Diabetes in midlife could lead to cognitive problems later in life, study shows

Researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have discovered that middle-aged people who did not properly manage their blood sugar levels were almost 20 percent more likely to have cognitive issues later in their life than middle-aged people with normal blood sugar levels.

The study, titled "Diabetes in Midlife and Cognitive Change Over 20 Years: A Cohort Study," spanned 25 years, assessing data that examined the blood sugar levels as well as the cognitive, memory and reasoning abilities of over 13,000 Caucasian and Afican-Amerian adults aged 48 - 67.

All were initially screened for pre-diabetes and diabetes symptoms and were examined during the course of the decades-long study. The results found that those who had elevated blood sugar levels in mid-life were more prone to cognitive problems in their later years. For example, the researchers discovered that people in their 50s who had high blood sugar levels were more likely to experience mental decline approximately 20 years later, when they were in their 70s.

Statin drug use nearly doubles your risk of diabetes, study claims

The use of cholesterol-lowering statin drugs could double your risk of developing diabetes, suggests a study conducted by researchers from the VA North Texas Health System and the University of Texas Southwestern that was published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine on April 28.

Previous studies have shown a link between statin use and increased diabetes rates, but the new study is the first to show that statins seem to increase diabetes risk even in otherwise healthy people who are not predisposed to the disease.

"In our study, statin use was associated with a significantly higher risk of new-onset diabetes, even in a very healthy population," lead author Ishak Mansi said. "The risk of diabetes with statins has been known, but up until now it was thought that this might be due to the fact that people who were prescribed statins had greater medical risks to begin with."

Diabetes management: mobile app to remotely monitor glucose levels in real-time

The Food and Drug Administration has recently approved a mobile app that would drastically help diabetics. Concerned parents or caregivers, for example, could monitor a person's glucose levels from afar, providing them with peace of mind.

The Dexcom Share device, Dexcom G4, is the latest development that marries insulin delivery with blood sugar monitoring while also removing the often trial-and-error task of calibrating insulin doses. It works by having one app installed on a patient's device and another app installed on another individual's device (the person who wishes to be privy to the information). Details are made possible via a small sensor that the diabetic adheres to their skin. Such information can be viewed in real-time, so people may be made aware of fluctuations in glucose levels and then take necessary action.

It's slated to be available in March 2015.

Studies show diet soda is linked to belly fat, type 2 diabetes and obesity

While most people who drink diet soda probably know it isn't the healthiest choice, they still may be under the mistaken impression that it will keep their weight down. Scientific studies emphasize this is not true.

This was made clear in a recent study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society in which 749 people were followed for nine years based on soda consumption, both diet and regular.

Those who eschewed the diet soda gained an average of 0.8 inches around their waists over the course of the study. Conversely, those who drank diet soda on a daily basis gained 3.2 inches. Participants who drank diet soda only occasionally showed an increased waist circumference of 1.8 inches.

Researchers discover ancient flower that naturally treats diabetes; Big Pharma immediately begins developing synthetic version

Israeli researchers have discovered an amazing plant native to their region that apparently helps treat type-2 diabetes naturally without the need for drugs or injections. But rather than promote the actual plant as a therapeutic option for patients, the team is instead working with drug companies to isolate the plant's "active ingredient" so it can be synthesized and turned into a patented, corporate-owned pharmaceutical drug.

The plant is known as Chiliadenus iphionoides, or sharp varthemia, and it has a stocky, furry-looking stem that produces spiny yellow flowers. In both cellular and animal models, extracts from this aromatic shrub have been shown to exhibit antidiabetic activity, helping to improve sugar absorption into muscle and fat cells, as well as reduce blood sugar levels.

Based on these powerful outcomes, as reported in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology, sharp varthemia appears to be a godsend for people who suffer from diabetes mellitus, which the American Diabetes Association says is the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S. today. But you won't find the plant at your local CVS or Walgreens pharmacy, and you likely never will.

The anti-diabetic potential of nettles and walnut leaves

In the United States and throughout the world, rates of diabetic patients continue to rise. In America alone, it is estimated that there are between 26 and 30 million diabetics, about a quarter of them undiagnosed and untreated. This constitutes a major challenge to the healthcare system since this chronic condition can lead to serious long-term health problems. These problems can include kidney failure, blindness, neuropathy and even amputations due to poor wound healing and/or circulation. Conventional medicine has tried to treat diabetes with insulin and/or pills to help control blood sugars, but due to the serious side effects of such medications, the search is on to find natural solutions to help manage diabetes on a day-to-day basis - and to prevent complications from arising. Let's take a look at a few natural solutions that may have significant anti-diabetic potential: Nettles and walnut leaves.

Two-Drug Therapy Helped Kids With Type 2 Diabetes

But best combination of meds for young patients still isn't known, experts say.

Children with type 2 diabetes may achieve better blood sugar control with a combination of two drugs, metformin and Avandia, than with metformin alone, a new study suggests.

However, Avandia (rosiglitazone) was recently linked to an increased risk of heart attack and stroke, so it may not be the best drug for these young patients, experts say.

"Many kids with type 2 have a rapidly progressive disease requiring early onset of insulin therapy, and current approaches to oral therapy may be inadequate," said lead researcher Dr. Philip Zeitler, a professor of medicine at the University of Colorado, Denver.

FDA Restricts Access to Avandia

In response to major concerns about heart risks, U.S. health officials on Thursday severely restricted use of the diabetes drug rosiglitazone (Avandia) to patients with type 2 diabetes who cannot control their disease on other medications.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials also ordered the drug's manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline, to get an independent review of a key company-run trial of the drug's heart effects. And they pulled the plug on another company-run trial comparing Avandia to its competitor, pioglitazone (Actos).

"Because of concerns about cardiovascular safety, FDA is announcing regulatory action on medications containing rosiglitazone," FDA Commissioner Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg said during a morning press conference. "FDA is significantly restricting the use of these products by requiring the manufacturer to submit a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy [REMS]."

Avandia Raises Heart Risk But Should Stay on Market, FDA Panel Finds

The controversial diabetes drug Avandia does raise the risk of heart attack more than other medications of its kind but should stay on the market with tightened controls, a U.S. government advisory panel recommended late Wednesday.

By a complex series of votes, the 33-member panel of experts rejected the option that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration remove Avandia from the market for safety reasons.

The series of votes started, according to the New York Times, with 18 members of the panel voting that Avandia might up the risk of heart attack, six saying they weren't concerned about a raised risk, and nine saying they were unsure.

Avoiding Diabetes Scams

Some diabetes treatment claims are just too good to be true. Be alert to these common scams.

A type 2 diabetes diagnosis could send you running to the Web to research cures and treatments. While you will find reliable, research-based information online, you’ll also come across many diabetes scams. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which in the past has cracked down on people hawking fraudulent diabetes cures, says that dishonest people like using diabetes as a draw because it’s a serious disease and people want a cure.

Jennifer Clark, diabetes educator and nurse practitioner at the University of Chicago Medical Center, is sympathetic to people who look for alternative treatments. “I think people are concerned about being on a lot of medications, especially insulin,” she says.

Take Care of Your Diabetes Supplies

Looking after your testing strips, glucose meters, and other supplies is key to successful management of type 2 diabetes.

Your glucose meters, testing strips, and other diabetes supplies all need special attention.

Caring for your diabetic supplies is an important part of managing type 2 diabetes. Proper care will ensure your supplies last as long as you need them to — and that you have a better chance of controlling your blood sugar.

Testing strips, glucose meters, medications, and supplies with sharp edges all need special attention. Once you develop the habits that will keep your supplies in working condition, you will find those habits to be almost second nature.

Saving Money on Type 2 Diabetes Care

From medical co-pays to the cost of supplies, type 2 diabetes can be expensive to treat and manage. Try these tips for lower-cost options.

When you add up the costs of diabetic supplies, medications, and insurance co-pays, living with type 2 diabetes can be an expensive proposition for both patients and the health system. The National Institutes of Health estimates that diabetes costs the United States $174 billion each year.

One study found that a person newly diagnosed with diabetes spends about $4,174 more in medical expenses each year than his peers without diabetes. Medical costs increase about $158 per year after diagnosis. Most of these costs come from diabetes complications such as kidney disease. And these increases in annual medical costs are in addition to those associated with simply aging. Also, a recent study found that even among families with employer-sponsored health care plans, those dealing with chronic conditions like diabetes spent more out of pocket, primarily because of prescription co-payments.

Victoza for Type 2 Diabetes

The new weapon in the type 2 diabetes treatment arsenal is the drug Victoza. While this medication is effective and simple to use, it's not right for everyone.

People with type 2 diabetes may feel somewhat limited by type 2 diabetes treatment options, with many medications leading to weight gain and locking them into multiple daily doses. The availability of a new drug called liraglutide (Victoza) may allow diabetes patients to avoid both those situations. However, Victoza comes with its own set of side effects that may cause you to think twice about using it.

Victoza is an injectable diabetes management medication that "helps the insulin in the body work a little better," explains Philip A. Kern, MD, an endocrinologist and director of the Barnstable Brown Diabetes and Obesity Center at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine in Lexington.

Weight-Loss Surgery for Type 2 Diabetes

Weight-loss surgery is an option for people with type 2 diabetes, but it won't work if you're not committed to changing your lifestyle.

The popularity of weight-loss surgery has increased over the past decade. For people who are obese and who haven’t had any lasting success with traditional weight-loss methods, the idea of surgery may be appealing. But is weight-loss surgery a good idea for people with type 2 diabetes?

Type 2 Diabetes: Advantages to Surgery

Vincent Woo, MD, chair of the clinical and scientific section of the Canadian Diabetes Association, says there are advantages to the surgery: “With significant weight loss, individuals will dramatically improve glucose levels and in some, diabetes will go away.”

Complementary Therapies for Type 2 Diabetes

Acupuncture, vitamins, massage — can they help treat type 2 diabetes?

An increasing number of Americans are dealing with type 2 diabetes, as our country’s obesity epidemic continues to spread. Fortunately, prescription medications help many diabetics keep their blood sugar levels in check. Like all medications, however, diabetes drugs do have side effects, which has led many people to consider complementary and alternative therapies. One report estimated that as many as 3.6 million Americans have tried some form of alternative medicine to treat diabetes.

“Every diabetes drug has therapeutic effects and side effects,” says Jianping Ye, MD, a professor at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, La. “So it is a hot area right now to combine CAM [complementary and alternative medicine] therapies with synthetic drugs to enhance the therapeutic effect and reduce side effects.”

Here are a few of the alternative therapies for type 2 diabetes that are currently being investigated.

Medications for Type 2 Diabetes

These drugs can help control blood sugar levels when diet and exercise aren't enough.

If you've recently been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, your doctor probably told you how important diet and exercise are in controlling your blood sugar.

Although lifestyle changes are essential, your doctor will probably prescribe diabetes medications as well.

There are many different kinds of medications for type 2 diabetes, and it's helpful to understand what they do and why they're used.

Sometimes people with type 2 diabetes may need to take two or three different pills, or a combination drug — one tablet that contains two types of medications combined.

In many cases, combination therapy has been proven to be more effective than just using one type of drug.

What Is Metformin?

Metformin is often the first drug prescribed when a person is diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

Metformin is the most widely prescribed blood-sugar-lowering pill in the world. It belongs to a class of drugs called biguanides, and it is the only biguanide approved for use in the United States.

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) recommends metformin as the first-line oral treatment for people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, unless they have some contraindication or other reason they can't take it.

Metformin is sold as a generic and also under the brand names Glucophage, Glucophage XR, Fortamet, Riomet, and Glumetza.

What Is Insulin?

People with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes may need to receive injections of insulin to help their bodies regulate their blood sugar.

Insulin is a hormone that allows your body to regulate sugar in the blood, keeping levels of sugar from getting too high or low.

Insulin was discovered as a treatment for diabetes in the 1920s, and soon Eli Lily began producing the extract in great quantities.

Prior to this discovery, diabetes was considered untreatable and likely to result in death.

Special cells called beta cells in the pancreas make insulin. With each meal, the beta cells release insulin to help the body use sugar in the blood or store it.

Insulin: What You Need to Know

Experts believe even more people with type 2 should take insulin to control blood glucose - the earlier, the better.

If you live long enough with type 2 diabetes, odds are good you'll eventually need insulin," says William Polonsky, Ph.D., CDE, assistant clinical professor in psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego, and author of Diabetes Burnout: What to Do When You Can't Take It Anymore. The decision to start insulin isn't easy. How do you know if you need to take it, and, if you do, what's the best way to start? Before you and your doctor make a decision, find out the latest on insulin.

Insulin and Taking Control

Gene May Raise Diabetics' Chances of Heart Disease

People with type 2 diabetes plus a certain variant of DNA had 36 percent higher risk, study found.

Some people with type 2 diabetes might be at higher risk for heart disease if they also carry a particular type of gene, new research reveals.

The gene variant could raise diabetics' odds for heart woes by about a third compared to people without this DNA, according to a team from the Harvard School of Public Health and Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston.

The finding might lead to new ways to prevent or treat heart disease in this group of patients, the team added. People with type 2 diabetes are already up to four times more likely to develop heart disease than those without diabetes, and heart disease remains the leading cause of death among the more than 370 million people worldwide with type 2 diabetes, according to information in a Harvard news release.

Mercury Exposure Linked to Raised Diabetes Risk

Researchers suggest selecting seafood known to have lower levels of the metal.

Young adults who have higher levels of mercury in their systems may face a 65 percent increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life, a new study warns.

The findings — which are the first to link mercury and diabetes in humans — are alarming in terms of nutrition because eating fish and shellfish is the main source of mercury in people, the researchers added.

They noted that nearly all fish and shellfish contain traces of mercury, but they also contain lean protein and other important nutrients, such as magnesium and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, which could counter the effects of mercury.

Taking Diabetes Management to Church

Advice for diabetes management may be closer than you think - at church.

New Orleans is known for good times and good food. But that "let the good times roll" mindset may very well contribute to the finding that about 12 percent of adults there have diabetes. Other data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that about 30 percent of adults are obese and nearly as many are physically inactive.

Faced with rising rates of type 2 diabetes and diabetes risk factors, health advocates in the Big Easy are taking diabetes education to church. Communities big and small around the country are trying similar strategies, coordinating diabetes support groups and education programs with bible study and ministry meetings. The hope is that this approach to diabetes management will help tackle the diabetes epidemic nationwide. The reason the model works, say New Orleans coordinators, is because church is family.

8 Surprising Risk Factors for Type 2 Diabetes

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If you don't exercise, are seriously overweight, or have a host of family members with diabetes, the odds that you, too, will develop the disease become increasingly likely. But diabetes is a complicated disease, and researchers continue to discover evidence that the risk factors are more varied and complex than once thought. For example, recent research shows that breast cancer can increase the odds of developing diabetes in some women, and taking life-saving statins could protect your heart yet also be a type 2 diabetes risk factor.

While these risk factors may not be as strong as being overweight or inactive, they point to the importance of taking diabetes screening and prevention seriously, especially in light of other health conditions you or family members might be facing.

Scientists ID New Gene Regions Linked to Type 2 Diabetes

Findings help shed light on condition's genetics, biology.

Scientists have identified 10 new regions of DNA linked to type 2 diabetes, bringing the total number of genes and gene regions associated with the disease to more than 60.

Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body does not produce enough insulin and does not respond effectively to the insulin it does produce. As a result, glucose levels in the blood can increase unchecked. Uncontrolled diabetes can lead to a number of health complications, including heart disease, stroke, nerve damage and blindness.

The international team of researchers said their findings may help experts develop treatments for the condition.

"The 10 gene regions we have shown to be associated with type 2 diabetes are taking us nearer a biological understanding of the disease," said the study's principal investigator Mark McCarthy of the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics at the University of Oxford, in a university news release. "It is hard to come up with new drugs for diabetes without first having an understanding of which biological processes in the body to target. This work is taking us closer to that goal."

5 Things to Do After a Type 2 Diabetes Diagnosis

Diagnosed with type 2 diabetes? Start with these action steps to regain control of your health and ease the anxiety that first overwhelmed you.

If you've just been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, making changes may not be on your mind. You’re probably still processing the news. And when you start to come to terms with it, you may be flooded with a variety of emotions, none too helpful or positive.

If it’s any comfort, you’re not alone in experiencing this response: In a Dutch study that followed 200 people with type 2 diabetes, half didn’t take their diabetes diagnosis seriously at first. A third felt vulnerable to the potentially life-threatening complications of diabetes, and about a quarter experienced anxiety or depression. And though more than three-quarters said they were fully capable of taking care of themselves, very few seemed ready to undertake the lifestyle changes that would be needed.