Category: Diabetes News

MircoRNAS: Increased Risk of Amputations: Diabetes is more common in today’s society than it was years ago. More than 24 million people have been diagnosed with diabetes, while there are millions of others who have it, yet have not been diagnosed and another million people will be diagnosed, just this year. Through research and major advances in medical science, there have been some really great strides in trying to find a cure. However, through a new study, researchers have found a cause for the need of so many amputations.

A person who has diabetes throughout most of their life, could have an amputation, mainly due to an ulcer that will not heal, due to the lack of blood flow to a general area. Through new studies, researchers have found that one of the diminutive entities within the human genome called Mirco-RNA’s could be the contributing factor to limb amputation in diabetic patients who have poor circulation.

This study was completed by Dr. Andrea Caporali and other colleagues in Professor Costanza Emanueli’s research group in the Regenerative Medicine Section of the School of Clinical Sciences at the University of Bristol. This study was funded by the Medical Research Council. The researchers showed an experimental cell study in which conditions the mocking of diabetes and a lack of blood supply to a tissue increased specific miRNA called, MiRNA-503 and also impaired that ability of endothelial cells. Endothelial cells line the inner shell of a blood vessel. Mirco-RNAS are diminutive sectors of ribonucleic acid (RNA) that can obstruct numerous genes. Through this study, researchers tried slowing the miRNA-503, which helped to increase the ability of endothelial cells. They began to replicate and form into systems of small blood vessels. Through the study of miRNA-503, researchers established that cell growth was decreased and a prevention of configuration of blood cells by straight binding and an inhibition of cyclin E1 and Cdc25 mRNA.

Here is what Constanza Emanueli stated about the research, “Because each miRNA can regulate many genes, they represent an exciting new target to correct diseases that have complex underlying mechanisms, like diabetes, rather than trying to target one specific gene. Our study is the first to provide evidence for a role of miRNAs in diabetes-induced defects in reparative angiogenesis.”

For the study, a team investigated miRNA-503 and targeted gene expression in muscular specimens from the amputated ischaemic legs of diabetic patients. Severed calf biopsies of non-diabetic and non-ischemic patients enduring vein shredding were used. Researchers noticed that miR-503 illustration had increased, and plasma miR-503 levels were also increased as well. Through the use of mouse models that have diabetes and limb ischaemia, researchers found the inhibition of the miRNA-503 by using a decoy miRNA could help restore post-ischaemic blood flow mending.

Individuals diagnosed with diabetes face the hardship of damaged blood vessels via high blood glucose levels, early on. This leads to lack of blood flow (ischaemia) and causes many complications down the road such as disease and even sometimes, death in individuals with diabetes. Usually, an ulcer will appear on a diabetic limb, usually one that will not heal, it is followed by the ischaemic disease, which starts a domino effect. Typically, the only way to provide treatment and healing is use limb amputation. With this new found study, maybe there is new hope for those suffering from lack of blood flow. Perhaps, a new treatment can be provided and amputations will become a thing of the past.

New Study Shows Coffee Protects Against Diabetes: Coffee is a great way to wake up in the morning. In fact, millions of people surveyed say, that they are not themselves until they have at least had one cup of Joe in the morning. It is the jump-start many people need in the morning, but researchers find that it is having quite a different effect, on personal health.

Through years, coffee has been studied and placed under the scientific microscope quite a few times to see just how healthy it really is and while some findings found that coffee was healthy for the colon and could even reduce blood pressure, skeptics focused on why coffee was not healthy, such reasons were based on its caffeine count. However, a new study tested countless times shows that coffee may protect against type 2 diabetes, but there is no clear evidence as to why.

There are nearly 24 million children and adults within the United States who have been diagnosed with diabetes, that’s 8 percent of American’s nationwide. While there are a couple different types of diabetes out there such as type 1 diabetes and gestational diabetes, type 2 diabetes is the most common one among them all. Typically, 90 to 95 percent of diabetes cases are type 2 diabetic.

Researchers at ULCA have discovered through a study that possible molecular process is behind coffee’s defense against type 2 diabetes. It’s a protein called sex hormone-binding globulin, shortly known as SHBG, it regulates the biological activity of a person’s sex hormones, estrogen and testosterone, which have all been hypothesized of a link in the development of type 2 diabetes. Coffee is known to heighten plasma levels of SHBG.

Through studies, a person who drank coffee found that they had less of a risk of diabetes than those who did not drink coffee. The more coffee in which was consumed, the less risk of person has of diabetes. During the studies, researchers believed that the coffee was improving the body’s acceptance to glucose through escalating its acceptance to insulin.

Through a large mass of clinical studies, an important link was shown between the progress sexual hormones and the progress of diabetes. SHBG not only helps to regulate sexual hormones, which are biologically active, it also ties to receptors in various cells, signaling straight to sexual hormones.

Dr. Simin Liu, a professor at ULCA School of Public Health, has this to say about the research, “It seems that SHBG in the blood does reflect a genetic susceptibility to developing type 2 diabetes. But we now further show that this protein can be influenced by dietary factors such as coffee intake in affecting diabetes risk — the lower the levels of SHBG, the greater the risk beyond any known diabetes risk factors.”

This study was completed on 40,000 women, which was originally designed to evaluate the pros and cons of the use of low-dose aspirin and Vitamin E to prevent cardiovascular disease and cancer. Within the study, researchers found that women who drank four cups of caffeinated coffee each day had higher levels of SHBG, than women who did not drink coffee. Also, women who drank coffee daily had a 56 percent less likely risk of type 2 diabetes.

However, decaffeinated coffee does not seem to have the same effects according to Atsushi Goto, a UCLA doctoral student who reported, “Consumption of decaffeinated coffee was not significantly associated with SHBG levels, nor diabetes risk. So you probably have to go for the octane!”

PhysioLab® Platform and Biomarkers: Researchers at the La Jolla Institute have discovered how to use a computer model to mark the biomarkers in the onset of type 1 diabetes.

Millions of people worldwide suffer from type 1 diabetes, which can lead to severe complications such as renal disease, cardiovascular disease, blindness, coma or death. Researchers believe that the cause of type 1 diabetes comes from the destruction of insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. Researchers highly believe if they mark the initial start of type 1 diabetes, they can find a cure for it.

There have been quite a few great advances when it comes to science and medicine. Since the 1920’s when insulin was first discovered, there has been a study created to find a cure for life-long sufferers of type 1 diabetes. From breakthroughs to cures, it seems it has been done once more. A type 1 diabetes researcher from the La Jolla Institute named Matthias von Herrath, M.D. has confirmed the usefulness of a newly established computer model in calculating crucial evidence about nasal insulin management procedures in type 1 diabetes.

This new breakthrough is a very important research tool in type 1 diabetes; the software called Type 1 Diabetes PhysioLab® Platform was developed by Entelos Inc. and it gives researchers the ability to perform lab research faster to evaluate therapeutic strategies for a cure that will work in human patients. It has shown promising results in predicting various data from published type 1 diabetes experiments. The PhysioLab® Platform is an extensive calculated model of disease pathogenesis based on non-obese diabetic mice. It was developed over two years ago and it encourages autoimmune procedures and successive damage of pancreatic beta cells from birth through the onset of diabetes. It was funded by a grant program of the American Diabetes Association.

Dr. Herrath had stated that the model was able to accurately identify the exact timeframe that they key type 1 diabetes information, also known as “biomarkers” surfaced. He explains the biomarkers as proteins or cell types that tell researchers if a therapeutic option is working and when it is time to start a treatment process. When it comes to the La Jolla study, the model showed the ability to positively predict the inception of biomarkers, which revealed beta cell production in a non-obese diabetic mouse. Herrath also stated that the positive results add credibility to the acceptance of assessing computer models to investigate beneficial healing abilities within human diseases.

While interviewing Dr. Herrah he also stated, “Since laboratory studies can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and early stage human clinical trials can cost $10 million dollars or more, predicting the right conditions to try is important. We’ve found that using this in silico (computer analysis) prediction platform can quicken the pace and effectiveness of type 1 diabetes research. By allowing us to pre-test our theories in computer models, we can ensure that the more time-intensive and costly process of laboratory testing is focused on the most promising therapeutic strategies, with the greatest chance of success. The model accurately predicted that implementing a low frequency nasal insulin dosing regimen in animal models was more beneficial in controlling type 1 diabetes than a high frequency regimen, noting that the software’s prediction of the biomarkers was key in this process.

“These results confirmed our hypotheses on the benefits of low-frequency nasal insulin dosing. But even more importantly, the advantage of applying computer modeling in optimizing the therapeutic efficacy of nasal insulin immunotherapy was confirmed.”

Body Temperature and Insulin Linked: Diabetes is becoming a very powerful disease. It has taken over the bodies of 23 million people in the U.S. and 171 million people globally. It is also expected to overtake the bodies of one million more people just by the end of this year. While many great advances have been made when it comes to diabetes, no cure has been found, though scientists and researchers are very hopeful that they will. However, there is always something new popping up in science and research that helps link one experiment to another and the next advance might be the link needed.

Diabetes mellitus is a disease that is caused by the lack insulin in one’s body. There are several types of diabetes such as Type 1 diabetes, Type 2 Diabetes and gestational (pregnancy) diabetes. Insulin comes from pancreas cells which can sometimes produce less secretion than the body needs, as a result, glucose levels are raised, which in turn causes different disorders like neuropathy, retinopathy, heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and erectile dysfunction over time. Diabetes can lead to amputation, coma and death if not treated correctly.

Insulin is important for the body to function correctly. It is a hormone that is important in regulating fat metabolism, carbohydrates and maintains normal blood sugar levels in the body. Insulin causes muscle, fat and liver tissue to take glucose from the blood and store it as a glycogen in the muscle and the liver. Without insulin, glucose cannot be taken by the body cells. Therefore, the body starts to use fat as its energy source, making individuals feel tired and their body begins to act differently.

In Japan, at the National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Professor Makoto Tominaga and Dr. Kunitoshi Uchida believe they have found a connection between core body temperature and insulin secretion. They believe that the TRPM2 ion channel in pancreatic beta-cells is a very important factor in the insulin secretion stimulated by glucose and gastrointestinal hormone that is secreted after food is consumed.

Insulin has been researched since it was first discovered in the 1920’s. In 2009, insulin was found to be linked with temperature regulation by a team led scientists at The Scripps Research Institute. Scientists were able to inject mice with insulin and watch as their core body temperature rose, their metabolism increase and fatty tissue released heat. The more insulin that was injected, the higher the metabolism increased.

Within the body, the TRPM2, also known as Transient Receptor Potential Cation Channel, is a temperature-sensitive Ca2+- permeable channel, a protein found in humans that can be found in pancreatic beta-cells. When this theory was tested on mice, both the professor and doctor found that the TRPM2-deficient mice were showing higher levels of glucose levels with reduced insulin secretion over that of uninhabited mice. TRPM2-defienct pancreatic beta-cells also showed smaller intracellular Ca2+ increase and a reduction of insulin secretion motivated by glucose and incretin.

Professor Makoto Tominaga and Dr. Kunitoshi Uchida reported that, “TRPM2 may control insulin secretion levels mainly by modulating intracellular Ca2+ concentrations. Finding the substance which stimulates TRPM2 effectively could lead to the development of a new therapy for diabetes mellitus.”

They believe that if the body temperature can be controlled, than perhaps the insulin can as well, which will produce a cure for diabetes and help many people in the world.

Dairy Products – Lowering the Risk of Type 2 Diabetes: Diabetes is a growing risk around the world. There are more than 23 million women, men and children in American who have been diagnosed and sadly another million will be diagnosed by the end of this year. Many people are learning to control their diabetes through exercise and diet, while other people struggle throughout their whole life. Thanks to research and steady studies, there are more cures on the way every year and this bit of information might just be the small relief, we’ve all be waiting for.

Scientists and other colleagues from various institutions of Harvard have found that trans-palmitoleic acid (fatty acid), a compound found in dairy products like butter, cheese, milk and yogurt could lower the risk of type 2 diabetes considerably. Palmitoleic acid is produced in small amounts by the body, though for a person to consume trans-palmatileic acid, a dairy diet is needed. Health professionals in the past have advised against the diet of dairy foods, though now it is suggested to do just the opposite.

Investigators led by Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at Harvard, Dariush Mozaffarian and Gökhan S. Hotamisligil, a Professor of Genetics and Metabolism at Harvard found that trans-palmitoleic acid may justify the epidemiological evidence from recent years, that dairy foods can be lower the risk of type 2 diabetes. The study also showed that individuals with higher fatty acid levels in their blood could lessen the chance of diabetes 62 percent over those who showed lower levels.

However, trans-palmitoleic acid is helpful in many other ways as well. Studies showed that over 3,700 applicants that in the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute-funded Cardiovascular Health Study showed that those who had higher circulating levels of trans-palmitoleic also showed lower levels of cholesterol, insulin levels and other risk factors that typically lead to diabetes.

Typically, trans-palmitoleic acid can be found in vegetable oils, but these oils are advised against since they can lead to more heart issues along with heart disease. It is highly advised to diet with the trans-palmitoleic acid that comes from both dairy and meat products, which show to have a lower risk on the heart.

Whole milk is the best place to find trans-palmitoleic acid, it has more than two percent, one percent and skim milk does. Although, low fat dairy foods are suggested by both doctors and other professionals, dairy foods themselves can be very high in fat which tends to lead to other health concerns. Along with a low fat dairy diet, low sugar and salt portions are recommended, along with an increase in fruit and vegetables. It is not recommended for individuals with diabetes to increase their intake of just one food and relinquish others to prevent their risk of type 2 diabetes.

Diabetes is a powerful disease that is hurting many people, but with new advances in both science and technology, researchers are positive that a cure will be found.

Testicular Tissue Producing Insulin – A Cure: Studies show that men who have type 1 diabetes might be able to grow their own insulin-producing cells from their testicular tissue. This new discovery comes from researchers at the Georgetown University Medical Center.

There are more than 23 million people in the United States alone, who have been diagnosed with diabetes. That 23 million includes women, men, and children. On a yearly basis, another million will be diagnosed with diabetes as well. It is growing epidemic and many people who do not have a family history of diabetes are being diagnosed with it as well. Both laboratory and animal studies are held every day in hopes of finding a new cure for diabetes and sometimes there are great advances.

The newest advance comes from the researchers at the Georgetown University Medical Center where researchers have proven through studies that human spermatogonial stem cells also known as SSC’s, which are extracted from testicular tissue, can alter into insulin-producing beta islet cells, which are normally found in the pancreas. The researchers, who discovered this, say that this study has been accomplished without the use of extra genes, which are used by most labs today to turn adult stem cells into a tissue of choice.

Through years of study, there have been some great discoveries made in the world of health science and diabetes. Even mice have been cured of their diabetes through the use of induced pluripotent stem cells also known as IPS cells, but some of these studies have also had their drawbacks as well. Through certain studies, islet cells have been transplanted from deceased donors, but soon rejections and a lack of deceased donation became an issue, leading to an unsuccessful study. Adult stem cells have also been re-programmed with other genes so that they behave just like embryonic stem cells, however this study led to transfected tissue, teratomas and tumors.

Researchers quickly turned to SSC’s rather than ISP’s for their research. SSC’s already have the source that is needed in stem cells; therefore they need no further coaxing that could lead to future health issues. Dr. Ian Gallicano, an associate professor in the Department of Cell Biology and Director of the Transgenic Core Facility at Georgetown University stated in a meeting, “We found that once you take these cells out of the testes niche, they get confused, and will form all three germ layers within several weeks. These are true, pluripotent stem cells.”

This is how it works:

One gram of tissue is extracted from the human testicle, from this one million stem cells were produced, which showed many biological indicators that illustrated normal beta islet cells. These cells were transplanted back into the immune deficient diabetic mice. A week later, there was a decrease in glucose levels.

The results lasted only a week, but through extensive studies, researchers believe that they are on the right track to producing a cure for type 1 diabetes.

The lead investigator, Gallicano also stated in his meeting, “No stem cells, adult or embryonic, have been induced to secrete enough insulin yet to cure diabetes in humans, but we know SSCs have the potential to do what we want them to do, and we know how to improve their yield.”

Blood Testing Strip Recall – Abbott Diabetes: For questions, please contact Abbott Diabetes Care at the following:

English: 800-448-5234
Español: 800-709-7010

Update: Abbott Diabetes Care Announces Recall of Certain Lots of Precision Xtra®, Precision Xceed Pro®, MediSense® Optium™, Optium™, OptiumEZ and ReliOn® Ultima Blood Glucose Test Strips in the United States and Puerto Rico

* No other Abbott Diabetes Care products are affected
* More information is available at: www.precisionoptiuminfo.com

ALAMEDA, Calif. Dec. 23, 2010 — Abbott Diabetes Care today announced that it has initiated a recall of 359 lots (approximately 359 million strips) of Precision Xtra®, Precision Xceed Pro®, MediSense® Optium™, Optium™, OptiumEZ and ReliOn® Ultima Blood Glucose Test Strips in the United States and Puerto Rico.

The test strips are used with Abbott’s Precision Xtra, Precision Xceed Pro, MediSense Optium, Optium and OptiumEZ blood glucose monitoring systems. ReliOn Ultima test strips are used with the ReliOn Ultima blood glucose monitoring system. The blood glucose monitors are not being recalled and customers can continue to use the blood glucose monitors.

The affected test strips may give falsely low blood glucose results, which can lead users to try to raise their blood glucose when it is unnecessary and to fail to treat elevated blood glucose due to a falsely low reading. The problem appears to be related to longer than expected blood fill times. This may be dependent on the age of the strips and if the strips have been stored in (or exposed to) higher temperatures (above 72°F and not to exceed 86°F) for an extended period of time.

Customers who have test strips from these affected lots should discontinue use of the product. Abbott Diabetes Care will replace affected test strips at no charge. Abbott Diabetes Care initiated this recall following a routine internal quality review that indicated certain lots of Precision Xtra, Precision Xceed Pro, MediSense Optium, Optium, OptiumEZ and ReliOn Ultima blood glucose test strips may experience longer than normal blood fill times which may cause falsely low blood glucose readings.

Customers are advised to contact their health care provider to determine testing options if they do not have any unaffected test strips to use.

However, if consumers must use affected test strips while in the process of obtaining new strips, they should:

1. Check the amount of time it takes for their blood glucose meter to start the “countdown” after they first apply blood to the test strip. They should start timing immediately after blood first makes contact with the test strip. If the meter takes longer than five seconds to start the countdown, that test strip is affected and the result should not be used. Users should check the time for each test strip they use because all of the strips in a package may not be affected to the same degree. If any reading appears lower than they would expect or does not seem to correlate with the way they are feeling, the user should contact their health care provider immediately.
2. If they do not immediately have access to unaffected strips and are unable to test their blood sugar, users need to be aware of symptoms of high blood sugar (hyperglycemia) and low blood sugar (hypoglycemia).
* Symptoms of high blood sugar include excessive thirst, excessive urination, blurred vision, weakness, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. If a user is experiencing any of these symptoms or is not feeling well, they should contact their health care professional immediately.
* Symptoms of low blood sugar may include trembling, excessive sweating, weakness, hunger, confusion, and headache. Some individuals may have no symptoms at all before they develop unconsciousness or seizures. It is important to treat low blood sugars promptly to avoid loss of consciousness or a seizure. If a user is unable to obtain unaffected strips, they should contact their health care provider for advice on how to treat these symptoms before they occur.

The recommendation is that hospitals and user facilities stop using the recalled test strips and follow the steps below:

1. Use test strips from unaffected lots.
2. If the health care facility does not have any test strips from unaffected lots but has an alternative point-of-care blood glucose testing system, begin using the alternative system until new, unaffected test strips can be obtained.
3. If the health care facility does not have any test strips from unaffected lots or immediate access to an alternative point-of-care blood glucose testing system, health care providers should take the following steps:
* Verify any critical glucose test results (e.g., test results that may be used to adjust insulin therapy in vulnerable patient populations) generated on the Precision Xceed Pro Blood Glucose Monitoring System using a central laboratory blood glucose method. Clinical judgment should be applied when deciding whether to act on results prior to verification.
* Verify any Precision Xceed Pro Blood Glucose Monitoring System results that do not match a patient’s symptoms, or seem unexpected for the patient’s clinical status, using a central laboratory blood glucose method.
* Monitor the amount of time it takes for the Precision Xceed Pro Blood Glucose Meter to start the “countdown” after blood is first applied to the test strip. If the amount of time exceeds five (5) seconds, discard that test strip immediately because the blood glucose result may be erroneously low. In addition, if this occurs:

o Note the specific lot number of that test strip;
o Notify Abbott Diabetes Care to report the observed problem with that lot by calling 1-877-529-7185;
o Make sure to check fill time on each individual strip during use and do not assume if one strip in a package/lot appears to be unaffected, that all strips in that package/lot are unaffected.

Customers can check if they have test strips from the affected lots by visiting www.precisionoptiuminfo.com and looking up their product lot number.

Precision Xtra, Precision Xceed Pro, MediSense Optium, Optium, OptiumEZ and ReliOn Ultima customers can also get information by calling Abbott Diabetes Care customer service at 1-800-448-5234 (English) and 1-800-709-7010 (Español).

The website and customer service phone numbers listed above will also provide customers with information about returning affected test strips.

Unaffected Precision Xtra, Precision Xceed Pro, MediSense Optium, Optium, OptiumEZ and ReliOn Ultima Blood Glucose Test Strip lots may be used by customers to test their blood glucose as directed by their health care providers.

Abbott Diabetes Care has reported this situation to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and is working to make the necessary corrective actions to prevent this situation from recurring.

Can Cell Switching Help Diabetes: Diabetes is a very tough health issue that millions of people around the world deal with every single day. Those who have diabetes know how disconcerting it is to have to stop mid-day and do a blood test. Diabetes takes a lot out of a person and when it is not treated; there are so many wrong things that can happen in the future from toe amputations to blindness.

Look for the signs when it comes to diabetes because diabetes is a disease that can sneak up on us all. Here are some strong symptoms to look for:

• Numbness or tingling in your legs, arms, toes or fingers
• Pain in your hands or feet
• Seeing black spots
• A dizzy feeling, that makes you feel uncomfortable
• Increased thirst

Based off records from the American Diabetes Association, “23.6 million children and adults in the United States, or 7.8% of the population have diabetes. An estimated 17.9 million have been diagnosed with diabetes and more than 5.7 million people do not even realize that they have diabetes.

It is important no matter what promises or theories come into view that you make sure you continue to manage your diabetes. It is great that there are always medical advancements happening but there is no time frame to any of the new theories in medical advancements.

Due the ever-changing results in medical advancements and research there is always something changing that helps give hope to those suffering from different illnesses. Now, scientists are reporting about early success in altering one kind of particular cell into another, which many help patients heal in the future.

For example, if a person were to have a heart attack that damages the muscle tissue around the heart than some day in the future, doctors might be able to take other cells and make them become muscle tissue to help the heart pump.

This is all futuristic and nothing is promised but theory is more than just an idea. Many people believe that this is the very first step in stem-cell biology. It is pretty much fast-forwarding cell growth, which originally happens with injury healing.

Stem cell research is helping in so many areas and so many illnesses are finding new cures that one day, even cancer might have a cure.

Switching cells looks very prominent for the future and may give so many people much needed relief from everyday stress and wear/tear on their bodies due to diabetes and other illnesses.