Diabetes mellitus is a lingering disease – for a long time it causes subjectively few complaints or no complaints at all. Despite this, it is life-threatening – especially if undiagnosed, or diagnosed too late. However, although diabetes is the most widespread disease it is often only discovered by accident in a hospital, where many hospital doctors feel that diabetology is the responsibility…
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?
Since February 2008, the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) has been trying to exclude short acting insulin analogues completely from reimbursement by the statutory medical insurers. Why? Insulin analogues are 30% more expensive than human insulin.
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…
In 2009, the continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) market earned manufacturers $23.5; this is forecast to reach $52.0 million in 2016, according to a new analysis from Frost and Sullivan (F&S). For the study the markets covered by region are Benelux, Germany, France, Italy, Scandinavia, Spain and the United Kingdom.
A new method to produce insulin cheaply has been developed by researchers at the Helmholtz-Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig, in a German-Indo collaboration. The group’s results are published in the open access online research magazine Microbial Cell Factories. The data is freely accessible by anyone and is not subject to patent law.
There are about 285 million diabetics worldwide, representing 6.4 % of the adult population (20-79 age group). According to International Diabetes Federation (IDF) figures, the number is expected to reach some 438 million by 2030. While in the past, Type 2 diabetes was often thought of as a disease of the elderly, there is now a rising trend of Type 2 diabetes in younger age groups.
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…
Cancer Research UK has joined forces with the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and Diabetes UK to launch a new campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of carrying excess weight around the waist. A survey to launch the 'Active Fat' campaign found that 71 per cent of respondents admitted to carrying excess weight around their middle.
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.…
A study published this week in Lancet suggests that low A1C levels may be just as dangerous as high A1C levels in diabetes patients with respect to mortality and cardiovascular outcomes. Upon review of the study, The Endocrine Society released a statement recommending against any wholesale change in glycemic goals and strongly encourages patients to discuss these issues with their diabetes-care…
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According to estimates up to 450 million patients will suffer from diabetes in the year 2025 (currently 250 million). In view of this, glucose monitoring is of utmost importance. Scientific studies and practical experiences with glucose monitoring at the point of care (POC) were evaluated recently during a meeting of experts in Vienna.
A child's blood pressure, body mass index, blood glucose level and other laboratory tests and simple office measures may predict the risk of developing type 2 diabetes nine and 26 years later, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Bayer Diabetes Care in the UK and Ireland has launched Didget, the first and only blood glucose meter for diabetic children that connects directly to Nintendo DS and DS Lite gaming systems.
Expert advises specific strategies should be developed to deal with this relatively new patient group.
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.
The global prevalence of Type 2 diabetes mellitus is rapidly accelerating towards a disastrous impact in just two decades.
Common European guidelines for self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) designed to improve glucose management in diabetics
Type 1 diabetes is a life-long autoimmune disease with onset in early childhood. The diagnosis will initially turn the everyday life of children and their families topsy-turvy due to blood glucose testing, insulin injections, thorough calculation of meals, etc. It takes time before all these new and often frightening procedures become part of the daily routine of small diabetics.
Vienna, Austria 30 September - 2 October
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%.
Four different population-based studies, recently published in Diabetelogia, the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), examine a possible link between insulin glargine (brand name, Lantus) and cancer.
Martin Steinberg reports
The fact that child diabetics (type I) in Russia do not receive necessary and qualitative therapy was again highlighted during the 7th Russian conference 'The priority national project - Health - and the tasks of children's endocrinologists' held in Saint-Petersburg this June.