(March 30th, 2008)
Posted by Administrator in Main, Diabetes Research.
U.S. and European scientists have found six more genes that make people more susceptible to developing type 2 diabetes, in a study they say may help prevent and treat the chronic condition. The finding extends the total number of genes linked to the disease to 16 and provides clues to how the biological mechanisms that control blood sugar levels go awry when people get type 2 diabetes, the researchers said. “None of the genes we have found was previously on the radar screen of diabetes researchers,” said Mark McCarthy, a diabetes researcher at the University of Oxford, who co-led the study. “Each of these genes therefore provides new clues to the processes that go wrong when diabetes develops, and each provides an opportunity for the generation of new approaches for treating or preventing this condition.” Read More
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(January 12th, 2008)
Posted by Administrator in Main, Diabetes Research.
CHOLESTEROL-LOWERING drugs called statins should be automatically considered for nearly all patients with diabetes, after a study showed the drugs cut heart attacks and strokes even in people with no prior signs of heart disease. Australian and British experts analysed the results of 14 previous trials involving a total of 90,000 people, and found that over nearly five years the number of deaths among the nearly 19,000 diabetes patients fell by 9per cent for every one-unit drop in their level of LDL, or “bad” cholesterol. The drop was almost the same seen in the 71,000 non-diabetic patients, and applied equally to men and women, and both main types of diabetes. Each major cut in LDL cholesterol cut the numbers of heart attacks, strokes and blocked arteries by 21 per cent in diabetic and non-diabetic groups. Read More
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(December 3rd, 2007)
Posted by Administrator in Main, Diabetes News.
Avandia, a drug used by millions of diabetes patients, may contribute to bone loss, according to a new study conducted in mice. Experts fear that, over the long term, Avandia (rosiglitazone) may speed osteoporosis, the thinning of the bones that can lead to dangerous and even fatal fractures. The findings appear in the Dec. 2 online issue of Nature Medicine. “Our study suggests that long-term rosiglitazone usage in the treatment of type II diabetes may cause osteoporosis due to both increased bone resorption and decreased bone formation,” said study senior author Ron Evans, a professor at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, Calif. “Because Avandia is effective in controlling glucose and restoring the body’s sensitivity to insulin, we do not recommend that people stop their treatment. You must balance the benefits against the complications.” Read More
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