Diabetes
Breast-Feeding Moms Who Consume Too Much Fructose Sweetener More Likely to Have Obese Kids
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Mothers who drink an excessive amount of fructose-sweetened beverages during pregnancy or breast-feeding may be likelier to have children—at least sons—who are more prone to becoming overweight and developing type 2 diabetes, authors of a new study reported. The results will be presented Thursday at The Endocrine Society’s 91st Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.
The study, conducted in rats, found that the first male offspring had signs of metabolic endocrine disorders in adulthood, even though the sons ate a normal diet with no extra fructose, said co-author Eduardo Spinedi, PhD. He is head of the Neuroendocrinology Research Unit at the Multidisciplinary Institute of Cell Biology in La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Fructose, as in high-fructose corn syrup, is widely found in regular soda pop, fruit juices and other drinks. Many researchers believe that high fructose intake plays a role in the development of prediabetes and the metabolic syndrome, which increases the risk of type 2 diabetes.
Severe Hypoglycemia Linked With Higher Risk of Dementia for Older Adults With Diabetes
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Having hypoglycemic (low blood sugar level) episodes that are severe enough to require hospitalization are associated with a greater risk of dementia for older adults with type 2 diabetes, according to a study in the April 15 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on diabetes.
Rachel A. Whitmer, Ph.D., of Kaiser Permanente, Oakland, Calif., presented the findings of the study at a JAMA media briefing at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
Hypoglycemic episodes may include dizziness, disorientation, fainting or seizures. While most hypoglycemia is mild and self-managed, more severe hypoglycemia can require hospitalization. Although some studies have reported an association between history of hypoglycemia and impaired cognitive functioning in children and young adults with type 1 diabetes, no studies have evaluated whether or to what extent hypoglycemic episodes are a risk factor for the development of dementia in populations of older patients, who are more likely to have type 2 diabetes than type 1. “With the increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes worldwide, and potentially of hypoglycemia and dementia among patients with diabetes, the relationship between these conditions should be evaluated,” the authors write.
Diabetes-related stress may affect blood sugar
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Adults with type 2 diabetes appear to have better blood sugar control when they report less diabetes-related stress and feel more satisfied with their treatment regimen, study findings suggest.
By contrast, men and women feeling greater diabetes-related distress had more complications and less optimal blood sugar control, Dr. Takehiro Nozaki and colleagues report in the journal BioPsychoSocial Medicine.
These findings highlight, for both patients and clinicians, the importance of understanding that “psychological aspects concerning diabetes treatment influence glycemic control,” Nozaki told Reuters Health.
Poultry and diabetics at risk from gas gangrene bug
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Gas gangrene, the notorious infectious disease of two world wars can still be a problem today. Professor Richard Titball of the University of Exeter, told the Society of General Microbiology Meeting at the International Centre, Harrogate today (Monday, 30 March) that Clostridium perfringens, the bacterium responsible for gas gangrene in people, can also cause necrotic enteritis in intensively raised chickens. This frequently fatal disease has significant financial implications for the poultry industry.
Intensive study of C. perfringens during World War 2 showed that the bacterium produces a potent toxin. Recent work using modern molecular genetic approaches have provided an insight into the role of this toxin in disease. It works in three ways: by promoting a reduction in blood supply to infected tissues; by increasing inflammation; and by having a toxic effect on the heart.
UK discovers counterfeit insulin pen needles
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Britain’s medicines watchdog said on Friday it had discovered a batch of counterfeit Novo Nordisk insulin pen needles circulating in the country and urged diabetics not to use them.
The counterfeit batch is Novofine Needles 31G (0.25mm x 6mm) with the lot number 08J02S, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said in a statement.
“The possible consequences of using these counterfeit needles could include adverse reactions; pain and discomfort; infection and difficulty in attaching the needle to the pen injection device,” it added.
Studies link heart, diabetes risks with dementia
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Taking steps to stave off diabetes and heart disease may improve a person’s chances of staying mentally sharp later in life, several research teams said on Monday.
In one study, U.S. researchers found the same cluster of metabolic disorders that raise a woman’s risk for heart disease and diabetes also increase her chances of memory declines later in life.
A second study found that a history of diabetes and high cholesterol hasten the rate of mental declines in people with Alzheimer’s disease.
Studies confirm weight-loss surgery beats diabetes
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The most common form of diabetes disappears in most obese diabetics after weight-loss surgery, researchers said on Tuesday in a study that strongly affirmed the benefits of the operations.
The researchers combined data from 621 studies worldwide with 135,246 patients and found that 78 percent of obese diabetics returned to normal blood sugar levels and had no symptoms of diabetes following weight-loss operations, also known as bariatric surgery.
Another 8 percent saw their diabetes symptoms improve, although the disease was not eliminated.
“This is the most comprehensive study of the effect of bariatric surgery on type 2 diabetes. It includes every major paper that’s been written in this field,” Dr. Henry Buchwald of the University of Minnesota, who led the research published in the American Journal of Medicine, said in a telephone interview.
How and Where Fat Is Stored Predicts Disease Risk Better than Weight
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A study in mice indicates that overeating, rather than the obesity it causes, is the trigger for developing metabolic syndrome, a collection of heath risk factors that increases an individual’s chances of developing insulin resistance, fatty liver, heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
How and where the body stores excess, unused calories appears to matter most when determining a person’s risk of developing metabolic syndrome, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center suggest.
“Most people today think that obesity itself causes metabolic syndrome,” said Dr. Roger Unger, professor of internal medicine at UT Southwestern and senior author of the study. “We’re ingrained to think obesity is the cause of all health problems, when in fact it is the spillover of fat into organs other than fat cells that damages these organs, such as the heart and the liver. Depositing fatty molecules in fat cells where they belong actually delays that harmful spillover.”
Scientists Discover Leptin Can Also Aid Type 1 Diabetics
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Terminally ill rodents with type 1 diabetes have been restored to full health with a single injection of a substance other than insulin by UT Southwestern Medical Center scientists.
Since the discovery of insulin in 1922, type 1 diabetes (insulin-dependent diabetes) in humans has been treated by injecting insulin to lower high blood sugar levels and prevent diabetic coma. New findings by UT Southwestern researchers, which appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggest that insulin isn’t the only agent that is effective. Leptin, a hormone produced by the body’s fat cells, also lowers blood glucose levels and maintains them in a normal range for extended periods, they found.
“The fact that these animals don’t die and are restored to normal health despite a total lack of insulin is hard for many researchers and clinicians to believe,” said Dr. Roger Unger, professor of internal medicine and senior author of the study. “Many scientists, including us, thought it would be a waste of time to give leptin in the absence of insulin. We’ve been brainwashed into thinking that insulin is the only substance that can correct the consequences of insulin deficiency.”
They call it Mellow Yellow?
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A hardline Hindu organization, known for its opposition to “corrupting” Western food imports, is planning to launch a new soft drink made from cow’s urine, often seen as sacred in parts of India.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), or National Volunteer Corps, said the bovine beverage is undergoing laboratory tests for the next 2 to 3 months but did not give a specific date for its commercial release.
The flavor is not yet known, but the RSS said the liquid produced by Hinduism’s revered holy cows is being mixed with products such as aloe vera and gooseberry to fight diseases such as diabetes and cancer.
Egg intake linked to diabetes risk
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People who sit down to a daily breakfast of eggs may have an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, new research suggests.
In a long-term study of 57,000 U.S. adults, researchers found that those who ate an egg a day were 58 percent to 77 percent more likely than non-egg-eaters to develop type 2 diabetes.
The findings, published in the journal Diabetes Care, do not necessarily mean that eggs themselves put people on a path to diabetes, according to the researchers. But they do suggest it is wise to limit your egg intake.
Physicians Agree Moderate Weight Loss Will Help Patients Manage Their Type 2 Diabetes
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Physicians say they are counseling their overweight type 2 diabetes patients to lose weight, but patients say that the message is not getting through, according to a new survey announced today by the Behavioral Diabetes Institute.
Eight in 10 physicians surveyed said that they discuss weight issues with their patients every/almost every visit, yet half as many patients – only four in 10 – report having these discussions with such frequency. In particular, roughly half of overweight patients and a third of obese patients say their physician seldom or never discusses their weight with them.
Almost all of surveyed physicians (85 percent) acknowledge that losing even a little weight can help manage type 2 diabetes. When discussing weight issues with their patients, 90 percent of physicians surveyed report that they tell their overweight patients to lose weight. However, when the surveyed patients were asked whether or not their doctor ever suggested that they lose weight, only 66 percent of them said yes.
Diabetic youth may try unhealthy dieting tactics
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Young people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes are often overweight and many turn to unhealthy weight loss practices, such as using over-the-counter diet aids without a doctor’s advice, fasting and taking laxatives, new research shows.
Dr. Jean M. Lawrence, of Kaiser Permanente Southern California, Pasadena, and colleagues studied 1742 female and 1615 males, of whom 520 had type 2 diabetes and 2837 had type 1 diabetes. The subjects’ average age was 15 years.
Roughly half of the subjects reported ever trying to lose weight, they report in the journal Diabetes Care.
Metabolic syndrome predicts kidney disease
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Having the so-called metabolic syndrome may raise the risk of chronic kidney disease in people with type 2 diabetes, researchers from China report.
Metabolic syndrome refers to a cluster of risk factors for diabetes and heart disease—including abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, low levels of “good” HDL cholesterol and high triglycerides (another type of blood fat). The syndrome is typically diagnosed when a person has three or more of these conditions.
The current study suggests that conventional cardiovascular risk factors are also predictors of kidney trouble, Dr. Peter C. Y. Tong from The Chinese University of Hong Kong noted in comments to Reuters Health. “Hence, physicians should actively assess patients with diabetes for these risk factors and treat them aggressively,” Tong said.
CPAP improves glycemic control in diabetics
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Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy, primarily used as a treatment for obstructive sleep apnea, improves glycemic (blood sugar) control during sleep in patients who also have type 2 diabetics, according to a report in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.
The average decrease in nocturnal glucose level in diabetic patients was about 20 mg/dL. “The decrease was small in those with good glycemic control and much greater in those whose control was poor,” Dr. Arthur Dawson from Scripps Clinic, La Jolla, California, told Reuters Health. This finding “suggests that treating obstructive sleep apnea could have a major impact on the management of those type 2 diabetics who, for whatever reason, cannot get their glucose levels down to the optimal range.”
Obstructive sleep apnea, one of the most common types of sleep disorders, is characterized by loud snoring and the cessation of breathing during sleep due to blockage of the airways. This results in continuous arousals during the night, leading to sleep deprivation and daytime fatigue.
