FDA OKs Two Medicines For Cardiovascular Disease In Type 2 Diabetes

FDA OKs Two Medicines for Cardiovascular Disease in Type 2 Diabetes

People with diabetes have two to three times the increased risk for cardiovascular disease and death as those in the general population. Cardiovascular disease also accounts for two out of every three deaths in those with diabetes.
For people with Type 2 diabetes and pre-existing heart disease, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved a change in the prescribing information for Jardiance (generic name empagliflozin) and Victoza (liraglutide), indicating they can be used to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in this group. Empagliflozin received an indication to only reduce cardiac death. Liraglutide received a broader indication, including reduction of heart attack, stroke, and death.
FDA Requires heart disease outcomes research
“Until 2008, the FDA approved diabetes medications based only their effects on blood sugar and evidence that they were reasonably safe,” said Steven Nissen, MD, chair of cardiovascular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic. “Since then, they have required the performance of additional trials focusing on cardiovascular disease outcomes.”
Most of the research on cardiovascular disease onoutcomes from Type 2 diabetes medications has shown limited or no benefits for the heart. So far, these are the only two exceptions, leading to the changes in prescribing information.
“The FDA staff and their committees thought that the evidence was sufficiently robust to warrant a label claim,” said Nissen. “From the point of view of the patients, this is a big deal because it means after decades of drug development, we have drugs for d Continue reading

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A varied diet can prevent diabetes – but can you afford it?

In a study of over 25,000 adults with detailed information about their eating habits, people with a greater diversity of foods in their diet showed a 30% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes over a ten-year period. Unfortunately, the diets with more variety were 18% more expensive than the less-varied ones.
A healthy diet is critical for preventing and managing type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes affects around 415m adults globally; a figure that is expected to rise to 643m by 2040, mostly in low- and middle-income countries. So governments should support their citizen’s ability to eat well.
For several decades now, governments have recommended that people eat a varied diet. Global five-a-day campaigns stress the consumption of a variety of fruits and vegetables. The theory goes that consuming a variety of foods ensures that a person receives all the necessary vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals that are needed for the body to function and stay healthy. But, what do we really mean by a varied diet and what is its relationship with diabetes?
A varied diet is a healthier diet
Although dietary guidelines have for a long time recommended eating a variety of foods, scientists are not sure exactly what it is about eating a varied diet that might promote health. There has been research on how the variety of foods relate to the nutritional quality of a person’s diet, but little is known about whether the diversity of the diet is related to risk of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes.
For example, there are no studies on whether a diet containing foods from all five food Continue reading

Australian soft drinks linked to higher risk of diabetes, study shows

Soft drinks sold in Australia have higher levels of glucose, which is linked to an increased chance of developing heart disease and type 2 diabetes, a study shows.
An international comparison, published in the Medical Journal of Australia, revealed several popular Australian soft drinks had glucose levels which were 22 per cent higher than those found in the United States.
Professor Bronwyn Kingwell, from the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, said the findings were particularly relevant for Australians who drank lots of soft drinks.
"Given that glucose, but not fructose, rapidly elevates plasma glucose and insulin, regular consumption of Australian soft drinks has potential health implications regarding type 2 diabetes and its complications," she said.
Many leading health organisations — including the Australian Medical Association, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners and the Consumers Health Forum — have called on the Federal Government to consider introducing a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages, such as soft drinks, to combat rising rates of obesity.
"Given the high rate of consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and type 2 diabetes and heart disease, these new findings are of significant concern," Professor Kingwell said.
In Australia, soft drinks are usually sweetened with sucrose, while in the US, high-fructose corn syrup is the main sweetener.
Professor Kingwell said the health effects of having too much high-fructose syrup were well known, including a build-up of fat in the liver.
But she said not as much was known about the health risks of co Continue reading

Why a key diabetes test may work differently depending on your race

This overestimate could lead a doctor to target a black patient's blood sugar levels aggressively, causing dangerously low blood sugar.
"I believe our study, for the first time, definitively shows there is a component of higher A1c that is due to biologic or genetic differences in glucose attaching to the red blood cell," said Dr. Richard Bergenstal, executive director of the International Diabetes Center in Minneapolis and lead author of the study.
The study notes that race only partially explains the hemoglobin A1c differences, and more research is needed to identify social and economic factors that may influence blood sugar levels in various groups of people.
For black patients in America, who have traditionally faced a history of barriers and disadvantages in health care, those factors might also include having limited access to care or medications.
Bergenstal offered one specific question that concerned patients could ask their doctors: "Are we depending just on the hemoglobin A1c to measure how my diabetes control is doing, or are we actually looking at the blood sugars to get a little better reflection of my blood sugars?"
He added that "the A1c, you know, is kind of an average marker, and no patient is average. One of our take-home messages is, it's probably time to be looking at blood sugars and personalizing therapy for each individual a little more than just this average blood sugar test."
Diabetes is a disease in which your blood sugar levels are above normal, which could cause health problems. With type 1 diabetes, your pancreas does not make insulin, a hormone Continue reading

Here’s How Much It Costs To Treat Diabetes

Diabetes is a major health problem among Malaysians. According to Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam, a total of 3.6 million Malaysians have it, with 1.8 million may be unaware that they are diabetic as they never went for health screening.
This number has been continuously rising for years, and if you are related to someone who has diabetes, you’re at higher risk of having it yourself. It’s a pandemic that seems to have no end in sight.
The biggest issue with diabetes is that not only will it take a slow but sure toll on your health, it does the same for your finances too.
Here are some of the costs you need to consider should you be diagnosed with diabetes.
Outpatient diabetes treatment cost
Whether you have Type 1 or 2, you will have to deal with ongoing treatments to help you manage and keep your condition stable for the long run. The Hemoglobin A1c test (HbA1c, A1c, or Hb1c), which is used to determine the average concentration of glucose in the blood plasma, is a common test for diabetics that need to be taken about two to seven times a year. There are also blood test devices and medications that need to be considered as well.
Here’s how much the cost will look like.
Diabetic treatment in the hospital
Even though your condition can be controlled on your own with medication, there’s always the chance of you having to be hospitalised due to issues such as hyperglycemia, where your blood sugar level increases to dangerous levels that require further monitoring and increases in insulin dosages. Hyperglycemia would require not only medical personnel to wa Continue reading