Category Archives: Diabetes

Hundreds of Latino children who were studied for over a decade faced a heightened risk of developing Type 2 diabetes after exposure to nitrogen dioxide and tiny pollutants from cars and power plants, a new report finds.

A recent study from scientists at the University of Southern California (USC) tracked 314 overweight Latino children living in areas with high levels of air pollution, and found they had an increased risk of contracting Type 2 diabetes.

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The study is the first to find a correlation between air pollution and diabetes risk.

The children who participated in the study came from areas that, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), have excess nitrogen dioxide and tiny air pollution particles that are created from automobiles and power plants. Over 12 years of testing, scientists found that chronic exposure to these conditions was linked to a breakdown of insulin-creating cells in the pancreas, called beta cells, which help maintain blood sugar levels.

Every year, the children were asked to fast before they came into the Childhood Obesity Research Center at USC, where scientists measured their glucose and insulin levels. They found that when the children turned 18 years old, they had about 36 percent more insulin than normal, meaning their bodies were becoming less responsive to insulin.

"It has been the conventional wisdom that this increase in diabetes is the result of an uptick in obesity due to sedentary lifespans and calorie-dense diets," Frank Gilliland, senior author said in the study. "Our study shows air pollution also contributes to Type 2 diabetes risk."

The team at USC concluded that long-term exposure to air pollution had a greater effect than gaining 5 percent body weight.

The study suggests that people who want to reduce their risk should avoid exposure to air pollution as much as possible, especially young children and infants.

"Air pollution is ubiquitous, especially in Los Angeles," Alderete said. "It's important to consider the factors that you can control for example, being aware that morning and evening commute times might not be the best time to go for a run. Change up your schedule so that you're not engaging in strenuous activity near sources of pollutants or during peak hours."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also suggests that people can lower their chances of contracting diabetes by knowing the risk factors associated with diabetes such as an unhealthy diet, a lack of physical activity, a family history of diabetes, certain socioeconomic conditions and race.

According to the CDC, Hispanics are 50 percent more likely to die from diabetes than whites.

The study cautions that their findings may be generalized only to overweight Latino children of a lower socioeconomic status.

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Diabetes in Latino children linked to air pollution study - RT.com - RT

The iLet, a device being tested by Ed Damiano of Boston University.Ed Damiano

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has announced that is funding four last-stage clinical trials of artificial pancreas devices, which automate blood sugar control for people with type 1 diabetes . If the trials go well, the groups could seek approval from federal authorities.

These are the latest steps in a race to make a device that eliminates the need for daily finger pricks and careful blood sugar control for people with the condition. There have been promising recent developments: In October, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first artificial pancreas device in the United States, which monitors a person's blood sugar levels and automatically provides insulin if needed. However, people using that device still need to manually request more insulin after they eat.

The ideal device would require no human input whatsoever, which is what the four new studies are testing this year and next. The devices vary in approach, but all aim to limit the amount of time a person with diabetes, or their caregiver, has to manage changes in blood sugar levels.

One of the studies slated to begin in mid-2018 will be led by Dr. Steven Russell of the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and Ed Damiano of Boston University. It will enroll 312 people ages 18 and older who will spend six months testing a bionic pancreas , which uses both insulin and another hormone called glucagon to keep levels stable throughout the day.

Damiano began developing his bionic pancreas after his son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, as TIME explained in a 2015 profile . Damiano says he wants the device approved so his son doesn't have to constantly think about managing his disease.

For many people with type 1 diabetes, the realization of a successful, fully automated artificial pancreas is a dearly held dream," said Dr. Griffin Rodgers, director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, in a statement . "Nearly 100 years since the discovery of insulin, a successful artificial pancreas would mark another huge step toward better health for people with type 1 diabetes.

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Four Artificial Pancreas Trials for Type 1 Diabetes Move Forward - TIME

A view of the Los Angeles city skyline as heavy smog shrouds the city in 2015. Mark Ralston / AFP/Getty Images

"Exposure to heightened air pollution during childhood increases the risk for Hispanic children to become obese and, independent of that, to also develop Type 2 diabetes," said Michael Goran, who worked on the study.

The children who participated in the study lived in areas that, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, had excess nitrogen dioxide and tiny air pollution particles that are generated by vehicles and power plants.

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By the time the children turned 18, their insulin-creating pancreatic cells were 13 percent less efficient than normal, making them more vulnerable to developing Type 2 diabetes, Goran's team found.

They also had nearly 27 percent higher blood insulin after having fasted for 12 hours. During their two-hour glucose test, had about 26 percent more insulin than normal, showing the body was using insulin less efficiently.

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The study, funded by the National Institutes of Health and published in the journal Diabetes, is the first to connect air pollution and diabetes risk in children. The findings, however, may be generalized only to overweight and obese Latino children, mostly of a lower socioeconomic status.

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Sitting not linked to incident diabetes, new research suggests ... Science Daily Sitting may not be as deadly as previously thought, with new research ruling out sitting as a direct cause of diabetes. Excessive sitting not linked to an increased risk of diabetes9Coach (blog) all 8 news articles »

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Sitting not linked to incident diabetes, new research suggests ... - Science Daily

(Reuters Health) - A genetic trait that affects red blood cells and is fairly common among African Americans and Hispanic Americans can cause an important blood sugar test to miss signs of diabetes, researchers say.

The test known as hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) estimates long-term blood sugar levels by measuring the amount of glucose sticking to red blood cells, but blood cells from people with sickle cell trait don't live as long, so they have less time to collect glucose.

When lead author Mary Elizabeth Lacy from Brown University School of Public Health in Providence, Rhode Island, and her colleagues used standard HbA1c cutoffs to screen for diabetes, we identified 40 percent fewer cases of prediabetes and 48 percent fewer cases of diabetes in individuals with sickle cell trait than in those without sickle cell trait, she told Reuters Health by email.

Sickle cell disease is a serious condition that occurs when a person has two copies of a defective gene responsible for making part of the hemoglobin molecule in red blood cells. Hemoglobin allows the cells to carry oxygen to the tissues that need it, but in people with two copies of the faulty gene, blood cells can turn sickle-shaped, causing painful crises and even death.

People with only one copy of the defective gene are said to have sickle cell trait, and most have no symptoms of sickle cell disease. The gene is most common among people with ancestry in sub-Saharan Africa, Central America and South America, Saudi Arabia, India, Turkey, Greece and Italy.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 1 in 13 African American babies are born with sickle cell trait.

In their study of 4,620 African Americans, including 367 with sickle cell trait, Lacys team found that HbA1c levels were 0.3 percent lower in those with the trait than in those without it, even though they had similar blood sugar levels.

While 0.3 percent may seem small, Lacy said, a difference of 0.3 percentage points in HbA1c could be the difference between being identified as high-risk (and being targeted for more frequent monitoring as well as additional diabetes prevention efforts) or not, or receiving a diagnosis of diabetes or not.

Among individuals with no history of diabetes and not taking diabetes medications, testing blood sugar directly detected pre-diabetic elevated blood sugar levels or full-fledged diabetes in equal numbers of people, regardless of whether they had sickle cell trait, the researchers report in JAMA.

But if HbA1c was used instead of blood sugar testing, pre-diabetic elevated blood sugar would be diagnosed in about 29 percent of those with sickle cell trait compared to 49 percent of those without the trait. Similarly, the HbA1c test would identify diabetes in about 4 percent of those with sickle cell trait and about 7 percent of those without the trait.

The results of HbA1c testing need to be interpreted with caution in patients with sickle cell trait, Lacy concludes. These findings were based on one method of HbA1c measurement. While it is approved for use in those with sickle cell trait, we are unable to say whether our findings are due to assay interference or a biological phenomenon in those with sickle cell trait.

Doctors should consider using a glucose tolerance test if they suspect diabetes in people with SCT whose HbA1c is close to the cutoff level, said Dr. Anthony J. Bleyer from Wake Forest School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, who coauthored a related editorial.

I think there needs to be more research in this area. The HbA1c is a really important test that we use all the time. We need to make sure it is accurate for individuals of all races and ethnicities, Bleyer said by email.

Approximately 10 percent of African American patients have sickle cell trait. It is prudent to test African American patients for hemoglobinopathy (sickle cell trait) before relying on HbA1c for diagnosis diabetes/prediabetes and before using HbA1c to monitor blood sugar control, Dr. Kristina Behan from the University of West Florida in Pensacola, who was not involved in the study, said by email.

SOURCE: bit.ly/2ln3Rap and bit.ly/2kovj9m JAMA, online February 7, 2017.

GENEVA The United Nations appealed on Wednesday for $2.1 billion to provide food and other life-saving assistance to 12 million people in Yemen who face the threat of famine after two years of war.

NEW DELHI A group backed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that works on India's immunization program will now be funded by the health ministry, a government official said, a move in part prompted by fears foreign donors could influence policy making.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Amgen Inc's treatment for secondary hyperparathyroidism in adult patients with chronic kidney disease undergoing dialysis, the U.S. biotech company said on Tuesday.

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Sickle cell trait skews common diabetes test - Reuters

Glycemic Response Independent of Initial Diabetic Medication Choice Among HIV-Infected Patients With Diabetes Endocrinology Advisor Data from a longitudinal cohort study of patients with type 2 diabetes infected with HIV aims to elucidate whether initial choice of oral diabetic medication had effects on glycemic control. Glycemic response was not affected by specific diabetic oral ...

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Glycemic Response Independent of Initial Diabetic Medication Choice Among HIV-Infected Patients With Diabetes - Endocrinology Advisor

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Governor declares Feb. 6 Type 1 Diabetes Day - 6 On Your Side

The hemoglobin A1C test for blood sugar, a standard assay for diabetes, may not perform as well in people with sickle cell trait, a study finds. fotostorm/Getty Images/iStockphoto hide caption

The hemoglobin A1C test for blood sugar, a standard assay for diabetes, may not perform as well in people with sickle cell trait, a study finds.

A widely used blood test to measure blood-sugar trends can give imprecise results, depending on a person's race and other factors. This test means diabetes can sometimes be misdiagnosed or managed poorly.

Doctors have been cautioned before that results from the A1C test don't have pinpoint accuracy. A study published Tuesday underscores that shortcoming as it applies to people who carry the sickle cell trait.

Glucose levels in the blood rise and fall all the time, so it can be tricky to look at a single exam to diagnose diabetes or manage the disease in people who have it. But one test gets around this problem.

The A1C test measures sugar that binds to hemoglobin molecules in red blood cells. It provides an average of blood sugar over the past three months, "so this has turned out to be an incredibly powerful test, both for the diagnosis and treatment of diabetes" says Dr. Anthony Bleyer, a kidney specialist at the Wake Forest School of Medicine who was not involved in the study.

The problem is that the test results can vary, depending on circumstance. For example, people with anemia may get inaccurate readings. So do people who carry unusual types of hemoglobin, the best known being sickle cell trait.

Eight to 10 percent of African-Americans carry the sickle cell trait. But only people who inherit two copies of the sickle cell trait, one from each parent, develop the disease.

And a few years ago, scientists realized that A1C readings for African-Americans readings typically don't match those from whites. They are generally higher.

"The test was really standardized based on white individuals, and there were just a small number of African-American individuals in that study," Bleyer says.

And while the difference isn't large, it can matter a lot, especially for people who are close to the line that defines diabetes. Someone who appears to be just under the line and diagnosed as having prediabetes may in fact have a higher level of A1C, which would push them into a diagnosis of diabetes.

Vagaries in these readings can also be misleading for people whose treatment is guided by this test, because doctors may be overly aggressive in controlling blood sugar, to the point that a patient can end up with seriously low blood sugar.

In a report published Tuesday in JAMA, the journal of the American Medical Association, scientists at Brown University and the National Institutes of Health examined data from two large studies to compare test results of African-Americans with and without the sickle cell trait.

The studies used standard A1C tests that had previously been shown to give low readings for people with the sickle cell trait. The scientists were surprised to find how big a difference it made.

About 4 percent of the people in the study who carried the sickle cell trait were diagnosed with diabetes, but they expect a test corrected for bias would have identified about 7 percent nearly twice as many people.

"We were really shocked by that, honestly," says Mary Lacy, a graduate student at Brown University and lead author of the study. "That's huge!"

Likewise, they found 40 percent fewer cases of prediabetes than they expected among people carrying the sickle cell trait.

The test readings are only off by a few tenths of a percentage point, but that was enough to push many people below the cutoff points that indicate diabetes or prediabetes.

This observation is one reason doctors should be cautious in interpreting A1C results, researchers say.

"Doctors generally take the test fairly literally," says Tamara Darsow, senior vice president for research and community programs at the American Diabetes Association. "How much this impacts care and the interpretation of A1C results I think is variable."

The association's guidance document cautions doctors that the A1C tests can be off by plus or minus 7 percent among people with unusual hemoglobin traits. As the new study underscores, that is more than enough variability to affect a diagnosis.

So instead of making a snap diagnosis, particularly for African-Americans, doctors could additionally run some more traditional blood-sugar tests. Those aren't influenced by race or sickle cell status (though they can vary for other reasons).

"Information together from all of these tests can be much more powerful than those taken in isolation," Darsow says.

The American Diabetes Association would ultimately like to come up with more concrete treatment guidelines, but for now their word to doctors is this: Be aware this is an issue and use your best judgment.

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The A1C Blood Sugar Test May Be Less Accurate In African-Americans - NPR

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Some people, due to family history or other physical conditions, are dealt a bad hand and have to cope with diabetes.

But for many, diabetes is self-inflicted. We dont exercise or eat smart. After a few years of that, the grim reality is people go to a doctors appointment and find out they have blood sugar issues.

Huntsville Hospitals Diabetes University is program dedicated to helping patients not only navigate, but beat, diabetes.

Untreated, diabetes can lead to blindness, kidney disease, heart attack, and stroke. A serious issue with patients who have diabetes is infections with extremities that lead to amputations.

The focus of Diabetes University is help patients identify blood glucose levels, develop problem solving skills for diabetes, and how to prevent further damage from diabetes.

Also, the all-important portion control and exercise components are critical.

Fighting diabetes is a daily battle. It requires discipline and resolve, and you dont have to fight alone.

Huntsville Hospital Diabetes University is at 420 Lowell Drive, Suite 500 in Huntsville. The number is 256-265-3069.

34.721457 -86.575366

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Do you need help fighting diabetes? - whnt.com

Despite being just a freshman, Kalamazoo United's Brandon Murray has carved out a contributingrole for the team. What's even more impressive is his doing so despite a type 1 diabetes diagnosis.

According to the American Diabetes Association type 1 diabetes, formerly known asjuvenile diabetes,is when the body does not produce insulin.

"The body breaks down the sugars and starches you eat into a simple sugar called glucose, which it uses for energy," the website reads. "Insulin is a hormone that the body needs to get glucose from the bloodstream into the cells of the body. With the help of insulin therapy and other treatments, even young children can learn to manage their condition and live long, healthy lives."

Dealing with diabetes is something Murray has had to adjust to over the last couple of years, after getting diagnosed as a 10-year-old.

In fifth grade, when I was 10-years-old, around halfway through the season I started not feeling well," Murray said "I couldn't skate a full shift, I was always thirsty and had to use the bathroom while I was on the ice. It was becoming a problem in school and in hockey and I wasn't feeling like me.

"We went to my cousin's house to visit and my aunt who is a nurse suggested to my mom that I get a check up. The lady in the walk-in clinic said we should go to the emergency room and within a few hours they tested my blood sugar and urine and a couple of weeks after that I knew what it was."

Adjusting to every day life after his diagnosis was a challenge, but as time wore on Murray became more and more comfortable with his condition.

"It was embarrassing to check my blood sugar in the locker room or give myself insulin with my pen," Murray said. "It felt like I was the different kid, but it made me stronger and I could communicate with my teammates better. As I got more questions, I became more familiar with how to answer and I wasn't the weird one anymore.

I just had to accept the fact that it's not going to go away anytime soon and embrace it, so that I can better educate people on how it affects your every day life."

That ADA notes that "sometimes people experience a drop in blood glucose during or after exercise, so it is very important to monitor your blood glucose, take proper precautions, and be prepared to treat hypoglycemia," the website read.

To learn how different types of activity affect you the ADA suggests that you should frequently check your blood glucose before, during, and after an exercise session.

Through trial and error, Murray had to learn what kept his levels balanced so that he could stay healthy in his athletic endeavors. Now that he has adjusted, Murray feels better than ever on the ice.

"I learned to play hockey with diabetes, it was a struggle but I feel its made me a better hockey player," Murray said. "I always have to check my blood sugar better on game day, if I was too high or too low it would affect my performance. Ive learned a balanced amount of eating and snacking to avoid lows or highs."

United coach Tyler Kindle spoke very highly of Murray. Kindle has been impressed with his young guy's ability to compete with older athletes.

That can be a difficult situation and he handles it really well, it hasn't been a distraction at all," Kindle said. "He has to be very disciplined to take care of that while competing and he does very well.

Hes a strong kid, which is huge for a freshman to have the strength to step in and compete against older kids. Hes going to be a big part of the the team going forward as he improves, he has the potential to be a top defensemen at the high school level.

Murray has played in 18 of United's 20 games this season, becoming more comfortable with his role and the team every day.

"He's having a really solid season for a freshman, hes been able to step in and chew up some time on the back end and hes been a great addition to our defense," Kindle said. He gets a pretty regular shifts on the back end and hes done a good job playing against kids three or four years older than him.

Hes been a great kid to have around, hes always got something pretty witty to say. He was really quiet at first, but hes fit in really well.

Murray doesn't think of his diabetes as a weakness, it has become a hidden strength something that he can take pride in.

Im very proud of it, I participate in walks, it feels good that Im not the only person with the disease and I can talk to other people with it and they understand, Murray said "Before my diagnosis, I wasn't at my full potential. Something was holding me back and I feel like this was it; I don't know how, but it's allowed me to grow into a stronger hockey player.

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Type 1 diabetes not a problem for Kalamazoo United freshman Brandon Murray - MLive.com