September 11th 2024
Your daily dose of the clinical news you may have missed.
September 10th 2024
Insulin: A Possible Treatment for AD?
March 14th 2009Researchers at Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill, report that insulin, by shielding memory-forming synapses from injury, may slow or prevent the damage and memory loss caused by amyloid b–derived diffusible ligands (ADDLs)-toxic neuroproteins associated with Alzheimer disease (AD). Findings of the study, which provides additional evidence that AD may be caused by a new, third form of diabetes, were published in the February 10 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.
Diabetes Management: An Approach That Improves Outcomes and Reduces Costs
April 2nd 2008As many as 10% of Americans older than 20 years have type 2 diabetes, and more than 20% of the total population has the metabolic syndrome. Type 2 diabetes will develop in many of those with the metabolic syndrome.
Effective Diabetes Care: Closing In on an Elusive Goal
April 2nd 2008As the numbers of patients with diabetes continue to climb, physicians and health policy experts are devoting increasing attention to strategies that can improve care for these patients. One of the strategies frequently mentioned is the Chronic Care Model, developed in 1998 by the MacColl Institute for Healthcare Innovation.
For Better Glucose Monitoring, Attack the Finger on the Flank
April 2nd 2008Most patients who self-monitor their blood glucose levels stick the lancet into the finger pad to obtain a drop of blood for the glucometer. A more effective strategy is to stick the side of the finger instead. The sides are the most vascular areas on the finger, making it easier to obtain blood.
The Future of Inhaled Insulin Therapy
February 1st 2008Diabetes is a destructive disease that kills thousands eachyear in the United States and disables thousands more, and its incidence hasbeen rising dramatically. Glycemic control is imperative to forestallcomplications; however, it can be difficult for patients to achieve glycemicgoals.
Diabetes: A Primer on New Drug Options
November 1st 2007Over the past 20 years, the treatment armamentarium for diabetes has greatly expanded: 8 different classes of non-insulin drugs and 8 different types of insulin are now available. The newer classes of agents include disaccharidase inhibitors, thiazolidinediones, meglitinides, glucagonlike peptide analogs, and dipeptidyl peptidase IV inhibitors.
Reasons Sought for Racial Disparities in Diabetes and Asthma Outcomes
September 24th 2007ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Differences in self-management and socioeconomic factors account only in part for the disparities in glycemic control and asthma outcomes between minority and white patients with diabetes and asthma, investigators in two studies found.
EASD: Early Initiation of Insulin Improves Glucose Control in Type 2 Diabetes
September 21st 2007AMSTERDAM -- Adding insulin to oral antidiabetic agents early in the course of disease can help patients achieve better glucose control, but many patients will need a combined insulin regimen, investigators reported.
EASD: Average Blood Glucose Reflects Real Life Glycemia
September 18th 2007AMSTERDAM -- Average blood glucose appears to accurately reflect the daily variations in glycosylated hemoglobin that patients experience, and it may become a new glycemia measure that's easier for patients to grasp than HbA1c.
EASD: DPP-4 Inhibitor Enhances Glycemic Control as Metformin Add-On
September 18th 2007AMSTERDAM -- Patients with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes were four-times more likely to achieve target glycemia levels when metformin therapy was combined with a novel dipetidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitor, reported researchers here.
Study Suggests How Two Diabetes Drugs May Exacerbate Heart Failure
September 6th 2007NEW YORK -- Experiments in mice suggest that the type 2 diabetes drugs rosiglitazone (Avandia) and pioglitazone (Actos) increase uptake of both glucose and triglycerides in cardiac tissue, causing or exacerbating heart failure.