Category Archives: Diabetes

By Arlene Karidis By Arlene Karidis April 7 at 2:05 PM

Nearly four times as many Americans may die of diabetes as indicated on death certificates, a rate that would bump the disease up from the seventh-leading cause of death to No. 3, according to estimates in a recent study.

Researchers and advocates say that more-precise figures are important as they strengthen the argument that more should be done to prevent and treat diabetes, which affects the way sugar is metabolized in the body.

We argue diabetes is responsible for 12 percent of deaths in the U.S., rather than 3.3 percent that death certificates indicate, lead study author Andrew Stokes of the Boston University School of Public Health said in an interview.

About 29 million Americans have diabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There are two forms of the disease: Type 1, in which the pancreas makes insufficient insulin, and the more common Type 2, in which the body has difficulty producing and using insulin.

Using findings from two large national surveys, the study looked mainly at A1C levels (average blood sugar over two to three months) and patient-reported diabetes. In the latest study, researchers compared death rates of diabetics who had participated in these surveys to information on their death certificates.

The authors also found that diabetics had a 90 percent higher mortality rate over a five-year period than nondiabetics. This held true when controlling for age, smoking, race and other factors.

[Women with diabetes are especially prone to developing heart disease]

These findings point to an urgent need for strategies to prevent diabetes in the general population. For those already affected, they highlight the importance of timely diagnosis and aggressive management to prevent complications, such as coronary heart disease, stroke and lower-extremity amputations, Stokes said.

We hope a fuller understanding of the burden of disease associated with diabetes will influence public authorities in their messaging, funding and policy decisions, such as taxation of sugar-sweetened beverages and use of subsidies to make healthy foods more accessible, he said.

When they embarked on the study, the investigators were curious about two findings from earlier research. The first was a higher obesity rate and shorter life expectancy among Americans than Europeans. (The researchers already knew that obesity and diabetes were related.) The second revelation was a rise in deaths by any cause among middle-aged white Americans.

We tried to piece together causes of mortality in the U.S., looking closer at diabetes, which we knew was underreported, Stokes said.

Mortality rates attributed to diabetes are imprecise largely because death results from both immediate and underlying causes, and not every one of them gets recorded. For example, cardiovascular disease might be recorded as the cause of a persons death even though that disease may have been caused by diabetes.

Further challenging the task of identifying cause of death is that diabetics have a long history of problems before serious complications occur.

When diabetes started 10 to 30 or more years before a patient died, the disease may not be in the forefront of the attending physician at time of death, explains Catherine Cowie, an epidemiologist at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. And there are no clear guidelines about which conditions should be cited as cause of death.

Detailed electronic medical records may help pinpoint the primary cause. But still, its hard [to get the full picture] in this day and age when health care for diabetics is divided between different practitioners, she said.

She advises patients to report their diabetes to all their health providers, whether they are having complications at the time or not.

Weve been trying to promote healthy lifestyle to prevent diabetes and complications for a long time. This includes paying attention to the ABCs, which are to bring down A1C, blood pressure and cholesterol. But I think this [study] is new evidence that its important to focus on these things. Its more data to show what diabetes can lead to, Cowie says.

In 2016, diabetes accounted for about $1.04 billion in National Institutes of Health funding, compared with about $5.65 billion spent on cancer research. Having a better gauge on the mortality figures could have an effect on research dollars, said Matt Petersen, managing director of medical information for the American Diabetes Association.

But the true death rate means only so much.

Whats most important is why it is and what we can do about it. The goal of research is prevention and, if possible, cure. Short of uncovering a cure, key is figuring out how do we best treat it and reduce complications, Petersen said.

For Type 2 diabetes, new drugs that work in combination and in different ways to address differing patient cases have rolled out in just the past two years. Healthy lifestyle choices can also affect outcomes.

So I think the public should hear [that] yes, diabetes can be deadly, but that we have the ability to reduce the chance for this disease, Petersen says. And for those who have diabetes, we can treat it well and reduce the risk for debilitating and deadly complications.

[Why treating diabetes keeps getting more expensive]

[The man who knows more about death than anyone else]

[The scary reason why doctors say kids need HPV vaccinations]

[New research identifies a sea of despair among white, working-class Americans]

See the original post here:
Diabetes is even deadlier than we thought, study suggests - Washington Post

South Asians, Hispanics of Normal Weight Most Likely to Have High Glucose, Hypertension

Namratha Kandula, MD, MPH, associate professor of Medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, was a co-author of the study, which found that Americans of South Asian descent are twice as likely as whites to have risks for heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

See coverage of this research at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).

Americans of South Asian descent are twice as likely as whites to have risks for heart disease, stroke and diabetes, when their weight is in the normal range, according to a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Namratha Kandula, MD, MPH, associate professor of Medicine in the Division ofGeneral Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, and Kiang Liu, PhD, professor of Preventive Medicine in the Division ofEpidemiology, co-authored the study, which was headed by investigators at Emory University and UCSF.

Americans of Hispanic descent were 80 percent more likely than whites to suffer from so-called cardio-metabolic abnormalities that give rise to heart disease, stroke and diabetes, compared with 50 percent more likely for those who were Chinese and African-American.

These risks include high blood pressure (hypertension), elevated glucose, low HDL, the good cholesterol, and high triglycerides, a fat found in blood. In the study, participants, who were aged between 45 and 84, were classified as having cardio-metabolic abnormalities if they had two or more of these four risk factors.

So much of what is known about cardiovascular disease and diabetes risk is from research in white populations, despite the fact that race/ethnic minorities have a high burden of these common diseases, Kandula said. This paper challenges the established idea of using body mass index as the main predictor of cardiovascular and diabetes risk. This matters because most clinicians use BMI cut-points as practical markers for detecting overweight and as a criteria for screening patients for cardiovascular and diabetes risk. Our study suggests that a BMI-based approach may miss a large proportion of individuals who have cardiovascular risk factors and could increase disparities among racial and ethnic minority populations.

The study included 803 South Asian residents of San Francisco Bay and Chicago areas, who traced their ancestry to India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh or Sri Lanka. Also enrolled in a parallel study were approximately 6,000 residents of New York, Baltimore, Chicago, Los Angeles, Minneapolis-St. Paul and Winston-Salem areas, who identified as Chinese, white, Hispanic or African-American.

For whites, Hispanics and African-Americans, normal weight was categorized as having a body mass index (BMI) between 18.5 and 24.9 kg/m2. For Chinese and South Asians, the range was narrower: from 18.5 to 22.9 kg/m2.

Questionnaires were given to assess participants activity levels and eating habits.

While other studies have looked at race and cardio-metabolic risk, this is the first that looks at the relative differences between five races, said senior author Alka Kanaya, MD, professor of medicine, epidemiology and biostatistics in the Division of Internal Medicine at UCSF. Its also the first that compared risk between two different Asian populations.

The investigators found that for non-whites to have the same number of cardio-metabolic risk factors as whites with a BMI of 25 kg/m2 the equivalent of 150 pounds for a woman measuring 5-foot-5 they had to have much lower BMI levels. These were 22.9 kg/m2 for African-Americans, 21.5 kg/m2 for Hispanics, 20.9 kg/m2 for Chinese and 19.6 kg/m2 for South Asians the equivalent of 118 pounds for a woman measuring 5-foot-5.

These differences are not explained by differences in demographic, health behaviors or body fat location, said first author Unjali Gujral, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at the Global Diabetes Research Center at Emory University in Atlanta. Clinicians using overweight/obesity as the main criteria for cardio-metabolic screening, as currently recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, may fail to identify cardio-metabolic abnormalities in many patients from racial/ethnic minority groups.

Kanaya, who is also the principal investigator of the MASALA study (Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America), which enrolled the South Asians, said that the results of the study should not be interpreted as a call to those with normal BMI to lose weight.

We hope the results will enable patients and their healthcare providers to see that race/ethnicity alone may be a risk factor for cardio-metabolic health in minority Americans, she said.

The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

Co-authors of the study included Eric Vittinghoff, PhD, of UCSF; Morgana Mongraw-Chaffin, PhD, of Wake Forest School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, N.C.; Dhananjay Vaidya, PhD, of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore; Matthew Allison, MD, MPH, of UC San Diego; Jeffrey Carr, MD, of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn.; and KM Venkat Narayan, MD, of Emory University.

Read the original:
Race Ranks Higher Than Pounds in Diabetes, Heart-Health Risks - Northwestern University NewsCenter

The Diabetes Partnerships board of directors voted to dissolve the organization April 5, and began efforts to launch two groups to operate Camp Ho Mita Koda, the annual diabetes summer camp for children, and community programs that distribute insulin and ongoing diabetes self-management education.

Members of the board cited changes in the national healthcare landscape, the evolving needs of people with diabetes and the costs of owning and operating the camp in Newbury, according to a news release.

In effect, were going out of business, said William Murman, board chairman, in the release. Its a sad day for all of us who have dedicated our time and talents to this cause. But we know that in this case, the most difficult step can be the right step in finding a better way forward.

Two separate meetings are scheduled, one for those interested in saving and operating the summer programs at Camp Ho Mita Koda, and one for those interested in saving and operating the community programs. The meeting for the camp will be at 7 p.m. April 24 at Camp Ho Mita Koda, 14040 Auburn Road in Newbury. The meeting for the community programs will be at 7 p.m. April 18 at the Diabetes Partnership office, 3601 S. Green Road.

Anyone with questions about the programs or summer camp can call Tom Bennett, executive director of the Diabetes Partnership, at 216-591-0800 or email tbennett@diabetespartnership.org.

Visit link:
Diabetes Partnership to dissolve - Cleveland Jewish News

Do you have Type 2 Diabetes? Would you like to learn more about your disease and how to live well reducing your health risks? If so, Purdue Extension has a great program for you!

The Purdue Extension-Knox County office, in partnership with the Daviess County Purdue Extension Service, offers four two-hour sessions that will be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on each Thursday during May with the first session scheduled on May 4 and the fourth session on May 25. Participants may also elect to have a follow-up session in June. The Dining with Diabetes program is open to those with diabetes, their family members and caretakers. The series of four sessions is $25/person or $35/couple. Pre-registration and payment is required no later than April 28. Participants are encouraged to attend all class sessions which will be held at the Knox County Extension Office, 4259 N. Purdue Road in Vincennes.

The educational programs and cooking school will help adults with type 2 diabetes control their blood sugar, to feel better, and reduce their risk of health complications. Those enrolling will learn how to prepare meals that are healthy, easy to prepare and taste good. Recipes will be demonstrated, and participants will have the opportunity to taste each one. Participants will also learn up-to-date information on nutrition, meal planning, exercise and how to understand common diabetes-related medical tests. Recipe and handouts will be given to each participant.

Diabetes is a very serious and costly disease, but research has shown that those who learn to manage their blood glucose (sugar) levels, eat a healthy diet and exercise regularly can lower their risks of complications and lead a healthier and more productive life.

Purdue Extension Knox County and Daviess County are currently recruiting participants for this program. If you have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, or know someone and are part of the support system for an individual and are interested in being a part of this program, please call the Purdue Extension office at 812-882-3509. Registration and program fee may be sent to: 4259 N. Purdue Road by April 28. The $25/$35 program fee includes educational classes, program materials and food sampling. Dining with Diabetes is offered statewide and is sponsored by Purdue Extension.

Read more:
Purdue Extension offers "Dining with Diabetes" program - Washington Times Herald

Past Master Jerry Chambers of Midland's Masonic Lodge, presents a check to Jill Chambers, diabetic educator of the Diabetes Center of MidMichigan Medical Center-Midland.

Past Master Jerry Chambers of Midland's Masonic Lodge, presents a check to Jill Chambers, diabetic educator of the Diabetes Center of MidMichigan Medical Center-Midland.

Masons help Diabetes Center

Past Master Jerry Chambers of Midlands Masonic Lodge presents a check to Jill Chambers, diabetic educator of the Diabetes Center of MidMichigan Medical Center-Midland. With Chambers is center staff member Ashley Shankool. In the back row, from left, are center staff members Maxine Guettler and Mary Jane Hoshaw, center manager. Also looking on are Lodge Senior Warden Tom Sova and Lodge Steward Mike Palmer. This years donation is the 16th annual donation that Centre Lodge No. 273 has made to the diabetes center. The funds are raised each year by holding a benefit spaghetti dinner that is open to the public. These funds are then partly matched by the Michigan Masonic Charitable Foundation helping to provide a significant donation. The center uses the money to provide scholarships to individuals who need the Diabetes Center services but are uninsured or under insured. These include diabetic adults, as well as pregnant women who are experiencing diabetic medical concerns.

Read more:
Masons help Diabetes Center - Midland Daily News

To mark the WHOs World Health Day 2017 which, this year, focuses on depression, we talk to Robin Hewings, head of policy for the charity Diabetes UK.

People with diabetes are twice as likely to suffer from depressionthanthe average adult living in the UK andmay also have depressive periods for longer than those without diabetes, but it is an issue that is often ignored or forgotten because the clinical priority is seen to be stabilisation and management of blood sugar levels.Having depression could also have a knock-on effect on how well diabetes is controlled.

Although depression is not a clinical symptom of diabetes,it could be the result of a variety of factors such as coming to terms with a diagnosis, dealing with the day to day responsibility of managing diabetes or the development of a diabetes-related complication.

People with Type 1 diabetes, which often begins in childhood and happens because the body cannot produce insulin, may simply feel demoralised by the day-in, day-out regime of keeping on top of their blood sugar levels. Someone with Type 1may need to test their blood sugar levels several times a dayas well asdoses of insulinthroughout the dayeither as an injection or via a pump.Episodesof hypoglyaceamia (low blood sugar) can leavesome people with diabetesfeeling a like a failure as well as physically exhausted during the recovery period.

Around3.6million peopleare now diagnosed withdiabetes in the UK, and 90 per cent of them have type 2 diabetes, which islinked to obesity and usually occurs in adulthood. For them, the diagnosis itself may be a shock whichin turn could lead to depression.They may struggle to lose weight and take up regular exercise and so lose confidence in themselves and their ability to manage the condition.

The very serious complicationsof diabetes, including blindness, kidney failure and foot ulcers can meana constant fearfulness about the future as well asfrequent visits to hospitalwhichcan interfere with social and professional lives.

At Diabetes UK, we are encouraging doctors and healthcare professionals to look for symptoms of depression in patients who have Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes. A simple question like how do you feel about your diabetes? at the annual care planning session can start a conversation about low mood and depression. Diabetes UKs new Mood information prescriptionoutlines the key areas of a collaborative care management plan.

GPs are in the front line when it comes to managing patients with diabetes and they have an important role to play in helping people manage their depression as well. Of course, every individual needs a different approach. Some people with serious clinical depression may need to be referred to specialist services and have some kind of drug therapy to keep symptoms under control. For many people with diabetes who suffer with episodes of low mood, dietary and lifestyle changes such as taking regular exercise and getting enough sleep can help to ease the problem.

At Diabetes UK, we see a much greater scope for evidence-based talking therapies, such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for people who have diabetes and are suffering from depression. These therapies could be tailored towards the unique experience of people with diabetes and have a big impact on their quality of life.

Robin Hewings is head of policy for the charity Diabetes UK.

Read more from the original source:
Depression and diabetes - The Hippocratic Post (blog)

Tommy Lowe, 18, a pitcher for the Mountain Ridge High School baseball team in Glendale, holds on to dreams of playing in college after discovering that he has Type 1 diabetes. He has received a scholarship from New Mexico State University.

Tommy Lowe, 18, is a pitcher for Mountain Ridge High School in Glendale, who found out he has Type 1 diabetes. He practices his pitching motions at the school, Tuesday, April 4, 2017.(Photo: Tom Tingle/azcentral sports)

Tommy Lowes senior season stat line coming into the week was two innings pitched, four strikeouts and a 10.50 earned run average.

But hell take that, knowing this is just the beginning of a final year at Glendale Mountain Ridge that appeared lost a month ago when he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes and was down to 138 pounds on his 6-foot-2 frame.

An All-Arizona pitcher last season when he won nine games, had a 1.84 ERA and won two state tournament games on his teams run to the 6A final, Lowe has seven regular-season games and the playoffs still to make it memorable.

Lowe wasnt sure hed take the mound at all after he found out he had diabetes while treating a stretched ulna nerve in his right elbow.

At school, there is a girl in one of my classes who has diabetes, Lowe said. She was just messing around and said, Hey, let me test your blood. So she tested my blood and it wouldnt read on her monitor. And shes like, Thats either too low or youre above 700, and Im like, What?

I didnt feel bad. Nothing felt different. I went to the doctor for my arm that day. And we told him about it. So he goes, All right, for precautionary, lets check your blood. He reads it and he goes to me, You need to go to the hospital right now. Your reading is off our charts, and theirs goes up to 700, as well.

Lowe said that he had been up to over 170 pounds, but when he went to the hospital, his weight was 138.

He said he is back up to 165 now.

But its been a slow climb back to the mound.

He has to regularly monitor his blood-sugar levels. He has learned to give himself insulin shots each day, injected into his stomach. He has to make sure he doesnt go above 75 grams of carbohydrates a day. He cant drink soda with sugar anymore.

I got a diet soda in the dugout right now, he says, because that has zero carbs.

I used to drink a lot of soda. Im drinking diet cherry Pepsi now.

Lowe said the insulin has helped him regain weight, but its been a season-long adjustment, not only trying to get his elbow healthy but keeping the diabetes under control.

When I first got on insulin and my blood sugar was leveling out, or at least trying to, Id be up and down a lot. When my blood sugar gets really high, my vision gets super blurry. I never had a problem with my vision before. Sometimes, Ill be out here wearing cheaters, because I cant get a prescription, because it changes every 20 minutes.

SPORTS AWARDS:List of azcentral.com Sports Awards Athletes of the Week, Month

Lowe has had his emotional ups and downas he watched helplessly from the dugout, as junior left-hander Matthew Liberatore (5-0, 0.68 ERA) has taken over the ace role on the staff.

Lowe, who logged 57 innings and faced 255 batters, throwing what he said he believes was 1,100 pitches his junior season, felt pain in his pitching elbow during a winter game.

He said the injury is in the ulna nerve. He said there is no tear, no need for surgery. It is stretched/strained, Lowe said.

The diabetes, his father, Floyd, said, has made the elbow slower to recover.

Its one of those things that if he did not have diabetes, his body would have already healed, said Floyd, a teacher at Glendale Community College who is retired from law enforcement. We didnt know that. Thats why the arm has been a problem.

Lowe felt invincible his first three years in high school. He pitched 47 innings his sophomore year on varsity, going 5-2 with a 2.53 ERA.

I always had a rubber arm, I could throw forever, Lowe said.

Since he was finally medically cleared to pitch last week, he has been ordered to throw no breakingpitches, only fastballs and change-ups. One of his big out-pitches was his slider. But this he feels will make him a more cerebral pitcher, relying on location and change of speed and pitching angles in his windup.

Coach Lance Billingsley said he is hoping that Lowe will be healthy enough to start a game as the playoffs near.

Lowe was clocked at 84-85 mph in his outing last week, when he gave up four hits and three runs in an inning in a 4-2 loss to Glendale Apollo. Last season, he was clocked in the high 80s.

He pitched for the Sun Belt team in the summer. He threw some for Mountain Ridge in fall and winter leagues.

I think his body wasnt recovering and he was pushing it physically, Billingsley said. By any account, hes lucky to even be here. For us to worry about him pitching, thats minute compared to what hes gone through.

Whats more important for him and his future is to be healthy enough to pitch next year.

Last year, Lowe accepted what he calls basically a full-ride from New Mexico State, in order to help his twin sister, Beth, become a certified nursing assistant. With almost all of his college expenses taken care of, thats relief for his parents, who can focus on helping Beth get through college.

About a foot shorter than her brother, Beth goes to Mountain Ridge in the morning and takes nursing classes in the afternoon, getting straight As, to get a jump on her career.

Hes proud of his sister, Floyd Lowe said. Being in the spotlight in baseball, he could think, Im the man. But he respects what she is doing.

Lowe isnt giving up on his senior season.

He is hoping to make an impact in state. By then, he believes he will be starting, his velocity will be up, and hell be getting hitters out.

Im getting stronger, getting better, he said.

Suggest human interest stories to Richard Obert at richard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him at azc_obert

Visit link:
Mountain Ridge pitcher Tommy Lowe battles elbow, diabetes on way back to the mound - AZCentral.com

A family sells pastries in Mexico City. As Mexicans' wages have risen, their average daily intake of calories has soared. Meghan Dhaliwal/for NPR hide caption

A family sells pastries in Mexico City. As Mexicans' wages have risen, their average daily intake of calories has soared.

Mario Alberto Maciel Tinajero looks like a fairly healthy 68-year-old. He has a few extra pounds on his chest but he's relatively fit. Yet he's suffered for the last 20 years from what he calls a "terrible" condition: diabetes.

"I've never gotten used to this disease," he says. Maciel runs a stall in the Lagunilla market in downtown Mexico City. This market is famous for its custom-made quinceaero dresses and hand-tailored suits.

Diabetes has come to dominate Maciel's life. It claimed the life of his mother. He has to take pills and injections every day to keep it under control.

"I've never gotten used to this disease," says Mario Alberto Maciel Tinajero, at his dress shop in the Lagunilla market. "Imagine not being able to eat a carnitas taco!" Meghan Dhaliwal/for NPR hide caption

"I've never gotten used to this disease," says Mario Alberto Maciel Tinajero, at his dress shop in the Lagunilla market. "Imagine not being able to eat a carnitas taco!"

And because of the disease he's supposed to eat a diet heavy in vegetables that he views as inconvenient and bland. "Imagine not being able to eat a carnitas taco!" he says with indignation. His doctors have told him to stop eating the steaming hot street food that's for sale all around the market tacos, tamales, quesadillas, fat sandwiches called tortas. His eyes light up when talks about the roast pork taquitos and simmering beef barbacoa that he's supposed to stay away from.

"A person who has to work 8 or 10 hours has to eat what's at hand, what's available," he says. "It's difficult to follow a diabetic diet. The truth is it's very difficult."

Diabetes is the leading cause of death in Mexico, according to the World Health Organization. The disease claims nearly 80,000 lives each year, and forecasters say the health problem is expected to get worse in the decades to come. By contrast, in the U.S. it's the sixth leading cause of death, with heart disease and cancer claiming 10 times more Americans each year than diabetes.

Rising rates of obesity combined with a genetic predisposition for Type 2 diabetes has caused a slow steady rise in the condition in Mexico over the last 40 years. Now roughly 14 percent of adults in this country of 120 million are living with what can be a devastating and even fatal health condition. Diabetes poses an increasing burden on the nation's hospitals and clinics. The surge in diabetes threatens the very stability of Mexico's public health care system, according to new reports.

For many people with diabetes in Mexico, like Maciel, managing the condition is a constant and significant challenge.

"I'd say I have it about 50 percent under control," he says, even though he was diagnosed two decades ago. "I take my medicine. I inject my insulin twice a day, in the morning and the night. I try to eat a proper diet as much as I can."

At times he says he can't afford his medications. And trying to cut down on the amount of sugar, salt and fat in his diet, as his doctors tell him he should, is easier said than done.

And Maciel's experience helps explain how Type 2 diabetes has become the leading cause of death in Mexico.

Type 2 diabetes is often considered a lifestyle disease because it's far more likely to develop in people who are overweight. Mexico has seen a rapid increase in obesity, with the number of people categorized as overweight and obese tripling over the last four decades.

The obesity problem is in part a side effect of Mexico's economic progress. As wages have risen, the average daily intake of calories has soared. In 2012 Mexico was the world's top per capita consumer of soda in the world guzzling 176 liters per person per year, according to the Mexican government. That's nearly 500 cans of soda for every man, woman and child. (Mexico was recently overtaken by Argentina, the U.S. and Chile.) Coca-Cola is practically the national drink in Mexico. Type 2 diabetes has skyrocketed as soda consumption has risen.

"In the middle of the 1970s and especially after the '80s, the prevalence of diabetes exploded," says Dr. Carlos Aguilar Salinas, the vice head of the endocrine department at Mexico's National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition in Mexico City.

"Diabetes is now one of the biggest problems in the health system in Mexico," he says. It's the first cause of death. It's the first cause of disability. It's the first cause of early retirement. It's the main cost for the health system."

Diabetes costs the Mexican health care system billions of dollars each year.

The disease can lead to serious eye problems including blindness, nerve damage that requires amputations and kidney failure, among other issues.

Mexico's public health care system attempts to manage the huge number of people with diabetes by trying to get them to manage their blood sugar levels, alter their diet and exercise more.

But there diabetes is typically a lifelong condition. Once someone is diagnosed, the goal is to get the disease under control and keep it from getting worse.

Just around the corner from where Mario Alberto Marciel Tinajero has his dress-making shop, Dr. Rosa Estrella Calvillo Gomez runs a one-room medical clinic in the Lagunilla market.

Dr. Estrella Gomez says her patients don't want to accept that they have a disease for which there is no cure. "Tell me anything but don't tell me I'm a diabetic," they say to her. Meghan Dhaliwal/for NPR hide caption

Dr. Estrella Gomez says her patients don't want to accept that they have a disease for which there is no cure. "Tell me anything but don't tell me I'm a diabetic," they say to her.

The free clinic was set up by the local government. People can come in for any kind of health problem. But Calvillo says roughly half her patients are coming for complications with diabetes.

"Diabetics don't just come in with high blood sugar," Calvillo says sitting behind a desk overflowing with promotional drug samples that she gets from pharmaceutical representatives. "It's about controlling multiple health problems at once," she says, and most of her patients with diabetes don't have the disease under control.

"The problem that I have here first, is the denial and second, the cost of the medication."

Patients don't want to accept that they have a disease for which there is no cure. "Tell me anything but don't tell me that I'm a diabetic,'" she says they tell her. She melodramatically puts her hands over her eyes and shakes her head. "They deny it."

Also, diabetes isn't an easy condition to manage. The public health system treats severe complications like nerve damage or blindness, although dialysis and kidney transplants are not available. For the daily management of diabetes, patients are largely on their own.

Easy access to rich foods, such as those sold at this bakery in a Mexico City Metro station, contributes to Mexico's high rates of obesity and diabetes. Meghan Dhaliwal/for NPR hide caption

Calvillo says a diabetic can easily spend $150 a month out of pocket on insulin injections, blood sugar test strips and medications for hypertension and other complications.

"To get excellent control of diabetes costs a lot of money," she says, "It costs as much as renting an apartment."

Mario Alberto Maciel Tinajero is one of the doctor's patients. He says coping with the disease is a real struggle, and many people with diabetes are desperate.

"The most dangerous thing for diabetics is to fall into the hands of charlatans, swindlers who offer miracle products," he says.

As diabetes took its final toll on his mother, he watched as she spent thousands of pesos on useless he thinks possibly even toxic herbs and injections. After both her feet had been amputated and doctors were only offering palliative care, salesmen came along offering "magical" injections, alleging that they'd give her relief.

"With the promise of a cure, you can be left in the street with nothing," he says. "Absolutely nothing."

Maciel is grateful to have Dr. Calvillo to help him grapple with the condition.

"If this clinic didn't exist," he says, "I would be dead."

View post:
Diabetes In Mexico: An Epidemic And The No. 1 Killer : Goats and ... - NPR

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The York County Area Agency on Aging is hosting a six-weekdiabetes self-management workshopin the coming weeks.

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The York County Area Agency on Aging is hosting a six-weekdiabetes self-management workshopin the coming weeks.

The workshops will be held from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. every Thursday from April 20 through May 25 at the York County Annex, located at 112 Pleasant Acres Road in Springettsbury Township, according to a county news release.

The self-management workshops are open to York County residents ages 50 and older living with Type 2 diabetes, residents ages 18 and older living with a disability and Type 2 diabetes, and caregivers of eligible participants.

Researchers at Stanford University developed the program to provide tools for managing diabetes, dealing with emotions and breaking the symptom cycle that comes with diabetes, the release states. A companion book and relaxation tape will be provided.

Pre-registration is required by April 17.

The program will be repeated May 25-June 29 at Country Meadows Leader Heights, 2760 Pine Grove Road; and July 13-Aug. 17 at St. Peter's Lutheran Church, 947 N. George St., North York, the agency said.

To register, call the York County Area Agency on Aging at 717-771-9610.

Read or Share this story: http://www.yorkdispatch.com/story/news/health/2017/04/05/york-county-hosting-free-diabetes-workshops/100084060/

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York County hosting free diabetes workshops - York Dispatch

In Brief Scientists have used a new drug to reverse diabetes in mice. The drug inhibits the enzyme LMPTP, which contributes to the development of Type 2 diabetes by weakening the body's sensitivity to the hormone. Defining Diabetes

In the global community, the number of people with diabetes has been on the rise since1980, with 422 million people diagnosed by 2014.The U.S. alone has experienced a substantial rise in the incidence of diabetes, with the number of Americans diagnosed increasing from 5.5 million in 1980, to 22 million in 2014a more than 300percent increase in less than 40 years.

Ateam of researchers, led by Stephanie Stanford at the University of California, San Diego, is proposinga solutionin the form of a single pill that aims to restore insulin sensitivityin diabetic patients. Type 2 diabetes develops when the bodys response to insulin, the hormone responsible for regulating sugar in our blood, weakens.A number of genetic and lifestyle factors will influence whether or not someone developsthis type of diabetes in their lifetime.

Up until now, drugs were unable to restore the insulin signaling function in diabetic patients instead, theywork by filtering out excess glucosein the blood that comes as a result of the dysfunction. The drug produced by Stanfords team, on the other hand, hopes to restore function.

The drug inhibits an enzyme called low molecular weight protein tyrosine phosphatase (LMPTP), which is suspected to contribute to the reduction in cell sensitivity to insulin. With reduced LMPTP activity, the drug reenables insulin receptors on the surface of cells particularly those in the liver which in turn restores the cells ability to regulate excess sugar. When the body can once again regulate blood sugar levels, the condition of Type 2 diabetes is effectively reversed.

The researchers fed lab mice a high-fat diet that made them obese, which subsequently caused them to develop high blood glucose levels. The drug was given to themice on a daily basis and successfully restored insulin sensitivity withoutproducing any adverse side effects.

While the mouse trials results are exciting, the team must continue testing the drug for safety, sohuman clinical trials are still some time away. But Stanford is confident that the drug could lead to a new therapeutic strategy for treating type 2 diabetes,

While we have seen diabetes reversal in patients before,it has never been achieved through medication alone. So, if this drug is approved for use in humans it would be a truly revolutionary treatment.

Continued here:
A New Drug May Be Able to Completely Reverse Diabetes - Futurism