Soda Pop – Worse for Women?

November 23rd, 2011 by Ryan Luce No Comments

written by Michael O’Leary

Women who drink two or more sugary soft drinks a day are more likely to have bigger waistlines, and develop heart disease and type 2 diabetes than women who drink less than that, a new multi-ethnic study shows.

The same effects were not seen in men, however, which the researchers suggested as evidence that the relationship between sugary drinks and cardiovascular diseases differs between men and women.

The study presented by Dr. Christina Shay, of the University of Oklahoma, was reported on by MedPage Todayat the AHA’s Scientific Sessions conference in Orlando, Florida Nov. 12-16. She suggested that the reason women may be more affected than men is that women have lower energy requirements and may have higher cardiovascular risk factors when a higher proportion of calories comes from sugared drinks. (Link to published site)

What is iglucose? (Hint: it doesn’t play mp3′s)

November 21st, 2011 by Ryan Luce No Comments

written by Michael O’Leary

If you log your glucose readings you know what an additional pain it is to keep your records for four daily glucose readings up-to-date. Sure you use one of the glucometers that feeds the daily data into software on your computer that will generate reports, but you still you have time to get a computer and upload the data and run the software. Now a new device loads the data automatically, wherever you are, whenever you do a blood test and automatically runs the reports.

The FDA announced this week that it has approved Positive ID Corporation’s iglucose™ mobile health system for diabetes management. iglucose eliminates the burden of keeping manual logbooks and empowers individuals with diabetes to be more engaged in the self-management of their condition, according to a company press release. (Link to published site)

Latest Good News on Evacetrapib

November 18th, 2011 by Ryan Luce No Comments

written by Michael O’Leary

If you have type 2 diabetes, you probably also battle cardiovascular disease often with statin drugs to lower your cholesterol. The American College of Physicians recommends that all people with diabetes and any other risk factor for cardiovascular disease should be taking cholesterol-lowering statin drugs.

Another promising new drug is undergoing testing that appears to boost good HDL cholesterol while lowering bad LDL cholesterol, and so far, without causing adverse effects on blood pressure that have stymied similar drugs. The latest clinical trial results of evacetrapib were highlighted in this week’s Journal of the American Medical Association.

Co-author Dr. Steven Nissen, of the Cleveland Clinic said these early results clear the way for larger studies. (Link to published site)

Surprising News: Losing Weight Helps You Feel Better (ok, ok, not so surprising)

November 14th, 2011 by Ryan Luce No Comments

written by Michael O’Leary

For most adults battling the midlife bulge, losing weight boosts their sense of well-being, and it is no less so for people with type 2 diabetes.

A large survey of 14,921 patients who took part in the U.S. Study to Help Improve Early evaluation and management of risk factors Leading to Diabetes (SHIELD) asked adults about changes in weight to evaluate the effect of weight on nine aspects of well-being. These included physical health, family interactions, work performance, interactions with co-workers and friends, social activities, daily activities, self-esteem, emotional health and overall quality of life. (Link to published site)

Recent Posts

25 Percent of People Have Diabetes or Prediabetes

November 10th, 2011 by Ryan Luce No Comments

written by Michael O’Leary

Dr. Mona Boaz

More people may be walking around with pre-type 2 diabetes and don’t know it than had been thought. Finding them is considered key to stepping up prevention efforts.

Almost a quarter of the people who underwent free screenings were found to have prediabetes or full-blown type 2 diabetes researchers in Israel reported at this week’s World Congress on Insulin Resistance, Diabetes, and Cardiovascular Disease meeting.

MedPage Today reported on the conference this week in Los Angeles detailing the findings of a group of researchers led by Dr. Mona Boaz of the Wolfson Medical Center in Holon, Israel. (Link to published site)

Exercise and prediabetes

November 9th, 2011 by Ryan Luce No Comments

written by Michael O’Leary

Dr. Barry Braun

If your doctor has told you that you are prediabetic, exercise training may be your best bet for preventing type 2 diabetes.

Researchers at the Energy Metabolism Laboratory of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst found that men and women with prediabetes who exercised and took a placebo increased their insulin sensitivity by 25 percent to 30 percent more than those who only took metformin and those who took metformin AND exercised.

While the researchers say the difference between exercise-only group and the metformin groups was too small to rule out the possibility that it was simply due to chance, it does show a trend favoring exercise over other actions you might take to prevent developing diabetes. The study was published online Oct. 31, 2011 in Diabetes Care. (Link to published site)

FDA Delays Dapagliflozin Decision Again

November 8th, 2011 by Ryan Luce No Comments

written by Michael O’Leary

The quest for FDA approval of type 2 diabetes drug, dapagliflozin, will drag on at least several more months.

The FDA panel evaluating the drug’s safety was to review additional data from clinical trials and reach a decision on whether or not it would recommend approval of the drug for sale on Friday, Oct. 28, 2011. The panel, however, has now pushed back its decision to at least Jan. 28, 2012. (Link to published site)