Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs May Be Linked To Diabetes

Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs May Be Linked to Diabetes

You may have concerns about taking a cholesterol-lowering statin drug, such as atorvastatin (Lipitor and generic), rosuvastatin (Crestor), and simvastatin (Zocor and generic), after a recent study linked those drugs to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. But Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs experts say the heart-protective benefit of statins usually outweighs the risk of diabetes, so don’t skip a statin if you need one to lower your cholesterol.
Diabetes isn’t a new side effect of statins. The Food and Drug Administration added it to the label of all statins in 2012 based on a review of studies that found a slightly elevated risk. For example, one study that reviewed 13 randomized, controlled clinical trials of statins found that 4.9 percent of people who took one of the drugs for 4 years developed diabetes compared with 4.5 percent of those who didn’t take a statin.
Lower Cholesterol vs. Higher Blood Glucose
The new study, published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, raises questions about whether the diabetes risk is higher than previously thought. Researchers looked at medical data of nearly 7,000 men and women with an average age of 53. About 31 percent of those who took a statin for an average of 5.5 years developed diabetes compared with 19 percent of those who didn’t.
But since the study was not a randomized, controlled study—the gold standard for determining whether a drug causes a particular side effect—it’s not known for sure that the increase in diabetes was entirely due to statins. The study participants might have had other factors that Continue reading

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New type of diabetes discovered - Could YOU be showing symptoms of type 1.5 NOT type 2?

Researchers working on a ground-breaking study said the discovery of type 1.5 diabetes could mean adults diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in later life might actually be suffering from a strain more similar to type 1 diabetes.
They said the new study ‘highlights the uncertainty of the current classification of diabetes’.
There are two forms of the condition - type 1 diabetes occurs when the body cannot produce insulin.
One in ten people with diabetes have type 1 and it usually affects children or young adults.
Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body does not produce enough insulin or the insulin produced does not work properly and can be linked to lifestyle factors such as being overweight.
Type 1.5 is believed to share features with both types of diabetes and occurs mainly in adults.
Fri, August 19, 2016
Diabetes is a common life-long health condition. There are 3.5 million people diagnosed with diabetes in the UK and an estimated 500,000 who are living undiagnosed with the condition.
Scientists believe it might offer more clues to accurate diagnosis and treatment of the conditions.
The type of diabetes has been informally called type 1.5 diabetes but its medical name is latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA).
Like type 1 diabetes, LADA is an indicator that an overactive immune system is damaging the body’s insulin-producing cells.
However, LADA also shares some of the same features with type 2 diabetes. For example, LADA patients do not require insulin treatments when first diagnosed – like type 2 patients.
"Correctly diagnosing subtypes of diabetes is important, Continue reading

New Drug Appears To Eliminate Type 2 Diabetes For First Time

Type 2 diabetes, although influenced by a person’s genes, is largely thought to be brought about by a poor diet and being overweight for prolonged periods of time, particularly at an old age. The pancreas is either unable to produce enough insulin, or the body’s cells simply don’t react to insulin, which leads to dangerously high blood sugar levels.
This is known as insulin resistance, and at present, there is no medical way to treat this. A new drug forged by a team at the University of California, however, might prove to be a veritable game-changer.
As reported by New Scientist, a daily dose of the drug, given to mice with insulin resistance, canceled out the harmful condition. This is the first time that any treatment has effectively “cured” type 2 diabetes.
The team of researchers had an inkling that a particular enzyme was responsible for bringing about insulin resistance. The enzyme – cacophonously known as low molecular weight protein tyrosine phosphate, or LMPTP – can be found in the liver, and it appears to interact with cells in such a way that they become resistance to the presence of insulin.
Conjuring up a brand new drug that was specifically designed to hinder the progress of LMPTP, the team thought that it would allow the cells’ insulin receptors to once again be able to react to insulin as they normally would. Much to their delight, they found that they were correct.
“Our findings suggest that LMPTP is a key promoter of insulin resistance and that LMPTP inhibitors would be beneficial for treating type 2 diabetes,” the team noted in their Continue reading

Recommended Blood Glucose Numbers

Depending on where you look, recommended blood glucose levels can vary. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) numbers differ from the American College of Endocrinology (ACE) guidelines. The ACE recommendations happen to be a bit more strict than the ADA's. If you are someone with diabetes, how do you know which to follow?
Be sure to ask your healthcare provider which goals are right for you. Blood sugar targets should be individualized based on a variety of factors, including things like, age, life expectancy, blood sugar control, medicine, other health issues, etc.
The table below compares the general recommendations of the two sets of guidelines for both blood glucose pre and post meals as well as hemoglobin A1C (three month average of blood sugar).
How Many Times a Day Should You Check Your Blood Glucose Levels?
Checking your blood glucose levels throughout the day will help you to figure out how to keep your blood sugar in good control. Your numbers can help you pattern manage and learn how to identify how food, exercise, stress, and illness, to name a few, affects your blood sugar control. First thing in the morning (when you are fasting for at least 8 hours) before breakfast, two hours after a meal and before bed are good times to test. Other recommended times include before, during, and after an exercise session, especially if it is strenuous or if you are feeling like your blood sugar may be low or high. Your certified diabetes educator or health care provider will help you develop a routine that makes sense for you.
Typically, people who take insulin or are on ot Continue reading

Preventing and Treating Canine Diabetes

The growing diabetes epidemic is not limited to people—diabetes mellitus is increasing among dogs as well. Researchers estimate that one in 200 dogs will develop the disease. Fortunately, treatment has made huge strides in recent years, and as a result, dogs with diabetes are living longer, healthier lives.
The mechanism of diabetes is relatively simple to describe. Just as cars use gas for fuel, body cells run on a sugar called glucose. The body obtains glucose by breaking down carbohydrates in the diet. Cells then extract glucose from the blood with the help of insulin, a hormone made by the pancreas in specialized cells called beta cells. (The pancreas, an organ situated behind the stomach, produces several hormones.) In diabetes mellitus, cells don’t take in enough glucose, which then builds up in the blood. As a result, cells starve and organs bathed in sugary blood are damaged. Diabetes is not curable, but it is treatable; a dog with diabetes may live many happy years after diagnosis.
Kinds of Diabetes
Humans are subject to essentially three kinds of diabetes. By far the most common is Type 2, followed by Type 1 and gestational diabetes. Type 2 diabetes has typically been a disease of middle and old age (though it is being seen increasingly in young people), and has two causes: The beta cells don’t make enough insulin, or muscle cells resist insulin’s help and don’t take in enough glucose (or both). As a result, blood glucose levels climb. Type 1 diabetes usually occurs when the immune system attacks and destroys the beta cells, cutting off insulin productio Continue reading