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Many feel like the tools available on the market werent built by people actually living with the disease, and so those with technology experience are taking matters into their own hands. In other health and technology news: virtual reality, the data Catch-22, prosthetics, cyberattacks, and Apple's push into the health industry.

The Washington Post:DIY Diabetes Tech Gains Popularity With Patients And Parents Fed Up With Clunky Mainstream Medical DevicesOne night, 18-month-old Hazel Lumpkin woke up with her diaper completely soaked with urine. Her parents, Matt and Melody Lumpkin of Pasadena, Calif., rediapered her in a larger size, hoping that would fix the issue. But Hazel continued to saturate diaper after diaper. As a childhood fan of The Baby-Sitters Club a book series featuring a young girl with Type 1 diabetes Melody recalled the connection between frequent urination and diabetes in children. (Kim, 12/14)

The Washington Post:Virtual Reality, Robots, Interactive Apps, Other New Tech Help People With Dementia And Their CaretakersDoris Moss has always loved dancing. Now in her 80s and suffering from a form of dementia, it has become more important than ever, as hearing a good beat will spur her to get up and move around. And so her daughter, Angela Pearson, who lives with her mother in Ellenwood, Ga., and is her primary caretaker, has turned to a new technology for people with Alzheimers and other forms of dementia: a touch-screen application known as SimpleC Companion, that can be set to play some of Mosss favorite music along with recorded reminders to drink water and take medication at various points of the day when Pearson is away from the house. (Kalter, 12/15)

The Washington Post:Data Catch-22: How Tech Gadgets For Exercise Sometimes Do More Harm Than GoodWhen Bri Cawsey began running in 2008, she quickly got hooked on the sport and wanted to get faster. So she did what many runners do and bought a GPS watch that would give her real-time feedback on her pace, mileage and other metrics. First, she enjoyed the data readout. Before long, she connected her watch to an app that helped her track calories, as well. Then she added a second watch, more sophisticated than the first, and began comparing the data from the two for better accuracy. By about 2012, Cawsey found she couldnt do anything without a tracking watch on her wrist. (Loudin, 12/14)

The Washington Post:New Prosthetic Can Help People Who Have Lost A Limb Feel Again, And May Reduce Phantom PainPhantom pain was all that Keven Walgamott had left of the limb he lost in an accident over a decade ago until he tried on the LUKE Arm for the first time in 2017, and told researchers that he could feel again. The arm is a motorized and sensorized prosthetic that has been in development for over 15 years by a team at the University of Utah. Researchers around the world have been developing prosthetics that closely mimic the part of the human body they would replace. (Dhar, 12/14)

The Associated Press:Large Hospital System Says It Was Hit By Ransomware AttackNew Jerseys largest hospital system said Friday that a ransomware attack last week disrupted its computer network and that it paid a ransom to stop it. Hackensack Meridian Health did not say in its statement how much it paid to regain control over its systems but said it holds insurance coverage for such emergencies. (12/13)

The Wall Street Journal:New Jersey Hospital System Hit By CyberattackAttacks on hospitals and health systems, who have been digitizing their operations and record-keeping, have proven to be hugely disruptive, in some cases leaving small physician groups unable to recover. Victims have been forced to cancel some elective procedures, shut down computer networks to prevent further spread of the virus and temporarily revert to using paper records. (Evans, 12/13)

Stat:7 Startups Acquired By Apple That Are Central To Its Health StrategyThe Apple Watch continuously monitors numerous health metrics and doubles as a virtual clinical trial site. AirPods, Apples wireless ear buds, function as basic hearing aids, and its health record app lets users pull in data from health care providers. ...Over the past decade, Apple has nabbed roughly half a dozen startups with specialties that could prove critical for health care disruption, from speech recognition and sleep tracking to health record consolidation and hospital mapping. (Brodwin, 12/16)

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Frustrated With Cumbersome, Clunky Diabetes Devices, Patients Are Turning To DIY Technology - Kaiser Health News

People with diabetes are at increased risk ofdevelopingseriouseye diseases, yet most do not have sight-saving annual eyeexams,accordingtoalargestudy.

TheKentucky Academy of Eye Physicians and Surgeonsjoins theAmerican Academy of Ophthalmologyin reiterating the importance of eye exams.

Researchers at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia have found that more than half of patientswith the disease skip these exams. They also discovered that patients who smoke and those with less severe diabetes and no eye problems were mostlikely to neglect having these checks.

The researcherscollaborated with the Centers for DiseaseControl and Prevention toreviewthe charts of close to 2,000 patientsage 40 or older with type 1and type 2 diabetes to see how many had regular eye exams.Their findings over a four-year period revealed that:

Fifty-eight percent of patients did not have regularfollow-upeye exams. Smokers were20 percent less likelyto have exams. Thosewith less-severe disease and no eye problems were least likely tofollow recommendations. Those who had diabetic retinopathy were 30 percent more likely to have follow-up exams.

One in 10 Americans have diabetes, putting them at heightened risk for visual impairment due to the eye diseasediabetic retinopathy.The diseasealso can lead to other blinding ocular complications if not treated in time.Fortunately, having adilated eye exam yearly or more often can prevent 95 percent of diabetes-related visionloss.

Eye exams are critical as they can reveal hidden signs of disease, enabling timely treatment.This is why the Academy recommends people with diabetes have them annually or more often as recommended by their ophthalmologist, a physician who specializes in medical and surgical eye care.

Vision loss is tragic, especially when it is preventable, said Ann P. Murchison, M.D., M.P.H., lead author of the study and director of the eye emergency department at Wills Eye Hospital. Thats whywe want to raise awareness and ensure people with diabetes understand the importance ofregular eye exams.

The Academy offers thisanimated public service announcementto help educate people about the importance of regular exams and common eye diseases including diabetic retinopathy. It encourages the public to watch and share it with their friends and family.

People with diabetes need to know that they shouldnt wait until they experience problems to get these exams, Rahul N. Khurana, M.D, clinical spokesperson for the Academy. Getting your eyes checked by an ophthalmologist can reveal the signs of disease that patients arent aware of.Diabetic retinopathy, much like glaucoma, can be insidious in its ability to cause vision loss, said Thomas Harper, M.D., an ophthalmologist in Louisville.

It is common to have diabetic retinopathy without having any symptoms.Once symptoms manifest, retinopathy can be quite advanced.Even though it is a bit of an oversimplification, there are two types of people who go blind from diabetes: those who dont control his or her diabetes, and those who dont go to the eye doctor. Schedule your retina exam today.

Kentucky Academy of Eye Physicians and Surgeons

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People with diabetes should get annual eye exams it's very possible that vision loss can be preventable - User-generated content

Diabetes Mellitus is a disease that involves impaired glucose metabolism. Sudden adverse changes in blood glucose (high or low) can lead to altered mental status, to seizures, and even death. Long-term complications include damage to end organs, such as eyes, kidneys, heart, and the neurological system.

Further, this is a condition that would renderan existing medical certificate invalid from the moment the pilot knew of the diagnosis, regardless of any theoretical period of validity that might appear to remain for that certificate.

Are all pilots with diabetes grounded indefinitely? Is there any hope for a pilot with diabetes to fly again? What about commercially?

The answers are reassuring. Private pilots with well-controlled diabeteshave been flying for many years. And a recently implemented program with the support of the Federal Air Surgeon will now enable even more diabetics to return to commercial flying.

Without going into an elaborate explanation of itsphysiology, lets break diabetes down into two categories: non-insulin-dependent and insulin-dependent.

Insulin is a hormone that is released by the pancreas in response to blood glucose levels. All body tissues use glucose for energy. When blood glucose rises, the pancreas secretes insulin, permitting the bodily tissues to store and use glucose for various metabolic functions.

In certain cases of diabetes, the production of insulin is significantly decreased or completely absent. Common names include juvenile, type 1, or insulin-dependent diabetes (IDDM). Dont let the term juvenile confuse the situation, as there are times when insulin dependence might not occur until well into adulthood.

The relevant premise here is that the body has stopped producing sufficient insulin to regulate blood glucose, regardless of the persons age. You might also see the term insulin-treated diabetes (ITDM) in various publications, and for the purposes of FAA medical certification, IDDM and ITDM can be used synonymously.

In other cases, the bodily tissues have become resistant to the insulin that the pancreas is dutifully producing (obesity is a common cause of insulin resistance). Terms familiar to most people include adult-onset, type 2, or non-insulin-dependent diabetes.

Google mellitus for the amusing reference of how that word became part of the lore of diabetes centuries ago. I will provide more pathophysiologic information when I discuss the individual types of diabetes and the respective FAA certification programs more specifically in future submissions.

Therefore, I wont go into the formalities and minutia of how to diagnose, treat, and monitor diabetes in this discussion. Suffice it to say that poorly-controlled diabetes poses a significant threat to aviation safety, not to mention long-term health.

Diabetes that can be controlled with diet, exercise, and weight loss is the proverbial no-brainer in FAA medical certification. Anything a pilot can do without medical intervention is always preferable for long-term health maintenance.

All classes of medical certificates can be easily obtained in this setting and usually a special issuance is not required (at times this is followed through a slightly amended protocol for pre-diabetes that Ill discuss at a future date).

The necessity for oral and some of the injectable non-insulin medications that lower blood glucose to control diabetes also does not preclude FAA medical certification. In this case, while the pilot will be followed under a special issuance authorization, all classes of medical certificates are again included in this protocol. I have had many pilots flying commercially on first- and second-class medical certificates for many years who are taking oral diabetic medications.

If a pilot requires insulin, however, things change. Before 1996, any insulin-dependent pilot was unable to fly (all classes of medical certificates were excluded). Beginning in 1996, pilots could obtain a third-class FAA medical certificate if they are taking insulin and their diabetes is well controlled.

Fortunately, the program for third-class IDDM pilots has been a great success. The very rare adverse in-flight incidents over the years with diabetic pilots usually have occurred in pilots with poorly controlled diabetes who likely would not havebeen granted a special issuance authorization in the first place.

A pilot who requires insulin for treatment has been excluded for classes of FAA medical certificates higher than third-class until just recently. I have been a vocal advocate to the FAA and its various Federal Air Surgeons over the years that well-controlled IDDM pilots should be considered for first- and second-class certification.

With the current precise continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) electronics and advancements available, an insulin-dependent diabetic is now able to maintain tightly-controlled blood glucose levels.

In 2002, Canada began permitting IDDM pilots to fly commercially in a multi-pilot crew environment. The UK began doing so in 2012, and now the U.S. joined that group last month (on November 7).

Notably, there is no restriction in the FAA protocol that an IDDM pilot must be in a crew environment. Thus, an FAA-licensed pilot with a special issuance for IDDM can fly single-pilot so long as all provisions are met. The FARs dont permit the FAA to put restrictions such as must be part of a multi-pilot crew on first-class medical certificates.

There are also several other countries that permit private flying in pilots with various forms of diabetes.

As you can imagine, the FAA was very cautious and reviewed the advances in diabetic management technologies methodically over many years before authorizing this new program. No different than any other special issuance program, the FAA did not want aviation accidents resulting from a poorly conceived program.

This would, of course, be a tragedy for anyone involved in the accident and could jeopardize the entire program itself. Out of respect for caution, the FAA spent many years working on this program. And now, its finally here!

However, the requirements are probably the most extensive of any special issuance program that we have. There will be ongoing evaluations of numerous organ systems. In addition to using the latest technology to monitor and treat a pilot's diabetes, evaluations will be ongoing for eyes, heart, kidneys, and neurological systems.

The data presentation to the FAA is also extensive and thorough. As with some of the other special issuance conditions, the FAA has developed comprehensive checklistsfor pilots, their AMEs, and the treating physiciansand flow sheets to assist in the detailed data presentation to the FAA. Ongoing CGM data will also be required.

As exhaustive as this program is, it has finally opened the world of commercial flying to IDDM pilots who require a first- or second-class FAA medical certificate. I am hopeful that the program will be as successful as the earlier program for third-class pilots has been.

Those with IDDM are often some of the most motivated pilots there are, and the new gadgetry involved has demonstrated to the FAA that precise control of diabetes can indeed be achieved and, therefore, such pilots do not pose a threat to aviation safety. Thus, it is predicted that IDDM pilots will be able to fly safely in commercial operationson first- and second-class special issuance authorizationsin the U.S.

For a pilot to obtain a special issuance authorization under this new IDDM protocol, they will need an organized and motivated team of support. The pilot, first and foremost, must adequately control their diabetes using modern electronics, including CGM devices, as that also will improve the likelihood of maintaining long-term health.

Next, the treating physician must be willing to complete thorough FAA flow sheets and, at select times, consulting physicians will have to provide evaluation data of the other organ systems mentioned above. Finally, the AME must be willing to choreograph all of the data into a packet that will be acceptable to the FAA.

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AINsight: Diabetes and Flying | Business Aviation - Aviation International News

There are an estimated 30.3 million people with diabetes in the United States, with approximately 7.2 million individuals not aware they have the disease.

Uncontrolled diabetes poses a major threat to vital organs and other body tissues, which heal more slowly because of the disease.

Diabetes is the inability to manufacture or properly use insulin, impairing the bodys ability to regulate sugar (glucose) levels which provide energy to cells and tissues throughout the body. Therefore, it is a disease that affects many parts of the body and is associated with serious complications such as heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney failure and lower limb amputations. The leading cause of hospitalization among people with diabetes is foot ulcers and infections, but most of those problems are largely preventable.

More than 60 percent of all nontraumatic lower-limb amputations worldwide are related to complications from the disease, according to the American Diabetes Association. For that reason, the Michigan Podiatric Medical Association (MPMA) has tips to help diabetic patients take better care of their feet.

While is it extremely important for those with diabetes to receive regular foot exams by a podiatrist, keeping feet healthy to remain active can often prevent one from developing Type 2 diabetes, says Jodie Sengstock, DPM, MPMA director of professional relations. Our feet are our foundation. Keeping them healthy improves quality of life.

While there is no cure for diabetes, patients can live with it well. A person with diabetes may enjoy a full and active life with proper diet, exercise, medical care and careful management at home.

Managing and treating the disease requires a team of specialists including a primary care physician, endocrinologist, ophthalmologist, dentist, vascular surgeon and podiatrist.

Podiatrists are trained to treat foot conditions that can be caused by diabetes, such as: neuropathy, infection and ulcers.

While ulcers open sores are the most common diabetes-related foot problem, several others are also serious and prevalent, including neuropathy (pain or numbness), skin changes, poor circulation and infection. The nerve damage that diabetes causes may mean a person with an ulcer or injury may be unaware of it until it becomes infected. Regular care from a podiatrist can reduce amputation rates up to 80 percent, according to research of the American Podiatric Medical Association.

Here are some tips for home management:

People with diabetes should inspect their feet daily and look vigilantly for signs of ulcers, including irritation, redness, cracked or dry skin especially around the heels or body fluid, such as blood, on their socks.

Discuss diabetes and the risks with family members. Diabetes can be hereditary, so talk to family members about monitoring blood sugar and foot health.

Never go barefoot. Always protect feet with the proper footwear and make sure socks and shoes are comfortable and fit well.

Trim toenails straight across, and never cut the cuticles. Seek immediate treatment for ingrown toenails, as they can lead to serious infection.

Never try to remove calluses, corns or warts by yourself. Over-the-counter products can burn the skin and cause irreparable damage to the foot.

Exercise. Walking can keep weight down and improve circulation. Be sure to wear appropriate athletic shoes.

Keep feet elevated while sitting.

Wear thick, soft socks. Avoid socks with seams, which can rub and cause blisters or other skin injuries.

Have new shoes properly measured and fitted. Foot size and shape often changes over time. Shoes that fit properly should not rub or cause irritation.

Wiggle toes and move feet and ankles up and down for five-minute sessions throughout the day.

Visit an MPMA podiatrist regularly at least two times per year to avoid unnecessary complications.

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Your feet need special treatment when you have diabetes - The Oakland Press

BUSAN, SOUTH KOREA Whether cardiovascular disease risk reduction efforts should be more aggressive in women than men with the diabetes depends on how you interpret the data.

Two experts came to differentconclusions on this question during a heated, but jovial, debate last week here at the International Diabetes Federation 2019 Congress.

Endocrinologist David Simmons, MB BChir, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, Australia, argued that diabetes erases the well-described life expectancy advantage of 4-7 years that women experience over men in the general population.

He also highlighted the fact that the heightened risk is of particular concern in both younger women and those with prior gestational diabetes.

But Timothy Davis, BMedSc MB BS, DPhil, an endocrinologist and general physician at Fremantle Hospital, Western Australia, countered that the data only show the diabetes-attributable excess cardiovascular risk is higher among women than men, but that the absolute risk is actually greater in men.

Moreover, he argued, at least in type 1 diabetes, there's no evidence that more aggressive cardiovascular risk factor management improves outcomes.

Simmons began by pointing out that although, on average, women die at an older age than men, it has been known for over 40 years that this "female protection" is lost among insulin-treated women, particularly as a result of their increased risk for cardiovascular disease.

In a 2015 meta-analysis of 26 studies, women with type 1 diabetes were found to have about a 37% greater risk of all-cause mortality compared to men with the condition when mortality is contrasted with that of the general population, and twice the risk of both fatal and nonfatal vascular events.

The risk appeared to be greater among women who were younger at the time of diabetes diagnosis. "This is a really important point the time we would want to intervene," Simmons said.

In another meta-analysis of 30 studies including 2,307,694 individuals with type 2 diabetes and 252,491 deaths, the pooled women-to-men ratio of the standardized mortality ratio for all-cause mortality was 1.14.

In those with versus without type 2 diabetes, the pooled standardized mortality ratio in women was 2.30 and in men was 1.94, both significant compared to those without diabetes.

And in a 2006 meta-analysis of 22 studies involving individuals with type 2 diabetes, the pooled data showed a 46% excess relative risk using standardized mortality ratios in women versus men for fatal coronary artery disease.

Meanwhile, in a 2018 meta-analysis of 68 studies involving nearly 1 million adults examining differences in occlusive vascular disease, after controlling for major vascular risk factors, diabetes roughly doubled the risk for occlusive vascular mortality among men (relative risk, 2.10), but tripled it among women (3.00).

Women with diabetes aged 35-59 years had the highest relative risk for death over follow-up across all age and sex groups: they had 5.5 times the excess risk compared to those without diabetes, while the excess risk for men of that age was 2.3-fold.

"So very clearly, it's these young women who are most at risk, "emphasized Simmons, whois an investigator for Novo Nordisk and a speaker for Medtronic, Novo Nordisk, and Sanofi.

The question has arisen whether the female/male differences might be because of differences in cardiovascular risk factor management, Simmons noted.

A 2015 American Heart Association (AHA) statement laid out the evidence for lower prescribing of statins, aspirin, beta-blockers, and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors among women compared with men, Simmons said.

And some studies suggest medication adherence is lower in women than men.

In terms of medications, fenofibrate appears to produce better outcomes in women than men, but there is no evidence of gender differences in the effects of statins, ACE inhibitors, or aspirin, Simmons said.

He also outlined the results of a 2008 study of 78,254 patients with acute myocardial infarction from 420 US hospitals in 2001-2006.

Women were older, had more comorbidities, less often presented with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), and had a higher rate of unadjusted in-hospital death (8.2% vs 5.7%; P < .0001) than men. Of the partcipants, 33% of women had diabetes compared with 28% of men.

The in-hospital mortality difference disappeared after multivariable adjustment, but women with STEMI still had higher adjusted mortality rates than men.

"The underuse of evidence-based treatments and delayed reperfusion among women represent potential opportunities for reducing sex disparities in care and outcome after acute myocardial infarction," the authors concluded.

"It's very clear amongst our cardiology colleagues that something needs to be done and that we need more aggressive cardiological risk reduction in women," Simmons said.

"The AHA has already decided this. It's already a policy. So why are we having this debate?" he wondered.

He also pointed out that women with prior gestational diabetes are an exceptionally high-risk group, with a two-fold excess risk for cardiovascular disease within the first 10 years postpartum.

"We need to do something about this particularly high-risk group, independent of debates about gender," Simmons emphasized. "Clearly, women with diabetes warrant more aggressive cardiovascular risk reduction than men with diabetes, especially at those younger ages," he concluded.

Davis began his counter argument by stating that estimation of absolute vascular risk is an established part of strategies to prevent cardiovascular disease, including in diabetes.

And that risk, he stressed, is actually higher in men.

"Male sex is a consistent adverse risk factor in cardiovascular disease event prediction equations in type 2 diabetes. Identifying absolute risk is important," he said, noting risk calculators include male sex, such as the risk engine derived from the United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Trial.

And in the Australian population-based Fremantle study, of which Davis is an author, the absolute 5-year incidence rates for all outcomes including myocardial infarction, stroke, heart failure, lower extremity amputation, cardiovascular mortality, and all-cause mortality were consistently higher in men versus women in the first phase, which began in the 1990s and included 1426 individuals with diabetes (91% had type 2 diabetes).

In the ongoing second phase, which began in 2008 with 1732 participants, overall rates of those outcomes are lower and the discrepancy between men and women has narrowed, Davis noted.

Overall, the Fremantle study data "suggest that women with type 2 diabetes do not need more aggressive cardiovascular reduction than men with type 2 diabetes because they are not at increased absolute vascular risk," he stressed.

And in a "sensitivity analysis" of two areas in Finland, the authors concluded that the stronger effect of type 2 diabetes on the risk of CHD in women compared with men was in part explained by a heavier risk factor burden and a greater effect of blood pressure and atherogenic dyslipidemia in women with diabetes, he explained.

The Finnish authors wrote, "In terms of absolute risk of CHD death or a major CHD event, diabetes almost completely abolished the female protection from CHD."

But, Davis emphasized, rates were not higher in females.

So then, "Why is there the view that women with type 2 diabetes need more aggressive cardiovascular risk reduction than men with diabetes?"

"It probably comes back to confusion based on absolute risk versus a comparison of relative risk within each sex," he asserted.

Lastly, in a meta-analysis published just in July this year involving more than 5 million participants, compared to men with diabetes, women with diabetes had a 58% and 13% greater risk of CHD and all-cause mortality, respectively.

"This points to an urgent need to develop sex- and gender-specific risk assessment strategies and therapeutic interventions that target diabetes management in the context of CHD prevention," the authors concluded.

But, Davis noted, "It is not absolute vascular risk. It's a relative risk compared across the two genders. In the paper, there is no mention of absolute vascular risk."

"Greater CVD mortality in women with and without diabetes, versus men, doesn't mean there's also an absolute vascular increase in women versus men with diabetes," he said.

Moreover, Davis pointed out that in an editorial accompanying the 2015 meta-analysis in type 1 diabetes, Simmons had actually stated that absolute mortality rates are highest in men.

"I don't know what happened to his epidemiology knowledge in the last 4 years but it seems to have gone backwards," he joked to his debate opponent.

And, Davis asserted, even if there were a higher risk in women with type 1 diabetes, there is no evidence that cardiovascular risk reduction measures affect endpoints in that patient population. Only about 8% of people with diabetes in statin trials had type 1 diabetes.

Indeed, he noted, in the American Diabetes Association (ADA) Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes 2019, the treatment goals for individual cardiovascular risk factors do not mention gender.

What's more, David said, there is evidence that women are significantly less likely than men to take prescribed statins and are more likely to have an eating disorder and underdose insulin, "suggesting significant issues with compliance...So, trying to get more intensive risk reduction in women may be a challenge."

"Women with diabetes do not need more aggressive cardiovascular risk reduction than men with diabetes, irrespective of type," he concluded.

International Diabetes Federation 2019 Congress. December 5, 2019.

For more diabetes and endocrinology news, follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Link:
Do Women With Diabetes Need More CVD Risk Reduction Than Men? - Medscape

ANTALYA, Turkey

More people in Turkey are being diagnosed with diabetes compared with previous years, an expert said Sunday.

Speaking to the media, Tugbay Tug, a professor at Ankara Universitys Faculty of Medicine, Department of General Surgery, said the number of people in Turkey with diabetes now accounts for more than 10% of the population compared with 7% five years ago.

Tug underlined that Turkey is the third highest country in Europe in terms of the number of diabetes patients.

About half of the patients with diabetes are losing their feet because of foot wounds, he said.

The mortality rate of patients who have lost one organ is much higher than the mortality rate caused by most lethal cancers, and 50% die within three years, he added.

Tug warned that diabetes should not be ignored.

One out of 10 people in society are diabetes patients and the number of people with diabetes totals more than 8 million in Turkey, he added.

He said 20% of Turkeys population will have diabetes by 2025 if people dont change their dietary habits.

Scientific data shows that one in four diabetes patients suffer foot wounds. We can say that there are at least 2 million diabetic foot patients in Turkey. This number will increase if we dont live healthy.

*Writing by Davut Demircan

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Number of people in Turkey with diabetes rising: expert - Anadolu Agency

THURSDAY at noon on "The Source" An estimated14%of Bexar County's population lives with Type 2 diabetes. This preventable disease typically presents later in life, but is increasingly contracted by youn peoplewho can experience earlier, more advanced complications such as blindness, amputations and even death.

Of the more than30 millionAmerican adults with diabetes, approximately90%live with Type 2, which is managed with diet, exercise and insulin.Approximately half a million Texans are still undiagnosed.

Risk factors include poor diet, obesity, sedentary lifestyle and prediabetes. Children diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes often have a family history with the disease.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 1 in 5 adolescents are living with prediabetes, defined as having blood sugar levels higher than normal but not yet at the threshold for an official Type 2 diabetes diagnosis.

Is there a public health strategy to combat the epidemic of Type 2 diabetes in Bexar County? Who is most at risk and what's being done to break the cycle?

What are the potential short and long term effects of Type 2 diabetes? Can it be reversed with healthier living? What does responsible treatment entail and how do individuals without health insurance manage?

What is to blame for the rising rates of Type 2 and prediabetes in young people? Could earlier identification and treatment help mitigate the disease?

The Texas Diabetes Institute is recruiting for diabetes-related clinical trials. Interested listeners can call 210-358-7200 for more information.

Guests:

"The Source" is a live call-in program airing Mondays through Thursdays from 12-1 p.m. Leave a message before the program at (210) 615-8982. During the live show, call 210-614-8980, email thesource@tpr.org or tweet @TPRSource.

*Audio for this interview will be available by 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 12.

Excerpt from:
More Bexar County Youth Are Being Diagnosed With Type 2 Diabetes, Prediabetes - Texas Public Radio

(Reuters Health) - People whose mothers had diabetes during pregnancy may be at increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease by early adulthood, a recent study suggests.

The analysis followed more than 2.4 million babies born in Denmark for up to four decades, including nearly 55,000 whose mothers had diabetes during pregnancy. During the study period, cardiovascular disease developed before age 40 in 1,153 people whose mothers had diabetes while pregnant and 91,311 whose mothers did not.

When mothers had diabetes during pregnancy, their offspring were 29% more likely to develop cardiovascular disease, researchers report in The BMJ.

Preventing, screening and treating diabetes in women of childbearing age may be important not only for improving health of the women but also for reducing long-term cardiovascular disease risks in their offspring, said study leader Yongfu Yu of Aarhus University in Denmark.

We also need to monitor cardiovascular disease risks in offspring of diabetic mothers and investigate possible life-course interventions that may reduce the occurrence of cardiovascular disease, Yu said by email.

A total of 26,272 infants were born to mothers who had gestational diabetes, which develops during pregnancy and usually disappears after the pregnancy is over.

Another 22,055 babies were exposed to their mothers type 1 diabetes, which typically develops in childhood or young adulthood when the pancreas cant produce insulin.

And 6,537 infants were exposed to maternal type 2 diabetes, which is linked to overweight and aging and happens when the body cant properly use insulin to convert blood sugar into energy.

Gestational diabetes was associated with a 19% higher risk of cardiovascular disease in early adulthood for the children, while exposure to maternal type 1 or type 2 diabetes was tied to a 34% greater risk of cardiovascular disease for the young adult children.

The study wasnt designed to determine whether maternal diabetes causes cardiovascular disease or hastens its development in offspring.

The children exposed in utero to maternal diabetes were also more likely to have parents with a history of cardiovascular disease, and to have higher rates as adults of obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, chronic kidney disease - and diabetes, which is itself a powerful risk factor for heart disease.

Yu noted that pregnant women with diabetes have more glucose, or sugars, in the placenta, which may lead developing babies to produce more insulin and have higher levels of blood sugar while theyre in the womb. That, in turn, could potentially lead to changes in blood vessel function later in life that contribute to cardiovascular disease.

We have known for a while that children born to women with diabetes, including both diabetes before pregnancy as well as gestational diabetes, have a higher rate of important complications early in life including macrosomia (babies that are too large sometimes resulting in difficult deliveries), a higher rate of congenital malformations, more frequent admission to NICU because of babies having difficulties regulating their own blood sugar levels, to name a few, said Dr. Jorge Chavarro of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston.

These babies are known to have higher risks for being overweight or obese in childhood, and recent work has also suggested theyre at higher risk of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases as adults based on risk factors like levels of sugar and fats in the blood, said Chavarro, who wasnt involved in the study. This new study, he said by email, provides evidence that maternal diabetes can also result in a higher frequency of clinically relevant cardiovascular events during the first four decades of life.

SOURCE: bit.ly/2PBOV8h The BMJ, online December 4, 2019.

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Maternal diabetes in pregnancy tied to heart disease in adult kids - Reuters

GREENVILLE A new year is a great time to learn how to improve your health by increments with a free six-week Healthy U workshop for adults living with diabetes or pre-diabetes 2-4:30 p.m. on Fridays, January 10 through February 14 at Family Health (Conference Room), 5735 Meeker Road, Greenville. The workshop is open to adults of any age living with diabetes, pre-diabetes, and/or their caregivers.

Workshops need a minimum number of participants in order to take place. Register by calling Jane Urlage at (937) 547-2319, ext. 1229 or emailing jurlage@familyhealthservices.org. Sign up now to celebrate a healthier Valentines Day.

Healthy U is an evidence-based, interactive, small group workshop proven to improve quality of life and reduce health care expenses by increasing self-confidence and providing new skills to better manage symptoms and feel healthier. Participants explore new ways to address challenges common to anyone with diabetes. This workshop is different from clinical diabetes programs, and instead focuses on common problems like chronic pain, nutrition, exercise, medication use, emotions, and communicating with doctors and family. Participants develop skills and coping strategies to manage symptoms through setting achievable goals, problem-solving, decision-making, social support, and more.

Everyone who completes the course receives the companion textbook, Living a Healthy Life with Chronic Conditions, and a relaxation CD.

Workshops are supported by the Area Agency on Aging, PSA 2. The Agency on Aging helps older adults of west central Ohio remain in their homes with independence and dignity. We are an independent, private, nonprofit corporation that plans and funds services for older persons in Champaign, Clark, Darke, Greene, Logan, Miami, Montgomery, Preble, and Shelby Counties.

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Resolve to take charge of diabetes - The Daily Advocate

STOCKHOLM, Dec. 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Diamyd Medical announces that a new analysis based on data from more than 530 individual patients from previous phase III and II trials in Europe and US with the diabetes vaccine Diamyd has identified genetically defined subgroups of type 1 diabetes patients that show a positive and statistically significant dose-dependent treatment response.

In the analysis, patients who were positive for certain HLA genotypes and treated with the highest number of doses of Diamyd (three and four subcutaneous injections) experienced a statistically significant treatment effect of approximately 60% compared to placebo at 15 months from baseline. Also, when treatments with low number and high number dose regimens (two, three and four subcutaneous doses) were combined, a statistically significant treatment effect of approximately 40% was seen.

"This has great significance for Diamyd Medical, type 1 diabetes research and the antigen-specific immunotherapy field in general", says Mark Atkinson, Professor and Board member of Diamyd Medical. "These results support the notion that you can identify patients that will have a much higher likelihood to respond to a GAD-based therapy based on a well-known and scientifically plausible genetic profile. This finding has implications for both disease prevention as well as intervention trials in type 1 diabetes. I am encouraged that we are poised to advance a safe, specific and efficious treatment that has the potential to signifcantly change the course of this disease."

"The importance of today's announcement cannot be understated," says Ulf Hannelius, CEO of Diamyd Medical. "This finding strengthens the likelihood of success for the diabetes vaccine Diamyd and will be taken into account in the analysis of the ongoing DIAGNODE-2 trial. Notably, in the phase IIb trial DIAGNODE-2 we are advancing intralymphatic administration of Diamyd which we forsee to be even more efficacious than the subcutaneous route used in previous trials."

Professor Johnny Ludvigsson, Principal Investigator for the analysed Swedish Phase II and European Phase III trials and for the ongoing Phase IIb trial DIAGNODE-2 trial underlines the importance of these findings: "This may be a break through step towards understanding how personalized medicine for autoimmune diseases will evolve. It is a great achievment to for the first time be able to identify a large cohort of patients that experience a significant effect of autoantigen-specific treatment."

The analysis is based on data from more than 530 patients from three previously published trials: a European phase III trial, a Swedish phase II trial and a US phase II trial. The group showing the strongest response to the GAD-specific immunotherapy Diamyd represented approximately 25% of the total number of patients involved in the analysis. Also, a more broadly defined responder subgroup, representing approximately 50% of the total number of patients, showed a statistically significant treatment response. The results will be submitted as an abstract to a scientific conference and are based on a collaborative effort between Diamdy Medical, academic researchers and clinicians.

About Diamyd Medical

Diamyd Medical develops the diabetes vaccine Diamyd, as an antigen-specific immunotherapy for the preservation of endogenous insulin production. Diamyd has demonstrated good safety in trials encompassing more than 1,000 patients as well as effect in some pre-specified subgroups. Besides the Company's own European Phase IIb trial DIAGNODE-2 where the diabetes vaccine is administered directly into a lymph node, two investigator initiated clinical trials are ongoing with Diamyd. Diamyd Medical also develops the GABA-based investigational drug Remygen for regeneration of endogenous insulin production. An investigator-initiated Remygen trial in patients living with type 1 diabetes for more than five years is ongoing at Uppsala University Hospital. Diamyd Medical is one of the major shareholders in the stem cell company NextCell Pharma AB and has holdings in the medtech company Companion Medical, Inc., San Diego, USA.

Diamyd Medical's B-share is traded on Nasdaq First North Growth Market under the ticker DMYD B. FNCA Sweden AB is the Company's Certified Adviser; phone: +46 8-528 00 399, e-mail: info@fnca.se.

CONTACT:

For further information, please contact: Ulf Hannelius, President and CEOPhone: +46 736 35 42 41E-mail: ulf.hannelius@diamyd.com

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/diamyd-medical-ab/r/significant-effect-of-diamyd--in-type-1-diabetes-shown-in-a-new-comprehensive-analysis-of-previous-p,c2989690

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SOURCE Diamyd Medical AB

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Significant Effect of Diamyd in Type 1 Diabetes Shown in a New Comprehensive Analysis of Previous Phase III and Phase II Trials - PRNewswire

Earlier on Monday, new Sanofi CEO Paul Hudson baited the hook on his upcoming strategy presentation Tuesday with a tell-tale deal to buy Synthorx for $2.5 billion. That fits squarely with hints that hes pointing the company to a bigger future in oncology, which also squares with a major industry tilt.

In a big reveal later in the day, though, Hudson offered a slate of stunners on his plans to surgically dissect and reassemble the portfoloio, saying that the company is dropping cardio and diabetes research which covers two of its biggest franchise arenas. Sanofi missed the boat on developing new diabetes drugs, and now its pulling out entirely. As part of the pullback, its dropping efpeglenatide, their once-weekly GLP-1 injection for diabetes.

To be out of cardiovascular and diabetes is not easy for a company like ours with an incredibly proud history, Hudson said on a call with reporters, according to the Wall Street Journal. As tough a choice as that is, were making that choice.

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For sale: Long-acting PhIII GLP-1 diabetes drug that's way behind rivals, now spurned by Sanofi - Endpoints News

Maternal diabetes before or during pregnancy is associated with increased risks of metabolic syndromeand congenital heart disease in offspring. Research has shown that the children of mothers with elevated blood sugar that is shy of level that would categorize them as havingof gestational diabetes are, nonetheless,more likely to be obese. But less is known about the associations between prenatal exposure to maternal diabetesand early-onset CVD in infants. So researchers from Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark, and University of California, Los Angeles, looked at data from nearly 2.5 million births to find out more. They reported their results on Dec. 4, 2019, on the BMJ website,

During up to 40 years of follow-up, 1,153 offspring of mothers with diabetes were diagnosed with CVD, as were 91,311 children of mothers without diabetes. The offspring of mothers with diabetes had a 29% increased overall rate of early-onset CVD.

Children of mothers with diabetes were also more likely to have diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and chronic kidney diseases, and to be obese. The rates of specific types of CVD were increased for heart failure, and close to doubled for hypertensive disease, deep vein thrombosis, and pulmonary embolism. A mother with diabetes and CVD herself also nearly doubled the offsprings chances of early-onset CVD.

The diabetic intrauterine environment could have a programming effect on the development of CVD in children, the researchers say. They note that during pregnancies complicated by diabetes, large amounts of maternal glucose freely cross the placenta, which could lead to increased secretion of fetal insulin. Exposure to hyperinsulinemia and hyperglycemia could have long-lasting effects, they say, and result in changes in vascular function. Their findings underscore the importance of screening for diabetes risks, especially in pregnant women, to avoid multigenerational hits to heart health.

See the original post here:
Mothers With Diabetes, Kids With Heart Disease - P&T Community

A study discovered that diabetes may have an adverse impact on the labor market due to work absence, unemployment, and disability pension. Danish national registers were queried to identify patients with type 1 (n=431) and type 2 (n=4,047) diabetes between 1994 and 2011; patients with diabetes were compared with non-diabetic controls (n=101,295). The authors employed multi-state Cox proportional hazards analyses to calculate hazards ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for transitions between work, sickness absence, unemployment, and disability pension. Compared with non-diabetics, those in both diabetes cohorts were significantly more likely to sustain sickness absence (type 1 diabetes women, HR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.12-1.62; type 1 diabetes men, HR, 1.43; 95% CI, 1.01-2.03 vs. type 2 diabetes women, HR, 1.46; 95% CI, 1.35-1.58; type 2 diabetes men, HR, 1.64; 95% CI, 1.46-1.85). Unemployment HRs were higher among males with type 1 diabetes (1.25; 95% CI, 1.01-1.53) and both sexes with type 2 diabetes (women, 1.09; 95% CI, 1.03-1.16; men, 1.17; 95% CI, 1.08-1.27). Between the sexes, both diabetes cohorts had higher HRs of disability pension (type 1 diabetes women, HR, 1.90; 95% CI, 1.46-2.46; type 2 diabetes men, HR, 2.09; 95% CI, 1.38-3.18 vs. type 2 diabetes women, HR, 1.78; 95% CI, 1.62-1.96; type 2 diabetes men, HR, 2.11; 95% CI, 1.86-2.40). Women with type 2 diabetes were the only patients less likely to return to work from sickness absence (HR, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.86-0.98) or unemployment (HR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.85-0.94). HRs for diabetes in terms of unemployment, sickness absence while unemployed, and disability pension were much higher for men compared with women. The study authors called for future research to take into account comorbidity and social gradient.

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The Effect of Diabetes on the Labor Market - DocWire News

Studies have evaluated the adverse impacts of non-adherence to medication among adults with type 2 diabetes, including poor outcomes and increased healthcare costs. However, data are limited on adolescent patients. The Treatment Options for Type 2 Diabetes in Adolescents and Youth (TODAY) study examined whether additional oral medications or insulin impacted adherence to primary study medication. The TODAY study included 699 patients aged 10 to 17 years who were recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Patients were classified as adherent (80% taken by pill count) or non-adherent (<80%); adherence rates were compared by patients who did and did not have additional medications. At 36 months, just less than half of patients (46.3%) were taking additional oral medications, and 31.9% were on insulin. Study medication adherence did not differ with additional oral medications: zero additional medications prescribed, 55.1%; one, 67.1%; and two or more, 56.7% (P=0.16). Female patients taking oral contraceptives had higher 36-month adherence (65.2% vs. 55.8%; P=0.0054), and patients on insulin had lower 36-month adherence (39.7% vs. 59.3%; P<0.0001). Patients with depression at baseline had lower adherence (P=0.008). The researchers called for future studies to explore potentially modifiable risk factors associated with medication adherence.

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The Effect of Adding Medications to Type 2 Diabetes Regimen on Adherence in Adolescents - DocWire News

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 10, 2019 /PRNewswire/ --MyHealthTeams, creator of the largest and fastest-growing social networks for people facing chronic health conditions, today unveiled new research conducted among the more than 100,000 registered members of DiabetesTeam, the social network for people living with Type 2 Diabetes. A majority (59%) of those surveyed report they are either not satisfied or only somewhat satisfied with their current treatment. Yet when asked what they most want from their doctor, only 6% said "new treatments." More than 7 times as many respondents prioritized wanting their endocrinologist to provide "more information" on recommended lifestyle changes (22%) and "listening and understanding" about the challenges of managing their diabetes (21%).

The issue is not a lack of understanding about the importance of lifestyle changes. The gap is in getting practical tips for successfully adopting lifestyle changes -- especially in the context of dealing with the wide-ranging impact diabetes has on daily life. MyHealthTeams identified two key areas in which people living with diabetes know they want to improve - but aren't sure what to do or how to start:

Quality of Life Impact

Beyond high blood sugar, people with Type 2 Diabetes report experiencing a wide range of symptoms of the disease in the past year, including:

The impact of diabetes on daily life is significant, with survey respondents reporting top challenges including:

"What's clear is that managing blood sugar is just one piece of the diabetes puzzle, and people living with this condition are juggling a lot," said Eric Peacock, cofounder and CEO of MyHealthTeams. "The call to action across the healthcare ecosystem is to empower consumers with information and support to act as their own health advocates within this context. People need practical advice and emotional empathy. It's about much more than medicine."

This research was conducted among the more than 100,000 registered members of DiabetesTeam. 478 individuals responded to the online survey. Full survey findings are available at https://www.diabetesteam.com/resources/the-results-are-in-what-people-with-type-2-diabetes-want-most-from-their-doctors-is-information-not-new-treatments.

About MyHealthTeamsMyHealthTeamsbelieves that if you are diagnosed with a chronic condition, it should be easy to find and connect with others like you. MyHealthTeams creates social networks for people living with a chronic health condition. Millions of people have joined one of the company's 34 highly engaged communities focusing on the following conditions: Crohn's and colitis, multiple sclerosis, lupus, fibromyalgia, pulmonary hypertension, spondylitis, eczema, myeloma, hyperhidrosis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, leukemia, lymphoma, irritable bowel syndrome, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, epilepsy, hemophilia, hidradenitis suppurative, depression, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, COPD, chronic pain, migraines, food allergies, obesity, HIV, PCOS, endometriosis, breast cancer and autism. MyHealthTeams' social networks are available in 13 countries.

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/people-living-with-type-2-diabetes-want-information-and-empathy-from-their-doctors-more-than-new-medications-300972655.html

SOURCE MyHealthTeams

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People Living With Type 2 Diabetes Want Information and Empathy From Their Doctors More Than New Medications - BioSpace

As its new CEO begins to move Sanofi away from new diabetes research, the drugmakerand producer of one of the worlds top-selling insulinswill also look to pull back from its three-year-old relationship with Verily and their virtual diabetes clinic, Onduo.

The restructuring comes shortly after the joint venture celebrated the completion of its expansion across the continental U.S., announcing that it now offers counseling services in 49 states. In addition, Onduo recently published a promising real-world evidence study showing gains in glucose control among type 2 diabetes patients with high blood sugar.

The virtual diabetes venture was first launched in September 2016 with nearly $500 million in equal investments from the French Big Pharma and Googles life science-focused sister company Verily.

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CROs are often at the forefront of adopting new technologies to make clinical trials more efficient. Hear how ICON, Lotus Clinical Research, and Bioforum are speeding database builds and automating reporting tasks for data management.

Now, newly installed chief Paul Hudson aims to refocus the company on its strongest products in immunology and vaccines, while discontinuing its R&D programs in diabetes and cardiovascular diseases following struggling sales. All in all, the drugmaker hopes to save 2 billion, or $2.2 billion U.S., by 2022.

RELATED: Sanofi CEO Hudson backs away from struggling diabetes, cardiovascular areas in strategy unveiling

In a capital markets day presentation to pitch its new strategy, Sanofi said it would direct its cashflow from diabetes and cardiovascular treatments to already mature markets. It would also halt the planned launch of efpeglenatide, a GLP-1 injection for Type 2 diabetes, and instead seek a partner to take over its commercialization.

Regarding Onduo, Hudson said the company over-invested in the project in the past. Sanofi will stay on as a financial backer, but wont be involved in its ongoing operations, according to reports.

RELATED: Sanofi, Verily and Sensile to build all-in-one insulin patch pump

Whether this means more independence for Onduo remains to be seen. In late November, the virtual clinic amended its collaboration and license agreement with diabetes hardware maker Dexcom, making it the ventures preferred supplier of continuous glucose monitoring devices for its Type 2 diabetes program.

In return, Dexcom inked a $250 million upfront payment in shares of common stock, and signed on to additional payments of $280 million linked to future product launches and sales milestones. In addition, Dexcom and Verily expanded their collaboration options for new products and software, including programs for Dexcoms CGM systems.

Onduos smartphone-based clinic officially launched in early 2018, which aims to connect patients with its own network of board-certified endocrinologists to guide lifestyle and medication changes and track potential long-term complications of diabetes.

Last week, Onduo published real-world data gathered from 740 of its participants, showing that 92% of those with the highest starting HbA1c saw decreases of 2.3 percentage points through the telehealth programfrom an average of 10.7% down to 8.3%.

The data was taken from users from 21 U.S. states, with 30% living in rural communities. Nearly half of the participants were remotely prescribed and shipped CGMs during the study, according to Onduo. The results were published in the Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology.

Read more from the original source:
Sanofi to restructure its Onduo, Verily partnership alongside diabetes exit - FierceBiotech

There are more than a million people who have Type 1 diabetes, and they're expected to live at least 10 years less than Americans without it.

In fact, there are only 90 diabetics who have lived more than 70 years.

But one man crushed that goal 15 years ago and is telling others how they can do it too.

Eighty-five-year-old Don Ray can't remember a life without diabetes.

As a child, Don could not go to gym class. He couldn't play sports. He couldn't even play hide and seek.

"Because if you were to hide, and they can't find you and you have an insulin reaction or a hypoglycemia, you might really be in trouble because they will never find you," Don explains.

He was told he wouldn't live past his 30s. But eventually he got tired of hearing, "You can't, you can't, you can't."

"I would go to gym class when I started school in kindergarten and first grade, and I'd sit in the chair in gym class and I'd watch these kids, and I knew I could do this, cause I just knew I could do this," Don says.

Don and his dad started playing catch, and that turned into 20 years of playing football and 30 years of baseball.

And he did it because "he followed the rules," according to Betul Hatipoglu, MD, at the Cleveland Clinic.

What rules? First make sure your blood sugar is in check: between 80 and 130 milligrams. If it's too low, eat some carbs, but don't forget to check while working out.

"If they are going to exercise for an hour, they have to check it in 30 minutes again to make sure they are still in the safe zone," Hatipoglu says.

But don't take too much insulin before your meal or before your workout.

"So if you are going to exercise after lunch, for lunch you take less insulin so it is safer for you," Hatipoglu says.

And if you're working out after dinner, be careful as well. You don't want any overnight complications.

"If you take care of the disease, the disease will take care of you, and you can if you take care of yourself," Hatipoglu explains.

Nowadays, there are nearly 140,000 people diagnosed with diabetes each year in the U.S. alone. But in 30 years, an expected five million Americans will be diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.

DIABETES TYPE 1: DON SHATTERS EXPECTATIONS! REPORT #2699

BACKGROUND: Glucose is a critical source of energy for your brain, muscles, and tissues. When you eat, your body breaks down carbohydrates into glucose and this triggers the pancreas to release a hormone called insulin. Insulin acts as a "key" that allows glucose to enter the cells from the blood. Your body can't function or perform properly if it doesn't produce enough insulin to effectively manage glucose. This is what produces the symptoms of diabetes. Uncontrolled diabetes can lead to serious complications by damaging blood vessels and organs. It also increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, nerve damage, and eye disease. Nutrition and exercise help manage diabetes, but it's also important to track blood glucose levels. Treatment may include taking insulin or other medications. (Source: https://www.healthline.com/health/diabetes/facts-statistics-infographic#1)

COPING WITH TYPE 1 DIABETES: People who have had type 1 diabetes for a long time may develop what's called "diabetes burnout." This can happen when you start to feel burdened by the disease. A good support system is essential to coping with type 1 diabetes. Spending time with friends and family or talking with someone you trust are ways to manage diabetes distress, which can include stress and anxiety. Taking good care of yourself can reduce diabetes stress and help you cope with the condition. Making sure to eat well, exercise, and learn how to monitor blood sugar levels are important. Getting enough sleep each night and taking time to relax and enjoy life are also very important. There are resources available to help you manage type 1 diabetes such as apps designed to count carbs, watch blood sugar levels, and track progress with diet and exercise. The more you know about your condition, the better prepared you'll be at taking care of yourself. Your doctor can also recommend books about type 1 diabetes. (Source: https://www.healthline.com/health/type-1-diabetes/living-with-type-1/how-you-can-cope#4)

NEW DISCOVERY FOR DIABETES: Matthias Hebrok, PhD, director of the UCSF diabetes center, and Gopika Nair, PhD, have discovered how to transform human stem cells into healthy, insulin producing beta cells. "We can now generate insulin-producing cells that look and act a lot like the pancreatic beta cells you and I have in our bodies. This is a critical step towards our goal of creating cells that could be transplanted into patients with diabetes," said Dr. Hebrok. For the longest time, scientists could only produce cells at an immature stage that were unable to respond to blood sugar levels and secrete insulin properly. The team discovered that mimicking the "islet" formation of cells in the pancreas helped the cells mature. These cells were then transplanted into mice and found that they were fully functional, producing insulin and responding to changes in blood sugar levels. Dr. Hebrok's team is already in collaboration with various colleagues to make these cells transplantable into patients. (Source: https://blog.cirm.ca.gov/2019/02/05/breakthrough-for-type-1-diabetes-scientist-discovers-how-to-grow-insulin-producing-cells/)

Read more here:
85-year-old man with Type 1 diabetes shatters expectations - WNDU-TV

Maternal diabetes before or during pregnancy is associated with increased risks of metabolic syndromeand congenital heart disease in offspring. Research has shown that the children of mothers with elevated blood sugar that is shy of level that would categorize them as havingof gestational diabetes are, nonetheless,more likely to be obese. But less is known about the associations between prenatal exposure to maternal diabetesand early-onset CVD in infants. So researchers from Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark, and University of California, Los Angeles, looked at data from nearly 2.5 million births to find out more. They reported their results on Dec. 4, 2019, on the BMJ website,

During up to 40 years of follow-up, 1,153 offspring of mothers with diabetes were diagnosed with CVD, as were 91,311 children of mothers without diabetes. The offspring of mothers with diabetes had a 29% increased overall rate of early-onset CVD.

Children of mothers with diabetes were also more likely to have diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and chronic kidney diseases, and to be obese. The rates of specific types of CVD were increased for heart failure, and close to doubled for hypertensive disease, deep vein thrombosis, and pulmonary embolism. A mother with diabetes and CVD herself also nearly doubled the offsprings chances of early-onset CVD.

The diabetic intrauterine environment could have a programming effect on the development of CVD in children, the researchers say. They note that during pregnancies complicated by diabetes, large amounts of maternal glucose freely cross the placenta, which could lead to increased secretion of fetal insulin. Exposure to hyperinsulinemia and hyperglycemia could have long-lasting effects, they say, and result in changes in vascular function. Their findings underscore the importance of screening for diabetes risks, especially in pregnant women, to avoid multigenerational hits to heart health.

Original post:
Mothers With Diabetes, Kids With Heart Disease - Managed Care magazine

An interesting new clinical study is suggesting restricting food intake to a 10-hour window each day may be a simple yet beneficial way to help treat metabolic syndromes such as diabetes or heart disease. The 12-week pilot study revealed the eating intervention, in conjunction with prescribed medicines, improved patients health outcomes.

One of the more fascinating dietary fashions to arise in recent times is known as time-restricted eating (TRE). Instead of interspersing whole days of fasting across a week or month, this eating strategy looks to limit your caloric intake to short windows of time in a given 24-hour period. Generally, TRE methods suggest only eating between four and eight hours a day, meaning a fasting stretch of 16 to 20 hours.

One of the theories underpinning these dietary strategies is that restricting eating to a limited time window better synchronizes a persons caloric intake with their circadian rhythms. Epidemiological studies have found a majority of people spread their food intake over at least 15 hours a day. As little as 10 percent of people compress all their meals into a 12-hour-or-less stretch each day. While some research is building to suggest health benefits to only eating in four- to eight-hour windows, this new study set out to ascertain whether a 10-hour eating window could be just as beneficial.

"There has been a lot of discussion about intermittent fasting and what time window people should eat within to get the benefits of this kind of diet," explains Satchidananda Panda, co-corresponding author on the new study. "Based on what we've observed in mice, a 10-hour time window seems to convey these benefits. At the same time, it's not so restrictive that people can't follow it long-term."

To test the eating strategy on human subjects a team of researchers from the Salk Institute and the University of California, San Diego, conducted a small pilot study. They recruited 19 subjects, most classified as obese and receiving pharmacological treatment for a diagnosed metabolic condition. All subjects self-reported prior eating patterns spanning at least 14 hours a day.

The intervention tested was incredibly simple. Subjects were directed to continue regular diets and exercise but simply compress any caloric intake to a 10-hour window each day, essentially letting their bodies fast for 14 hours across every 24-hour cycle.

For such a small and simple intervention the results were somewhat impressive, with an average three to four percent reduction in body weight and body mass index seen across the entire cohort after three months. Alongside self-reported improvements to general energy levels and sleep quality, the cohort displayed reductions in cholesterol levels and blood pressure at the end of the 12-week trial.

"We told people that they could choose when they ate their meals, as long as they remained within the 10-hour window," says Panda. "We found that universally, they chose to eat breakfast later, about two hours after waking, and to eat dinner earlier, about three hours before going to bed."

The researchers behind the new study are well-aware of the numerous limitations behind such a small trial. Most notably the trial did not include a control group which makes it difficult to clearly correlate the final result with the studied eating intervention. Duane Mellor, from Aston University, points out the lack of control isnt the only problem with this particular study.

In the case of this study there are lots of limitations, not just the lack of a control group a key one being that the act of recording food intake has been shown in other studies to reduce calorie intake and help with weight loss, says Mellor, who did not work on this new study. Also, although lots of tests were done on the participants, it seems unclear how they justify the conclusion that improvements were seen independent of weight change as there simply was not a big enough number of people to make this assessment.

So, were the beneficial effects seen in this study directly related to the TRE strategy? Or were the health improvements more a reflection of the diet indirectly lowering overall caloric intake and making the cohort more aware of their eating patterns?

Its possible to over speculate that time-restricted eating is a magic bullet to health whereas it may be that its just through calorie restriction, suggests Jenna Macciochi, an immunologist from the University of Sussex. On the flip side, for people who are struggling with fad diets it may be a useful tool and help compliance.

Macciochi, who did not work on this new research, does point out the most encouraging part of the new study is that it highlights how easy this particular dietary modification can be implemented and sustained. The compliance rate for the trial was very high, with a significant number of the participants reporting continuing the dietary strategy, in some form, for up to a year. This suggests, unlike some other intermittent fasting or TRE diets, a 10-hour daily eating window is relatively easy to integrate into a persons life, and can be maintained for extended periods of time without too much trouble.

So, moving forward the next step for the researchers is to better verify the metabolic benefits of this eating plan in larger cohorts. A clinical trial is already underway in a much larger group with the hopes of understanding the physiological effects of what could essentially be called a 14:10 eating plan.

The new study was published in the journal Cell Metabolism.

Sources: Salk Institute, Cell Press

Read more here:
Trial suggests fasting 14 hours a day helps diabetes and weight loss - New Atlas

We demonstrated that black tea reduced incremental blood glucose after sucrose consumption at 60, 90 and 120 minutes compared with placebo, wrote the authors of the study.

The data confirm that polyphenols lower glycemic response and may be responsible for the lower rates of diabetes observed with tea and coffee consumption, said Peter Clifton, M.D., PhD., professor of nutrition at the University of South Australia in Adelaide, who recently conducted a review of the role of dietary polyphenols (in tea, cinnamon, coffee, chocolate, pomegranate, red wine and olive oil, among others) in regulating glucose homeostasis and insulin sensitivity, which was published in Nutrients.

Echoing the findings, a study in mice compared the effects of black and green tea extract on blood sugar levels.

Results found that they both lowered blood sugar and improved how the body metabolised sugar.

Carbs with a low GI value are more slowly digested, absorbed and metabolised and cause a lower and slower rise in blood glucose and therefore insulin levels.

to the NHS, many people have type 2 diabetes without realising because symptoms do not necessarily make you feel unwell.

Symptoms include:

You should speak to your GP if you have any of the symptoms of type 2 diabetes or you're worried you may have a higher risk of getting it, advises the health body.

It added: The earlier diabetes is diagnosed and treatment started, the better. Early treatment reduces your risk of other health problems.

Continued here:
Type 2 diabetes: Drinking this type of tea could lower your blood sugar - Express