Glucose Response Holds Key To Better Obesity And Diabetes Drugs

Glucose response holds key to better obesity and diabetes drugs

For the first time, South Australian researchers have recorded how human gut cells react to glucose, one of the key nutrients in our diet.
The study focuses on the secretion of a hormone called glucagon-like peptide 1 (or GLP-1) from the lining of the gut. When it is released after a meal, GLP-1 triggers insulin secretion from the pancreas and signals fullness, to limit further food intake.
As a result, this hormone has been the focus of significant new drug development for type 2 diabetes and obesity in the past decade.
“But while we knew that GLP-1 was important in diabetes and obesity treatment, we still knew little about how the release of this hormone was controlled in humans,” says research leader Professor Damien Keating, from Flinders University and the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI).
“We have now recorded how the arrival of glucose in the upper intestine triggers the release of this important hormone, which has been a chief therapeutic target for a number of diabetes and new anti-obesity drugs,” Professor Keating says.
“By learning more about the gut’s mechanism to process glucose and produce this hormone, we can begin to develop potential new therapies which may be much more targeted and effective.”
With obesity and Type 2 (acquired) diabetes on the rise, these therapies will be important in increasing public health and wellbeing, and in reducing the future cost burden of these conditions to the community.
Drugs that mimic GLP-1, or increase its levels in blood, are now used successfully for the treatment of people wi Continue reading

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Medicare, Dexcom G5, & Smartphone Access: Whos to Blame and What Can We Do?

But the cause for celebration was quickly muted due to the following statement set down by CMS under Miscellaneous :
Coverage of the CGM system supply allowance is limited to those therapeutic CGM systems where the beneficiary ONLY uses a receiver classified as DME to display glucose data. If a beneficiary uses a non- DME device (smart phone, tablet, etc.) as the display device, either separately or in combination with a receiver classified as DME , the supply allowance is non-covered by Medicare.
Why? Because CMS believes that if someone on Medicare doesnt use the receiver that is required by FDA to be shipped as part of the system, then they shouldnt have to pay for the system at all. The receiver is considered Durable Medical Equipment (DME) and so the only way they can be sure it is used is to prevent any other method of viewing the data. This includes smartphone, watches, and tablets.
By denying access to the CGM data generated by the transmitter to any device except the receiver, the ability to remotely monitor or alternately alarm the person with diabetes is prohibited. This becomes a significant safety issue, as:
Caregivers cannot use the Dexcom Follow App , which allows up to 5 people to remotely view CGM data. The Dexcom Follow App can alarm the caregiver when blood glucose levels are out of the accepted safe range so that the caregiver can immediately contact the person with diabetes (or emergency personnel) to prevent severe hyper- or hypoglycemia.
People with diabetes cannot use the Dexcom G5 Mobile App , which shows real-time data on a smartphone or tab Continue reading

No, Radio 702 - diabetes cannot be healed naturally | Africa Check

No, Radio 702 diabetes cannot be healed naturally
A South African radio host read out the website address where a cure for diabetes could supposedly be found on his show.
Talk Radio 702 s Xolani Gwala had received a message from an old man called Travis Harris, who said he had been a diabetic for more than 30 years.
It seems there is no real answer to healing diabetes, the message read, but that is no longer the case. I have discovered that American doctors are now able to heal diabetes naturally.
After reading the website address, Gwala asked his listeners whether they had visited it or know what this new invention from American doctors is?
Im sure a lot of people would want to hear this because you are right about the increase in diabetes in South Africa. It is frightening.
Website doesnt explain how healing happens
A picture showing a solution for the treatment of severe hypoglycemia that may occur in people with diabetes. Photo: AFP/Franck Fife
Diabetes is a chronic disease. While type 1 usually commences in childhood or adolescence and is believed to caused by acomplex interaction between genes and environmental factors, type 2 is more common and mainly associated with unhealthy lifestyles.
Worldwide, the prevalence of diabetes has nearly doubled since 1980. And over the past decade, it has risen faster in low- and middle-income countries than in high-income countries, according to the World Health Organisation .
In South Africa, diabetes was listed as the second leading cause of natural death on death certificates in 2015, after tuberculosis.
Africa Che Continue reading

When Youre Afraid to Test: The Root of Diabetes Test Anxiety

Getting to the Root of Glucose Testing Anxiety
Medically reviewed by Suzanne Falck, MD on September 20, 2017 Written by Stephanie Watson
Whether you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes, testing your blood sugar is critical to managing the disease. Measuring your glucose levels multiple times a day is the only way to know if your sugars are too low or too high.
To some people with diabetes, testing is a minor inconvenience. To others, its very stressful. Testing anxiety can get so extreme that some people avoid doing it altogether. When you skip glucose tests, you put yourself at risk for uncontrolled blood sugar and all the complications that come with it.
Testing anxiety is more than a fear of needles, although worry over the fingerstick is a big barrier for some. Above and beyond the pain, some people get woozy at the thought of sticking a needle into their finger. About 10 percent of adults have needle phobia, while others have a phobia of seeing blood. They have a real physical response to needles that can range from a rapid heartbeat to fainting.
Licensed clinical psychologist and certified diabetes educator William Polonsky, PhD, has come up with several other reasons why people with diabetes avoid checking their blood sugar. For one, regular testing reminds people they have diabetes, which can be stressful.
Polonsky writes , some people feel so upset about living with diabetes that they work hard to avoid ever thinking about it. If you feel this way, the act of monitoring can become an in-your-face reminder that yes, you still have diabetes, so you dont do it.
Continue reading

Simple New Test Might Be a Better Way to Diagnose Gestational Diabetes

Simple New Test Might Be a Better Way to Diagnose Gestational Diabetes
Gestational diabetes , or GDM, is relatively common among pregnant women in fact, almost 1 in 10 pregnant women in the U.S. experience it. Thats why your practitioner will administer a glucose screening to assess your risk of gestational diabetes at around week 24 to 28 of pregnancy.
But as lots of moms whove had their glucose screenings know, the test and follow-ups can be time-consuming and not super-pleasant (hello, saccharine Tang syrup). Whats worse: The results are not always accurate. In fact, its not uncommon to get a false positive on the screening, or to pass with flying colors and later get a GDM diagnosis.
A new test involving just one simple, quick blood draw may soon be available at your doctors office, and a recent study suggests that it both accurately diagnoses GDM and identifies babies at risk of being born large for gestational age a common complication of gestational diabetes just as well as the current GD testing methodsand maybe even better.
How glucose tolerance screening & tests work today
Current glucose screening and glucose tolerance tests are fairly simple, but easily skewed: Moms-to-be are asked to drink a sugary solution at home, and then get to the doctors office on time to be tested within a one-hour window. The mothers may drink or not drink the solution, or they may not drink it all because its nauseating. And instead of getting to the lab one hour after drinking it, they might get there an hour and a half later. All of this makes the test relatively inaccurate Continue reading