How To Help Seniors And Caregivers Manage Diabetes At Home

How to Help Seniors and Caregivers Manage Diabetes at Home

As the rate of diabetes in American adults over age 65 continues to rise, senior care professionals can play a significant role in helping these older adults and their family caregivers manage the condition at home. According to the CDC, nearly 12 million seniors have been diagnosed with diabetes, and the rate of the condition among people between the ages of 65 and 74 rose 113 percent between 1993 and 2014. These numbers suggest that diabetes will continue to be a serious health issue among older adults for years to come.
Diabetes increases a seniors risk of developing several other comorbidities, including cardiovascular disease and kidney failure. In a recent webinar co-sponsored by the American Society on Aging and Home Instead, Inc., gerontologist Lakelyn Hogan and registered nurse Lanita Knoke discussed several ways senior care professionals can help clients manage their diabetes for improved wellness and quality of life. They also talked about tactful ways healthcare professionals can address the diabetes elephant in the room: obesity.
To provide support for seniors with diabetes and their caregivers, you might consider these four strategies.
1. Provide education as a means of empowerment
Diabetes management can feel like a complex, overwhelming thing, especially for an older adult who may have multiple comorbid conditions. You can help seniors and caregivers feel more confident and empowered to take on the task of diabetes management by arming them with key information, such as:
How to recognize the signs and symptoms of diabetes, hypoglycemia and hyperglycem Continue reading

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Researchers Implicate Suspect In Heart Disease Linked To Diabetes

People with diabetes are at high risk of developing heart disease. Despite knowing this, scientists have struggled to trace the specific biology behind that risk or find ways to intervene. Now, UNC School of Medicine researchers have hunted down a possible culprit -- a protein called IRS-1, which is crucial for the smooth muscle cells that make up veins and arteries.
According to a study published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, too little of IRS-1 causes cells to revert to a "dedifferentiated" or stem-cell like state, and this may contribute to the buildup of plaque in the heart's arteries, a condition known as atherosclerosis, which increases the risk of heart attack, stroke, and other forms of heart disease.
"When diabetes is poorly managed, your blood sugar goes up and the amount of this protein goes down, so the cells become subject to abnormal proliferation," said senior author David R. Clemmons, MD, Sarah Graham Kenan Professor of Medicine at the UNC School of Medicine. "We need to conduct more studies, but we think this cell pathway may have significant implications for how high blood glucose leads to atherosclerosis in humans."
The research could bring scientists one step closer to finding drugs to help stave off heart disease in people with diabetes, who are twice as likely to have heart disease or experience a stroke, as compared to people without diabetes. People with diabetes also tend to experience major cardiac events at a younger age.
The study focused on the cells that form the walls of veins and arteries, known as vascular smooth muscle cells. The Continue reading

Why Plus-Size Moms Need To Look Out For Gestational Diabetes

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than half of American women in the age range 22 to 44 are overweight and a third of them are considered obese.
Overweight women are more likely to experience health complications during pregnancy. What makes it all the more alarming is that excess weight can also risk the baby’s chances of a healthy development inside the uterus.
According to Dr. Vivian Dickerson, director of women’s healthcare and programs at Hoag Memorial Hospital in California, “Obesity is a disease, and as with many diseases, there’s a greater chance of problems during pregnancy”.
On your nine-month journey, your doctor will be more concerned by your BMI and not by your weight. But a high BMI score does not necessarily mean you should expect medical issues down the line. Plenty of overweight mothers had smooth pregnancies, so it is a risk, not a certainty.
If you are planning to be or are currently pregnant, knowing what to watch out for is the first step for achieving a smooth sailing pregnancy.
Gestational Diabetes
Gestational diabetes is a form of temporary high blood sugar experienced by many women during their pregnancy.
This medical issue normally affects up to 15% of obese women. If this problem is left uncontrolled, gestational diabetes can cause congenital heart problems and other risks of fetal birth defects. If your doctor says you are at risk for this problem, you have to listen and take preventative measures to stay healthy, not just for your sake but for your unborn child’s as well.
Babies who are born to mothers Continue reading

Role of Fenugreek in the prevention of type 2 diabetes mellitus in prediabetes

Journal of Diabetes & Metabolic Disorders
It is hypothesized that dietary supplementation with Fenugreek modulates glucose homeostasis and potentially prevents diabetes mellitus in people with prediabetes. The objective of present study is to determine whether Fenugreek can prevent the outcome of T2DM in non diabetic people with prediabetes.
A 3-year randomized, controlled, parallel study for efficacy of Fenugreek (n = 66) and matched controls (n = 74) was conducted in men and women aged 3070 years with criteria of prediabetes. Fenugreek powder, 5g twice a day before meals, was given to study subjects and progression of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) was monitored at baseline and every 3months for the 3-year study.
By the end of intervention period, cumulative incidence rate of diabetes reduced significantly in Fenugreek group when compared to controls. The Fenugreek group also saw a significant reduction in fasting plasma glucose (FPG), postprandial plasma glucose (PPPG) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc) whereas serum insulin increased significantly. It was observed that controls had 4.2 times higher chance of developing diabetes compared to subjects in the Fenugreek group. The outcome of diabetes in Fenugreek group was positively associated with serum insulin and negatively associated with insulin resistance (HOMA IR).
Dietary supplementation of 10g Fenugreek/day in prediabetes subjects was associated with lower conversion to diabetes with no adverse effects and beneficial possibly due to its decreased insulin resistance.
FenugreekPrediabetesImpaired Continue reading

Type 2 diabetes: What happens if symptoms go undetected? How to avoid dangerous outcome | Health | Life & Style | Express.co.uk

Diabetes: What happens if symptoms go undetected?
High glucose levels can damage blood vessels, nerves and organs
Often symptoms may seem harmless, but the NHS, which outlines these symptoms to watch out for, also warns what untreated diabetes can lead to.
The public health service says: High glucose levels can damage blood vessels, nerves and organs.
Even a mildly raised glucose level that doesnt cause any symptoms can have long-term damaging effects.
From diabetic retinopathy to kidney disease, these are just a few of the complications that can arise if diabetes is left untreated.
Diabetes: Feeling very thirsty and tired are symptoms
Diabetes: Untreated diabetes can lead to other serious conditions
The likelihood of you developing heart disease or stroke is five times bigger if you have diabetes.
The NHS says: Prolonged, poorly controlled blood glucose levels increase the likelihood of atherosclerosis, where the blood vessels become clogged up and narrowed by fatty substances.
This may result in poor blood supply to your heart, causing angina, which is a dull, heavy or tight pain in the chest. It also increases the chance that a blood vessel in your heart or brain will become blocked, leading to a heart attack or stroke.
This is when the retina, the light-sensitive layer of tissue at the back of the eye, becomes damaged.
The NHS says: Blood vessels in the retina can become blocked or leaky, or can grow haphazardly. This prevents light fully passing through to your retina. If it isnt treated, it can damage your vision.
Diabetes: High glucose levels can damag Continue reading