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.

Bariatric surgery reduces healthcare costs for morbidly obese diabetics

New data presented today at Obesity 2010, the 28th annual scientific meeting of The Obesity Society, find that bariatric surgery is associated with reduced healthcare costs for diabetes patients who are morbidly obese.

13 Oct 2010

Metabolic screening before conception predicts development of diabetes in subsequent pregnancy

Cardio-metabolic risk factors such as high blood sugar and insulin, and low high density lipoprotein cholesterol that are present before pregnancy, predict whether a woman will develop diabetes during a future pregnancy, according to a Kaiser Permanente study in the current issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology.

13 Oct 2010

Scientists identify mutant protein in type 2 diabetes

University of Michigan scientists have identified events inside insulin-producing pancreatic cells that set the stage for a neonatal form of non-autoimmune type 1 diabetes, and may play a role in type 2 diabetes as well. The results point to a potential target for drugs to protect normally functioning proteins essential for producing insulin.

13 Oct 2010

Halozyme Therapeutics to advance core proprietary programs through key clinical inflection points

Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing and commercializing products targeting the extracellular matrix, today announced a focusing of its resources on advancing its core proprietary programs through key clinical inflection points in 2011 and 2012, and supporting strategic alliances with Roche and Baxter such as validation of Halozyme's commercial scale manufacturing process to produce kilogram quantities of enzyme.

12 Oct 2010

Insulin resistance increases risk of stroke in non-diabetic patients

Insulin resistance, a condition in which insulin produced by the body becomes less effective in reducing blood glucose levels, appears to be associated with an increased risk of stroke in individuals without diabetes, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

12 Oct 2010

Research reveals new details about health benefits of fish-oil

Some of America's most popular fish salmon and albacore tuna, for example are rich in healthful natural compounds known as omega-3 fatty acids. Ongoing studies by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) chemist Darshan S. Kelley and co-investigators are helping uncover new details about how these fish-oil components help protect us from chronic diseases.

12 Oct 2010

Generex to acquire majority interest in Global Medical Direct

Generex Biotechnology Corporation today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a majority interest (51%) in Global Medical Direct, LLC of Lenexa, Kansas, a nationwide Durable Medical Equipment and Pharmaceutical provider specializing in direct-to-consumer diabetes supplies and medications.

11 Oct 2010

Afinitor-Sandostatin LAR Depot combination extends median PFS in patients with advanced carcinoid tumors

A Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation Phase III study of Afinitor® (everolimus) tablets in combination with Sandostatin® LAR Depot (octreotide acetate for injectable suspension) extended median progression-free survival (PFS), or time without tumor growth, in patients with advanced carcinoid tumors compared to taking octreotide LAR alone.

11 Oct 2010

Study to uncover genetic basis of obesity

An international consortium has made significant inroads into uncovering the genetic basis of obesity by identifying 18 new gene sites associated with overall obesity and 13 that affect fat distribution. The studies include data from nearly a quarter of a million participants, the largest genetic investigation of human traits to date.

11 Oct 2010

UT Southwestern initiates study on hormone leptin for people with type 1 diabetes

A clinical trial at UT Southwestern Medical Center aims to determine whether adding the hormone leptin to standard insulin therapy might help rein in the tumultuous blood-sugar levels of people with type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes.

11 Oct 2010

Lifestyle interventions benefit overweight, obese and severely obese adults

Lifestyle interventions, including physical activity and structured weight loss programs, can result in significant weight loss for overweight, obese and severely obese adults, according to two reports that were posted online today by JAMA. The studies and accompanying editorials were made available early online to coincide with the presentation of these papers at the 28th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Obesity Society. The articles will appear in the October 27 print issue of JAMA.

11 Oct 2010

Exelixis enters two new collaboration agreements with Bristol-Myers Squibb

Exelixis, Inc. announced today that it has entered into two new collaboration agreements with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. Under the first agreement, Exelixis will grant to Bristol-Myers Squibb an exclusive license to its small-molecule TGR5 agonist program including backups.

11 Oct 2010

Phase 3 study of D-tagatose in Type 2 diabetes shows significant reduction in HbA1c levels

Spherix Incorporated, an innovator in biotechnology for therapy in diabetes, metabolic syndrome and atherosclerosis; and providers of technical and regulatory consulting services to food, supplement, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, today announced that its Phase 3 study of D-tagatose as a monotherapy in Type 2 diabetes showed a statistically significant (p<0.05) reduction in HbA1c levels of 0.4% at 10 months in relatively healthy people with diabetes

8 Oct 2010

Surgeons create novel matrix to control insulin dependent diabetes

Surgeons from Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, are reporting on a whole new strategy for controlling insulin dependent diabetes without daily injections of insulin. The surgeons have bio-engineered a novel matrix that serves as a scaffold for seeding supportive stem cells as well as pancreatic islets (the cells that produce insulin in the pancreas).

7 Oct 2010

Endocrine Society urges physicians to apply new insights into the role of beta-cells in type 2 diabetes

A new consensus statement published in the September, 2010, issue of The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM) finds that the increasing recognition that beta-cell failure occurs much earlier and severely than commonly believed suggests that regular glycemia screening, early identification of patients at metabolic risk and prompt and aggressive intervention deserves greater emphasis.

7 Oct 2010

Podocytes key to development of kidney failure in diabetes

Diabetes is the leading reason for kidney failure in the world, resulting in patients requiring dialysis or kidney transplantation. New research has found a cell in the kidney called the podocyte could be the key to understanding why this happens.

6 Oct 2010

Gerresheimer third-quarter group revenues increase 9.5% to EUR 259.4M

Gerresheimer AG, one of the leading worldwide suppliers to the pharma and healthcare industry, is continuing its growth course in the financial year 2010. "Our business is developing well. We continue to focus on the field of pharma and healthcare. Doing so we are achieving solid and profitable growth," says Uwe Rohrhoff, CEO of Gerresheimer AG.

6 Oct 2010

Aeterna Zentaris' AEZS-130 demonstrates potential as oral diagnostic test for AGHD

Aeterna Zentaris Inc., today announced that an interim review of a Phase 3 trial of AEZS-130 (macimorelin, SolorelTM), demonstrates the compound may provide a simple, well-tolerated and safe oral diagnostic test for Adult Growth Hormone Deficiency (AGHD). The data was presented earlier today by Beverly M.K. Biller, M.D. of the Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, at the 5th International Congress of the Growth Hormone Research Society (GRS) and the Insulin-like Growth Factors (IGF) Society in New York City.

6 Oct 2010

Insulin-sensitizing drugs may offer new treatments for kidney failure

Evidence reported in the October issue of Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication, offers a completely new explanation for why people with diabetes account for more than half of all patients requiring dialysis or kidney transplantation. It appears that insulin has a significant influence on the structure and proper function of a particular group of very specialized cells, known as podocytes, that are integral to the kidney's ability to do its job filtering blood.

6 Oct 2010

Research on T cell may lead to new treatment options for type 1 diabetes

A research team from the University of British Columbia and the Child & Family Research Institute (CFRI) at BC Children's Hospital has identified the role of a type of T cell in type 1 diabetes that may lead to new treatment options for young patients.

5 Oct 2010