New Combination Therapy Is Game-changer In Treatment Of Type 2 Diabetes
New combination therapy is game-changer in treatment of type 2 diabetes Adverse effects of the current drug treatments for patients with type 2 diabetes, such as weight gain and low blood sugar levels, could be virtually eliminated by adopting a treatment strategy that is proving effective and safe in clinical trials worldwide, according to a study published today in The Lancet. An analysis of current research led by investigator Dr. Ravi Retnakaran of Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, Canada shows that, when combined with long-acting insulin, a new class of medication that mimics a naturally occurring gut hormone can obtain excellent blood sugar control without increased risk of low sugars or weight gain. "The ability to achieve this ideal trifecta glucose control, plus weight loss and no increased risk of low sugars or weight gain offers the opportunity to change the paradigm of clinical management for type 2 diabetes," notes Dr. Retnakaran. The hormone (glucagon-like peptide-1 agonist, or GLP-1 agonist) is produced in the gut as part of normal digestion. It is triggered by the presence of food in the small intestine, and acts almost instantly and with exquisite sensitivity to fine-tune the balance of insulin to blood sugar. Combining a GLP-1 agonist with long-acting insulin gives better blood glucose control and induces weight loss, with no increased risk of low sugars, as compared to other anti-diabetic therapies. In type 2 diabetes, the body's ability to produce insulin and effectively metabolize sugar decreases over time. To control their blood sugar levels, patients typically are treated with different medications, and many ultimately need insulin itself. With current drugs and even with insulin treatment, however, many patients are not able to reach target level Continue reading >>
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Trialnet - Type 1 Diabetes Research
TrialNet is screeningrelativesof people with Type 1 diabetes to find out if these family members areat risk for developing diabetes. You may be eligible for screening if you are 45 years of age or younger with a parent, sibling or child with Type 1 diabetes, or 20 years of age or younger with a niece, nephew, aunt, uncle, grandparent, cousin, half-brother or half-sister with Type 1 diabetes. A simple blood test.You will learn the results of your first blood test in four to six weeks. If you learn you are at risk for developing Type 1 diabetes, additional tests will be offered to estimate your chances of developing Type 1 diabetes. Take a look at TrialNets new childrens book Be a Hero! and the TrialNet Informational Whiteboard Video below. The book is written for younger children and parents interested in participating in TrialNet. We have a new prevention study that is testing whether abatacept can help to delay or prevent Type 1 diabetes. For more information about screening or prevention studies, please visit the Type 1 Diabetes TrialNet site or take look through our Natural History Study Participant Handbook Continue reading >>
Bbdc Joslin Ucph Diabetes Conference 2017
October 20-21, 2017 - MaRS Centre, 101 College St., Toronto, ON Diabetic Complications: from Molecular Mechanisms to Patient Oriented Research Welcome to the 4th Banting & Best Diabetes Centre/Joslin Diabetes Center/University of Copenhagen Conference Its with great pleasure that we welcome you to the 4th Banting & Best Diabetes Centre/Joslin Diabetes Center/University of Copenhagen Conference being held on October 20-21, 2017 in Toronto, Ontario. Focusing on Diabetic Complications: from Molecular Mechanisms to Patient Orientated Research this one and a half day event will bring together members of the Banting & Best Diabetes Centre, Joslin Diabetes Center and University of Copenhagen and others to address the latest developments in this important field of diabetes research. These three organizations have long been at the center of global diabetes research, and this meeting seeks to build on that storied tradition to bring together prominent researchers from across the globe and foster greater cross-institutional research in the field of diabetes. It is an exciting time to be involved in diabetes research. With exciting new discoveries being announced near daily, it is the perfect time for major institutions from across the world to come together to help advance our understanding of this debilitating disease. The BBDC, in conjunction with the Joslin Diabetes Center and University of Copenhagen, is poised to take a leading role in bringing together key individuals in diabetes research in forums such as this to promote collaboration and understanding of the most cutting-edge research initiatives. With a program comprised of world-class speakers from the University of Toronto, Harvard Medical School, the University of Copenhagen and other esteemed institutions, the 4th Ba Continue reading >>
Diabetes Research Reveals Important Link To Overcoming Lazy Insulin Granules
Diabetes research reveals important link to overcoming lazy insulin granules [Archived] This staff update was sent by Dr. Bob Bell, UHNs President & CEO from 2005 to 2014. Dr. Bob Bell's updates [Archived] This staff update was sent by Dr. Peter Pisters, UHNs President & CEO from 2015 to 2017. [Archived] This staff update was sent by Justine Jackson, UHNs Interim President & CEO from 2014 to 2015. This staff update was sent by Dr. Charlie Chan, UHNs Interim President & CEO. Scientists at Toronto Western Research Institute have made an important discovery on the role of a SNARE protein known as VAMP8 in the release of insulin from the pancreatic islet beta cells. The study, Dual Role of VAMP8 in Regulating Insulin Exocytosis and Islet -cell Growth, published today in the journal Cell Metabolism will further our understanding of how the body can produce higher levels of insulin in patients with diabetes. Dr. Herbert Gaisano, a researcher at the Toronto Western Research Institute, Professor of Medicine and co-director of the Centre for Research in Diet, Digestive Tract and Disease (funded by Canadian Foundation for Innovation and Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation) at the University of Toronto, shows that VAMP8 is crucial to inducing "newcomer insulin secretory granules" to move to the front of the line and fuse to the plasma membrane, where they are able to release insulin into the bloodstream. "In patients with diabetes, the granules become lazy, meaning they don't want to fuse to the plasma membrane, which they need to do so in order to release insulin," said Dr. Gaisano, the study's lead author. "Newcomer granules, on the other hand want to reach the plasma membrane and fuse right away this is why VAMP8 is so important, this protein makes newcomers rush to th Continue reading >>
(news Release) Dr. Ravi Retnakaran Appointed Prestigious Chair For High Impact Diabetes Research At Lunenfeld-tanenbaum Research Institute
(NEWS RELEASE) Dr. Ravi Retnakaran Appointed Prestigious Chair for High Impact Diabetes Research at Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute by Corporate Communications | Oct 30, 2017 | Inaugural Chair appointment made possible by Boehringer Ingelheim in support of ongoing research and development in diabetes Dr. Ravi Retnakaran, Endocrinologist at The Leadership Centre for Diabetes, based at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, whose clinical research has focused on how to induce and maintain a remission in type 2 diabetes patients, has been appointed the inaugural Boehringer Ingelheim Chair in Beta-Cell Preservation, Function and Regeneration. Understanding the role of pancreatic beta-cell function in diabetes is at the centre of the world-wide effort to address the disease and its associated complications. Patients may have an increased risk of blindness, kidney failure and limb amputation. In addition, the most common complications of type 2 diabetes are heart related, including heart attack, heart failure and stroke. In fact, people with diabetes may develop heart disease 10 to 15 years earlier than people without diabetes. Diabetes affects over 400 million people worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Currently, one in four Canadians lives with diabetes, undiagnosed diabetes, or prediabetes. This could rise to one in three by 2020 if current trends continue. In support of ongoing advancements in the area of diabetes research and innovations leading to new treatment options, the newly endowed Boehringer Ingelheim Chair in Beta-Cell Preservation, Function and Regeneration will be appointed every five years by Sinai Health System. The funding is also for a three-part research plan contributing to advancement in the understanding of Beta-cell reserve Continue reading >>
Toronto Diabetes Atlas
Combining data from over 30 sources to generate more than 100 maps of the City of Toronto, the CRICH/ICES Toronto Diabetes Atlasidentified significant neighbourhood disparities in diabetes prevalence. Areas with high rates of diabetes tended to be found outside of Torontos downtown core, in suburban areas, where there is reduced access to healthy resources such as fruit and vegetable stores and where activity friendliness is lower (e.g. fewer amenities within walking distance, poorer access to public transit, greater car dependency). The study provides a sound basis for key health recommendations such as introducing bike lanes, additional bus routes, and new zoning laws to encourage access to healthy food choices and activities. Neighbourhoods with the highest rates of diabetes tended to be outside the downtown area. The general characteristics of high-diabetes, high-risk neighbourhoods were: Lower average household incomes and higher concentrations of visible minority residents and immigrants Poor access or longer distances to get to healthy resources such as stores selling fresh fruits and vegetables, and diabetes education programs People living in activity-friendly neighbourhoods reported walking and bicycling more often and were less dependent on cars for travel. Activity-friendly neighbourhoods also had lower diabetes rates. Some high risk areas of the city with lower income levels and higher proportions of visible minority residents had lower than expected rates of diabetes. In these neighbourhoods, higher activity friendliness and better access to healthy resources may protect residents from developing diabetes. Higher income neighbourhoods had low rates of diabetes, even in parts of Toronto that scored low on activity-friendliness or had poor access to healthy Continue reading >>
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Seal Oil Could Help People With Type 1 Diabetes, Research Suggests
Follow all of ScienceDaily's latest research news and top science headlines ! Seal oil could help people with type 1 diabetes, research suggests Seal oil has the potential to help promote nerve regeneration in patients with Type 1 diabetes, new research indicates. A research team at the Krembil Neuroscience Centre in Toronto has published a paper that suggests seal oil has the potential to help promote nerve regeneration in patients with Type 1 diabetes. The study found that patients who ingested an omega-3 supplement derived from seal oil twice a day over a 12-month period reported an increase in corneal nerve fibre length. The paper entitled The effects of omega-3 supplementation on neuropathy in type 1 diabetes was published in the June, 2017 issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. "Nothing like this has been attempted in humans before," says Dr. Evan Lewis, a neurologist and one of the study's authors. "Results from this trial are a very important step towards a clinical therapy for people with diabetic neuropathy." Diabetic neuropathy is a form of nerve damage caused by diabetes. Symptoms vary from patient to patient, but can include tingling, numbness, loss of sensation, a feeling of burning in the hands and feet, constant pain and difficulty walking. There are currently no therapies available for patients that stop or reverse its effects. "This study is the first to show that targeted nutritional invention can stop and reverse small fibre damage," says Dr. Vera Bril, head of the division of Neurology in the Department of Medicine, and Medical Director of the Ellen Prosserman Centre for Neuromuscular Diseases at UHN, and the study's principal investigator. Other members of the research team included Dr. Bruce Perkins of the L Continue reading >>
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
Ruby St.Eve, Executive Assistant to the President & CEO, JDRF; Phone: 647-789-2009; Fax: 647-436-3390; Email: [email protected] Angela Hamilton, National Administrator, JDRF; Phone: 647-789-2000; Email: [email protected] Dave Prowten, President & CEO, JDRF; Phone: 647-789-2015; Email: [email protected] Marianne Chant, VP Support Services, CFO, JDRF; Phone: 647-789-2006; Email: [email protected] Research goals are realized by the projects being supported in three basic areas: Cure, Treat, Prevent: Cure therapies (Restoring a persons insulin-producing capability and halting or reversing the bodys misguided immune attack on the pancreas); Treatment therapies (Developing new devices and therapies that transform the way people with T1D treat the disease today in order to help them live healthier lives now and in the future); and, Preventive therapy research (Keeping future generations from getting T1D or stopping the disease process before it damages the pancreas) Services are for those who have recently been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, those living with diabetes, and their friends and family Designated parking at entrance ; Wheelchair accessible automatic main entrance ; Easy access to elevator ; Dedicated accessible washroom with all features Biological and Life Sciences Research ~ Diabetes ; Fundraising and Resource Development Support ~ Diabetes Countdown Magazine: In-depth analysis of cutting edge diabetes research and treatments, profiles, and more * Research Frontline E-Newsletter: Published 10 times a year to provide all those interested with the latest information about research on type 1 diabetes and its complications * The Cure E-Newsletter: Published quarterly and will offer a feature story on diabetes research as well as highlight some of the Foundation's key even Continue reading >>
Type 2 Diabetes Can Be Reversed, Say Canadian Researchers
Adult-onset, or Type 2, diabetes has long been considered a chronic disease that lasts a lifetime, but Canadian researchers believe they may have found a way to actually reverse the disease, putting it into remission. “We used to think that diabetes is irreversible and a progressive disease,” study author Natalia McInnes told CTV News Channel. “This new research suggests that it’s possible to reverse it.” The research team, from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont., says an aggressive combination of a low-calorie diet, consistent exercise and the addition of several diabetes medications appears to have reversed the disease in some patients. Type 2 diabetes is diagnosed when an individual's body is no longer able to properly use insulin -- the hormone that allows cells to absorb glucose in the blood. As a result, blood sugars build up and cells do not receive the energy they need. To test whether the condition can be reversed, researchers first studied 83 patients with Type 2 diabetes and broke them into three groups. Two of the groups received an intensive “metabolic intervention” in which they were provided with a personalized exercise plan, and a meal plan that reduced their daily calorie intake by 500 to 750 calories a day. They also received the oral diabetes medications metformin and acarbose to tightly manage their blood glucose levels, as well as insulin injections at bedtime to give their pancreases a rest to allow them to recuperate. One group underwent the program for eight weeks, while the other was treated intensively for sixteen weeks. They were then compared to a third, control group, who received standard blood sugar management advice and lifestyle advice from their usual healthcare provider. Three months later, 11 out of 27 participants in Continue reading >>
Doctors' Notes: Researchers Link Hotter Weather To Gestational Diabetes
There’s a little-known factor that influences whether pregnant women develop gestational diabetes — body temperature. In my work as an endocrinologist and diabetes researcher, I investigate how our environment can increase a person’s risk of developing diabetes. Recently, my team and I looked at all of the hospital births in the Greater Toronto Area — more than 55,000 in all — over 12 years to see what kind of impact temperatures might have on the risk of gestational diabetes (known as GDM), a temporary condition that can develop during pregnancy. We found a relationship between cold weather and a lower likelihood of GDM. When the mercury dropped to an average temperature of minus 10 degrees Celsius, the rate of GDM was 4.6 per cent. But at 24 degrees Celsius, the rate rose to 7.7 per cent. And for every 10-degree rise, there were further increases of up to 9 per cent — even when accounting for other risk factors. Whether the women themselves were born in warm or cool climates, our research team found that colder temperatures still appear to offer some protective benefit to the mothers. Our findings also applied to women who had one child as well as to moms who had multiple children throughout the study’s duration. More research is needed to better understand the links between temperature and GDM risk, but our findings may have implications for prevention and treatment of the disease. Simple measures like making use of air conditioning and not overdressing in hot weather or keeping the thermostat lower and getting outside in colder weather might help. We need to study it further, but we think this link between temperatures and GDM risk might have something to do with brown fat, which burns energy and produces heat. Scientists used to think that newborn bab Continue reading >>
Clinical Diabetes Research Using Data Mining: A Canadian Perspective.
Clinical diabetes research using data mining: a Canadian perspective. Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada; Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Toronto, Toronto, Canada; Department of Medicine, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Canada. Electronic address: [email protected] Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada; Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Toronto, Toronto, Canada; Department of Medicine, Women's College Hospital, Toronto, Canada. Can J Diabetes. 2015 Jun;39(3):235-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jcjd.2015.02.005. With the advent of the digitization of large amounts of information and the computer power capable of analyzing this volume of information, data mining is increasingly being applied to medical research. Datasets created for administration of the healthcare system provide a wealth of information from different healthcare sectors, and Canadian provinces' single-payer universal healthcare systems mean that data are more comprehensive and complete in this country than in many other jurisdictions. The increasing ability to also link clinical information, such as electronic medical records, laboratory test results and disease registries, has broadened the types of data available for analysis. Data-mining methods have been used in many different areas of diabetes clinical research, including classic epidemiology, effectiveness research, population health and health services research. Although methodologic challenges and privacy concerns remain important barriers to using these techniques, data mining remains a powerful tool for clinical research. Continue reading >>
Endocrine And Diabetes Platform
Acting Platform Leader: Dr. Denise Belsham Description: Although the discovery of insulin was a major breakthrough in the treatment of diabetes, it was not a cure. Today, diabetes has reached epidemic proportions and it is predicted that this disease will afflict more than 300 million people world-wide by the year 2010. Research in the diabetes field continues throughout the world in the hopes that better methods of detection and prevention will be developed and that better drugs will be discovered to treat this debilitating disease. The Endocrinology and Diabetes Research Group (EDRG) at the University of Toronto continues the tradition of diabetes research as inspired by Banting, Best, MacLeod, and Collip. Our group comprises many distinguished researchers who are at the forefront of their respective fields in the study of endocrine disorders. Areas of research range from the study of diabetes, obesity, endocrine development and dysfunction to that of intestinal and pancreatic growth factors. In the areas of diabetes and obesity, specific fields of study include beta cell transplantation and secretory dynamics, insulin resistance, in vivo carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, and neuroendocrine adaptations to diabetes. Our group is also active in the search for possible therapies for the prevention and treatment of diabetes. This work includes the study of new drugs to treat Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes and the development of novel ways to restore endogenous insulin secretion through islet transplantation and gene therapy techniques. The group is also highly active in the area of appetite control and the prevention of obesity and Type 2 diabetes. Continue reading >>
New Report--urban Aboriginal Diabetes Research Project, Anishnawbe Health Toronto And Tclhin
New Report--Urban Aboriginal Diabetes Research Project, Anishnawbe Health Toronto and TCLHIN Anishnawbe Health Toronto, in partnership with the Toronto Central Local Health Integration Network (TC LHIN) are pleased to present the findings of the year-long Urban Aboriginal Diabetes Research Project (UADRP). The Report highlights the need for a new model of care to address one of Toronto's most vulnerable and hidden populations. The broad findings of this study indicate that Aboriginal people in Toronto seek health care services but rarely receive culturally relevant services to address their unique needs. Fear and denial around diabetes, increasing incidence of diabetes in Aboriginal youth call for a unique service model which combines western medicine with a wholistic and culture-based model of care. It calls for ongoing support to younger age groups, females of child-bearing age, males and two-spirited people within the Urban Aboriginal population. Most significant is the emphasis across these recommendations for culturally relevant programming that includes physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being. Such programs need to be delivered in all areas of the greater Toronto area and should include sharing circles that are peer-led whereby Aboriginal people living with diabetes can share their experiences. While the objectives of this research project were; a) to gather information regarding Aboriginal cultural perspectives about diabetes and barriers to diabetes management, b) to identify challenges that Aboriginal people living with diabetes in the GTA experience, and c) to uncover misconceptions and cultural nuances in order to identify barriers and interventions that will enable positive health outcomes in Aboriginal people with diabetes, the results are far Continue reading >>
The Discovery Of Insulin
Before the discovery of insulin, diabetes was a feared disease that most certainly led to death. Doctors knew that sugar worsened the condition of diabetic patients and that the most effective treatment was to put the patients on very strict diets where sugar intake was kept to a minimum. At best, this treatment could buy patients a few extra years, but it never saved them. In some cases, the harsh diets even caused patients to die of starvation. During the nineteenth century, observations of patients who died of diabetes often showed that the pancreas was damaged. In 1869, a German medical student, Paul Langerhans, found that within the pancreatic tissue that produces digestive juices there were clusters of cells whose function was unknown. Some of these cells were eventually shown to be the insulin-producing beta cells. Later, in honor of the person who discovered them, the cell clusters were named the islets of Langerhans. In 1889 in Germany, physiologist Oskar Minkowski and physician Joseph von Mering, showed that if the pancreas was removed from a dog, the animal got diabetes. But if the duct through which the pancreatic juices flow to the intestine was ligated - surgically tied off so the juices couldn't reach the intestine - the dog developed minor digestive problems but no diabetes. So it seemed that the pancreas must have at least two functions: To produce digestive juices To produce a substance that regulates the sugar glucose This hypothetical internal secretion was the key. If a substance could actually be isolated, the mystery of diabetes would be solved. Progress, however, was slow. Banting's Idea In October 1920 in Toronto, Canada, Dr. Frederick Banting, an unknown surgeon with a bachelor's degree in medicine, had the idea that the pancreatic digestive ju Continue reading >>
Tony K.t. Lam | Uhn Research
The Lam lab consists of postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, research associates and technicians. Together, they aim to unveil novel therapeutic molecular targets in the gut and the brain that lower blood glucose and lipid levels, as well as body weight in diabetes and obesity. Funded by a CIHR Foundation Grant, the Lam lab discovered nutrient sensing-dependent molecules in the gut that are sufficient and necessary for gut microbiota, metformin and bariatric surgery to lower blood glucose levels in diabetic and obese rodents (Bauer et al. Cell Metab 2017; Duca et al. Nat Med 2015; Cote et al. Nat Med 2015; Rasmussen et al. Cell Metab 2014; Breen et al. Nat Med 2012; Cheung et al. Cell Metab 2009; Wang et al. Nature 2008). In parallel, the Lam lab examines nutrient sensing-dependent molecules in the brain that lower blood glucose and lipid levels, as well as body weight in diabetic and obese rodents (Yue et al. Nat Commun 2016; Yue et al. Nat Commun 2015; Yue et al. Circ Res 2012). Funded by a Diabetes Canada Operating Grant, the Lam lab studies hormone sensing-dependent molecules in the brain that lower blood glucose and lipid levels, as well as body weight in diabetic and obese rodents (Filippi et al. Cell Rep 2017; LaPierre et al. EMBO Rep 2015; Mighiu et al. Nat Med 2013; Filippi et al. Cell Metab 2012). The Lam lab seeks hard-working and energetic individuals to join the group and help discover novel and effective antidiabetic and antiobesity molecules to improve health care in Canada and around the world. Continue reading >>
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