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.

Warning issued on dangers of diabetes drug Avandia

Thousands of Australians who are taking the diabetes drug Avandia (rosiglitazone) have been urged by the drug's manufacturer to see their doctors following safety issues concerning the medication.

20 Aug 2008

Type 2 diabetes linked to arsenic in drinking water

While exposure to high concentrations of the element in drinking water and in the workplace has been shown to be associated with diabetes, little is known about the effect of lower levels on diabetes risk.

20 Aug 2008

Blood pressure response to daily stress provides clues for better hypertension treatment

How the body regulates blood pressure in response to daily stress is the focus of a study geared toward helping people whose pressure is out of control.

14 Aug 2008

Window of opportunity for newly diagnosed diabetics

According to health researchers in the U.S., people who lose weight soon after being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes are far more likely to reach satisfactory blood glucose and blood pressure goals.

13 Aug 2008

Losing weight after diabetes diagnosis prevent related disease

People who lose weight soon after a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes have better control of their blood pressure and blood sugar, and are more likely to maintain that control even if they regain their weight, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published online in Diabetes Care, the American Diabetes Association journal.

12 Aug 2008

Growth hormone reduces abdominal fat, cardiovascular risk in HIV patients on antiviral therapy

Low-dose growth hormone treatment reduced abdominal fat deposits and improved blood pressure and triglyceride levels in a group of patients with HIV lipodystrophy, a condition involving the redistribution of fat and other metabolic changes in patients receiving combination drug therapy for HIV infection.

3 Aug 2008

Experimental drug turns lab mice into long-distance runners

Trying to reap the health benefits of exercise? Forget treadmills and spin classes, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies may have found a way around the sweat and pain. They identified two signaling pathways that are activated in response to exercise and converge to dramatically increase endurance.

31 Jul 2008

New oral vaccine combats various versions of the plague

A University of Central Florida researcher may have found a defense against the Black Plague, a disease that wiped out a third of Europe's population in the Middle Ages and which government agencies perceive as a terrorist threat today.

31 Jul 2008

Cholesterol lowering drugs may protect against dementia

A new study has found more evidence that the drugs commonly used to lower cholesterol may also offer protection from dementia and memory loss.

29 Jul 2008

Good news for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease

Research presented at an international conference on Alzheimer's disease in Chicago offers hope for the treatment of the devastating disease.

29 Jul 2008

Statins reduce the risk of dementia by half

People at high risk for dementia who took cholesterol-lowering statins are half as likely to develop dementia as those who do not take statins, a new study shows.

28 Jul 2008

New Alzheimer's studies show advances against different treatment targets

Two studies related to experimental Alzheimer's therapies reported positive results today at the 2008 Alzheimer's Association International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease (ICAD 2008) in Chicago.

28 Jul 2008

Regular meals important for the health

It is obvious to most people that our health is affected by what we eat; now, however, scientists have shown that it is also a matter of how often we eat.

21 Jul 2008

Researchers find better way to distinguish melanoma from some benign moles

University of Rochester Medical Center researchers found a new protein produced excessively in malignant melanoma, a discovery that is particularly relevant as skin cancer rates climb dramatically among young women.

17 Jul 2008

Diet alone cannot control type 2 diabetes

Despite strong evidence that type 2 diabetes can be prevented or at least delayed by a combination of lifestyle changes and good dietary advice, a team of Cochrane Researchers found that there is no indication whether dietary advice alone can prevent the disease.

16 Jul 2008

Obesity 'hikes up' pancreatic cancer risk in women

Obese women, who carry most of their excess weight around the stomach, are 70 per cent more likely to develop pancreatic cancer, according to a study published online in the British Journal of Cancer.

16 Jul 2008

Insulin suppresses receptors that cause cascade of inflammation

Researchers at the University at Buffalo -- the first to identify the anti-inflammatory and cardioprotective properties of insulin -- now have discovered one pathway through which the hormone produces this effect.

13 Jul 2008

New York school agrees to admit diabetic students

The Department of Justice announced today that Raynor Country Day School, in Long Island, N.Y., has entered into a settlement agreement with the United States to resolve two complaints filed by parents of children with diabetes who were turned down for enrollment in the school's day camp last summer.

10 Jul 2008

Lipid Association responds to new cholesterol guidelines for kids

When the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) issued its recommendation on July 7 regarding the treatment of children with high cholesterol, it generated a strong response from the community of medical professionals and patients. The National Lipid Association (NLA), a group of healthcare professionals who specialize in cholesterol and heart disease issues, believes that the AAP has acted in the interests of patient care by raising the issue of lipid abnormalities in children.

10 Jul 2008

Liver protein fetuin-A linked to type 2 diabetes in seniors

The presence of a protein expressed by the liver which inhibits insulin action may identify individuals more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, according to a new study led by a researcher from the UCSD School of Medicine, to be published July 9 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

9 Jul 2008