http://www.health.am/db/ http://www.health.am/db/more/enough-goal-to-improve-diabetes-diet/ http://www.health.am/db/more/enough-goal-to-improve-diabetes-diet/ A specific goal to eat a set number of daily servings of low-glycemic-index foods can improve dietary habits of people with Type 2 diabetes, according to new research. Study participants were given a goal to eat either six or eight daily servings of foods with a low glycemic index - carbohydrates that are digested slowly and are less likely to spike blood-sugar levels than would carbohydrates with a high glycemic index. Overall, most participants reached the eight-serving goal, partly because researchers discovered that many people were already consuming about six servings of low-glycemic-index foods each day.  Diabetes news 2012-02-09T07:07:00-08:00 http://www.health.am/db/more/diabetes-rates-vary-widely-in-developing-countries/ http://www.health.am/db/more/diabetes-rates-vary-widely-in-developing-countries/ Rates of diabetes vary widely across developing countries worldwide, according to a new analysis led by Dr. Longjian Liu of Drexel University’s School of Public Health. Worldwide, four in five people with diabetes now live in developing countries. Liu’s study found that access to healthcare support for diabetes varied widely in developing countries, and that one in 10 diagnosed cases remain untreated. The study is available online and will appear in a future issue of the journal Diabetic Medicine. “Diabetes is now one of the most common non-communicable diseases globally,” Liu said. “It is the fourth or fifth leading cause of death in most high-income countries and there is substantial evidence that it is epidemic in many low- and middle-income countries.” The number of people with diabetes is expected to increase substantially in coming decades. Diabetes news 2012-02-03T08:06:00-08:00 http://www.health.am/db/more/improves-blood-glucose-control-for-diabetics/ http://www.health.am/db/more/improves-blood-glucose-control-for-diabetics/ Intermittent exercise with and without low oxygen concentrations (or hypoxia) can improve insulin sensitivity in type 2 diabetics, however exercise while under hypoxic conditions provides greater improvements in glycemic control than intermittent exercise alone, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM). Exercise improves glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes. Previous studies have focused on continuous aerobic exercise with more recent work assessing resistance exercise. There are few studies that assess the effects of intermittent exercise on glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity in type 2 diabetes. “Current guidelines suggest that health benefits can be gained when patients with type 2 diabetes spend 30 minutes exercising each day, but published data has failed to show intermittent exercise to be effective,” said Richard Mackenzie, PhD, of the University of Westminster in London, U.K., and lead author of the study. “Here we have shown that intermittent exercise seems to improve the glucose profiles of type 2 diabetics with a greater positive effect when intermittent exercise is combined with mild hypoxia, similar to doing the exercise at altitudes of 2500 meters.” Diabetes news 2012-02-02T21:34:00-08:00 http://www.health.am/db/more/biological-time-keeper-linked-to-diabetes/ http://www.health.am/db/more/biological-time-keeper-linked-to-diabetes/ Researchers in Lille and Paris demonstrated that mutations in the melatonin receptor gene (melatonin or the “hormone of darkness” induces sleep) lead to an almost sevenfold increase in the risk of developing diabetes. This research, which was published in Nature Genetics on 29 January 2012, could contributed to the development of new drugs for the treatment or prevention of this metabolic disease. Type 2 diabetes is characterised by excess blood glucose and increased resistance to insulin. It is the most common form of the disease and affects 300 million people in the world, including 3 million in France. This figure should double in the next few years, driven by the obesity epidemic and the disappearance of ancestral lifestyles. It is known that genetic factors, combined with a high-fat, high-sugar diet and lack of exercise, can also contribute to the onset of the disease. Furthermore, several studies have shown that sleeping disorders that affect the duration and quality of sleep are also high risk factors. Shift workers, for example, are at greater risk of developing the disease. No previous research has described any mechanism linking the biological clock to diabetes. The researchers focused their attention on the receptor of a hormone called melatonin, which is produced by the pineal gland as light fades. Melatonin, also known as the hormone of darkness, can be seen as a biological “time-keeper”, synchronising biological rhythms with nightfall. The teams sequenced the MT2 gene, which encodes its receptor, in 7600 diabetics and persons with normal glycaemia. They found 40 rare mutations that modify the protein structure of the melatonin receptor, 14 of which made the receptor in question non-functional. The team went on to demonstrate that the risk of developing diabetes is nearly seven times higher in people affected by such mutations, which make them melatonin-insensitive. Diabetes news 2012-01-30T18:09:04-08:00 http://www.health.am/db/more/body-clock-receptor-linked-to-diabetes/ http://www.health.am/db/more/body-clock-receptor-linked-to-diabetes/ A study published in Nature Genetics today has found new evidence for a link between the body clock hormone melatonin and type 2 diabetes. The study found that people who carry rare genetic mutations in the receptor for melatonin have a much higher risk of type 2 diabetes. The findings should help scientists to more accurately assess personal diabetes risk and could lead to the development of personalised treatments. Previous research has found that people who work night shifts have a higher risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Studies have also found that if volunteers have their sleep disrupted repeatedly for three days, they temporarily develop symptoms of diabetes. Diabetes news 2012-01-30T09:44:01-08:00 http://www.health.am/db/more/diabetes-device-checks-saliva-not-blood/ http://www.health.am/db/more/diabetes-device-checks-saliva-not-blood/ A new technique to measure glucose in saliva could eliminate the need for diabetics to draw blood to check blood sugar levels. The biochip developed by engineers at Brown University uses plasmonic interferometers and could be employed to measure a range of biological and environmental substances. The technique takes advantage of a convergence of nanotechnology and surface plasmonics, which explores the interaction of electrons and photons (light). The engineers etched thousands of plasmonic interferometers onto a fingernail-size biochip and measured the concentration of glucose molecules in water on the chip. Their results, reported in the journal Nano Letters, show that the specially designed biochip could detect glucose levels similar to the levels found in human saliva. Glucose in human saliva is typically about 100 times less concentrated than in the blood. Diabetes news 2012-01-20T21:22:00-08:00 http://www.health.am/db/more/can-coffee-really-thwart-type-2-diabetes/ http://www.health.am/db/more/can-coffee-really-thwart-type-2-diabetes/ Your morning “cup of Joe” may do more than deliver the jolt you need to get going—it may also help you stave off type 2 diabetes, a new study suggests. But, before you pour yourself a second cup know this: The study authors said their research was done with cell cultures and there’s no proof yet that coffee has any ability to keep type 2 diabetes at bay. Past research has suggested a link between coffee and a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes, and now Chinese researchers behind the new study think they may know why that may be so. They found three major compounds in coffee that may provide potentially beneficial effects: caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid and caffeine. Diabetes news 2012-01-20T21:17:01-08:00 http://www.health.am/db/more/sharp-increase-in-diabetes-among-children/ http://www.health.am/db/more/sharp-increase-in-diabetes-among-children/ The number of children with diabetes increased about three times in the Czech Republic in the past two decades and diabetes has become one of the most frequent chronic diseases children suffer from, Jan Lebl, head physician of Prague’s Motol Teaching Hospital’s paediatric clinic, said yesterday. Younger and younger children fall ill with diabetes. The increase is the sharpest, up to four times, among children under four years, Lebl told journalists. The Motol clinic’s child diabetology centre ranks among Europe’s first twelve centres with the prestigious international title “Centre of Excellence.” Diabetes news 2012-01-20T20:59:01-08:00 http://www.health.am/db/more/how-much-of-diabetes-is-genetic/ http://www.health.am/db/more/how-much-of-diabetes-is-genetic/ Paula Deen never said she was teaching us how to cook healthy food. But when she announced she’s had Type 2 diabetes for three years, all the while instructing America on the virtues of butter, critics couldn’t resist calling her a hypocrite. But does poor eating lead to Type 2 diabetes, or is it all in the genes? “We know you don’t inherit diabetes in a simple manner,” said Dr. Nolawit Tesfaye, an endocrinologist and diabetes specialist at Hennepin County Medical Center. Diabetes news 2012-01-20T20:45:00-08:00 http://www.health.am/db/more/link-between-killer-cells-and-diabetes/ http://www.health.am/db/more/link-between-killer-cells-and-diabetes/ Killer T-cells in the human body which help protect us from disease can inadvertently destroy cells that produce insulin, new research has uncovered. The study provides the first evidence of this mechanism in action and could offer new understanding of the cause of Type 1 diabetes. Professor Andy Sewell, an expert in human T-cells from Cardiff University’s School of Medicine worked alongside diabetes experts from King’s College London to better understand the role of T-cells in the development of Type 1 diabetes. The team isolated a T-cell from a patient with Type 1 diabetes to view a unique molecular interaction which results in the killing of insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. Diabetes news 2012-01-16T17:11:08-08:00