2008 9:40:59 PM)

Smoking associated with increased risk of diabetes

A review of prior studies indicates that people who currently smoke have an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, compared with non-smokers, as per an article in the December 12 issue of JAMA. Many studies have examined the association between smoking and occurence rate of glucose abnormalities, and have suggested that smoking could be independently linked to glucose intolerance, impaired fasting glucose and type 2 diabetes, which........Go to the Diabetes-watch-blog (Added on 12/11/2007 10:44:08 PM)

Transporters and diabetes-related retinal damage

Two transporters that deliver alternative energy sources to the eye may help delay retinal damage that can occur in diabetes, scientists say. The transporters, SMCT1 and SMCT2, can circumvent the eye's protective blood-retinal barrier, delivering energy sources lactate and ketone bodies to a healthy eye, says Dr. Pamela Martin, biochemist at the Medical College of Georgia. In diabetes, characterized by plenty of glucose but the inability........Go to the Diabetes-news-blog (Added on 11/28/2007 9:56:44 PM)

Pedometers motivate people with diabetes to walk more

The use of a pedometer and a Web site that tracked physical activity levels proved to be powerful motivators for people with diabetes who participated in a recent walking study conducted by scientists from the University of Michigan Health System and VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System. The study also suggests that certain types of goal-setting may be more effective than others. All participants in the study wore pedometers and received automated........Go to the Diabetes-watch-blog (Added on 11/19/2007 8:22:46 PM)

Gene's Role in Type 1 Diabetes

Scientists at the University of Virginia Health System have identified an enzyme believed to be an important instigator of the inner-body conflict that causes Type 1 diabetes. A chronic condition that affects nearly three million American children and adults, Type 1 diabetes is more severe than Type 2. Type 1 diabetes, also called autoimmune diabetes, arises when the body's infection-fighting white blood cells start destroying the beta-cells........Go to the Diabetes-watch-blog (Added on 11/7/2007 7:49:34 PM)

High Blood Pressure Heart Disease And Diabetes

High-blood-pressure patients treated for enlarged heart (left ventricular hypertrophy, LVH) who have regression or prevention of LVH may also have a better chance of preventing diabetes. Led by physician-researchers at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, the research is reported in the November Hypertension, a journal of the American Heart Association (AHA). An estimated 20 percent of all high-blood-pressure patients,........Go to the Diabetes-watch-blog (Added on 10/31/2007 7:19:21 PM)

The new source of islet cells

The shortage of islet cells limits the development of islet transplantation. One new approach was published in the October 21 issue of the World Journal of Gastroenterology because of its great significance in enhancing the output of islet cells. This article will undoubtedly bring benefit to diabetic patients. The article describes the differentiation of rat pancreatic ductal epithelial cells into insulin-producing cells by the transfection........Go to the Diabetes-watch-blog (Added on 10/26/2007 5:11:41 AM)

Potential role of leptin in diabetes

A new Joslin-led study has shown that leptin, a hormone known mainly for regulating appetite control and energy metabolism, plays a major role in islet cell growth and insulin secretion. This finding opens up new avenues for studying leptin and its role in islet cell biology, which may lead to new therapys for diabetes. This study appears in the October 2007 issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation. Prior in vitro studies suggested........Go to the Diabetes-watch-blog (Added on 10/1/2007 9:09:52 PM)

Smart Insulin Nanostructures Pass Feasibility Test

Biomedical engineers at The University of Texas School of Health Information Sciences at Houston have announced pre-clinical test results in the recent issue of the International Journal of Nanomedicine demonstrating the feasibility of a smart particle insulin release system that detects spikes in glucose or blood sugar levels and releases insulin to counteract them. Designed to mimic functions of the pancreas which produces the blood-sugar........Go to the Diabetes-watch-blog (Added on 9/21/2007 5:34:04 AM)

How Cells From Pigs May Cure Diabetes

Within three years, insulin-producing islet cells from pigs may be used in clinical trials on a path to finally cure insulin dependant diabetes. This key finding was the discovery of Dr. Bernhard Hering, Scientific Director of the Diabetes Institute for Immunology & Transplantation at the University of Minnesota and his team, who documented their medical breakthrough in the prestigious scientific journal Nature Medicine in March of 2006. ........Go to the Diabetes-watch-blog (Added on 9/12/2007 7:58:24 PM)

How insulin secreting cells maintain their glucose sensitivity

Researchers at the leading Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have now disclosed the mystery how the insulin-secreting cells maintain an appropriate number of ATP sensing ion channel proteins on their surface. This mechanism, which is described in the latest number of Cell Metabolism, explains how the human body can keep the blood glucose concentration within the normal range and thereby avoid the development of diabetes. Blood........Go to the Diabetes-news-blog (Added on 9/6/2007 5:08:13 AM)

Treating diabetes during pregnancy

Treating diabetes during pregnancy can break the link between gestational diabetes and childhood obesity, as per a Kaiser Permanente study featured in the recent issue of Diabetes Care. The largest study of its kind, this research shows that the risk of childhood obesity rises in tandem with a pregnant womans blood sugar level and that untreated gestational diabetes nearly doubles a child's risk of becoming obese by age 5 to 7. The study........Go to the Diabetes-watch-blog (Added on 8/28/2007 9:22:37 PM)

Reducing inflammation plays as type 1 diabetes therapy

BOSTON -- Scientists at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) have observed that a triple combination treatment consisting of both tolerance-inducing and anti-inflammatory properties is successful in abolishing adverse autoimmunity against insulin-producing cells in a mouse model of Type 1 diabetes. The findings, which appear in the Online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) this week, offer a........Go to the Diabetes-watch-blog (Added on 7/31/2007 9:48:37 PM)

Insulin grown in plants relieves diabetes in mice

Capsules of insulin produced in genetically modified lettuce could hold the key to restoring the bodys ability to produce insulin and help millions of Americans who suffer from insulin-dependent diabetes, as per University of Central Florida biomedical researchers. Professor Henry Daniells research team genetically engineered tobacco plants with the insulin gene and then administered freeze-dried plant cells to five-week-old diabetic mice as........Go to the Diabetes-watch-blog (Added on 7/30/2007 8:18:14 PM)

Shielding the brain from too much insulin can prolong life

One route to a long and healthy life may be establishing the right balance in insulin signaling in the body and brain, as per new research from Children's Hospital Boston. The study, reported in the July 20 issue of Science, not only reinforces the value of exercising and eating in moderation, but also helps explain a paradox in longevity research. Insulin sends a vital signal in the body, telling cells to use sugar from the blood. When........Go to the Diabetes-news-blog (Added on 7/19/2007 10:40:48 PM)

Rapid-acting insulin: superiority not proven

There is currently no evidence available of a superiority of rapid-acting insulin analogues over human insulin in the therapy of adult patients with diabetes mellitus type 1. The evidential value and design of studies available so far are inadequate and do not allow conclusions regarding most patient-relevant treatment goals, such as the reduction in long-term complications or overall mortality. Due to the lack of data, the benefit of........Go to the Diabetes-watch-blog (Added on 7/17/2007 10:23:14 PM)

Gene discovered for type 1 diabetes in children

Pediatrics scientists at The Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia and McGill University in Montreal have identified a gene variant that raises a childs risk for type 1 diabetes, formerly called juvenile diabetes. As researchers continue to pinpoint genes contributing to diabetes, they have their eyes on providing a scientific basis for designing better therapys and preventive measures for the disease. The research adds a new gene and new........Go to the Diabetes-watch-blog (Added on 7/15/2007 9:11:01 PM)

Pumpkin: A fairytale end to insulin injections?

Compounds found in pumpkin could potentially replace or at least drastically reduce the daily insulin injections that so a number of diabetics currently have to endure. Recent research reveals that pumpkin extract promotes regeneration of damaged pancreatic cells in diabetic rats, boosting levels of insulin-producing beta cells and insulin in the blood, reports Lisa Richards in Chemistry & Industry, the magazine of the SCI. A group, led by........Go to the Diabetes-watch-blog (Added on 7/8/2007 10:12:59 PM)

Pharmacists To Help Diabetes Sufferers

A new Wesley Research Institute project aims to make it much easier for people to manager their Type 2 Diabetes by using community pharmacists. There are more than one million Australians with Type 2 Diabetes who are at an increased risk of developing serious health problems including heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and blindness. Chief investigator of the project, Mr David Brand of The Wesley Pharmacy, said this study had the........Go to the Diabetes-news-blog (Added on 7/5/2007 9:44:04 PM)

helping obese diabetics lose weight

A plate and cereal bowl with markers for proper portion sizes appear to help obese patients with diabetes lose weight and decrease their use of glucose-controlling medications, according to a report in the June 25 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Between 1960 and 2000, the proportion of U.S. adults who were obese increased from 13.4 percent to 30.9 percent, according to background information in the........Go to the Diabetes-news-blog (Added on 6/25/2007 9:20:14 PM)

Potential New Target For Type 2 Diabetes

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have discovered a potential new target for treating type 2 diabetes, according to a new study that appeared online this week in Nature. The target is a protein, along with its molecular partner, that regulates fat metabolism. “Over the last 10 years, we have begun to understand the importance of fat metabolism in diabetes,” notes lead author Morris J. Birnbaum, MD, PhD, the........Go to the Diabetes-news-blog (Added on 6/10/2007 8:54:52 PM)

Sleep apnea may increase risk of diabetes

Scientists at the Yale University School of Medicine have observed that patients with obstructive sleep apnea are at increased risk for developing of type II diabetes, independent of other risk factors. The findings are being presented at the American Thoracic Society 2007 International Conference, on Monday, May 21. The study looked at 593 patients at the VA Connecticut Health Care System referred for evaluation of sleep-disordered........Go to the Diabetes-news-blog (Added on 5/21/2007 11:43:08 AM)

Gene linked to severe diabetic eye

Scientists at the John A. Moran Eye Center at the University of Utah and collaborative institutions have identified a gene called erythropoietin (EPO) that contributes to increased risk of severe diabetic eye and kidney diseases, called retinopathy and nephropathy. The sight-threatening form of diabetic retinopathy, termed proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR), is the most common cause of legal blindness in working-aged adults in the........Go to the Diabetes-watch-blog (Added on 5/5/2008 8:18:40 PM)

Diabetes Drug To Treat Depression

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are seeking individuals who have depression and are overweight to volunteer for a study evaluating whether a diabetes drug might help improve mood. The five-year, NIH-funded study seeks 200 people with depression who are overweight and at risk for developing diabetes. Participants will be screened for depression and insulin resistance, one of the first signs of developing........Go to the Diabetes-watch-blog (Added on 2/7/2008 9:25:33 PM)

Diabetes makes it hard for blood vessels to relax

One way diabetes is bad for your blood vessels is by creating too much competition for an amino acid that helps blood vessels relax, scientists say. That amino acid, L-arginine, is broken down by the enzyme arginase to urea, which helps the body eliminate toxins resulting from the proteins we eat. Diabetics have a lot of arginase activity, which means they use a lot more L-arginine, says Dr. Maritza Romero, postdoctoral fellow at the Medical........Go to the Diabetes-watch-blog (Added on 1/31/2008 8:53:33 PM)

Notch-ing glucose into place

A novel gene called rumi regulates Notch signaling by adding a glucose molecule to the part of the Notch protein that extends outside a cell, said researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and Stony Brook University in New York in a report that appears today in the journal Cell. Cellular signaling governed by the Notch protein determines cell fate determination and differentiation. The complete loss of rumi causes a........Go to the Diabetes-watch-blog (Added on 1/28/2008 5:19:03 AM)

Researchers trigger insulin production in diabetic mice

If the human body were a stage, then proteins would rank among the lead actors in the play we call Life. These large biological molecules hold a number of starring roles, and their lines are dictated by information encoded in our genes. They are production powerhouses, regulating the basic processes of living and controlling countless functions. A number of are enzymes that produce or use energy. Others regulate genes. Scientists are........Go to the Diabetes-watch-blog (Added on 1/8/2008 8:42:07 PM)

Sleep duration raises the risk for diabetes

The most common factors believed to contribute to diabetes are a decreased amount of physical activity and access to highly palatable processed foods. However, there is growing evidence that another aspect of our modern lifestyle, short sleep duration, is also contributing toward the diabetes epidemic, as per a research studyreported in the December 1 issue of the journal SLEEP. The study, authored by James E. Gangwisch, PhD, of Columbia........Go to the Diabetes-watch-blog (Added on 12/2/2007 9:01:51 PM)

Pathway to increased inflammation in diabetes patients

Scientists at UC Davis Health System have discovered a novel pathway that results in increased inflammation of blood vessels in patients with type 1 diabetes. Their findings suggest that, with good diabetes control, this inflammation may be reduced, possibly resulting in a reduction of cardiovascular disease as well. In a study now available both in the online edition of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism as well on the........Go to the Diabetes-watch-blog (Added on 11/27/2007 8:59:10 PM)

Older people with diabetes face a heavy burden

As if diabetes werent enough to handle, a new study shows that 92 percent of older people with the disease have at least one other major chronic medical condition and that nearly half have three or more major diseases besides their diabetes. The sheer number, and the severity, of these other conditions appears to decrease patients ability to manage their diabetes. The type of co-existing condition also matters, as diabetes self-care lags........Go to the Diabetes-watch-blog (Added on 11/13/2007 8:47:14 PM)

Diabetic drugs does not impair ability to survive heart attack

Mayo Clinic scientists helped clarify a growing concern about the link between diabetes mellitus therapys and heart attack with the first large, population-based study showing that a group of common medications does not reduce diabetic patients heart attack survival rates. These results were presented today at the American Heart Associations Scientific Sessions 2007 in Orlando, Fla. The drugs studied are called sulfonylureas and include........Go to the Diabetes-watch-blog (Added on 11/5/2007 8:20:33 PM)

Cross-species transplant toward diabetes cure

With an eye on curing diabetes, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have successfully transplanted embryonic pig pancreatic cells destined to produce insulin into diabetic macaque monkeys all without the need for risky immune suppression drugs that prevent rejection. The transplanted cells, known as primordia, are in the earliest stages of developing into pancreatic tissues. Within several weeks of the........Go to the Diabetes-watch-blog (Added on 10/19/2007 5:02:22 AM)

Alzheimer's disease as form of diabetes

Insulin, it turns out, may be as important for the mind as it is for the body. Research in the last few years has raised the possibility that Alzheimers memory loss could be due to a novel third form of diabetes. Now researchers at Northwestern University have discovered why brain insulin signaling -- crucial for memory formation -- would stop working in Alzheimers disease. They have shown that a toxic protein found in the brains of........Go to the Diabetes-watch-blog (Added on 9/26/2007 8:35:06 PM)

Metabolic syndrome and uric-acid kidney stones

Scientists at UT Southwestern Medical Center have observed that patients suffering from the metabolic syndrome - a cluster of conditions that increases the risk for heart disease, stroke and diabetes - also have a propensity to develop highly acidic urine, which increases the risk of developing kidney stones. The first study, to demonstrate this relationship independent of age and renal function, appears in the recent issue of the Clinical........Go to the Diabetes-watch-blog (Added on 9/14/2007 5:21:01 AM)

New drug to improve pregnancy outcomes

Women who are obese, have type 2 diabetes or a family history of type 2 diabetes could one day have more successful pregnancies because of a study at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. This study, performed in mice, suggests that Metformin, the most usually prescribed anti-diabetes drug, could potentially improve pregnancy outcomes in women with insulin resistance. We observed that embryos of insulin-resistant mice........Go to the Diabetes-watch-blog (Added on 9/6/2007 9:45:26 PM)

How insulin TORC2 blood sugar levels

La Jolla, CA With the help of genetically engineered mice whose livers turned into glowing light bulbs, scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have illuminated the underpinnings of an insidious and growing health concern type II diabetes. In the study reported in the September 5 advanced online edition of Nature, the scientists report that a protein called TORC2 serves as a key biochemical control point linking feeding,........Go to the Diabetes-news-blog (Added on 9/6/2007 5:10:17 AM)

Right breakfast bread keeps blood sugar

If you eat the right grains for breakfast, such as whole-grain barley or rye, the regulation of your blood sugar is facilitated after breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It was previously not known that certain whole-grain products have this effect all day. This is due to a combination of low GI (glycemic index) and certain type of indigestible carbohydrates that occur in certain grain products. The findings are presented in a dissertation from the........Go to the Diabetes-watch-blog (Added on 9/6/2007 4:55:40 AM)

Discovery of 'sugar sensor' in intestine

Diabetes patients could benefit from new research at the University of Liverpool that has identified a molecule in the intestine that can taste the sugar content of the diet. Scientists observed that the sweet taste receptor that senses sugar and artificial sweeteners is not only present in the tongue, but also in the intestine. The discovery will open new avenues for the therapy of diabetes and obesity, as well as suggest reasons for why........Go to the Diabetes-watch-blog (Added on 8/21/2007 5:51:23 PM)

New Diabetes Toll On New York City

The diabetes epidemic is taking a large and growing toll on New York City, a new Health Department report shows, as death rates, debilitating complications, and hospitalization costs soar. Some 500,000 New Yorkers one out of eight adults have been diagnosed with diabetes. Another 200,000 have diabetes but dont yet know it. The death rate from diabetes rose by 75% between 1990 and 2003. The new publication, which synthesizes research........Go to the Diabetes-watch-blog (Added on 7/25/2007 5:11:44 AM)

Rosiglitazone for type 2 diabetes

New studies are needed to assess the trade-offs between potential benefits and potential harms when rosiglitazone is used by people with type 2 diabetes. This Cochrane Systematic Review analysed data from 18 trials that involved a total of 8432 people and found no evidence that rosiglitazone led to better patient outcomes when compared with other therapies. Diabetic control (as measured by levels of HbA1c) was no better in patients given........Go to the Diabetes-news-blog (Added on 7/17/2007 10:51:14 PM)

Diabetics experience more complications following trauma

Individuals with diabetes appear to spend more days in the intensive care unit, use more ventilator support and have more complications during hospitalization for trauma than non-diabetics, as per a report in the recent issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Approximately 17 million Americans have diabetes, with one-third remaining undiagnosed, as per background information in the article. These patients develop........Go to the Diabetes-watch-blog (Added on 7/16/2007 10:21:39 PM)

Anti-malarial drug may reduce risk of diabetes

Preliminary research suggests that use of the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine may help reduce the risk of the development of diabetes in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, as per a research studyin the July 11 issue of JAMA. Type 2 diabetes mellitus affects nearly 8 percent of US adults, and its prevalence has been increasing. Antimalarials such as hydroxychloroquine, a long-standing safe and inexpensive therapy for an autoimmune........Go to the Diabetes-watch-blog (Added on 7/11/2007 5:01:28 AM)

Boosting key milk to lower type 2 diabetes risk

Most Americans fail to get the calcium and vitamin D they need, but this shortfall could be affecting more than their bones. It may, at least in part, be one reason behind the epidemic of type 2 diabetes, suggests new research conducted at Tufts University. Drinking more milk a leading source of calcium and vitamin D in the American diet could help decrease the risk of type 2 diabetes by nearly 15 percent, as per the new meta-analysis and........Go to the Diabetes-watch-blog (Added on 7/11/2007 4:49:09 AM)

Kidney Disease May Predict Risk of Pre-Diabetes

A blood component called cystatin C, used to test for early-stage kidney impairment, also may be a very early marker for those at risk of developing a condition known as pre-diabetes, a study conducted by scientists at the University at Buffalo has shown. Pre-diabetes is diagnosed when the amount of glucose in the bloodstream begins to rise and remain above normal, an indication that glucose is not being absorbed properly by cells. An........Go to the Diabetes-watch-blog (Added on 7/2/2007 9:52:22 PM)

Cord blood may preserve insulin levels in children with type 1 diabetes

Umbilical cord blood may safely preserve insulin production in children newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, as per findings from a small national pilot study presented Monday (June 25) at the American Diabetes Associations 67th Scientific Sessions in Chicago. University of Florida scientists sought to determine whether it is feasible to use a patients own cord blood stem cells to neutralize the bodys autoimmune attack on the pancreas and........Go to the Diabetes-news-blog (Added on 6/27/2007 5:27:45 AM)

Adult stem cells engineered to make insulin

In a fundamental discovery that someday may help cure type 1 diabetes by allowing people to grow their own insulin-producing cells for a damaged or defective pancreas, medical scientists here have reported that they have engineered adult stem cells derived from human umbilical cord blood to produce insulin. The scientists announced their laboratory finding, which caps nearly four years of research, in the June 2007 issue of the medical........Go to the Diabetes-watch-blog (Added on 5/25/2007 3:36:15 PM)

When it comes to preventing amputation

Scientists at Scholl College's Center for Lower Extremity Ambulatory Research (CLEAR) at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, Leiden University in the Netherlands, and Texas A&M University have presented important new information that could help physicians and their patients predict dangerous recurrent wounds that precede amputations in persons with diabetes. The study, conducted over a several-year period, identified two........Go to the Diabetes-news-blog (Added on 5/23/2007 7:52:18 PM)

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