Search for: "type 2 diabetes" - 222 articles found

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Article • Automated glucose monitoring

Pregnancy and diabetes: reducing complications with technology

Women with type 1 or type 2 diabetes often have difficulty getting pregnant, due to complications from the disease, being obese or seriously underweight, or having conditions like polycystic ovary syndrome. Once pregnant, they face challenges of having a safe pregnancy and delivering a healthy baby. Recent advances in diabetes technology, including continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) and most…

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Clinical Chemistry

S-Monovette GlucoExact

Highlights:The S-Monovette GlucoExact stands for precise determination of glucose and stabilizes the glucose concentration immediately for up to 96 hours at room temperature.It meets the Gestational Diabetes Guidelines of the German Diabetes Association (DDG) and the German National Disease Management Guidelines (NVL) for type 2 diabetes.Gold standard for glucose determination.

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Article • Flow cytometry

Detecting and measuring nanoplastics in the blood stream

Plastics are a part of everyday life, and an increasingly concerning factor of global environmental pollution. They also have infiltrated our bodies as microparticles (MPs) and nanoparticles (NPs), found even in placentas supporting foetal life. And they are in our blood. Now, researchers in Spain have developed a new method to detect and measure nanoparticles in human peripheral blood that is…

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News • Assessing bone quality via blood sampling

New device for diagnosing bone fragility

A new device for diagnosing bone fragility invented by the University Hospitals of Geneva (HUG) and the University of Geneva (UNIGE) has been approved for marketing in the European Economic Area and Switzerland. The device is based on a new approach to assessing bone quality via blood sampling.

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Article • Game elements

Gamification in diabetes care

The number of gamified mobile applications is rising rapidly—especially in healthcare. Gamified apps or devices are used in many fields, from mental health therapy to stroke rehab to managing metabolic conditions. This article illustrates how gamification is employed in diabetes care.

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Article • Diabetes

Microneedles: Nano-sized, huge impact

Drug delivery, blood extraction, contrast agent injection – many procedures in modern medicine would be utterly impossible without needles. Despite the benefits, inserting pointy metal tubes into a patient also comes with several drawbacks. By downscaling the to micrometer-size, Japanese researchers open even more areas of application for needles, while bypassing some of the most important…

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Sponsored • Chronic liver disease

A looming pandemic and the need for physician partnerships to leverage non-invasive testing

Even as we battle one pandemic (Covid-19), we sit on the cusp of another. Europe has one of the highest burdens of chronic liver disease (CLD) in the world, driven largely by alcohol overconsumption, viral hepatitis, and obesity. Furthermore, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is increasingly common and is a significant contributor to CLD – especially in people with diabetes, where its…

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Article • An estimated 800,000 deaths in 2030

Warning of looming global liver disease pandemic

Professor Dina Tiniakos, from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, predicts that NASH (Non-alcohol related steatohepatitis) cases will soar worldwide by 2030, with 800,000 liver deaths, costing health economies billions of dollars.

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News • AI-enhanced imaging

Detecting Diabetes with Whole-Body MRI

Type 2 diabetes can be diagnosed with a whole-body magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan. This is shown by a current study by researchers from the German Center for Diabetes Research, the Institute of Diabetes Research and Metabolic Diseases of Helmholtz Zentrum München at the University of Tübingen, the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems and Tübingen University Hospital. They used…

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Article • Oncology

Pancreatic cancer - current challenges and future direction

Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest cancers in the world, and one of the most difficult to treat. In 2020, an estimated 495,000 individuals worldwide were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and an estimated 466,000 died, according to statistics from the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer. Most patients with advanced disease die within a year of…

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News • Cardiology and sports

Risk of heart rhythm problems may be more than doubled for athletes

Athletes appear to be almost two and half times more likely than non-athletes to experience irregular heart rhythms (atrial fibrillation), suggests new research. In addition, those athletes involved in mixed sports such as football, rugby or netball appear to have the highest risk when compared with athletes taking part in endurance sports such as Nordic skiing, orienteering or rowing.

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News • Coronavirus complications

Post-acute Covid: study explores risk of developing long term conditions

One in 7 (14%) adults with coronavirus infection developed at least one new condition that required medical care during the post-acute phase of illness, which is 5% higher than adults with no coronavirus infection in 2020, finds a US study published by The BMJ. The post-acute phase in this study started 21 days (or 3 weeks) after initial infection.

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Article • Mass spectrometry analysis

Skin swabs can detect Covid-19

Skin swab samples analysed using mass spectrometry could be used to detect Covid-19 in patients, according to research conducted at the University of Surrey in the UK. Current Covid-19 testing is via a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, which involves taking a swab of the back of the throat and inside the nose, but the team from Surrey - working with Frimley NHS Trust and the Universities of…

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News • Human cytomegalovirus in immunocompromised patients

Post-transplant HCMV infection: pre-emptive strike could save many lives

A potential new treatment to protect immunosuppressed patients from human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) has been discovered by scientists at the University of Cambridge. Their study shows that certain epigenetic inhibitors expose and help to destroy dormant HCMV infections, which often reactivate to cause serious illness and death in these vulnerable groups. Subject to clinical trials, their proposed…

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News • Insulin inhibitory receptor

New promising target for diabetes treatment

Researchers from Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen, the Technical University of Munich and the German Center for Diabetes have discovered a novel and druggable insulin inhibitory receptor, named inceptor. The blocking of inceptor function leads to an increased sensitisation of the insulin signaling pathway in pancreatic beta cells. This might allow protection and regeneration of beta cells for diabetes…

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News • Women's health

Hypertension symptoms in women often mistaken for menopause

Pregnancy complications and early menopause increase women’s future risk of heart disease. Cardiologists, gynaecologists and endocrinologists recommend how to help middle-aged women prevent later heart problems in a European Society of Cardiology (ESC) consensus document published in European Heart Journal, a journal of the ESC.

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News • Disease development, risk, complications

Researchers identify prediabetes subtypes

All prediabetes is not the same: in people in the preliminary stages of type 2 diabetes, there are six clearly distinguishable subtypes, which differ in the development of the disease, diabetes risk, and the development of secondary diseases. This is shown in a study by the Institute for Diabetes Research and Metabolic Diseases (IDM) of Helmholtz Zentrum München at the University of Tübingen,…

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News • spotlight at virtual.MEDICA

Digital health is on the rise due to COVID-19

MEDICA in Düsseldorf is a world-leading platform for the medical technology business and the healthcare industry and has always been one of the places to be for the entire sector as it covers current digital health trends, innovative products and services for linking all of the major stakeholders in medical care. Consequently, digital health is a mainstay of virtual.MEDICA, which, due to the…

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News • European Region of the International Diabetes Federation

Improved funding and training for nurses as key players in resilient health systems

How extraordinary it is that the 200th anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, is celebrated on the year of the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Her key nursing values – including regularly washing hands and maintaining good hygiene – and her pioneering work in statistics and data collection have proven more relevant than ever.

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News • Simulation model for pathological mechanisms

Understanding the progress of viral infections

It is only 120 millionths of a millimetre in size but can bring entire countries to a standstill: the Corona virus. Even if it were to disappear one day, viral infections will still be among the most frequent and difficult-to-treat diseases in humans. Even decades of research have only produced a few standardized vaccines and strategies for treatment to combat just a small number of viruses. Nor…

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News • Diabetic damage

3D imaging shows how diabetes twists nerve fibers

In an international collaboration led by Lund University in Sweden, researchers have used synchrotron light to study what happens to the nerves in diabetes. The technique shows the 3D-structure of nerve fibers in very high resolution. “This knowledge can be used to map mechanisms for how nerve fibers atrophy and grow back. It means that we can better understand how diabetes affects the nerves…

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News • Acetone sensors

3D printing sensors for diabetes breath tests

The production of highly sensitive sensors is a complex process: it requires many different steps and the almost dust-free environment of special cleanrooms. A research team from Materials Science at Kiel University (CAU) and from Biomedical Engineering at the Technical University of Moldova has now developed a procedure to produce extremely sensitive and energy-efficient sensors using 3D…

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News • Surprising discovery

Fatty liver disease can also affect lean people

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is mostly diagnosed in overweight and obese people. However, severe forms of NAFLD can also be detected in rare genetic diseases such as lipodystrophy or in patients with HIV, putting them at a high risk for developing liver failure, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Norbert Stefan and colleagues have now detected a yet unknown cause of NAFLD in lean…

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News • Myths around SARS-CoV-2 busted

Coronavirus FAQ to dispel fake and harmful advice

The current outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is making headlines by the minute. However, some less-than-trustworthy advice can be found among the information. Understandably, many people are concerned and confused. To prevent unnecessary panic, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has assembled advice for the public. Is it safe to receive parcels from China? Will sesame oil…

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News • Promising metabolite

Gut flora could hold the key for new diabetes treatments

An organic compound produced by the gut flora – the metabolite 4-Cresol – is considered to have protective effects against both type 1 and 2 diabetes, notably by stimulating the growth of the insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells. This is according to a new study led by Inserm researcher Dominique Gauguier at the Environmental Toxicology, Therapeutic Targets, Cell Signaling and Biomarkers…

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News • Surprising side-effects

A new cancer drug (that fights obesity and diabetes, too)

Eric Prossnitz, PhD, from the University of New Mexico Health Services and his team hope to help 93 million obese Americans fight their fat. In a paper published in Science Translational Medicine, they reported that G-1, a cancer-fighting compound they discovered some years ago, reduces fat in obese mice. Although G-1 is currently in phase 1 clinical trials for cancer, Prossnitz and his team are…

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News • New nutrition study

Childhood obesity: a surprisingly complex topic

The World Health Organization has estimated more than 340 million children and adolescents ages 5-19 are overweight or obese, and the epidemic has been linked to more deaths worldwide than those caused by being underweight. The Centers for Disease Control recently reported an estimated 1 in 5 children in the United States, ages 12-18, are living with prediabetes — increasing their risk of…

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News • A closer look at blood lipids

Lipidomics and machine learning predict diabetes risk

Using lipidomics, a technique that measures the composition of blood lipids at a molecular level, and machine learning, researchers at Lund University in Sweden have identified a blood lipid profile that improves the possibility to assess, several years in advance, the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The blood lipid profile can also be linked to a certain diet and degree of physical activity.…

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News • Personalised prevention

‘Liquid health check’ could predict disease risk

Proteins in our blood could in future help provide a comprehensive ‘liquid health check’, assessing our health and predicting the likelihood that we will we will develop a range of diseases. Preventative medicine programmes such as the UK National Health Service’s Health Check and Healthier You programmes are aimed at improving our health and reducing our risk of developing diseases. While…

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Article • Smart patch

ELSAH: A wearable to determine biomarkers

The EU four-year project ELSAH, which began at the dawn of 2019, aims to design a wearable to enable continuous determination of biomarker concentrations. Project coordinator Dr Joerg Schotter, Molecular Diagnostics, Centre for Health & Bioresources, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH, explains the project’s objectives and potential applications for the planned wearable.

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News • LITMUS vs NAFLD

Towards better diagnosis and treatment of liver disease

A pioneering European research project designed to develop new diagnostic tests to assess patients with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) has expanded giving access to more patients. Liver Investigation: Testing Marker Utility in Steatohepatitis (LITMUS) funded by the European Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 Joint undertaking, brings together clinical scientists from international…

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News • Subgroup detected

A new Diabetes classification?

The traditional classification of diabetes, mainly in type 1 and type 2 diabetes, has been challenged by studies from Scandinavia. In the current issue of The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, researchers from DDZ together with colleagues from DZD and University of Lund published a cluster analysis of diabetes allowing for phenotyping into subgroups, which extended the findings by showing that…

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News • Dysbiosis treatment

New prebiotics: benefits without downsides?

Prebiotics are currently a preferred treatment for certain metabolic disorders, as they can restore the balance of dysfunctional gut microbiota, and improve the body’s metabolism. However, these substances have to be used at high doses, which can result in patients experiencing bloating and flatulence. A research group led by Matteo Serino, Inserm researcher at the Digestive Health Research…

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Interview • Aiming to drive health investments

Dubai’s notable healthcare

Formed in 2007 – under the directives of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President, Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai, UAE – the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) oversees the healthcare system. Driven by the private sector, the country’s healthcare growth is a notable success story. We asked Dr Ibtesam Al Bastaki, Director, Investments & PPP’s at DHA about the vision for…

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News • Oncology

Killing the unkillable cancer cells

We all know someone affected by the battle against cancer. And we know that treatments can be quite efficient at shrinking the tumor but too often, they can’t kill all the cells, and so it may come back. With some aggressive types of cancer, the problem is so great that there is very little that can be done for the patients.

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News • Intervention in fat metabolism

Improved diabetes in spite of obesity

Eating too much fat and sugar makes you overweight and unhealthy – even young children know that. But why is that, and is there anything we can do about it? In a study published in the journal Cell, Prof. Jens Brüning's research group at the Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research in Cologne has shown how altering fat metabolism in the liver can make obese mice thinner, despite eating an…

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Sponsored • Sysmex

With the UN-Series, the choice is yours

Using urine to obtain diagnostic insights has been done for thousands of years and still remains an important tool to obtain crucial information. Covering a range of tests, urinalysis may be used to screen for or help to diagnose ailments such as urinary tract infections, kidney disorders, liver problems, diabetes or other medical conditions, just to name a few. Because urinalysis has been around…

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News • Thrombocytes

Blocking platelets could prevent fatty liver disease and liver cancer

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is among the most common chronic hepatic disorders in Western industrial countries and the rate is also rapidly rising in newly industrialized countries. Experts estimate that about 30 to 40 percent of the population worldwide develop this liver condition. In the United States, this disease is well on the way to becoming the most frequent indication for liver…

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News • Stop progression

Weight loss sets back Type 2 diabetes for at least two years

More than a third of people with Type 2 diabetes who took part in a weight management programme delivered by the NHS through GP surgeries remain free of diabetes two years later. These latest findings of the Diabetes Remission Clinical Trial (DiRECT), funded by Diabetes UK and led by experts at Newcastle University and the University of Glasgow, were announced today at Diabetes UK’s…

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News • Hepatology

Fatty liver: especially dangerous during the holidays

More than 100 million Americans have potentially deadly fatty liver disease and most do not even know it. Overeating and drinking excessive amounts of alcohol this holiday season could put someone with the disease on the fast track to liver failure. “There are no symptoms associated with fatty liver disease and no pain, so most people never get checked or treated for it and, over time, if it is…

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News • Unhealthy lifestyle

How working night shifts raises your risk of type 2 diabetes

Women who work intermittent night shifts and do not follow a healthy lifestyle face an especially high risk of type 2 diabetes, suggests a study published by The BMJ. The researchers found that the risk of type 2 diabetes is actually higher than simply adding the individual risks associated with unhealthy lifestyle and shift work together, indicating that combining an unhealthy lifestyle with…

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News • Bone health

Osteoporosis defined: causes, symptoms and treatments

Weak, easily broken bones are an epidemic in the United States. They’re often tied to osteoporosis, a disease that causes bones to degenerate over time. This makes them less flexible, more brittle, and easier to break. According to the International Osteoporosis Foundation, more than 44 million Americans aged 50 and older either have or face the threat of developing osteoporosis due to low bone…

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News • Heat therapy

Soaking in a hot tub has unexpected benefits, researchers find

According to new research, obese women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) may be able to improve their health outlook with a particularly enjoyable form of therapy: regular sessions in a hot tub. The research found that soaking in a hot tub several times per week for two months results in improved measures of cardiovascular health, beneficial changes in fat tissue and other improvements…

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News • Epidemiological study

Vitamin D deficiency linked to increased diabetes risk

An epidemiological study conducted by researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Seoul National University suggests that persons deficient in vitamin D may be at much greater risk of developing diabetes. The scientists studied a cohort of 903 healthy adults (mean age: 74) with no indications of either pre-diabetes or diabetes during clinic visits from 1997 to 1999,…

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News • Smoking cessation

Common diabetes drug may also help with nicotine withdrawal

In a mouse study, a drug that has helped millions of people around the world manage their diabetes might also help people ready to kick their nicotine habits. In a report published in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), investigators say metformin, an inexpensive drug commonly used to treat patients with type 2 diabetes, appears to block…

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Video • Paradigm shift

Diabetes has 5 subtypes, not 2, study suggests

A completely new classification of diabetes which also predicts the risk of serious complications and provides treatment suggestions. The major difference from today’s classification is that type 2 diabetes actually consists of several subgroups, the results indicate. “This is the first step towards personalised treatment of diabetes”, says physician and diabetes expert Leif Groop.

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Article • Compelling cohorts

Population imaging: Big Data will boost disease prediction

Population imaging is key to determining disease prediction and risk prevention, and Big Data will be key to extracting information and drawing analysis from imaging results, experts highlighted during the annual meeting of the European Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine and Biology (ESMRMB) held in Barcelona in October. Interest in cohort studies has been increasing over the years and…

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News • Regulatory B cells

Researchers identify new marker for autoimmune disorders

The immune system is a complex and precisely regulated system. Various activating and inhibiting signals ensure that the immune cells combat pathogenic agents without eliciting a potentially harmful response to its own structures and cells. However, if those two forces are imbalanced, the immune cells may attack and damage cells and tissue of the body itself, which will result in the development…

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News • Not so sweet after all

Could sugar be responsible for the obesity and diabetes epidemics?

The idea that sugar could be a fundamental cause of the global obesity and diabetes epidemics, with deleterious effects on the human body that go beyond just empty calories, should be considered seriously again, argues journalist and author Gary Taubes in The BMJ. In the midst of such a huge public health crisis, Taubes says “we must do more to discourage consumption while we improve our…

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Video • Sugar and health

The not so sweet side of Christmas

A new video by the University of Warwick highlights a bitter side to our sugar consumption at Christmas. The short film highlights how excessive consumption of sugar can affect our health – and how the sugar trade in the past and today has caused inequality and bloodshed. Today Britons eat too much sugar, on average 10 per cent of our daily calories come from sugar which is equivalent to 60 g…

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News • Better together

Making diabetes and hypertension management a community activity

Managing diabetes and high blood pressure can feel like a solitary enterprise dependent on relationships with objects (like pills or foods) and activities (like brisk walks or early bedtimes) instead of relationships with people, but a group of West Virginia University researchers is hoping to change that. The National Institutes of Health has awarded $450,000 to Ranjita Misra, a professor of…

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News • Diabetes research

Novel transcriptomic signature of type 2 diabetic islets identified

Type 2 diabetes, which affects >0.5 billion people worldwide, results from the inability of beta cells in the pancreatic islets to provide the body with enough insulin to maintain blood glucose levels within the range for a healthy life. A collaborative study led by Prof. Michele Solimena at the Technische Universität in Dresden as well as the Helmholtz Zentrum München, Dr. Anke M Schulte at…

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News • The AßC of diabetes

Smart artificial beta cells could lead to new diabetes treatment

Treating type 1 diabetes and some cases of type 2 diabetes has long required painful and frequent insulin injections or a mechanical insulin pump for insulin infusion. But researchers from the University of North Carolina and NC State have now developed what could be a much more patient-friendly option: artificial cells that automatically release insulin into the bloodstream when glucose levels…

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Article • Nantes CHU

A hospital designed to fit 21st century medicine

21st century challenges are multitudinous for all. Ageing populations, a changing disease burden; increasing obesity with associated morbidities – Type 2 diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease; climate change pressures and more. Any new build plan demands a low carbon footprint; respect for the environment is paramount. To capture all those elements, the plan to regenerate a previously 10…

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News • Biomarker validation

Plodding toward a pancreatic cancer screening test

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most deadly types of malignancies, with a 5-year survival rate after late diagnosis of only about 5%. The majority of patients—about 80%—receive their diagnosis too late for surgery. The disease spreads quickly and resists chemotherapy. In short, there is an urgent need for diagnostic tools to identify this cancer in its earliest stages.

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News • Study

Link between blood sugar and brain cancer found

New research further illuminates the surprising relationship between blood sugar and brain tumors and could begin to shed light on how certain cancers develop. While many cancers are more common among those with diabetes, cancerous brain tumors called gliomas are less common among those with elevated blood sugar and diabetes, a study from The Ohio State University has found. The discovery builds…

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Article • MRI & Liver

MRI leading the way in metabolic disease imaging

New MRI techniques are set to offer advances in the earlier detection of liver disease in patients. Radiologists are harnessing the potential of highly-targeted MRI, whilst exploring the imaging modality as a means of delivering non-invasive biomarkers, reducing the need for biopsy to measure treatment response.

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Article • Future changes

Laboratory medicine is an interdisciplinary subject

‘Lab medicine connects’ is the congress theme of the German Congress of Laboratory Medicine and reflects the fact that laboratory medicine is an interdisciplinary subject like no other and connects those who are involved in medicine across disciplines. It works almost imperceptibly in the background, hardly noticed by patients. European Hospital spoke with this year’s Congress President,…

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News • Diabetes

Recommended blood pressure targets are being challenged

The Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare recently raised the recommended target blood pressure for patients with diabetes. This may lead to more patients suffering from stroke or heart attack, according to a new study from the Sahlgrenska Academy. The new study is the world’s largest on the subject and is based on data from the National Diabetes Register.

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Article • 7 tesla MRI

A new technique for dilated cardiomyopathy

UK researchers are working on a more precise imaging technique for dilated cardiomyopathy that may lead to more effective treatments. A study from the University of Oxford Centre for Clinical Magnetic Resonance Research (OCMR), part of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at the university, has demonstrated how the next generation of MRI scanners can work to measure heart conditions in dilated…

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News • Warning

Obesity needs urgent action

The leading organisation responsible for research into obesity in Europe has warned that unless something is quickly done to tackle the region’s rising obesity epidemic, it is going to have a devastating effect on healthcare costs and productivity.

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News • Fraud

Fighting against counterfeit medicine

Around the world, especially in developing nations, counterfeit medicines are a real problem. Until now, in many countries there hasn't been a standard protocol to conduct investigations and pursue prosecution. New research, led by Michigan State University, is providing the foundation to apply criminology theory to preventing the production and sale of fake and substandard medicines.

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Cancer cells poised for growth when opportunity knocks

Researchers have identified a mechanism that allows cancer cells to respond and grow rapidly when levels of sugar in the blood rise. This may help to explain why people who develop conditions in which they have chronically high sugar levels in their blood, such as obesity, also have an increased risk of developing certain types of cancer.

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News • VenomKB

World's first therapeutic venom database

What doesn't kill you could cure you. A growing interest in the therapeutic value of animal venom has led a pair of Columbia University data scientists to create the first catalog of known animal toxins and their physiological effects on humans.

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Interview • Genom

I looked into my genes and changed some habits

“These dates we have access to a lot of genetic information which had previously not been available to us. For the individual, this can provide options for action with regards to leading a healthier lifestyle or to try and prevent diseases,” knows Dr. Theodor Dingermann. The senior professor of the Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main has had his own genome decoded. In parts, the result…

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The role of the microbiota in preventing allergies

The human body is inhabited by billions of symbiotic bacteria, carrying a diversity that is unique to each individual. The microbiota is involved in many mechanisms, including digestion, vitamin synthesis and host defense. It is well established that a loss of bacterial symbionts promotes the development of allergies. Scientists at Helmholtz Zentrum Munich, at the Technical University of Munich…

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News • Technology

Diabetes: Smart insulin patch could replace painful injections

Painful insulin injections could become a thing of the past for the millions of Americans who suffer from diabetes, thanks to a new invention from researchers at the University of North Carolina and NC State, who have created a “smart insulin patch” that can detect increases in blood sugar levels and secrete doses of insulin into the bloodstream whenever needed.

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Article • Diabetes I

Diabetology news

The focus of the 2015 Diabetes Congress held in Berlin this May was ‘Personalised diabetes treatment: innovative – individual – sustained’. EH reports on points aired during the supporting press briefing. Report: Bettina Döbereiner

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Chronic disease

There is a global shortage of doctors that is getting worse every year. With the demographic shift in many countries from a predominantly young to an increasing aging population, a steep increase in chronic disease is occurring.

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Surgery proves successful for Type 2 diabetes remission

Obesity is physically debilitating – and costly for healthcare. Losing excess weight has positive effects on the entire metabolism and improves life expectancy. However, for patients who cannot lose their morbid, excess weight through diet, today’s surgical interventions can help towards permanent weight loss – and reduction in insulin dependency for diabetics.

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Risks and benefits of first line diabetes treatment

Although the drug metformin is considered the gold standard in the management of type 2 diabetes, a study by a group of French researchers published in this week's PLoS Medicine suggests that the long-term benefits of this drug compared with the risks are not clearly established - an important finding given that currently, thousands of people around the world are regularly taking metformin to…

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Dysglycaemia

Dysglycaemia is a new term in critical care that recognises the vital importance for glucose monitoring of patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). Beyond the clinical consensus over this word for grouping critically ill patients with hyperglycaemia, hypoglycaemia or high blood sugar, there is no broad agreement on how best to manage these patients. Report: John Brosky.

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Strong international feedback gives “MedTech” industry tailwind for exports

Summing up results of the world’s biggest medical trade fair after four days (16 – 19 November 2011) Joachim Schäfer, Managing Director at Messe Düsseldorf, said: “The manufacturers of medical device technology, medical products and medical IT have once again used the framework of MEDICA in Düsseldorf to impressively evidence their operational excellence.

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The 16th IFSO World Congress

September saw the international crème de la crème of bariatric surgery descend on Hamburg for the 16th World Congress of the International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders (IFSO 2011). Among their discussions: new minimally invasive procedures, the importance of aftercare and the lack of recognition of the importance of surgical treatment of the severely obese in…

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When overweight kids become heart condition adults

A modern-day childhood totally differs from what was common just a few decades ago. It is mostly spent sitting -- at school desks, in front of TV screens or before computer monitors – all combined with the sweet temptations of the kid’s food industry. According to a WHO worldwide estimate, an estimated 10% of school-age children between five and 17 years old are overweight or obese. The…

The Norfolk Diabetes Prevention Study

UK -- Family doctors (GPs) in Norfolk are inviting patients aged over 40, with a Body Mass Index above 30 and a family history of diabetes, to take part in the Norfolk Diabetes Prevention Study (NDPS). Funded by the National Institute for Health Research, the innovative £2.2million project will run for five years at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) and will involve 10,000…

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SWEET news: A paediatric diabetes network

For three years the SWEET project, funded by the EU and the International Society for Paediatric and Adolescent Diabetes (ISPAD), has been preparing the establishment of centres of reference (CORs) for childhood diabetes. Now, the first 12 European CORs that are certified by SWEET have joined forces to promote improved cross-border cooperation in the treatment of young Type 1 and Type 2 diabetics.

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Bariatric surgery: A last resort -- or the only way to go?

More than half of the European population is overweight, or worst, obese. When diet and lifestyle changes do not result in permanent weight reduction in obese patients, bariatric surgery is now considered a final option. But, that’s far too late, says Professor Rudolf A Weiner, head of the surgical department at Sachsenhausen Hospital in Frankfurt/Main, Germany, and President of the German…

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Imaging for diabetes and vascular occlusive disease

Metabolic syndrome, diabetes and vascular disease: What do we need to know? During ECR session this important question is addressed by vascular specialist Professor Erich Minar, Assistant Head of the Department of Angiology at the Vienna General Hospital (AKH), President of the Austrian Society of Angiology, and scientific researcher working closely with research centres in the USA.

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Obesity from the lab point of view

Over the last 25 years overweight and obesity have become a global epidemic. According to WHO figures, at least 400 million adults are obese worldwide. Part of this phenomenon relates to lifestyle changes - lack of exercise, wrong eating habits - whereas genetic factors also play a role (according to twin studies, the determination of obesity is 70% nature and 30% nurture).

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Integration to combat diabetes

To face the national and worldwide increase in diabetes mellitus cases, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research initiated the foundation of the German Centre for Diabetes Research (DZD), aiming to improve basic research, prevention, diagnostic and therapy of diabetes. Inaugurated in Berlin a few months ago, the centre has five strategic partners.

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When and how should we start insulin?

Innumerable studies (e.g. Ceriello A., et. al. 2006) have shown that postprandial hyperglycaemia is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in all populations. In diabetics, according to IDF figures, CVD is even the major cause of death (some 50 % of all diabetes fatalities) and much disability. ‘Therefore, the primary goal in diabetes treatment should be not only lowering…

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Diabetics must lower their risk of CVD

Diabetics can face a five times increase in the risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD) than non-diabetics. This leads to a seven to ten year reduction in life expectancy and a higher probability of suffering a fatal heart attack. These sad statistics have prompted the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) to mark World Diabetes Day on 14 November by emphasising the simple measures that…

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EASD 2010 review

7,000 people from 120 countries met in Stockholm this September to hear international experts discuss the progress, solutions and challenges of one of our greatest healthcare burdens. Prevention, self-monitoring, surgery, guidelines, economic problems, drug-safety, and co-morbidities – these are just a few of the problems associated with the care of about 55 million diabetics in Europe.

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Modern radiological diagnostics for the evaluation of muscle diseases

Muscular diseases belong to a heterogeneous group with various causes like neurogenic, metabolic, dystrophic, or inflammatory mechanisms as well as channelopathies leading to disorders of the muscle cell membrane potential. In most progressive disease cases the result is a focal or general muscle weakness that, unfortunately, is a very unspecific symptom. Standard neuromuscular literature…

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1000 Genomes Project publishes analysis of completed pilot phase

Small genetic differences between individuals help explain why some people have a higher risk than others for developing illnesses such as diabetes or cancer. In the journal Nature, the 1000 Genomes Project, an international public-private consortium, published the most comprehensive map of these genetic differences, called variations, estimated to contain approximately 95 percent of the genetic…

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Seeking the genetic basis of diabetes

Researchers have identified 12 new genes associated with Type 2 diabetes (T2D) that look set to improve the understanding of the processes underpinning the condition. The findings could also offer new biological pathways that can be explored as targets for new therapies to tackle T2D.

Standardised algorithms and protocols for diabetic in-patients

Dr Susan S Braithwaite, a visiting clinical professor in endocrinology at the Department of Medicine, University of Illinois, Chicago, specialises in the management of hyperglycaemia among hospitalised patients. Hyperglycaemia, the presence of an abnormally high concentration of glucose in the blood, is a common occurrence in adults who are hospital in-patients, especially among diabetic…

Concern over insulin drug withdrawal

Drug company Novo Nordisk’s decision to pull its Mixtard 30 insulin drug from the UK could add almost €11 million to the NHS drugs bill in England alone, according to an editorial in the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin (DTB). This decision could also leave thousands of patients dependent on others to help them take their insulin, said DTB, as it launched its Don’t Drop Mixtard 30 campaign in…

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Diabetes doubles CVD risk

A team led by UK-based researchers has found that having diabetes doubles the risk of developing a wide range of blood vessel diseases, including heart attacks and different types of stroke. The consortium, headed by Dr Nadeem Sarwar and Professor John Danesh of the University of Cambridge, analysed data from the individual records on 700,000 people, each of whom was monitored for about a decade…

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The psychology of healing

People suffering from diabetes-related foot ulcers show different rates of healing according to the way they cope and their psychological state of mind, according to new research by a health psychologist at The University of Nottingham, UK. The large study published in the journal Diabetologia has shown that the way patients cope with the condition and their levels of depression, affect how the…

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The UK’s one million undiagnosed diabetics

At the end of June a shocking new estimate was released in the UK regarding the number of people unwittingly going about their lives without knowing they are type 2 diabetics – there are just over a million of them. How will the country cope with this discovery and its present diabetic population?

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Achieving HbA1c target values

An adequate blood glucose level (4–7 mmol/l) is important not only for a diabetic’s daily well-being but also to prevent diabetes-related illnesses. HbA1c is the central marker to evaluate the success of diabetes management. But HbA1c measurement has a crucial limitation: current blood glucose fluctuations are not taken into consideration. However, the recognition of steep post-prandial blood…

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Type 2 diabetics have elevated risk of 24 types of cancer

Type 2 diabetics run an elevated risk of developing cancer, according to the world’s largest study on the combined risk of diabetes and cancer, conducted by scientists at the German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ). The study focused on 24 types of cancer. The effect is most evident for liver cancer and pancreatic cancer. However, by contrast, diabetics have a significantly lower rate of prostate…

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Self-monitoring of blood glucose

Around 75% of adult type 1 and type 2 diabetics say they believe they know what their blood sugar levels are, without testing, according to data presented at the American Diabetes Association 70th Scientific Sessions. These results are important to consider because self-monitoring with a blood glucose meter is essential for people with diabetes to obtain accurate blood glucose results that guide…

New cancer therapy to fight cardiovascular diseases?

New drugs that are helping fight a multi-front war on cancer may do the same for cardiovascular disease, Medical College of Georgia researchers said. Cancer and cardiovascular disease, both among top U.S. killers, share inflammation as a cause. Heat shock protein 90 inhibitors as a treatment could become additional common ground, said Dr. John Catravas, director of MCG's Vascular Biology Center.

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The growing need for ‘cloud’ computing

In June 2009, IBM introduced the industry’s first set of commercial cloud services. Based on two years of research and hundreds of client engagements, the IBM Smart Business ‘cloud’ portfolio aims to help clients turn complex business processes into simple services. How does IBM explain what cloud services are? Cloud Computing is a form of IT use where the end user can utilise…

Insulin regulates itself

In type 2 diabetes, which is occurring at alarming rates, the hormone insulin does not work effectively to lower blood sugars and patients also do not make enough insulin. These two processes have been widely considered as separate. However, a surprising discovery was made by Joslin Diabetes Center researchers in animal models of diabetes: insulin is important in regulating its own production.…

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“Get Serious” needs your support

Now firmly established within the social media world - with over 10,000 Facebook fans, over 2,500 followers on Twitter, and many more supporters across other sites - we need our online supporters to help with our 'Get Serious' campaign.

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The role of exercise training in cardiovascular health

Western societies are struggling to pay for their ever increasing medical budgets. In the US up to 393 billion US-$ were spent in 2005 for cardiovascular diseases alone. Based on epidemiologic studies in primary prevention it is reasonable to estimate that 30% of coronary heart disease and stroke could be prevented by 2.5 hours of brisk walking per week.

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Europe's diabetes dilemma

The difference in the prevalence of diabetes in European countries is striking. Meike Lerner asked Sir Michael Hirst, Vice President of the International Diabetes Federation, why, for example, Germany has the highest number of diabetics (about 12% of the population) whilst the United Kingdom shows just 4%.

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Diabetes management

This April, scientists, physicians, nurses, diabetes organisation heads, patients and representatives from Bayer HealthCare Diabetes Care gathered in Basel, Switzerland, for the third European Media Workshop on Diabetes. The event was hosted by Bayer HealthCare Diabetes Care, which is celebrating 40 years of innovative blood glucose monitoring.

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MEDICA 2008 opens its doors

When from 19 to 22 November the world's largest medical fair takes place in Dusseldorf, the entire city is in a kind of emergency state: hotels are bustin' out of their seams, traffic periodically comes to a standstill and at night exhibitors and visitors alike crowd the narrow streets of the Altstadt and the fancy hotel bars and enjoy whatever entertainment North Rhine-Westphalia's capital has…

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Typ 2 Diabetes: Is low cholesterol associated with cancer?

Yes, it is, according to a prospective cohort study published in CMAJ. The study was conducted by researchers from the Hong Kong Institute of Diabetes and Obesity, the Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Science and The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Their result: A V-shaped risk relation between LDL cholesterol and cancer in patients not receiving statin therapy.

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Gastrin analogue against diabetes

Transition Therapeutics Inc. announced that the first patient has been dosed in a Phase 2 clinical study of gastrin analogue, TT-223, in patients with type 2 diabetes. Gastrin based therapies are an emerging class of potential disease-modifying treatments for patients with diabetes.

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Diabetes: an increasing threat to people and society

Approximately 31 million people in the European Union are suffering from diabetes, a devastating disease with severe consequences for patients and their families, but also for the society at large and the economic prosperity of Europe. This week EH Online will focus on innovative strategies in diabetes care and on new management systems to support physicians and patients alike. Moreover, we will…

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Stop transplanted insulin cells from dying

Researchers at Linköping University and Uppsala University in Sweden can show that accumulation of protein aggregatess, amyloid, in the transplanted cells may be causing their death. With the aid of their results, physicians can enhance survival of islets transplants and improve treatment of type 1 diabetes.

Primary prevention of CVD: Challenges and Achievements

Lifestyle and risk factor results show that recommended scientific guidelines form a contrast to what is achieved in daily practice in high risk individuals in primary prevention of CVD. Together with its partners the ESC demands a comprehensive and multisdicplinary primary prevention programme involving the high-risk population, their GP's and other health professionals, a health insurance…

Winners of media prize announced

The International Chair on Cardiometabolic Risk (ICCR) is pleased to announce the three winners of the European Media Prize co-sponsored by the ICCR and the Association of European Journalists (AEJ) and launched in November 2007 to reward articles that best inform readers about a growing public health issue: abdominal obesity and related risk of cardiovascular disease.

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Childhood obesity

Recent studies have shown that overweight and obesity during childhood and adolescence have a negative impact on the functioning of the internal walls of the arteries, paving the way to the development of an arteriosclerotic disease from an increasingly early age.

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New marker for diabetes

This week not only one but rather two studies report about a new and independent marker that is associated with type 2 diabetes. The protein that is called fetuin-A is produced in the liver and secreted to the blood stream also indicates a higher risk of developing diabetes disease.

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Morbid obesity in Europe

Prevalence of adult obesity has increased three-fold since 1990. The prevalence of childhood obesity has increased ten times since 1970. In Europe, almost 50% of adults and over 20% of children are overweight. A third of these are obese. Conservative estimates show that, in Europe, about 100 million adults and 10 million children are obese. Obesity is accountable for c. one million deaths…

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Type 2 diabetes driving epidemic

Type 2 diabetes poses one of the greatest public health threats of the 21st century. The majority of the western world is in the grips of a diabetes epidemic driven by type 2 diabetes that goes hand in hand with the escalating incidence of obesity. Alarmingly, in some working class and poor communities, the disease is so prevalent that its victims almost take it as a matter of course.

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Early Health - Investment or Cost?

Early Health, i.e. the early detection of diseases, will have to move into the centre of attention - this is the result of a survey by Total Healthcare Solutions (THS). Dr Susanne Michel, Associate Director at THS, underlines that in the future prevention will have to be considered an investment in healthcare rather than a mere cost factor. Decision makers from politics and the healthcare system…

Scales to fit all patients and needs

The Hamburg-based company seca has specialized in the manufacture of weighing and height measuring scales for over 165 years. Today, the firm has locations in Switzerland, the UK, France, Japan, China, Mexico and the USA, and manufactures products in Germany, the Czech Republic and China, and exports its range of products - which include infant, column and flat scales, with height measuring…

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Glucose monitoring

Professor Oliver Schnell, of the Diabetes Research Institute, Munich, reports on discussions and findings of a panel of diabetes experts who met this summer in Switzerland

World Diabetes Day

Born in 1891, Canadian Sir Frederick Banting was destined to become a medical scientist and Nobel Prize winner for work that led to the discovery of insulin. World Diabetes Day, held on his birthday, aims to sensitise the public - including potential patients - to this condition. Worldwide, around 245 million people suffer Diabetes mellitus. With 5.3 million of them in Germany, the country's…

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Insulin capsules - a promising alternative to injections

Researchers from the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, UK, presented a study at The British Pharmaceutical Conference, held from 10th to 12th September, 2007, at Manchester Central, showing that a chemical coating is able to encapsulate and protect insulin against enzymes that usually break down the hormone in the gastrointestinal tract.

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AACC emphasises preventive diagnostics

San Diego, California - 20,000 international physicians, scientists and other visitors travelled to the Annual Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) in July, and 750 exhibitors emphasised the increasing importance of this gathering

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Monitoring of Surgical Bypasses

The aortocoronary bypass is an important surgical method for multivessel coronary revascularization, especially in the presence of complex lesions and in diabetic patients. It is can improve the prognosis of patients with three vessel disease and with left ventricular dysfunction1 . With regard to the type of graft used, bypasses are split into venous and arterial types. The use of venous…

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New insights, algorithms and debates

For the first time in 33 years, wound healing was the focus of a dedicated session at the 33rd annual VEITHsymposium for vascular surgeons in New York (11/06). This underscores the fact that wound healing is heading increasingly towards a speciality that warrants the special attention of dedicated people willing to embrace an interdisciplinary approach to non-healing or complex wounds.

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The ESC Congress

25,000 visitors and medical professionals from 47 National Cardiac Societies across central and greater Europe, will attend the 2004 ESC Congress, where 'Diabetes and heart disease' will be the main theme. Lars Ryden, ESC Past-President, team member for the Euro-Heart Survey on Diabetes, and Chairman of the 'Guidelines for Diabetes & the Heart', and William Wijns, co-chair and Chairman of the…

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