Is Weight Loss Surgery the Best Option to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes?

Posted at 30th August 2012 by Ryan Luce

written by Michael O’Leary

In a study that could lead to changes in doctors’ recommendations about weight-loss surgery for people at risk for type 2 diabetes, researchers have shown that the procedure may be twice as effective in preventing the disease as lifestyle changes.

(published site)

Why is Actos banned in France and Germany – but just made cheaper in U.S.?

Posted at 29th August 2012 by Ryan Luce

written by Michael O’Leary

Less than a week after France and Germany banned the use of pioglitazone, the FDA approved a generic version of the drug Actos for adults with type 2 diabetes.

As reported by Medpage Today, generic drug manufacturer Mylan Pharmaceticals was given approval for three dose levels of the drug, 15 mg, 30 mg and 45 mg. The approval comes just a year after the FDA approved updated labeling warning of bladder cancer risk for drug combinations using pioglitazone. The generic version will include the same warnings about heart failure and increased bladder cancer risk as the brand name versions.
(published site)

Can Curry Help Prevent Type 2 Diabetes?

Posted at 7th August 2012 by Ryan Luce

written by Michael O’Leary

A supplement containing one of the ingredients in curry spice has been reported to prevent new development of type 2 diabetes among people at high risk for the disease.

The study, appearing July 29, 2012 in the journal Diabetes Care was widely reported by a number of major news outlets, including Reuters, USA Today, and MSNBC, among others.
(published site)

Avandia, Actos May Raise Risk of Macular Edema

July 2nd, 2012
written by Michael O’Leary

In a large observational study there appears to be a link between a commonly used drug for type 2 diabetes and an increased risk of macular edema, or swelling of the base of the retina, which is responsible for central vision.


(Published site)

Dulaglutide Shows Evidence At Helping Manage Blood Pressure for Type 2 Diabetes

June 15th, 2012

written by Michael O’Leary

People with type 2 diabetes may find that a new GLP-1 drug being tested in clinical trials may help to control both their blood sugar and their high blood pressure.

A large study was presented last week at the 27th American Society of Hypertension Scientific Meeting by Tulane University School of Medicine researchers. Led by Dr. Keith C. Ferdinand, the researchers found that the drug, dulaglutide being developed by Eli Lilly, lowered blood pressure by a significant amount compared to a placebo. (Published site)

Do People With Type 2 Diabetes Have a Higher Risk of Colon Cancer?

June 14th, 2012

written by Michael O’Leary
It was recently a good news, bad news week for people with type 2 diabetes. A study in Diabetes Care showed that people with diabetes are living longer. As reported by the New York Daily News, deaths from all causes among people with either type of diabetes dropped by 23 percent between 1997 and 2006. Most of the drop in deaths was attributed to better screening and treatments for cardiovascular disease.

On the same day at the Digestive Disease Week conference in San Diego researchers from Washington University in St. Louis found that among a sample of 125 people aged 40-49 with type 2 diabetes were diagnosed with colon cancer at twice the rate as a similar sample of same-aged people without diabetes. (Published site)

Is Bariatric Surgery Better Than Other Ways of Losing Weight?

June 13th, 2012

written by Michael O’Leary
It is not so much how you lose the weight as it is how much weight you lose that makes the difference in improving type 2 diabetes.

An ongoing large study presented May 7 at the International Congress of Endocrinology/European Congress of Endocrinology in Florence, Italy is showing that the of different types of weight-loss surgery made little difference in diabetes control in comparison to the amount of weight lost. (Published site)