Diabetes News and Research

Latest Diabetes News and Research

FAI releases comprehensive food allergy guidelines

The Food Allergy Initiative (FAI) today announced its endorsement of comprehensive food allergy guidelines, released by an Expert Panel sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Immunology (NIAID), a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). FAI, the largest private source of funding for food allergy research in the U.S., will underwrite the publication of the long-awaited Guidelines as a special supplement to the December 2010 issue of the prestigious Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

7 Dec 2010

Scientists have learned to mask bitterness of ginseng to improve consumers health

University of Illinois scientists have learned to mask the bitterness of ginseng, a common ingredient of energy drinks.

7 Dec 2010

Study: Mixing exenatide with insulin provides better blood sugar control in type 2 diabetes patients

A new study finds that combining the newer diabetes drug exenatide with insulin provides better blood sugar control in patients with type 2 diabetes than insulin alone and helps promote weight loss.

7 Dec 2010

Roche introduces X-tremeGENE 9, X-tremeGENE HP reagents

Roche announced today the introduction of two new high-performance DNA transfection reagents for its innovative cellular analysis portfolio for life science research.

7 Dec 2010

VIVUS reports positive results from avanafil phase 3 study in erectile dysfunction

VIVUS, Inc. today announced positive results from TA-314, a phase 3 pivotal open-label safety study of avanafil, an investigational drug for the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED). The study met all primary endpoints by demonstrating improvement from baseline in erectile function as measured by the Sexual Encounter Profile (both SEP2 and SEP3) and improvements in the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF).

7 Dec 2010

Frisky old men - still keen and active: Sex study

According to the latest Australian study, men at 75 and older have not said good bye to their sex lives yet. They found that nearly one third of these older men were sexually active at least once a year -- including about 1 in 10 men aged 90 to 95. Many of these men have agreed that they would want more of sex and those not sexually active are blaming health issues, low testosterone or lack of partners. The findings appear in the Dec. 7 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

6 Dec 2010

Ligand Pharmaceuticals reports preclinical study data on erythropoietin receptor agonists

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ: LGND) announced data from a preclinical study on the erythropoietin (EPO) receptor agonist LG5640 at the upcoming 52nd American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting being held in Orlando, Florida at the Orange County Convention Center, December 4 - 7, 2010.

6 Dec 2010

Food outlets sending vouchers to kids in mail-outs

Now fast food outlets are sending direct mailers to kids under the age of 12 as part of online marketing campaigns to pre-teens that include special offers, free food vouchers and competitions. Outlet names like Hungry Jacks and Taco Bill Mexican Restaurants have come up in a submission to a Senate inquiry on privacy laws made by a coalition of some of the country’s peak health bodies.

5 Dec 2010

Access adds patient experience testimonial video to MuGard website

ACCESS PHARMACEUTICALS, INC., a biopharmaceutical company leveraging its proprietary drug-delivery platforms to develop treatments in areas of oncology, cancer supportive care and diabetes, announced it has updated its lead product website, www.MuGard.com, with its first patient MuGard experience testimonial video and additional clinician feedback.

4 Dec 2010

Personal environment influences effects of genes and risk of disease

Personalized medicine centers on being able to predict the risk of disease or response to a drug based on a person's genetic makeup. But a study by scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests that, for most common diseases, genes alone only tell part of the story.

4 Dec 2010

Wide-scale study of flu vaccine's effectiveness in European children needed

A wide-scale study of the effectiveness of flu vaccine in children is needed in Europe to fully assess the benefits, not only in keeping the kids from getting sick, but limiting the spread of flu to adults.

4 Dec 2010

New web-based CME program to improve cancer care in rural areas

Nearly a quarter of Americans live in rural areas, which consistently report higher cancer mortality rates than urban and suburban areas. Among the complex causes for this disparity is that only 10 percent of physicians practice in rural areas and almost 4 out of 10 rural residents live at least an hour from an urban area. Finding the time, transportation, and financial resources for travel to urban academic medical centers, the standard bearers for quality cancer care, often proves difficult.

4 Dec 2010

Merck to present multiple clinical studies of dinaciclib at ASH Annual Meeting

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated today announced that multiple clinical studies of dinaciclib (SCH 727965) will be presented by Merck at the upcoming 52nd American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting being held in Orlando, Florida at the Orange County Convention Center, December 4-7, 2010.

4 Dec 2010

FDA Advisory Committee votes in favor of expanded use of LAP-BAND gastric band

Allergan, Inc. (NYSE: AGN) today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Gastroenterology and Urology Devices Panel of the Medical Devices Advisory Committee has recommended with an 8-2 vote that the FDA extend the currently approved use of the LAP-BAND® System, Allergan's gastric band, on the basis of a favorable benefit-risk profile for weight reduction in obese adults who have failed more conservative weight reduction alternatives and have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of at least 35 or a BMI ≥30 and at least one comorbid condition.

4 Dec 2010

Information technology could improve prevention, treatment of depression

Could information technology and data mining techniques be used to improve the diagnosis and treatment of depression? That's the question scientists in Australia hope to have answered in a forthcoming issue of the International Journal of Functional Informatics and Personalised Medicine.

4 Dec 2010

Event reporting prevents medication errors in primary care: Study

The most frequent contributors to medication errors and adverse drug events in busy primary care practice offices are communication problems and lack of knowledge, according to a study of a prototype web-based medication error and adverse drug event reporting system.

4 Dec 2010

BRI enters 3-year partnership with Roche to develop human immunology programs

Baylor Research Institute (BRI), the research arm of Baylor Health Care System, announced that it has formed a three-year partnership with Roche to jointly develop programs emerging from the human immunology platforms developed at the Baylor Institute for Immunology Research (BIIR), a component of BRI.

4 Dec 2010

Merck plans to acquire SmartCells

Today pharmaceutical company, Merck & Co., Inc. announced it will acquire SmartCells, Inc., a private biotech developing a glucose-responsive insulin whose proof-of-concept preclinical trials were partially funded by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

4 Dec 2010

OpEds: Positions on Fiscal Commission; Reinhardt on Medicare; Defeating diabetes

As a member of this bipartisan commission and co-author of the Conrad-Gregg Bipartisan Fiscal Task Force legislation the panel is based on, I hope this plan will be supported. ... Unfortunately, significant health-care savings are missing from the plan; this is an issue that will have to be addressed soon.

4 Dec 2010

Loyola nurses honored

Loyola University Health System revenue specialist Judy Williams, RN, CEN, TNS, recently took on a nontraditional nursing role, which resulted in a significant cost savings for the organization. Williams oversees fiscal responsibility for the Emergency Department. In this position, she has identified opportunities to overcome billing obstacles through intradepartmental collaboration and nurse education on proper documentation for reimbursement.

3 Dec 2010