Insulin News and Research

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Insulin is a hormone that is needed to convert glucose, starches and other food into energy needed for daily life. Insulin allows cells to use glucose for fuel and is secreted by beta cells in the islets of Langerhans. The release of insulin from the pancreas is stimulated by increased blood glucose, vagal nerve stimulation, and other factors. Insulin is obtained from various animals and available in a variety of preparations. Commercial insulin preparations differ in a number of ways, including differences in the animal species from which they are obtained; their purity, concentration, and solubility; and the time of onset and duration of their biologic action. An oral hypoglycemic agent is not a form of insulin therapy.

Pancreatic trigs trigger diabetes

Researchers have found that pancreatic triglycerides provide a novel biomarker for pancreatic β-cell dysfunction that can be used to identify individuals at risk for Type 2 diabetes, particularly among people of Hispanic origin.

14 Sep 2012

Lilly, Boehringer Ingelheim announce availability of My Well Planner for adults with type 2 diabetes

Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Eli Lilly and Company today announce the availability of a new online program offering customized educational content to help adults with type 2 diabetes make simple lifestyle changes to improve their health.

14 Sep 2012

Biodel initiates BIOD-123 Phase 2 trial in Type 1 diabetes

Biodel Inc. today announced the initiation of a Phase 2 clinical trial of its proprietary recombinant insulin (RHI)-based ultra-rapid-acting mealtime insulin candidate, BIOD-123.

13 Sep 2012

Angiopoietin-like protein 2 level linked to incident diabetes

Elevated angiopoietin-like protein 2 levels are associated with the development of Type 2 diabetes, show findings from a Japanese study.

12 Sep 2012

Electronic jewelry for health

Bracelets and amulets are in the works at Dartmouth's Institute for Security, Technology, and Society (ISTS). Rather than items of mere adornment, the scientists and engineers are constructing personal mobile health (mHealth) devices-highly functional jewelry, as it were.

12 Sep 2012

Latinos more likely to store fat in the pancreas and develop type 2 diabetes

Latinos are more likely to store fat in the pancreas and are less able to compensate by excreting additional insulin, a Cedars-Sinai study shows.

12 Sep 2012

Karolinska Institutet professor receives Fernström Foundation Nordic Prize for obesity research

This year's Fernström Foundation Nordic Prize, worth SEK 1 million, goes to Professor Peter Arner from Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, who conducts research on fat. His team was the first to show that fat cells are formed throughout one's lifetime, not just in childhood.

11 Sep 2012

Half of all people of South Asian, African descent will develop diabetes by age 80

Half of all people of South Asian, African and African Caribbean descent will develop diabetes by age 80 according to a new study published today. The study is the first to reveal the full extent of ethnic differences in the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and also provides some answers as to the causes of the increased risk.

11 Sep 2012

Two different genetic mutations cooperate to induce adrenal cancer

Two different genetic mutations cooperate to induce adrenal cancer, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center and University of Sao Paulo in Brazil.

11 Sep 2012

Islet Sciences licenses noninvasive technology from Winthrop for detecting Beta cell death

Islet Sciences, Inc., a biotechnology company engaged in the research, development and commercialization of patented technologies in the field of transplantation therapy for patients with diabetes, today announced that it has exclusively licensed technology from Winthrop University Hospital. This technology is complimentary to the early Beta cell destruction diagnostic that Islet Sciences licensed last month.

10 Sep 2012

Automated system for mapping protein-DNA interactions

Since the sequencing of the human genome in 2001, all our genes - around 20,000 in total - have been identified. But much is still unknown - for instance where and when each is active. Next to each gene sits a short DNA segment, and the activity of this regulatory segment determines whether the gene will be turned on, where and how strongly.

10 Sep 2012

Tight blood sugar control does not benefit pediatric patients undergoing heart surgery

Although some studies have portrayed tight blood sugar control as a potential means of lowering infection rates in critically ill adults, a new study-led by principal investigator Michael Agus, MD, director of the Medicine Critical Care Program at Boston Children's Hospital-found no indication that the approach benefits pediatric patients undergoing heart surgery.

10 Sep 2012

Nano biosensor measures and analyzes glucose without needle pricks

Pricking a finger everyday is just part of everyday life for many diabetes patients. A non-invasive measurement approach could release them from the constant pain of pin pricks. The linchpin is a biosensor engineered by Fraunhofer researchers: A tiny chip combines measurement and digital analysis - and can be radioed to a mobile device.

7 Sep 2012

Children and young patients with chronic HBV infection do have a protective immune response

Scientists from A*STAR's Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences (SICS), together with clinical collaborators from London , discovered for the first time that children and young patients with chronic Hepatitis B Virus infection (HBV carriers) do have a protective immune response, contrary to current belief, and hence can be more suitable treatment candidates than previously considered.

7 Sep 2012

UC Davis plans to open West Coast Metabolomics Center

With a $9.3 million startup grant from the National Institutes of Health, the University of California, Davis, has announced plans to open the West Coast Metabolomics Center, a high-tech consortium of research and service laboratories that will help scientists better understand and develop more effective treatments for complex diseases like diabetes, cancer and atherosclerosis.

6 Sep 2012

Key facts about polycystic ovary syndrome

September marks Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) awareness month and with this condition affecting millions of women in the world, there are some key facts about the condition to highlight that can affect a women's fertility when suffering with the disorder.

6 Sep 2012