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.

In mice, drug protects against diabetes and atherosclerosis

Blocking a single protein with an experimental drug prevented and treated both type 2 diabetes and atherosclerosis in laboratory mice that had been fed unhealthy diets and were genetically predisposed to these common killers, according to an article published online in Nature.

8 Jun 2007

Pramlintide treatment curbs fast food consumption and tendency to binge eat

The synthetic form of a hormone previously found to produce a feeling of fullness when eating and reduce body weight, also may help curb binge eating and the desire to eat high-fat foods and sweets.

8 Jun 2007

How and why weight-reducing surgery sometimes cures diabetes

95% of morbidly obese people – those with a Body Mass Index of over 40 – have Type 2 diabetes, sometimes known as maturity-onset diabetes.

5 Jun 2007

FDA approves glucose monitoring system

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved a device that measures glucose levels continuously for up to seven days in people with diabetes.

5 Jun 2007

Exercise lowers insulin in breast cancer survivors

Normally sedentary breast cancer survivors who completed an exercise program reduced the levels of insulin in their blood, revealing a likely link between physical activity and better outcomes, researchers from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston reported at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago.

5 Jun 2007

Study tests oral insulin to prevent type 1 diabetes

University of Florida researchers have begun a clinical study of oral insulin to prevent or delay type 1 diabetes in people at risk for the disease.

3 Jun 2007

Novel technologies show promise for future of gene transfer

Several new technologies that could significantly impact the future of gene transfer applications were presented at a conference at the 10th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Gene Therapy (ASGT) in Seattle.

3 Jun 2007

Nanoparticle delivery of insulin gene to fight juvenile diabetes developed

A safer method to deliver the insulin gene to diabetes patients using nanoparticles, was presented at the 10th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Gene Therapy (ASGT) in Seattle.

3 Jun 2007

FDA approves Norditropin for short stature in children with Noonan syndrome

Novo Nordisk has announced that Norditropin (somatropin[rDNA origin] injection) received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the treatment of short stature in children with Noonan syndrome.

3 Jun 2007

Researchers to discuss gene that may be linked to polycystic ovary syndrome

Researchers in endocrinology and obstetrics and gynecology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center will make several presentations at the upcoming annual meetings of two medical organizations , the Androgen Excess Society (June 1, 2007) and the Endocrine Society (June 2-5, 2007).

3 Jun 2007

Exercise helps maintain muscle in elderly

Why do older people tend to lose muscle mass and grow frail?

1 Jun 2007

Groundbreaking robotic pancreatectomy

Surgeons at the University of Illinois Medical Center at Chicago performed a groundbreaking robotic pancreatectomy in a 39-year-old man to relieve him of debilitating pain.

1 Jun 2007

Growth factors and the environment combine to increase brain maturation

Recent studies by this group have demonstrated that rodents, brains are sensitive to the influences of the environment and in particular that maturation of the visual system is accelerated in an enriched environment, where animals can explore new objects, engage in physical exercise and play.

30 May 2007

Researchers successfully treated type 1 diabetic mice with a vaccination

The vaccine they designed in this model included structures that the immune system mistakenly attacks in type 1 diabetes.

28 May 2007

Drinking lots of coffee reduces the risk of gout for men

Coffee is a habit for more than 50 percent of Americans, who drink, on average, 2 cups per day.

28 May 2007

Researchers engineer adult stem cells derived from human umbilical cord blood to produce insulin

The researchers announced their laboratory finding, which caps nearly four years of research, in the June 2007 issue of the medical journal Cell Proliferation, posted online this week.

28 May 2007

Coffee appears to lower the risk of gout

According to the latest research, men who drink several cups of coffee a day reduce their risk of gout.

27 May 2007

Sleep apnea is associated with gestational diabetes mellitus and pregnancy-induced hypertension

Sleep apnea is associated with a greatly increased incidence of pregnancy-induced diabetes and high blood pressure, according to a study presented at the American Thoracic Society 2007 International Conference, on Wednesday, May 22.

24 May 2007

Macrophages may have role blocking obesity

Macrophages - the scavenger cells of the body's immune system - are known as troublemakers for the role they play in obesity, but Stanford University School of Medicine researchers have found that the cells can also be saviors when it comes to metabolism.

22 May 2007