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Could a capsule of insulin crystals a day stop the development of type 1 diabetes? There are indications that this could be the case. In the international TrialNet study, which follows relatives of individuals with type 1 diabetes, researchers are investigating whether oral insulin could prevent or delay the disease.
Type 1 diabetes is the autoimmune form of diabetes, in which the patients’ insulin-producing beta cells are destroyed by their own immune system. “We know that if a person has two autoantibodies and one of them is against insulin, there is a 50 per cent risk that they will develop type 1 diabetes within five years. It doesn’t matter how old you are,” says Åke Lernmark, Professor of Experimental Diabetes Research at Lund University in Sweden.“There are indications that oral insulin may prevent or delay the clinical onset of type 1 diabetes among individuals with autoantibodies against insulin, who are thus in the risk zone,” says Åke Lernmark, who will be initiating and coordinating the Swedish TrialNet study.
The oral insulin study will run for several years and is open to all those who meet the requirements and are aged between 3 and 45.
A Vanderbilt study examining the impact of the two most commonly prescribed oral diabetes medications on the risk for heart attack, stroke and death has found the drug metformin has benefits over sulfonylurea drugs.
It was important to examine the cardiovascular impact of the more commonly used diabetes drugs after recent controversy surrounded another diabetes medication, rosiglitazone, because it was associated with an increased cardiac risk, said lead author, Christianne L. Roumie, M.D., MPH, assistant professor of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics. Smaller studies pointed to a potential advantage of taking the drug metformin but this study confirms this in a large population.
The risk of type 2 diabetes is significantly increased if white rice is eaten regularly, claims a study published today on bmj.com.
The authors from the Harvard School of Public Health look at previous studies and evidence of the association between eating white rice and the risk of type 2 diabetes. Their study seeks to determine whether this risk is dependent on the amount of rice consumed and if the association is stronger for the Asian population, who tend to eat more white rice than the Western world.
The authors analysed the results of four studies: two in Asian countries (China and Japan) and two in Western countries (USA and Australia). All participants were diabetes free at study baseline.
The authors recommend eating whole grains instead of refined carbohydrates such as white rice, which they hope will help slow down the global diabetes epidemic.
Strategies implemented in high-income countries to improve blood glucose control in people with type 1 diabetes and so reduce complications, such as heart attacks, strokes, and early death, are working, but there is much need for further improvement, according to a study from Scotland published in this week’s PLOS Medicine.
Using information from national databases representing over 20 000 patients from 2005 to 2008, Scottish researchers led by Helen Colhoun from the University of Dundee, found that people with type 1 diabetes have 2 to 3 times the risk of heart attacks, strokes, or premature death than the general population and that this increased risk is higher in women than in men. The authors found that in those with type 1 diabetes, the risk (chance) of having a cardiovascular event (heart attack or stroke) for the first time was 2.5 higher in men and 3.2 higher in women, than in the general Scottish population. Furthermore, in those with type 1 diabetes, death rates from any cause were 2.6 higher in men and 2.7 higher in women than in the general Scottish population.
Patients with type 2 diabetes have a 20 percent increased risk of developing blood cancers, such as non-Hodgkin lymphoma, leukemia and myeloma, according to a new meta-analysis led by researchers at The Miriam Hospital. The findings, published online in the journal Blood, the journal of the American Society of Hematology, add to the growing evidence base linking diabetes and certain types of cancer.
“When most people think about diabetes-related illnesses, they think of heart disease or kidney failure, but not necessarily cancer,” said lead author Jorge Castillo, M.D., a hematologist/oncologist with The Miriam Hospital. “But when you consider that more than 19 million Americans have been diagnosed with diabetes -- not to mention the millions more who are either undiagnosed or will be diagnosed in the future - a 20 percent increased risk of blood cancer is quite significant.”
Routine screening for type 2 diabetes in adults at low and moderate risk is not recommended, although it is recommended for people at high and very high risk of the disease, state new diabetes screening guidelines published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). The guidelines suggest using a risk calculator and then screening based on the predicted risk of diabetes.
“The guidelines highlight the need to focus on people at high and very high risk as prevalence rates of diabetes increase. Even in this group there is little evidence that frequent screening is beneficial, especially for reducing mortality,” Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care said. “There was no evidence to support routine screening with a blood test for type 2 diabetes among adults at low or moderate risk of diabetes. Screening this population may lead to overdiagnosis, inappropriate investigation and treatment, and unnecessary psychosocial and economic costs.”
A study lead by researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) shows an association between increased concentrations of phthalates in the body and an increased risk of diabetes in women. Phthalates are endocrine disrupting chemicals that are commonly found in personal care products such as moisturisers, nail polishes, soaps, hair sprays and perfumes. They are also used in adhesives, electronics, toys and a variety of other products.
Researchers, lead by Tamarra James-Todd, PhD, a researcher in the Division of Women’s Health at BWH, analysed urinary concentrations of phthalates in 2,350 women who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. They found that women with higher levels of phthalates in their urine were more likely to have diabetes. Specifically: Women who had the highest levels of the chemicals mono-benzyl phthalate and mono-isobutyl phthalate had almost twice the risk of diabetes compared to women with the lowest levels of those chemicals.
Whether your neighbourhood is conducive to walking could determine your risk for developing diabetes, according to a new study by researchers at St. Michael’s Hospital and the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences.
Researchers found this risk was particularly high for new immigrants living in low-income neighbourhoods. A new immigrant living in a less walkable neighbourhood -- fewer destinations within a 10-minute walk, lower residential density, poorly connected streets -- was about 50 per cent more likely to develop diabetes when compared to long-term residents living in the most walkable areas, regardless of neighbourhood income.
People who wolf down their food are two and a half times more likely to suffer from type 2 diabetes than those who take their time according to new research presented at the joint International Congress of Endocrinology and European Congress of Endocrinology in Florence, Italy.While numerous studies have linked eating quickly to overeating and obesity, this is the first time eating speed has been identified as an independent risk factor for type 2 diabetes.
Women who consumed a diet high in animal fat and cholesterol before pregnancy were at higher risk for gestational diabetes than women whose diets were lower in animal fat and cholesterol, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health and Harvard University. Gestational diabetes is a form of diabetes seen during pregnancy. Gestational diabetes increases the risk for certain pregnancy complications and health problems in the newborn. Women whose diets were high in total fat or other kinds of fats -- but not in animal fat or cholesterol - did not have an increased risk.
Men who do weight training regularly -- for example, for 30 minutes per day, five days per week - may be able to reduce their risk of type 2 diabetes by up to 34%, according to a new study by Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and University of Southern Denmark researchers. And if they combine weight training and aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking or running, they may be able to reduce their risk even further -- up to 59%.
This is the first study to examine the role of weight training in the prevention of type 2 diabetes. The results suggest that, because weight training appears to confer significant benefits independent of aerobic exercise, it can be a valuable alternative for people who have difficulty with the latter.
black tea drinkers
The prevalence of type 2 diabetes is low in countries where consumption of black tea is high, suggests a mathematical analysis of data from 50 countries, published in the online journal BMJ Open.
The authors systematically mined information on black (fermented) tea consumption in 50 countries across every continent, based on 2009 sales data collected by an independent specialist market research company.
And they analysed World Health Organization data for those same countries on the prevalence of respiratory, infectious, and cardiovascular diseases, as well as cancer and diabetes.In recent years, a great deal of interest has focused on the health benefits of green tea, which contains simple flavonoids called catechins, thought to have anti-inflammatory properties, say the authors.
But the fermentation process, which turns green tea black, induces a range of complex flavonoids, including theaflavins and thearubigins, to which several potential health benefits have been attributed, they add.
Source: Science Daily
