Invokana Diabetes Drug Faces Canadian Class-action Lawsuit

Invokana diabetes drug faces Canadian class-action lawsuit

Jack Julian is a data journalist in the Halifax newsroom. This is a new position, and he's excited about it. He likes surprises in his stories. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @jackjulian
The diabetes drug Invokana, recently adopted by Nova Scotia's pharmacare program, is now the subject of a national class-action lawsuit.
Court documents filed at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice allege the drug can cause kidney damage or death in some of those who take it.
"We believe that Invokana is a very risky drug for kidney failure, and that the medical profession and users of the drug should be alerted to the dangers and consider very carefully whether they continue on Invokana," said Tony Merchant, the Regina-based lawyer whose company, Merchant Law Group, is behind the lawsuit.
The class action has not been certified. Merchant said he expects that to happen in the next six to seven months.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
Under Nova Scotia law, the action must first be certified as a class action before it can proceed.
Invokana was created by the multinational drug company Janssen Inc., and was approved by Health Canada in May 2014.
The Nova Scotia government added Invokana to the province's pharmacare formulary on Sept. 1, the third province to do so after Ontario and Quebec.
Scarborough woman at centre of lawsuit
Invokana isn't the only diabetes drug before the Canadian courts.
Lawyers in Halifax argued Tuesday in Nova Scotia Supreme Court for the certification of a class action suit against the drug Avandia from GlaxoSmithKline. Avandia is an insulin s Continue reading

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UK fifth highest in world for child type 1 diabetes

The UK ranks the fifth highest in the world for the rate of children diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, figures reveal.
Each year in the UK more than 24 in every 100,000 children aged 14 and younger are told that they have this form of diabetes, which must be treated with insulin.
Experts say it is unclear why the figure is so high.
Unlike type 2 diabetes, type 1 is not linked to obesity or lifestyle.
Genes do appear to play a role.
The government said it had introduced an "incentive scheme" to ensure that every child has the best care possible, along with regional networks to share expertise in children's diabetes care across the NHS.
The league table, based on estimates from the International Diabetes Federation, includes most countries - apart from a few African nations, where often the rate of type 1 incidence is unknown.
Of all the countries with data, only Finland, Sweden, Saudi Arabia and Norway have higher rates than the UK.
The UK rate is double that in France (12.2 per 100,000) and Italy (12.1 per 100,000).
UK charities Diabetes UK and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) say it is vital that people are aware of the symptoms of type 1 diabetes because if left undiagnosed and untreated, it can lead to serious illness and even death.
A quarter of the 2,000 children a year who develop diabetes are only diagnosed once they are already seriously ill.
Increasingly common
Barbara Young, chief executive of Diabetes UK, said: "We do not fully understand why more children in the UK are developing type 1 diabetes than almost anywhere else in the world. But the fact Continue reading

The World Series Pitcher with Type 1 Diabetes

Brandon Morrow is an anchor among the relief pitchers for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Brandon Morrow may find his blood sugar levels elevated like the speed of his fastball today. After all, it’s not uncommon for a pitcher to have a surge of adrenaline knowing he is going to pitch in the World Series.
Luckily for Morrow, a relief pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers who has Type 1 diabetes, he already has honed his blood sugar management so that it has becomes an almost subconscious routine. In multiple interviews over the years, the 11-year Major League veteran has described how he has learned through trial and error what works for him to be at peak performance when he takes the mound.
He hasn’t always been perfect. Diagnosed at 17, Morrow says he remembers feeling like he was going low once during a college game, a feeling he says can make for a “long inning”. He has studiously tried to avoid that over the years, and he does it by trying to stick to what works. This means, for example, he often adheres as closely as he can to a regular diet during the season, one that includes a complex-carb protein bar about an hour and a half before game-time.
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Although it is hard to find instances of Morrow complaining much about his Type 1 diabetes in interviews, one can imagine his blood sugar routine became a bit more complicated when he was converted from a starting pitcher to a reliever. He uses an insulin pump, but disconnects when he’s getting close to being called into the game, and checks his blood sugars during regular intervals before and throughout the game. Th Continue reading

Managing Food Around the World with Type 1 Diabetes

More tips for managing diabetes while traveling around the world from Cazzy Magennis, of Dream Big Travel Far!
Traveling the world means you have access to amazing things to see, do, and most importantly – eat and drink! This can cause some challenges for type 1 diabetics as we often find ourselves counting carbohydrates to manage our insulin doses.
I’ve experienced first-hand the difficulties with adjusting to new foods and drinks in different countries.
So, I decided to put together some of my tops tips for managing food around the world with type 1 diabetes.
Carbs & Cals is a fantastic app that allows you to see a visual representation of different foods, along with their estimated carbohydrate count. What this means is that, when you are visiting food markets or dining out anywhere, you can check and compare the food on your plate to a portion size on the app.
This allows you to work out the carbohydrate count for your insulin intake. The app is also available in book form, but long-term traveling requires light luggage, so I think the app is a better idea.
Alternatively, you can use fitness style apps such as MyFitnessPal which will give you an estimated carbohydrate count of thousands upon thousands of foods and drinks – but without the visual picture!
If you know you’re heading to Asia where they consume lots of rice and noodles, use your trip as an opportunity to try your hand at cooking some traditional dishes beforehand!
You can make a variety of “local” dishes and work out the carbohydrates in the portion you would usually take. Of course, it will var Continue reading

5 Surprising Diabetes Symptoms

Not every case of type 2 diabetes symptoms presents the obvious—unquenchable thirst, nonstop bathroom trips, and numbness in your hands or feet. Look out for these other subtle signs that something may be amiss with your blood sugar:
1. You've noticed unpleasant skin changes
Dark, velvety patches in the folds of skin, usually on the back of the neck, elbows, or knuckles, are often an early warning sign of too-high blood sugar levels and diabetes symptoms. Although genetics or hormonal conditions can cause the skin disorder, called acanthosis nigricans, "when I notice the patches, the first thing I do is test my patient's blood sugar," says Sanjiv Saini, MD, a dermatologist in Edgewater, Maryland. "High insulin levels promote the growth of skin cells, and melanin, a pigment in these cells, makes the patches dark." The test may show that the patient already has diabetes, but, more likely, it will detect higher-than-normal blood sugar levels, suggesting the patient is on the way to developing the disease, explains Saini. Losing weight—as little as 10 pounds—will likely lower blood sugar levels and help the condition clear up. Otherwise, he says a dermatologist can treat it with laser therapy or topical retina A.
2. Your vision improved out of nowhere
Sorry, suddenly being able to ditch your glasses probably isn't good news: "You'll often read that blurry vision is as a diabetes symptom when, in fact, vision can change for better or worse," says Howard Baum, MD, an assistant professor of medicine in the diabetes division at Vanderbilt University. "I've had patients tell m Continue reading