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.

The search for the Holy Grail for dieters is on

Starting this month Canadian and British scientists will begin collaborating on a study to examine human appetite- controlling hormones with a view to finding out what will increase PYY, a powerful hormone in the human body which dramatically diminishes appetite.

7 Oct 2004

18 percent of seniors with chronic conditions such as heart disease and depression skip medicines due to costs

A recent nationally representative survey of older adults finds that 18 percent of those with chronic conditions such as heart disease and depression skip some of their prescription medicines because of out-of-pocket cost pressures, and 14 percent do so at least every month.

6 Oct 2004

Short-term exercise significantly increases insulin action

Carefully controlling the amount of food and drink that formerly sedentary, overweight people ingest during and after short-term exercise has a significant impact on insulin action.

5 Oct 2004

Approval of Abilify (aripiprazole) for the treatment of acute bipolar mania

Bristol-Myers Squibb and Otsuka Pharmaceutical have announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Abilify (aripiprazole) for the treatment of acute bipolar mania, including manic and mixed episodes associated with bipolar disorder.

4 Oct 2004

Arsenic could be toxic at much lower levels than previously thought

Arsenic could be toxic at much lower levels than previously thought, suggesting that the new EPA drinking water standard of 10 parts per billion might still be too high, according to a team of researchers at Dartmouth Medical School.

26 Sep 2004

Patients as well as doctors need to learn to become better communicators with each other

The failure to communicate effectively during medical visits can cause far worse damage than a mild case of frustration, studies show.

23 Sep 2004

Link between elevated blood sugar levels in diabetics and increased risk of life-threatening forms of cardiovascular disease

A Johns Hopkins study suggests that people with type I and type II diabetes would be well advised to monitor their blood sugar levels more than the usual twice daily to make sure that levels are not elevated over 150 milligrams per deciliter for sustained periods.

20 Sep 2004

Micro-thin implantable films may one day allow patients to forgo daily injections and pills

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a material that may one day allow patients to forgo daily injections and pills and receive prescriptions instead through micro-thin implantable films that release medication according to changes in temperature.

14 Sep 2004

Postmenopausal women with heart disease have three fold increased risk of heart failure if they also have diabetes

In addition, diabetic women in the study who also had kidney disease or obesity, or whose diabetes was poorly controlled (fasting blood sugar levels above 300 mg/dL) had a risk of heart failure 6-10 times higher than that of women without diabetes.

7 Sep 2004

Telemedicine aims to reduce large birth weights which lead to obesity and diabetes

In a landmark study, researchers from Temple University School of Medicine will analyze whether the frequent monitoring and adjustment critical to the management of diabetes during pregnancy can be better accomplished by telemedicine.

6 Sep 2004

New drug application for exenatide has been accepted for review

Amylin Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly today announced that the New Drug Application for exenatide has been accepted for review by the Food and Drug Administration.

2 Sep 2004

$700,000 to help prevent or control diabetes among New Yorkers

Governor George E. Pataki has announced that 14 community-based organizations in New York State have been awarded grants totaling $700,000 to help prevent or control diabetes among New Yorkers.

25 Aug 2004

Research offers hope for the millions of diabetics worldwide who take insulin injections

University of Toronto researchers have identified individual cells in the adult mouse pancreas capable of generating insulin-producing beta cells.

22 Aug 2004

Inherited gene conflict may key to controlling obesity

Scientists at the Babraham Institute have discovered that conflict between genes inherited from our parents may affect our ability to adapt to life after birth, and have lasting effects on our weight.

17 Aug 2004

Veterans Affairs patients with diabetes are better cared for than managed care patients

Researchers have found that Veterans Affairs patients with diabetes are more likely to receive recommended tests and have better outcomes than managed care patients.

17 Aug 2004

Mexican-Americans have a far higher chance of suffering a stroke than non-Hispanic whites

And, according to a second study published today by the same team, the difference doesn't appear to be related to Mexican-Americans' higher incidence of diabetes, which had been thought to raise their risk of a certain type of stroke.

9 Aug 2004

Carb-conscious dieters may be lowering their risk of breast cancer

Carb-conscious dieters may be lowering their risk of breast cancer while they’re shedding pounds, based on the findings of research published in this month’s edition of the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

9 Aug 2004

Switches in the brain that tell the body to stop eating and start burning calories

A Brown-led research team has discovered a pair of universal switches in the brain that tell the body to stop eating and start burning calories.

3 Aug 2004

In the last two years alone, more than 1500 new low-carbohydrate products have been introduced in U.S. food markets

With approximately 30 to 40 million Americans trying to control their weight by counting carbohydrates, "low-carb" has become big business. As a result, food manufacturers have been busy introducing a variety of low-carbohydrate products at record pace.

2 Aug 2004

Misfiring proteins linked to sick feeling of type 2 diabetics

After a series of studies in the laboratory of Dr. Gregory Freund, a clearer picture is emerging: A disruption of signaling proteins in the immune system may be responsible for the inflammation that makes someone with type 2 diabetes feel sick and increases the risk of serious complications.

29 Jul 2004