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.

JDRF supports FDA's draft guidance on artificial pancreas technology

The JDRF today said it is encouraged that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a draft guidance which appears to lay a foundation for accelerating the development and availability of artificial pancreas technology (AP) that will improve the lives of millions of Americans living with type 1 diabetes.

2 Dec 2011

Scottsdale resident donates $1 million to TGen pancreatic cancer initiative

A son's passion to find a cure for the cancer that claimed the life of his mother has led to a new series of clinical trials under a Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) initiative to find a cure for pancreatic cancer.

2 Dec 2011

FDA issues draft guidance on artificial pancreas system

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today issued draft guidance designed to help investigators and manufacturers as they develop and seek approval for artificial pancreas device systems to treat type 1 diabetes.

2 Dec 2011

Life as a couch potato can create new fat in fat cells

Conventional wisdom says that exercise is a key to weight loss - a no-brainer. But now, Tel Aviv University researchers are revealing that life as a couch potato, stretched out in front of the TV, can actually be "active inactivity" - and cause you to pack on the pounds.

2 Dec 2011

Low-carbohydrate diet may help prepubescent girls avoid obesity associated risks

A low-carbohydrate diet may help prepubescent girls avoid some risks associated with obesity, such as diabetes and heart disease, according to research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

2 Dec 2011

Auxilium initiates XIAFLEX phase IIa trial in Frozen Shoulder syndrome

Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a specialty biopharmaceutical company, today announced that the first patient has been dosed in its open-label phase IIa trial of XIAFLEX (collagenase clostridium histolyticum) for the treatment of idiopathic adhesive capsulitis of the shoulder, also known as Frozen Shoulder syndrome.

1 Dec 2011

Elevated blood sugar levels linked with increased risk of colorectal cancer

Elevated blood sugar levels are associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer, according to a study led by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University.

30 Nov 2011

BioMarin commences GALNS Phase 2 study in mucopolysaccharidosis IVA

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. today announced the initiation of a Phase 2 study for GALNS (N-acetylgalactosamine 6-sulfatase) in patients under five years of age with mucopolysaccharidosis IVA.

30 Nov 2011

FDA grants IND for AEZS-130 Phase 2A trial in cancer cachexia

Aeterna Zentaris Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Jose M. Garcia, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Division of Diabetes Endocrinology and Metabolism, Departments of Medicine and Molecular and Cell Biology, Baylor College of Medicine and Michael I. DeBakey Veterans Administration Medical Center, in Houston Texas, an Investigational New Drug approval for the initiation of a Phase 2A trial to assess the safety and efficacy of repeated doses of the Company's ghrelin agonist, AEZS-130, in patients with cancer cachexia.

28 Nov 2011

European Commission approves ONGLYZA as combination therapy with insulin for type 2 diabetes

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and AstraZeneca today announced that the European Commission has approved ONGLYZA (saxagliptin) for use as a combination therapy with insulin (with or without metformin) to improve blood sugar (glycaemic) control in adult patients with type 2 diabetes.

28 Nov 2011

A very low calorie diet can effectively cure type 2 diabetes mellitus

A low-calorie diet eliminates insulin dependence and leads to improved heart function in obese patients with type 2 diabetes, according to a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

28 Nov 2011

Drugs seniors use most often cause 60K hospitalizations annually

News outlets are reporting on a new study that challenges conventional wisdom about seniors, their medicines and hospitalizations.

28 Nov 2011

Transplantation of new neurons into damaged area of the brain could restore brain functions

Without neurons reacting to the blood leptin level, the brain does not control the feeling of hunger and fullness. This type of genetic defects results in severe obesity in humans and animals.

25 Nov 2011

Researchers take a step toward neuronal replacement therapy

A new study has revealed that immature neurons taken from healthy mouse embryos can repair damaged brain circuitry and partially normalize metabolism when transplanted into adult mice that have grown morbidly obese due to a genetic deficiency.

24 Nov 2011

Carefully selected young, healthy neurons can repair brain circuitry

Neuron transplants have repaired brain circuitry and substantially normalized function in mice with a brain disorder, an advance indicating that key areas of the mammalian brain are more reparable than was widely believed.

24 Nov 2011

Just a few drugs responsible for majority of emergency hospitalizations

Latest research shows that just a few drugs are responsible for a majority of the emergency hospitalizations for bad events related to medication use in older U.S. adults.

24 Nov 2011

Benefits of vitamin D-fortified yoghurt drink for people with diabetes

People with diabetes are known to have an increased risk of heart disease. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Medicine shows that regular consumption of a vitamin D-fortified yoghurt drink improves cholesterol levels and biomarkers of endothelial dysfunction, a precursor of heart disease, in diabetics.

24 Nov 2011

Takeda submits alogliptin plus metformin NDA to FDA for treatment of type 2 diabetes

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (Takeda) announced today that its wholly-owned subsidiary Takeda Global Research & Development Center, Inc., U.S., submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) to the United States (U.S.) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the fixed-dose combination therapy alogliptin/metformin, which combines alogliptin with metformin in a single tablet.

24 Nov 2011

Knocking out one copy of IGF1 receptor fails to increase life span of male mice

Scientists studying longevity thought it might be good to lack a copy of a gene, called IGF1 receptor, that is important in insulin signaling. Previous studies showed invertebrates that lacked the copy lived longer, even if their bodies were less responsive to insulin, the hormone that lowers blood sugar.

24 Nov 2011

New procedure could be adapted for use with X-ray techniques in studying human health

For more than a century, the use of X-rays has been a prime diagnostic tool when it comes to human health. As it turns out, X-rays also are a crucial component for studying and understanding molecules, and a new approach -- just published by researchers at the University of Georgia -- may dramatically improve what researchers can learn using the technique.

23 Nov 2011