The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of Diabetes 2010
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Because this month is National Diabetes Month and this Sunday, November 14th is World Diabetes Day, NOW is a good time to think about the current "state of affairs: concerning what is probably the biggest health issue in this country: Diabetes.
Here's the Good:
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In the lab of Dr. Pere Santamaria at the University of Calgary, researchers developed a vaccine that successfully reversed insulin dependent diabetes in mice. Most importantly, only those immune cells that were responsible for destroying the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas.were targeted by the vaccine. Hopefully, we will see testing done on humans in the near future..
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Although it is probably years away from market, the first closed loop artificial pancreas system was officially tested with positive results.
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Pedro Herrera, at the University of Geneva Medical School, and his team found that the adult pancreas can actually regenerate alpha cells into functioning beta cells. Other researchers have been able to "reprogram" other cells in the body into beta cells,
Here's The Bad:
- In September 2010, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it would be severely restricting the use of the type 2 diabetes medication Avandia, due to the risk of "cardiovascular events" such as heart attacks and strokes. The only patients who would be permitted to get it were those who could not tolerate any other diabetes medication or those who were experiencing great results without side effects.
Here's The Ugly:
- In the past week, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that if America stays on its current path, one in three Americans will have diabetes by 2050. The number of people diagnosed with diabetes annually is predicted to jump from its current 8 per 1,000 people to 15 per 1,000 by 2050, according to CDC estimates. According to the American Diabetes Association, the effects of weight loss look as good as the results would for a drug that would end up getting approved. And, if you lose as little as five to seven percent of your weight, you will probably see a positive difference.
