Category Archives: Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes has been reversed in mice with a new, orally available drug, according to a study led by San Diego scientists. The study suggests a path for developing human therapies based on the drug.

The drug protected mice from high-fat induced diabetes without affecting body weight, according to the study. It also reversed signs of the disease in mice who already had it.

Type 2 diabetes is caused by insulin resistance. While the pancreatic islets still make insulin, the hormone doesnt work as well. Cells sense insulin through receptors, which become less effective in this type of diabetes.

Scientists led by Nunzio Bottini of the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology countered insulin resistance by designing a drug that restored the effectiveness of insulin receptors.

The drug inhibits an enzyme called a low-molecular-weight protein tyrosine phosphatase, or LMPTP. Its part of a family of enzymes that inactivates the insulin receptor. By inhibiting this particular enzyme in the liver, insulin receptor effectiveness was restored.

Our findings suggest that LMPTP activity plays a key role in the development of insulin resistance and that LMPTP inhibitors would be beneficial for treating type 2 diabetes, the study stated.

While the role of protein tyrosine phosphatases in Type 2 diabetes has been known for years, many enzymes in this family perform other functions,and drugs against these enzymes may also affect other targets. The drug arising from the research is exceptionally selective in its activity, the researchers said, reducing the chance of side effects.

The study was published Monday in Nature Chemical Biology. It can be found at j.mp/diabetestyr. Bottini was senior author. Stephanie M. Stanford, also of the La Jolla institute, was first author. Other local authors are from UC San Diego and Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute.

We envision that the information we collected about its mechanism of action and binding mode will pave the way for development of LMPTP inhibitors suitable for therapeutic testing in human diabetes, the study stated.

Since LMPTP has also been proposed to promote heart failure and tumor growth, such inhibitors are predicted to have a wide range of therapeutic applications.

Stroke, Alzheimers disease, cognitive decline and polycystic ovary syndrome are among the other diseases that have been linked to insulin resistance.

A researcher not involved in the study told New Scientist that the research is promising.

The elegant studies here provide proof of concept that targeting LMPTP in the liver improves glucose control and liver insulin signalling in animals, Daniel Drucker, a senior investigator at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute in Toronto, Canada, said in the New Scientist article.

Researchers started their search by screening 364,168 small-molecule compounds from the National Institutes of Health Molecular Libraries Small Molecule Repository. They found three hits, or molecules active against the target. One was selected for further study because of its potency and specificity.

Using medicinal chemistry, the researchers tweaked the molecule to make it more potent. One of the resulting compounds was then tested in live mice.

The La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology and Sanford Burnham Medical Discovery Institute hold a pending patent on the discovery.

The researchers were funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the American Diabetes Association.

bradley.fikes@sduniontribune.com

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Type 2 diabetes reversed with new drug in mouse study - The San Diego Union-Tribune

Scientists discover new class of anti-diabetes compounds that reduce liver glucose production Science Daily Suppressing this overproduction makes PGC-1 a target ripe for exploitation in anti-diabetes treatments. "After the screening process found several potential candidates, the TSRI team designed derivatives of those initial hits," Griffin said. "We ... and more »

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Scientists discover new class of anti-diabetes compounds that reduce liver glucose production - Science Daily

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Normally, our bodies break down the food we eat into sugars, or glucose, which is a necessary nutrient for our cells. When you have diabetes, the glucose doesnt move into your cells as quickly, causing a backup of sugar in the blood, commonly known as high blood sugar. To manage your blood sugar levels, its important to understand which foods will raise your levels and to spread them out throughout the day to avoid a spike.

Taking steps to treat or manage diabetes doesnt mean living in deprivation; it just means eating a balanced diet. The biggest difference in a diabetics eating plan and a healthy diet for non-diabetics is that you need to pay more attention to some of your food choicesmost notably the carbohydrates you eat such as starches, fruits and milk products. The body needs carbohydrates as an energy source, but they turn completely into glucose and can spike your blood sugar if they arent spread out. Vegetables, meat and fat have less of an impact on your blood sugar levels and should be part of your daily intake.

Food labels are an extremely important tool when managing diabetes. The very first thing you should look at is the serving size, as serving sizes vary greatly among different foods. The serving size serves as your reference point when reviewing the rest of the nutritional information on the label. For carbohydrates, it helps to consider a serving size as about fifteen grams, and decide from there how well the food will fit in your nutritional plan. The team of registered dieticians and diabetes educators at the Cone Health Nutrition and Diabetes Management Center is dedicated to educating diabetic patients throughout the community how to manage their disease through proper diet and exercise.

Spokesperson Background:

Beverly Paddock is a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator at Cone Health Nutrition and Diabetes Management Center. Paddock received a Bachelor of Science from the University of Georgia in 1979. She became a registered dietician through a work-study program in Florida in 1982 and became a certified diabetes educator in 1983.

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bikeriderlondon/ShutterstockClimate change isalready behind a surprising number ofadverse environmental and health effects, including malaria and dengue fever, and new research suggests that it could also be at the center of climbing diabetes rates. But it has nothing to do with melting ice caps, rising sea levels, shrinking crop yields, and a surge in mosquito populations. Instead, it has to do with a type of fat we have in our body called brown fat.

For the study, published in the journal BMJ Open Diabetes Research and Care, researchers from Leiden University Medical Center analyzed the number of diabetes diagnoses between 1993 and 2013 using data provided by the Centers for Disease Control in the United States, and discovered that with a rise in average temperature came an increase in the instances of diabetes. Data showed that as the annual temperature rose by 1 degree Celsius (or 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit), the number of diabetes cases rose by 3.1 per 10,000 people.

One of the studys researchers, Lisanne L. Blauw, BSc, of Leiden University Medical Center, told MedPage Today: We were surprised by the magnitude of the effect size, as we calculated that a 1 degree Celsius rise in environmental temperature could account for more than 100,000 new diabetes cases per year in the U.S. alone.

Researchers couldnt explain exactly why the bump in temperature caused an increase in diabetes, but they believe that it could be due to a lack of brown adipose tissue (BAT), a natural fat the body relies on to keep warm in cooler temperatures. In warmer climates, BAT is not as necessary in the body, and its lack of activation could contribute to insulin resistance and diabetes.

Our data is consistent with the hypothesis that a decrease in BAT activity with increasing environmental temperature may deteriorate glucose metabolism and increase the incidence of diabetes, the study authors write.

Based on their findings in the United States, researchers then analyzed their data on a global scale and found similar results: As the temperature rose by 1 degree Celsius around the world, the number of diabetes cases rose by nearly 0.2% and obesity rates rose by 0.3%.

This study could be a positive step forward in further treatment and research for the more than 29 million Americans that the Center for Disease Control report have diabetes. The researchers plan to continue their studies further. Heres one diet that can help you reverse and avoid diabetes risk factors.

Since cold exposure may not be the optimal strategy to prevent and/or treat type 2 diabetes, we are currently exploring pharmacological strategies with drugs that mimic the beneficial effect of cold exposure, Blauw said.

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Why Climate Change Is Hiking Diabetes Rates | Reader's Digest - Reader's Digest

Diabetes Risk and the Early Stages of Schizophrenia Psychology Today (blog) Past research has shown that people with schizophrenia have higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is a progressive disease in which the body either can't use its own insulin efficiently or doesn't make enough insulin, a hormone ...

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Diabetes Risk and the Early Stages of Schizophrenia - Psychology Today (blog)

Good control with diabetes requires both diligence and willingness to try new strategies. New strategies will be addressed at Control Diabetes for Life, presented by the Hall County Extension on Wednesday.

The event is scheduled from 1:30 to 4 p.m. at the Extension office at College Park, 3180 U.S. Highway 34.

Topics to be addressed include: Commit to be Fit, Whats New in Diabetes Care, Fiber and Protein in Your Diet, and The Dos and Donts of Dealing with Criticism. These sessions are designed to supplement the education that you receive from your local diabetes education team and not a substitute for diabetes classes through your local health care providers.

Team-teaching the program will be Stacie Petersen, B.S.N. and Certified Diabetes Educator; Deborah Willcox R.D., LMNT of Franciscan Care Services in West Point; and Debra Schroeder, UNL Extension Educator in Cuming County. Guest speaker for the programs will be Terry Nelson, DPT of Franciscan Care Services.

Control Diabetes for Life is a joint project of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension, Franciscan Care Services of West Point and cooperating schools. The program is offered free of charge. It will help participants learn to control diabetes and prolong the onset of complications from the disease.

The Nebraska School Food Service Association has approved the session for two hours of continuing education credits for food service staff.

Participants are asked to pre-register by calling their local Extension office by Monday so the proper number of handouts may be prepared. For additional information or to register, call the Hall County Extension office at (308) 385-5088.

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Diabetes control program Wednesday - Grand Island Independent

St. Francis offers free diabetes screenings Tuesday Columbus Ledger-Enquirer From 9 a.m. - 11 a.m. a screening will be held in the lobby of the hospital on Manchester Expressway. From 8 a.m. - 10 a.m. a screening will be held in the St. Francis Columbus Clinic front lobby on 19th Street. From 8 a.m. - 10 a.m. a screening will ...

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St. Francis offers free diabetes screenings Tuesday - Columbus Ledger-Enquirer

Here's the scary thing about diabetes: Over 30 million Americans have it, with an additional 1.4 million new diagnoses each year. The disease is the seventh-highest cause of death in the U.S.

Those are concerning statistics, but there are also some numbers that provide hope. Over 170 new medicines are currently in development targeting treatment of diabetes and diabetes-related conditions. Here are three of the most promising diabetes drugs from five of the most innovative drugmakers in the world: Merck (NYSE:MRK), Pfizer (NYSE:PFE), Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LXRX), Sanofi (NYSE:SNY), and Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO).

Image source: Getty Images.

Merck and Pfizer are collaborating on development of ertugliflozin, an experimentaldrug for treating patients with type 2 diabetes. The drug could be approved in the U.S. later this year as a stand-alone treatment, in combination with Merck's Januvia, and in combination with metformin.

Ertugliflozin belongs to a class of medicines known asSGLT2 inhibitors. These drugs lowerblood sugar by causing the kidneys to remove sugar from the body through the urine. Several SGLT2 inhibitors are already available, including Farxiga, Invokana, and Jardiance.

Results from late-stage clinical studies conducted by Merck and Pfizer were very encouraging. Not only did ertugliflozin help lower blood sugar levels, but patients taking the experimental drug also experienced weight reduction and lower blood pressure levels.

Another promising SGLT inhibitor might not be too far behind ertugliflozin. Lexicon and Sanofi are evaluating sotagliflozin in late-stage studies. The drug could potentially reach the market within the next couple of years if all goes well.

Sotagliflozin inhibits SGLT1 and SGLT2 proteins. SGLT1 is responsible for glucose absorption in the gastrointestinal tract, while SGLT2 is responsible for glucose reabsorption by the kidney.Lexicon, which originally developed sotagliflozin, is focusing on clinical studies for type 1 diabetes, while Sanofi is handling clinical development and potential commercialization for type 2 diabetes.

Lexicon reported positive results from the first two late-stage studies of sotagliflozin in treating type 1 diabetes in 2016, with significant reductions in patients' blood sugar levels. The company has one other late-stage study in progress for the indication; results should be available by mid-2017. Sanofi also has three additional clinical trials underway evaluating the drug in treating type 2 diabetes.

Novo Nordisk hopes to win regulatory approval for its newest diabetes drug, semaglutide, by Dec. 5, 2017. The pharmaceutical company submitted for approval in the U.S. and in Europe late last year.

Semaglutide targets type 2 diabetes by mimicking the action of theglucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor. GLP-1 stimulates the release of insulin and reduces glucagon, a hormone that increases blood sugar levels. If approved, semaglutide would join other GLP-1receptor agonists such as Trulicity and Victoza.

Late-stage studies found that semaglutide lowered blood sugar levels and resulted in weight reduction in patients taking the drug. In addition, semaglutide demonstrated reduction in cardiovascular risk compared to placebo.

An even more exciting diabetes treatment could be available in the future. Glucose-responsive insulin (GRI), also known as "smart insulin," holds the potential to detect blood sugar levels and automatically release the correct dosage to adjust those levels.

At least two of the companies already mentioned are developing glucose-responsive insulin products. Merck's MK-2640 is in early-stage testing. Sanofi has partnered with diabetes research group JDRF to develop glucose-responsive insulin.

It will take several years before these products could be on the market, however. And there's always a risk that issues arise in the clinical-development or regulatory-approval processes. (By the same token, the possibility also exists that ertugliflozin, sotagliflozin, and/orsemaglutide could stumble along the way.) However, the chances that diabetes becomes less scary in the future thanks to new treatments appear to be pretty good.

Keith Speights owns shares of Pfizer. The Motley Fool recommends Novo Nordisk. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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3 Tremendously Promising Diabetes Drugs Potentially on the Way ... - Motley Fool

There are at least two things Dominique Wilkins knows more about than most people.

Dunking is the first one. Wilkins earned the nickname "Human Highlight Film" for his ferocious and flashy rim rattlers over a 14-year pro basketball career. It's one of the reasons he was Wheeling High School in Marietta on Sunday, March 26, to judge the dunk contest at the second annual Underclassmen All-American Game.

The second topic Wilkins is greatly informed on is diabetes. His father and grandfather both had Type One, and the former Atlanta Hawk star is a Type Two diabetic.

Wilkins has been working with Novo Nordisk and Victoza to spread awareness about the disease and to encourage younger folks to exercise often and watch their diet to prevent diabetes. At halftime of the games at Wheeler, Wilkins took some time to talk to the players about proper nutrition and health.

Im trying to tell these kids, you have to have physical activity and eat the best that you can now, so you dont have these problems later in life, said Wilkins, who is now the Vice President of Basketball for the Atlanta Hawks. You want to have some preventive measures, so you dont have to go through the things that your parents or grandparents went through.

Wilkins was a nine-time all-star, finished in the top five of MVP voting three times, was a scoring champ in 1986 and won the NBAs dunk contest twice. He is a Hall of Famer, and many consider him to be the best in-game dunker of all-time.

As a player, Wilkins never worried about his health too much. If he could still run, dribble, shoot and jump, he figured he was okay.

But in 2000 he found himself in a doctors office after a routine check-up.

I was eating pretty badly after I retired and I didnt work out very much, said Wilkins, who stepped away from the NBA after spending the 1998-99 season with the Orlando Magic. I was having blurred vision and I thought it was just me getting old, so I started wearing glasses but come to find out, the doctor said, Look, the good news is youre not dying, but the bad news is youre a diabetic and you must have a lifestyle change right now,.

Wilkins was frightened and shocked. His grandfather and father had both died from diabetes, but he thought it would never happen to him because he was an active athlete.

Still, he had been given a wake-up call. Wilkins attacked diabetes as if it were a rim waiting to be jammed on.

He immediately began to work out more and he drastically changed his diet. Wilkins says he lost 34 pounds over the two months after he found out he had diabetes, and as a Type Two diabetic, he had to take medication too.

I treat it very aggressively, Wilkins said. There is no cure for diabetes right now. The cure is management. So, if you manage it correctly, you can live healthy like everyone else. I look at it as a blessing because it makes me look at my health a lot differently than I used to.

Wilkins was a nine-time NBA all-star and had his number retired by the Atlanta Hawks. File, Cox

Since his diet change, Wilkins said the foods he misses the most are pies.

Apple pies, pecan pies, all the bad stuff, he said. I havent drank orange juice in 17 years. I missed that at first, but not anymore. Every now and then I might have a slice of apple or pecan, I just cant have the whole pie.

Hes able to stay away from those temptations with the support of his Dream Team.

What is your Dream Team? Its your doctor, your trainer, your wife or husband, your kids. Its everyone working together to keep you healthy, Wilkins said. Its about building a support system.

Wilkins urges those battling diabetes to visitDiabetesDreamTeam.com for help.

Before the games at Wheeler started on Sunday, a promoter walked up to Wilkins and handed him a Bai, a bottle of antioxidant-infused water.

The first thing he did was flip the bottle around and look at the label. He asked, "How much sugar this thing got in it?"

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Dominique Wilkins continues fight against diabetes - Atlanta Journal Constitution

I had always been an outdoorsy kid, but losing 17 kilograms in a span of eight weeks is anything but an indication of being far too active. My parents were worried sick about the rapid loss of weight and approached our family doctor - a very close friend and someone who had seen me grow up. The doctor suggested I get checked for thyroid, diabetes, and tuberculosis (TB). Mothers reaction: "Oh, god please do not let it be TB." Tuberculosis -- for my mother and many people from her generation -- doom.

I was told that I was a diabetic. I was 14 at the time and could sense my world coming crashing down. Telling a 14-year old that the world as they knew it had ceased to exist is a difficult thing. Making a 14-year old realise what that entailed is a different ballgame.

I do not remember the details of meeting the doctor who ultimately diagnosed diabetes. He mentioned that I would have to prick myself a few times a day to survive. Neither my parents nor I understood what he meant by pricking, but when he explained that I would have to inject insulin every day before meals for the rest of my life, the thought in itself was debilitating. The idea of injecting myself did scare me, but I think it was when I looked into my fathers eyes that I got an idea of how this development could change my life. His world, too, changed in an instant. He knew that taking injections daily may hamper so many things directly or indirectly in his daughters world.

The world was a different place in the mid-1990s. It was yet to become a hyper-connected cosmos and information on things such as Type One diabetes, the kind that I had been diagnosed with, was not as readily available as it would be today. I was diagnosed during the summer holidays. When it came to getting back to my boarding school, the reality of being a juvenile diabetic became the first hurdle that threatened to change my life. The idea of accepting a student who would have to monitor sugar levels and take insulin injections was not acceptable to the school doctor. He told my father that it was not advisable for me to continue in my school. Determined that no change in my life should be a disadvantage for me, especially on account of me being a diabetic, my father approached specialists at The Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, on whether it was possible for me to continue at my school.

The specialists concurred that there was no medical reason why I could not lead a full life. Though the school physician momentarily relented, things were not allowed to get back to being normal. I was a leading athlete throughout my school years with superlative performances in long jump, high jump, swimming and chess, and was a top contender for the athletics cup, but the school doctor persisted that I was not safe in a boarding school. Ultimately, she stepped in and put a stop to my participation in sports and other extra-curricular activities. It was at this point that my father came down sternly on the doctor and even relieved the school of any responsibility that may have arisen out of my condition. That year, I went on to win a few track and field events and the chess championship. Lesson learnt: morale and mental make-up are bigger factors than the physical condition for a child to win.

The positions of merit that I won in athletics or other extra-curricular activities in the years after I was diagnosed with diabetes made me understand that just because a particular thing that could alter the course of things had happened, it was not necessary that other things could not happen. It is true that every major life decision that followed, such as the prospective career path, for instance, was viewed from the point of view of diabetes, but then, everybody gets thrown a curve ball in the game of life.

When I decided to be a lawyer, there was great hesitation in the minds of many around me. Lawyers need to spend long and erratic hours in courts. Wouldnt a desk job be more suitable? Even when it came to marriage, things are viewed in a different light with a diabetic; proposals are seemingly god sent, for any person who would accept diabetes, would no doubt, be a kind-hearted soul. In an ideal situation, compatibility would be considered the first thing, but here, it is relegated to a secondary or even a tertiary level.

The degree of change in the general attitude towards a life-altering ailment such as diabetes is far more effective a tool than just medicinal advancement. For women, it becomes a question of being able to have a normal delivery. Though there is no connection between these, diabetes misconceptions, unfortunately, continue to augur the course of things. Strangely enough, even men cannot seem to escape this. Many times even medical practitioners consider diabetes a red flag in the otherwise suitable boy when it comes to their own daughters.

On the face it, if nothing changed in my life because of diabetes, it has largely to do with a change in the mindset. My diabetes was a result of an auto-immuno disorder and this often increases the chances of contracting other medical conditions with the passage of time. My auto-immuno condition has led to thyroid, celiac disease, and Portal Vein Thrombosis. Yet nothing has stopped me from doing what I wanted to do and it has not been able to dictate my lifestyle or choices beyond a point. Of course, the physical state often decrees choices, but at the end of the day, it is more emotional than the sheer physicality of it.

My winning streak continued across the length and breadth of my professional career that saw me argue matters in the Supreme Court at a young age, be a part of one of the worlds best-known consultancy firms and become the legal head of a globally-renowned conglomerate before I turned 35. I persisted, as much as the next person, or perhaps slightly more, as my battle was mental as well as physical, and managed to be rated an exceptional performer many times over in my professional sphere.

Today, I might be on a professional sabbatical, but that, intriguingly, had little to do with my diabetes. I started getting migraines and the pain was excruciating enough to bring to halt even basic actions on my part. No one knows why migraines exist but anyone who has ever experienced one knows what they can do. The thought of not knowing when the next one is due is the kind of fear that makes the worst comes true. My medical problems, as of those of hundreds of others, are more of a mental challenge. I had once read that people always blame circumstances for what they are, but what I learnt was that those who get on in this world are the ones who look for circumstances they want, and create them if they do not exist.

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Diabetes Is Just Another Prick, Daddy - Swarajya