Does Diabetes Cause Alzheimer’s Disease?

That’s the question researchers in Sweden are pondering after the findings of a recent study indicate that individuals diagnosed with mid-life diabetes are 1.5 times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease later in life. Read more

Take Care of Your Teeth and You’ll Take Care of Your Baby

Gestational diabetes is associated with a high risk of premature births. Now researchers at the New York University (NYU) College of Dentistry have identified a link between bad teeth and gestational diabetes. Read more

Pediatric Diabetes Specialists Are In Short Supply

The number of pediatric doctors who specialize in the treatment of childhood diabetes is steadily declining at a time when more and more children are being diagnosed with diabetes. The childhood obesity epidemic has been a major contributor to the incidence of diabetes in children and proper treatment can be difficult to find. According to the March issue of The Journal of Pediatrics, there is only one pediatric endocrinologist for every 290 diabetic children in this country. Read more

Common Schizophrenia Drug on Trial

The pharmaceutical giant, Eli Lilly, is being sued by the state of Alaska over allegedly covering up the potential risks of Zyprexa (olanzapine). Attorneys for the state argue that the company knew that the drug, approved for the treatment of Schizophrenia and acute manic and mixed episodes of Bipolar Disorder, may cause diabetes in patients taking it. Read more

Insulin Restriction Increases Mortality

New research appearing in the March edition of Diabetes Care shows an increase in mortality among women who are restricting their insulin use who have Type I diabetes.
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Intranasal Insulin Lowers Food Intake, Improves Memory

Insulin administered intranasally affects men and women differently when it comes to food intake and memory function according to a study to be published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM). Read more

$36 Billion Spent on Cholesterol, Diabetes and Metabolic Drugs

Adults in the United States spent nearly $36 billion on prescription drugs to lower blood sugar, reduce cholesterol, or help with other metabolic problems in 2005, according to the latest information from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Read more

A New Study Reveals Ways to Reduce Poor Circulation and Heal Wounds

A new study has solved the mystery about how flexing muscles are able to communicate with nearby blood vessels, increasing blood circulation. Approximately 10 million Americans are afflicted with conditions that involve poor circulation. Read more

Link Found Between Smoking and Diabetic Neuropathy

Researchers have found a link between smoking and diabetic neuropathy. A study found that 62 percent of patients with diabetic neuropathy smoked cigarettes compared with 33 percent of patients who didn’t smoke.

Patients were entered into the study if they scored greater than 12 on the self-completed Leeds Assessment of Neuropathic Symptoms and Signs (S-LANSS) pain scale, self-reported nerve pain, or were treated at hospitals with neuropathic pain as noted in hospital charts.

The participants in the study then underwent a clinical evaluation to determine whether their pain was truly part of the neuropathic pain complex. Their current smoking habits were also determined; about 13% of the patients smoked. The researchers found that the 13% of smokers in the study made up 21% of the patients who were suffering from neuropathic pain.

“When a smoker comes into your office and complains of diabetic neuropathy, it may be a good teaching moment,” commented Rollin Gallagher, M.D., a clinical professor of psychiatry and anesthesiology at the University of Pennsylvania.
He said it is a good time to outline for the patient how smoking and diabetes both cause insult to the nerves, especially the long nerves of the legs and arms.
“It is not clear exactly why smoking appears to increase the risk of diabetic neuropathy,” said Toby Weingarten, M.D., a co-author of the study with Todd Call, M.D. and a Mayo colleague. He said some doctors believe that smoking causes some sort of ischemic injury secondary to diabetes in exacerbating the pain.

Diabetic Study Indicates Lower Blood Sugar Linked to Increased Deaths

Results from a new diabetic study have many physicians puzzled. The seven-year study of 10,000 diabetics in Canada and the United States indicates that lower blood sugar levels are linked to increased deaths.

The study named ACCORD (Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes) found that patients whose blood sugar was lowered to near the levels for nondiabetics – 6 or lower for the hemoglobin A1C – were more likely to die than people whose blood sugar was lowered between 7 and 7.9.

According to the study, there were 257 deaths in the intensively treated group. That was 54 more than in the moderately treated group, or a difference of 14 deaths per 1,000 people versus 11 deaths per 1,000. Many diabetes experts note that the number of deaths reported for the study group was only one-third to half the mortality rate for the general population of diabetics.


However, the American Diabetes Association are telling diabetics to keep taking their prescribed medications for reducing blood sugar and to see their doctors for re-evaluation.
Physicians are urging the study’s leaders at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute in Bethesda, Md., to research further on what caused the deaths.
“There will be a lot of people doing analyses on this study for weeks to come,” said Dr. Athena Philis-Tsimikas, medical director of the Whittier Diabetes Institute.

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