Blood Sugar News and Research

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Blood sugar concentration, or glucose level, refers to the amount of glucose present in the blood of a human or animal. Normally, in mammals the blood glucose level is maintained at a reference range between about 3.6 and 5.8 mM (mmol/l). It is tightly regulated as a part of metabolic homeostasis.

Predictors of an Asian diabetes epidemic: A study

Experts believe diabetes will be the leading disease in Asia mainly because of the rise in consumption of junk and high calorie foods in this region of the world.

13 Jul 2010

Early markers for metabolic syndrome in youth

Melinda Sothern, PhD, CEP, Professor of Public Health and Director of Health Promotion at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, will present evidence that supports relationships seen in adolescents between insulin sensitivity and fatty liver, belly fat, and total body fat and identifies additional potential early markers of insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome in healthy 7-9 year-old children, including fat in muscle cells, blood pressure, physical activity, and birth weight.

13 Jul 2010

Research findings could offer new approach to diabetes therapy, nutrition experts say

Nutrition experts at Oregon State University have essentially "cured" laboratory mice of mild, diet-induced diabetes by stimulating the production of a particular enzyme. The findings could offer a new approach to diabetes therapy, experts say, especially if a drug could be identified that would do the same thing, which in this case was accomplished with genetic manipulation.

13 Jul 2010

BCN launches Healthy Blue Living Rewards to improve overall health

Introducing Healthy Blue Living Rewards, an extension of Blue Care Network's successful Healthy Blue Living product. This new product is an innovative outcome-based HMO health care plan that takes personal accountability to the next level by lowering insurance costs for people who succeed in improving their health and thereby making health care more affordable.

13 Jul 2010

IBC offers more personalized online information about PHR to its members

Independence Blue Cross now offers its members more personalized online information about their health – as the amazon.com experience is to the savvy shopper, the ibxpress.com experience is to the smart health care consumer. Personal health information began to flow into members' electronic health records this month – available through ibxpress.com, the company's member website.

9 Jul 2010

Common glucose test accurately predicts Type II adult-onset diabetes, study finds

A common test to diagnose gestational diabetes -- a temporary condition which can harm both mother and child if left untreated -- also has predictive power for Type II adult-onset diabetes, a new Tel Aviv University study finds.

8 Jul 2010

Study: High concentrations of cocoa flavanols decrease blood pressure

A new study by UCSF cardiologists and researchers found that high concentrations of cocoa flavanols decrease blood pressure, improve the health of blood vessels and increase the number of circulating blood-vessel-forming cells in patients with heart disease. The findings indicate that foods rich in flavanols - such as cocoa products, tea, wine, and various fruits and vegetables - have a cardio-protective benefit for heart disease patients.

7 Jul 2010

Antioxidant supplements increase artery elasticity in patients with multiple cardiovascular risk factors

Long-term supplementation with dietary antioxidants has beneficial effects on sugar and fat metabolism, blood pressure and arterial flexibility in patients with multiple cardiovascular risk factors. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Nutrition and Metabolism report these positive results in a randomized controlled trial of combined vitamin C, vitamin E, coenzyme Q10 and selenium capsules.

6 Jul 2010

Depression and dementia may go hand in hand: Study

A new study has found that depressive disorders raise the risk of dementia. The findings of this study were published in the journal Neurology. The study involved nearly 1,000 people who were studied for up to 17 years. Those who were depressed when first examined almost doubled their risk for dementia and also increased their risk for Alzheimer's disease the study authors wrote.

5 Jul 2010

First US forum gathers doctors and children who no longer need insulin

Twenty-five families who have overcome diabetes caused by a defect in a single gene will gather at "Celebrating the Miracles," a University of Chicago symposium for patients, parents and physicians. The first Monogenic Diabetes Forum is designed to review scientific studies, celebrate treatment successes, stress the importance of a genetic diagnosis for children diagnosed before age one, and exchange tips on how to make the most of a new concept--life without insulin injections.

3 Jul 2010

Study: ONGLYZA and metformin improve HbA1c levels for adult patients with type 2 diabetes at 76-weeks

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and AstraZeneca today announced results up to 76-weeks from a Phase 3 study of ONGLYZA(TM) (saxagliptin) as initial combination therapy with metformin, which produced long-term glycemic improvement (as measured by glycosylated hemoglobin level (HbA1c)) in treatment-naive adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus inadequately controlled on diet and exercise compared to treatment with an investigational 10 mg dose of saxagliptin or metformin alone.

2 Jul 2010

Sensor-augmented insulin-pump therapy effective for type 1 diabetes patients

Adding a continuous blood sugar level sensor to an insulin pump helps patients with type 1 diabetes achieve better blood sugar control compared to the common standard of care, multiple daily insulin injections, concludes a study published on-line today in the New England Journal of Medicine.

2 Jul 2010

Pay-for-performance program may cause inequalities among healthcare providers

Pay-for-performance is an increasingly popular approach to improving health care quality. But the planned nationwide implementation of institutional bonuses mandated under federal health care reform threatens to act as a "reverse Robin Hood," potentially causing hospitals in less-advantaged regions to lose funds to health care facilities in more affluent areas of the country, according to a study published in the academic journal PLoS Medicine.

2 Jul 2010

Vitamin D inadequacy may cause metabolic syndrome among elderly people

A new study adds to the mounting evidence that older adults commonly have low vitamin D levels and that vitamin D inadequacy may be a risk factor for the metabolic syndrome, a condition that affects one in four adults. The results were presented at The Endocrine Society's 92nd Annual Meeting in San Diego.

2 Jul 2010

Healthy diet can reduce age-related eye problems

While 20/20 vision is a symbol of visual acuity, between now and the year 2020, more and more people will experience some extent of vision loss due to age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and other sight-robbing diseases.

2 Jul 2010

Researchers report no increased rate of heart attack in patients taking rosiglitazone

The diabetes drug rosiglitazone has been under intense scrutiny since a 2007 study in the New England Journal of Medicine looked at more than 40 clinical trials and linked the drug's use with increased risk of heart attack and death from heart disease.

1 Jul 2010

Fero Industries closes acquisition of rights related to production, marketing and distribution of Sucanon

Fero Industries, Inc. is pleased to announce that it has closed the acquisition of certain intellectual property and other associated rights related to the production, marketing, and distribution of Sucanon, a treatment for Type II diabetes.

1 Jul 2010

Sensor integrated insulin pump for better blood sugar control

30 Jun 2010

Study: Near-normal glucose control does not delay risk of organ damage in diabetes patients

In people with longstanding type 2 diabetes who are at high risk for heart attack and stroke, lowering blood sugar to near-normal levels did not delay the combined risk of diabetic damage to kidneys, eyes, or nerves, but did delay several other signs of diabetic damage, a study has found. The intensive glucose treatment was compared with standard glucose control.

30 Jun 2010

Study highlights importance of individualized, patient-centered therapies

In an analysis from the Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD) trial, one of the largest studies of its kind to determine whether intensive blood glucose (sugar) control worked better than standard blood sugar control among diabetics, results show that the benefits of intensive therapy need to be balanced against the increase in total and cardiovascular disease-related death, increased weight gain, and high risk for severe low blood sugar.

30 Jun 2010