Diabetes Pharmacist Blog : Focus Express Mail Pharmacy : Insulin Pumps, Diabetes Supplies and Information

            In a study  funded by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and published in the Sept. 8 ,2008 online edition of the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers found that adults gained substantially better control of their diabetes when using continuous glucose monitoring versus a group using conventional, intermittent blood sugar management. Improved diabetes control was determined by a hemoglobin A1c test, which measures how effective blood sugar  control is over three months.          

Patients on continuous glucose monitoring had a disposable blood sugar sensor placed under the skin. The device used in the study monitored blood glucose about every five minutes. The sensor was worn for a few days and then replaced. A pager-like device displayed blood glucose levels on a continuous basis. Data  was received from a transmitter which had received it from the sensor.

"Getting better control of diabetes using continuous glucose monitoring is almost certainly likely to equate with fewer long-term complications. This will have substantial long-term benefit on quality of life and reduce health care costs", said lead researcher Dr. Roy W. Beck, from the Jaeb Center for Health Research in Tampa, Fla.

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A study recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine, followed 3,277 newly diagnosed Type 2 diabetes patients who were asked to tightly manage their blood sugar either through diet restrictions or drugs.

The results show that the group taking insulin had a 15 percent lower risk of heart attack and a 13 percent lower risk of death compared with the group who used diet. The early, intensive approach to blood sugar control amounted to a head start. The researchers call this the "Legacy Effect."

 "These results emphasize the importance of detecting and treating diabetes at the earliest opportunity and the major benefits that can be obtained with good blood glucose control."  said Professor Rury Holman, of Oxford University, who led the study.

Intensive and not-so-intensive approaches to blood pressure were also compared among the diabetes patients in the study. When the study ended, the patients who took the intensive approach were less likely to have died from diabetes, had a stroke or developed diabetes-related complications.

It's not news that controlling blood sugar and blood pressure are musts for managing type 2 diabetes. But the new findings show that doing so promptly and intensively will lead to a lower likelihood of a heart attack as well as a healthier cardiovascular system.

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In a study by Chinese scientists, treating Type 2 diabetes early and aggressively with insulin therapy was able to push the disease into remission.The premise behind the therapy is that by giving the failing beta cells of the pancreas a chance to rest, one might interrupt a cycle of decline and allow for some recovery. The beta cells produce the insulin the body needs to keep blood sugar levels in check; it is the inability of those cells to meet the body's insulin needs that triggers Type 2 diabetes

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News of bariatric surgery restoring high blood sugars to normal in grossly overweight people has made the rounds lately. Now, similar surgery on people who are NOT overweight has gotten similar results. According to the Washington Post News Service, this surgery is promising but the mechanism of action is uncertain.

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Researchers are now investigating the strong blood sugar reducing capability of Bitter Melon, a vegetable commonly used in Asia for medicinal use.

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In a given day:

• 4000 new cases of diabetes will be diagnosed.
• 600 people will die from diabetes complications.
• 200 people will undergo an amputation due to diabetes.
• 100 cases of kidney failure will occur due to diabetes

These statistics were grimly uttered by Ann Albright, Director of the Division of Diabetes Translation for the Center for Disease Control (CDC).Additionally, she said that "of the children born in America in 2000, one in three will develop diabetes in their lifetime."

In addition, according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), there are 21 million people in the United States who are diagnosed with diabetes and if something dramatic does not occur in the next 20 years, this number will double! The costs for diabetes will exceed $174 billion dollars in 2008.

• $116 million on medical expenditures
• $58 million on reduced national productivity

"We are spending $174 billion dollars each year on diabetes, just imagine what that will be like when the number of diabetics double" says former Acting US Surgeon General Dr. Kenneth Moritsugu.

The ADA further states that "individuals with diabetes have medical expenditures at about 2.3 times higher than those without diabetes. The average cost incurred among individuals with diabetes is $11,744 per year with $5,649 attributed directly to diabetes."

This has gone from being a serious problem to one that will soon affect every person in this country! Why you ask? Here's why:

• Insurance companies will be paying more for medical costs which will raise EVERYONE'S insurance premiums.
• There will be lower productivity in the workplace which will hurt these same employers who will be paying the higher premiums.
• There will be reduced earnings for individuals and families.
• There will be higher taxes for us all as a portion of the burden of increased health care costs will affect the government and guess who has to pay for that?
• All of this combined means a lower quality and standard of living.

These statistics do not lie. They're getting worse every day. Something has to be done NOW to help everyone who has diabetes but even more let's do all we can, as individuals,  to PREVENT diabetes (Type II)  from occurring in ourselves, our families, and our friends.

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According to Dr. Gabe Mirkin, exercise helps to prevent and treat diabetes by increasing the number of enzymes that transport fat from fat cells to muscle cells where it can be used for energy by the muscles. Before insulin can do its job of removing sugar from the bloodstream and putting it into cells where it can be burned for energy, it must first,,MORE

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Robert Langreth, in Forbes.com, writes about a new type of drug, called an anti-CD3 antibody, which aims for the first time to delay or prevent development of diabetes by arresting the immune system's attack on pancreatic islet cells. This new class of drugs, now entering final-stage human trials, are given to newly diagnosed patients for just a few days or weeks but appear to preserve some insulin-producing capacity for years. Ultimately the drugs may even be able to prevent the disease from striking people at high risk because of a family history of diabetes or bad genes. MORE.....

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