Some constituents of tea are thought to combat diabetes
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Drinking black tea could help prevent diabetes, according to new findings by scientists at Dundee University.
The researchers said black tea may have the potential to combat type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease.
They believe certain constituents of tea could act as an insulin substitute.
Tuesday 12 February 2008
By TARA PARKER-POPE
Recent findings on the effects of lowering blood sugar are unlikely to change the way most people with Type 2 diabetes manage their illness, doctors said Thursday.
The study, announced Wednesday, showed that an intensive program to lower blood sugar actually increased risk of death. The findings were so surprising that the study was stopped early, and they seemed to undercut the accepted wisdom that people with diabetes should do everything possible to get their blood sugar down to normal. But the methods used in the study, called Accord (for Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes), bear little resemblance to the techniques most doctors and patients use to manage blood sugar levels. And the patients in the study were typically far sicker than many people with diabetes today.
Thursday 07 February 2008 Diabetes Study Partially Halted After Deaths
By GINA KOLATA
A surprise finding in a major federal study calls into question a long-held tenet of diabetes care.
For decades, researchers believed that if people with diabetes lowered their blood sugar to normal levels, they would no longer be at high risk of dying from heart disease. But a major federal study of more than 10,000 middle-aged and older people with Type 2 diabetes has found that lowering blood sugar actually increased their risk of death, researchers reported Wednesday.
Monday 28 January 2008 Coffee may make diabetes worse
Daily consumption of caffeine in coffee, tea or soft drinks increases blood sugar levels for people with type 2 diabetes, research shows. ....
But UK experts said more research was needed before advice could be given.
Friday Jan 25, 2008 New diabetes treatment foreseen
Researchers at the McGill University Health Centre have discovered exactly how some children develop...
2007
Wednesday 17 October 2007 Diabetes drug Byetta linked to acute pancreatitis
U.S. FDA warns about one of the most successful new diabetes medicines in recent years
Tuesday 16 October 2007 In Diabetes, a Complex of Causes
An explosion of new research is vastly changing scientists’ understanding of diabetes and giving new clues about how to attack it. [great imge]
April 03, 2007 Diabetes Treatment
Controlling blood sugar is a crucial part of managing diabetes, and a new insulin treatment is offering patients a simple and convenient way to keep those levels under control From: newscanada
Monday 17 September 2007 Do We Really Know What Makes Us Healthy?
Once upon a time, women took estrogen only to relieve the hot flashes, sweating, vaginal dryness and the other discomforting symptoms of menopause. In the late 1960s, thanks in part to the efforts of Robert Wilson, a Brooklyn gynecologist, and his 1966 best seller, “Feminine Forever,” this began to change, and estrogen therapy evolved into a long-term remedy for the chronic ills of aging. Menopause, Wilson argued, was not a natural age-related condition; it was an illness, akin to diabetes or kidney failure, and one that could be treated by taking estrogen to replace the hormones that a woman’s ovaries secreted in ever diminishing amounts. With this argument estrogen evolved into hormone-replacement therapy, or H.R.T., as it came to be called, and became one of the most popular prescription drug treatments in America.
Wednesday 12 September 2007 Popular diabetes drug doubles heart failure risk, study finds
A diabetes drug prescribed to Canadians nearly 1.3 million
times over the past year more than doubles the risk of heart failure, a new analysis shows.
Researchers estimate there would be one additional case of heart failure - where the heart can't pump enough blood through the body - for every 30 diabetic patients taking GlaxoSmithKline's Avandia for one year.
As well, for every 220 diabetics treated with the drug for at least 12 months, one additional person would suffer a heart attack, according to the study published in today's Journal of the American Medical Association.
Six Killers | Diabetes
Looking Past Blood Sugar to Survive With Diabetes
Dave Smith found out he had Type 2 diabetes by accident, after a urine test. [see the nyt video]
Sunday 29 July 2007 Diabetes drugs could double risk of heart failure
The risk of heart failure in patients taking thiazolinediones, can be up to 100 per cent higher than in those who forgo the drugs, researchers at Wake Forest University in North Carolina have found after studying randomized trials, controlled observational studies and case reports.
Discovery boosts diabetes researchCHARLIE FIDELMAN,
The GazetteTuesday 17 July 2007The
Montreal endocrinologist who played a pivotal role in discovering a
gene variant that raises a child's risk of developing Type 1 diabetes
is optimistic the remaining faulty genes will be decoded within a few
months. "We expect to get the important ones ... the second stage
is in progress and results are expected in the fall," Constantin
Polychronakos of McGill University said yesterday, commenting on a list
of about 20 genes associated with insulin-dependent diabetes. The
latest research adds a new gene to the four previously identified as
risk factors for Type 1 diabetes, formerly known as juvenile diabetes,
in which the immune system destroys insulin-producing cells in the
pancreas. "It
took 30 years to discover the first four genes and these were the easy
ones," said Polychronakos, head of pediatric endocrinology at the
McGill University Health Centre. "The genes we are discovering now are
those we never thought of." In a team with researchers at at the
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Pa., Polychronakos made the
discovery of the suspected gene mutation - called KIAA0350 - using
advanced genetic screening technology. High-density DNA microchip
technology allows scientists to easily scan thousands of genes - up to
550,000 genes in a single test in about 30 minutes, Polychronakos
explained. The study was published online Sunday in the scientific journal Nature. The
causes of Type 1 diabetes are still unknown. It is estimated that half
the causes are genetic and the other half are environmental. Once the genetic basis of the disease is known, scientists can focus on unravelling the environmental contribution. The
technology, however, is now moving so fast that doctors will soon have
a reliable way of predicting diabetes as well as other common diseases,
he said. "But from prediction to prevention, it's a long journey." About 550,000 people in Quebec are affected by diabetes; about 10 per cent have Type 1. Type 2 diabetes is related to obesity and a sedentary lifestyle. Such
research is making great strides, but it's not a miracle in terms of
prevention, said Serge Langlois, head of the Quebec Diabetes
Association. "Years ago, we didn't know about these genes, so
it's great news. On the other hand, it opens up a whole bunch of
issues," Langlois said. "For example, how will we prevent the onset of
diabetes in those who have been screened at birth (and found to carry
the faulty genes)? " cfidelman@thegazette.canwest.com
© The Gazette (Montreal) 2007
see 57 min - Feb 19, 2006 Charlie Rose - A wide-ranging hour-long conversation with author Michael Crichton. His latest book is "Next".
Thursday 07 June 2007
Diabetes Drug Still Has Heart Risks, Doctors Warn
A study intended to demonstrate the safety of a diabetes treatment seems, instead, to have added to the controversy
A medical study intended to demonstrate the heart safety of a well-known diabetes treatment seems, instead, to have added to the controversy over the drug.
Its manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline, says preliminary results of the clinical trial provide reassurance that the drug, Avandia, an oral medication for Type 2 diabetes that has been used by an estimated seven million people worldwide, does not raise the risk of a heart attack or death from cardiovascular disease. Influential doctors said that the data published online yesterday in a major medical journal did nothing to ease their concerns about the heart risks. The doctors raised their concerns in three editorials accompanying the Avandia study in The New England Journal of Medicine. Questions about the safety of Avandia and how regulators have dealt with its risks are to be the subject of a Congressional hearing today. The data could intensify criticism, expected at the hearing, that the Food and Drug Administration should have warned about the potential heart risks years ago.
Saturday 26 May 2007 Test of Drug for Diabetes in Jeopardy
By STEPHANIE SAUL
Some of the 4,450 patients enrolled in a large clinical study have dropped out because of safety concerns about Avandia.
Friday 02 March 2007 xbc Ontario diabetes rate rises far faster than forecast
The percentage of people with diabetes in Ontario — and likely the rest of Canada — has grown so rapidly it's already higher than what the World Health Organization expected to see globally by 2030, a study says
THE SKINNY ON DIABETES
The
National and the
Star lead, while CTV
News and the
Globe go inside with ballooning waistlines and skyrocketing new cases
of diabetes among Canadians. With the release of a paper published
yesterday in the British medical journal, the Lancet, findings conclude
that the number of people in Ontario with diabetes has more than doubled
in the last decade. After adjusting for population growth, the percentage
increase still grew by almost 70 percent. The
Star reports that, according to this new study from Toronto
researchers, without an anti-obesity crusade on the scale of its
anti-smoking corollary, one in ten people will likely contract the disease
in three years. Almost nine in ten new cases of the disease, which can
leads to heart problems, blindness, kidney failure and amputation, are
attributed to Type 2 diabetes, the adult onset variation. The
National blames the startling increase on “fast food and easy
living,” while the
Globe tactfully points to “galloping obesity” as the
source of diabetic woes. The
Star worries about the financial implications behind such high
numbers, when it reports, “It could cripple the health care
system.” With the new one-in-ten odds, amounting to 1.2 million new
cases, the
Star has good reason to be worried.
Tuesday 26 December 2006 nyt An Economy of Extremes
Lately the “just right” economy has taken a particularly tricky turn: it is both too hot and too cold.
The team found that abnormal nerve endings in the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas initiated a chain of events that caused Type 1 diabetes in mice. When they removed the nerve cells, the mice did not develop the disorder.
THE SEASON FOR SUGAR-FREE SUGARPLUMS
by Nick
Haramis
December 15, 2006
It’s been a while since Canadians have gotten really good
news. New Liberal leader Stéphan Dion’s win was pure satchel
satisfaction, but it wasn’t unanimously applauded. So what kind of
magnanimous mistletoe gets the mainstream media’s lips wet? Well,
according to today’s news cycle, the beautifully wrapped present
under this year’s national tree may be a cure for Type 1 diabetes.
According to front-page stories in today's National Post (not
available online) and , scientists have found proof that the body’s nervous system
helps trigger diabetes. Doctor Michael Salter of Toronto’s Hospital
for Sick Children explains that diabetic mice became healthy overnight
after they were injected with a neuropeptide to counteract the effects of
faulty pancreatic neurons: “Mice with diabetes suddenly didn’t
have diabetes anymore.” These findings were released yesterday in the
medical journal, Cell. The report upsets the widely held belief that
diabetes is a reaction to the body’s immune system turning on
itself. But the diabetes breakthrough wasn’t the only feel good
story being touted in today’s news cycle: Yesterday, US researchers
were spreading their own good cheer with news of sudden and significant
drops in breast cancer. University of Texas scientists told a San Antonio
breast cancer symposium Thursday that there were 14,000 fewer cases of the
disease in the US in 2003 after women stopped taking hormone replacements
to control menopausal symptoms.
The Big Seven are reacting cautiously to the good news, however. The
National correspondent Maureen Taylor gives her audience the gift of
hopeful decreases in cases of breast cancer and then takes it back with
seconds left in her segment, noting: “These are only estimates, not
actual numbers.” Moreover, CTV
News hints at a very important, but overlooked question: Once women
discontinue their use of estrogen, how will they cope with the symptoms of
menopause? Similarly, the Post’s story on diabetes ends with the
following caveat as epilogue: “immunologists have voiced skepticism
at the idea,” suggesting translating the lab tests into a cure will
be another feat altogether. While these advancements aren’t exactly
the new NationBuilder 3000 we’ve been begging for, or as solid as
that idyllic same-sex marriage gingerbread house we’ve been crafting
ever-so-carefully, they do arouse signficant holiday cheer. The Big Seven
may be playing it safe with their Ebenezer spin, but for the over
200,000 Type 1 diabetes sufferers in Canada, and countless women at risk
from breast cancer, the best gift this holiday season may be the gift of
good news.
Canadian doctors open door to potential near-cure
TOM BLACKWELL, CanWest News Service
Published: Friday, December 15, 2006
Scientists at a Toronto hospital say they have proof the body's
nervous system helps to trigger diabetes, opening the door to a
potential near-cure of the disease affecting millions of Canadians. Diabetic
mice became healthy virtually overnight after researchers injected a
substance to counteract the effect of malfunctioning pain neurons in
the pancreas. The researchers caution they have yet to confirm
their findings in humans, but say they expect results from those
studies within a year or so. Any actual treatment that might emerge from the work is probably still years away. The
scientists' conclusions upset conventional wisdom that Type 1 diabetes,
the most serious form of the illness that typically first appears in
childhood, was solely caused by auto-immune responses - the body's
immune system turning on itself. They also conclude that there
are far more similarities than previously thought between Type 1 and
Type 2 diabetes, and that nerves likely play a role in such other
chronic inflammatory conditions as asthma and Crohn's disease. The
"paradigm-changing" study opens "a novel, exciting door to address one
of the diseases with large societal impact," said Christian Stohler, a
leading U.S. pain specialist and dean of dentistry at the University of
Maryland, who has reviewed the work. "The treatment and diagnosis
of neuropathic diseases is poised to take a dramatic leap forward
because of the impressive research." About 2 million Canadians suffer from diabetes, 10 per cent of them with Type 1, contributing to 41,000 deaths a year. Insulin
replacement therapy is the only treatment for Type 1, and it can't
prevent many of the side effects, from heart attacks to kidney failure. In Type 1 diabetes, the pancreas doesn't produce enough insulin to shift glucose into the cells that need it. In
Type 2 diabetes, the insulin produced isn't used effectively -
something called insulin resistance - also resulting in poor absorption
of glucose. The problems stem partly from inflammation - and eventual death - of insulin-producing islet cells in the pancreas. Hans
Michael Dosch, an immunologist at the hospital and a leader of the
studies, had concluded in a 1999 paper there were surprising
similarities between diabetes and multiple sclerosis, a disease of the
central nervous system. His interest also was piqued by the
presence around the insulin-producing islets of an "enormous" number of
nerves - pain neurons primarily used to signal the brain that tissue
has been damaged. Suspecting a link between the nerves and
diabetes, he and Michael Salter, a pain expert at the Hospital for Sick
Children, used an old experimental trick - injecting capsaicin, the
active ingredient in hot chili peppers, to kill the pancreatic sensory nerves in mice that had an equivalent of Type 1 diabetes. "Then we had the biggest shock of our lives," Dosch said. Almost immediately, the islets began producing insulin normally. "It was a shock ... really out of left field, because nothing in the literature was saying anything about this." It turns out the nerves secrete neuropeptides that are instrumental in the proper functioning of the islets. Further study by the team, which also involved the University of Calgary and the Jackson Laboratory in Maine, found the
nerves in diabetic mice were releasing too little of the neuropeptides,
resulting in a "vicious cycle" of stress on the islets. The work is being published today in the journal Cell.
© The Gazette (Montreal) 2006
Saturday 25 November 2006 In Diabetes Fight, Raising Cash and Keeping Trust
The American Diabetes Association is rethinking how it raises money from companies that sell foods that are high in calories.
Monday 18 September 2006 Diabetes drug gets high marks
Giving a diabetes drug to people at high risk of the blood sugar disease could reduce their risk by about two-thirds, Canadian researchers are reporting.
05/09/06 4:14 AM globe Diabetes patients, therapy undergo trial by fire
Afflicted Canadians go to bat for method some call unproven
Monday 24 July 2006 globe Canadian companies striving to lead in diabetes research
After making a splash with its announcement that it could produce insulin at a commercially viable level in a genetically modified safflower, SemBioSys has been getting a lot of attention
July 17, 2006 nyt Link Between Diabetes and Alzheimer’s Deepens
By DENISE GRADY
Several studies raise an ominous prospect: that increases in diabetes may worsen the rising toll from Alzheimer’s.
nyt Video Bad Blood The Times's N.R. Kleinfield and Marc Santora discuss the type 2 diabetes problem in New York City. (Video: Erik Olsen)
Thursday Jun 22, 2006 nyt 4 Diabetes Drugs Are Seen Raising Hope and Profit Analysts predict that the drugs will become blockbusters, with more than $1 billion in worldwide sales each.
Friday Mar 3, 2006 nyt A Ray of Hope for Diabetics By ALEX BERENSON
A new drug for diabetics, Byetta, helps users lose weight, a contrast to the dangerous weight gain that can accompany other diabetes medicines.
Thursday Feb 9, 2006 nyt Diabetes and Its Awful Toll Quietly Emerge as a Crisis
By N. R. KLEINFIELD,
An estimated 800,000 adult New Yorkers now have diabetes, and city health officials describe the problem as an epidemic.
Sunday Feb 5, 2006 nyt Declare War on Diabetes
Now is the time to develop a coordinated plan with a long view to take control of diabetes.
Monday Jan 16, 2006 nyt Gene Increases Diabetes Risk, Scientists Find
By NICHOLAS WADE
The variant gene leads to a sizable extra risk of Type 2 diabetes and is carried by more than a third of the American population.
Wednesday Jan 11, 2006 nyt In the Treatment of Diabetes, Success Often Does Not Pay
By IAN URBINA
Doctors and hospitals profit by treating complications of diabetes but lose money when they try to prevent them.
Wednesday Jan 11, 2006 nyt Living at an Epicenter of Diabetes, Defiance and Despair
By N. R. KLEINFIELD
In East Harlem, an invisible web of diabetes stretches throughout the neighborhood, touching nearly every life with its menace.
Monday Jan 9, 2006 nyt Diabetes and Its Awful Toll Quietly Emerge as a Crisis
By N. R. KLEINFIELD
More than one in every eight New Yorkers now have diabetes, and city health officials describe the problem as an epidemic.
2005
Diabetes developments
Jul 7, 2005 By Stacey Delo, MarketWatch
Coming up on MarketWatch Weekend, July 9-10, 2005
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Insulin dispensing without needles may soon be on its way for treatment of diabetes.
The Food and Drug Administration recently accepted an application from pharmaceutical giants Pfizer (PFE) and Sanofi-Aventis (SNY) to market Exubera, a form of insulin that can be inhaled. Jean Lee takes a look at the highly competitive market for diabetes-related dollars.
Friday Feb 25, 2005 ts
Pump makes diabetes manageable
Insulin devices have revolutionized lives of thousands
Treating diabetes a global market worth billions
At age 40, retired Campbellford farmer Mike O`Rourke holds the world in his hands. His secret is a pager-sized device that holds a vial of insulin that, when attached to his body, delivers precise increments of the life-giving substance over the course of a day`s work. Brad Lee reports.
Tuesday 9 Mar 2004 cbc
DRINKING COFFEE LOWERS DIABETES RISK, STUDY CONFIRMS
Drinking coffee may help prevent Type 2 diabetes, according to a
large-scale study in Finland, where the coffee consumption is among the
highest in the world.
Wednesday Nov 19, 2003 bbc
 Buckwheat 'controls diabetes'
A type of herb called buckwheat may be beneficial in the management of diabetes, say researchers.
Extracts of the seed lowered blood glucose levels by up to 19% when it was fed to diabetic rats.
Scientists at the University of Manitoba in Canada say diabetics should consider including the grain in their diet, or taking dietary supplements. DM
Friday Nov 14, 2003 cbc
DEVELOPING NATIONS FACE RISING DIABETES CASES
Unhealthy diets and lack of exercise mean developing countries face an
explosion in diabetes cases over the next 30 years, the World Health
Organization warned Friday.
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Breakthrough sparks diabetes hope
A cure for diabetes could be a step closer after scientists found cells from the spleen can transform into insulin-producing cells. |
Sunday Oct 19, 2003 OTTAWA: DIABETES GROUP ISSUES NEW GUIDELINES
The Canadian Diabetes Association is reaching out to more Canadians.
Under its new guidelines, the association recommends that all
Canadians aged 40 and over be screened for Type 2 diabetes. Previous
guidelines asked that Canadians 45 and older be screened for the
common form of the disease. That adds 2.5 million more Canadians to
the population defined as being at risk of Type 2 diabetes, which now
hits people as young as nine. Endocrinologist Ehud Ur says diabetes
is an underrated epidemic that is largely caused by unhealthy eating
habits and inactivity. That's why researchers also recommend a broad
national strategy to curb obesity, which is a major risk factor in
diabetes. More than two million Canadians have diabetes and the
number is expected to rise sharply.
Sunday Oct 19, 2003 bbc CANADIAN DOCTORS ADD TO RISK FACTORS FOR DIABETES
Bulging waistlines and an aging population will add up to an epidemic of
diabetes, Canadian experts warn.
Wednesday Oct 8, 2003 bbc One in three will have diabetes
One in three Americans born in the year 2000 will develop diabetes, researchers have estimated.
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Statins cut diabetes deaths
Routine use of cholesterol-lowering statins would significantly cut heart attacks and strokes in people with diabetes, research finds. |
Friday May 9, 2003 OTTAWA: FOUR-FIFTHS OF CANADIANS RISK HEART PROBLEMS
The Canadian Heart Foundation says 80 per cent of Canadians show at
least signs of factors that can cause cardiovascular disease. The
Foundation cites addiction to tobacco, obesity and high blood
pressure. It also says these same factors can also cause cancer and
diabetes. It also worries that a number of risk factors are turning
up among young people. The Foundation says that Canada's greatest
proportion of smokers are found among people between 15 and 29 years
of age. It's also concerned that one-third of women in their 20s are
overweight.
see WN on the Heart
Go Back | Go Forward
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Diabetics Confront a Tangle of Workplace Laws 
BBC
