Theresa May's Diabetes Patch Not Available To All Patients | Daily Mail Online

Theresa May's diabetes patch not available to all patients | Daily Mail Online

May sported the diabetes patch the size of a 2 coin on TV a few weeks ago
But people like George Hakes, from Cambridge, London, denied same device
Around 350,000 people in the UK have type 1 diabetes and need tests every day
Theresa May sporting a diabetes patch the size of a 2 coin on TV a few weeks ago giving a speech to the Lord Mayor's Banquet
Catching sight of Theresa May sporting a diabetes patch the size of a 2 coin on TV a few weeks ago, George Hakes saw it as a hopeful sign hed soon be able to get one on the NHS .
The device, worn on the upper arm, continuously monitors glucose levels. Results can be read using a device which scans through clothing, reducing the need for finger-prick blood tests. For 350,000 people in the UK who have type 1 diabetes these tests must be done throughout the day, before and after eating and exercising and before driving, to monitor for dangerously low or high blood sugar levels.
George, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when he was 11, needs to inject himself with insulin around six times a day and was measuring his blood sugar up to ten times a day with a finger-prick test. Its time-consuming and painful and doesnt give you an accurate picture of your blood sugar over time, just at that moment, says George, 27, a local government officer, who lives in Cambridge.
The device he spotted on Mrs May, the FreeStyle Libre, is the first of its kind. It monitors glucose in fluid between cells via sensor filaments the width of two hairs. A device roughly half the size of a mobile phone takes readings.
The patches last two weeks Continue reading

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What the MacArthur Amendment Means for People with Type 1 Diabetes

Introduced by Representative Tom MacArthur (R-New Jersey), this amendment to the previous bill would give states flexibility for determining:
Whether people with preexisting conditions could be charged more than the average population for coverage
What essential health benefits insurers must cover
The ACA set a minimum federal standard of essential health benefits and barred insurers from denying coverage or charging substantially more to those with preexisting conditions. An earlier version of the AHCA would have repealed those standards at a federal level.
States would apply for a waiver from federal health insurance standards to make these changes. State officials would have to attest, but not prove, that the changes they make would do one of the following: lower premiums on average, boost enrollment, stabilize the health insurance market in the state, or stabilize the price of premiums for people with preexisting conditions.
If granted a waiver, states could then allow insurers to charge more for those with preexisting conditions who let their coverage lapse, as long as insurers established a way to make sure people with preexisting conditions had access to coverage. They also could determine what benefits insurers need to cover for the conditions, and whether there would be a lifetime cap on benefits.
You can read more about what the bill does, or did before the amendment, here: 12 Takeaways About the House Plan to Replace Obamacare.
What this might mean for people with diabetes
Republicans who back the bill say it will bring average premium costs down. The c Continue reading

One Drop: The data-driven approach to managing diabetes

One Drop: The data-driven approach to managing diabetes
Diabetes is a data-driven disease, with patients suddenly finding themselves inundated with information that they need to measure, monitor and record to stay healthy. But in an age of algorithms that could lighten the load, diabetes care still largely relies on patients manually keeping track of everything themselves. The One Drop system is designed to let people manage their diabetes through an integrated app, smart meter and supplies service. New Atlas spoke to the company's founder, Jeffrey Dachis, to find out how it works.
At a glance, One Drop seems like what you'd expect diabetes care to be like in the modern day. It includes a lancet device to draw blood, a glucose meter that sends test results to a smartphone via Bluetooth, and an app that ties everything together. Users can sync information from fitness trackers, monitor their data over time, and easily share it with their doctor.
But as obvious as it sounds, this kind of modern data management system hadn't been applied to diabetes care before. Patients are generally expected to jot down their readings, or at best, enter them manually into an app. Managing the condition requires a lot of legwork, but time isn't the only thing diabetes drains from a person: as Dachis found out firsthand, it takes a massive mental toll that many doctors all but ignore.
In 2013, Jeff Dachis had been feeling under the weather for a while when he finally took himself to the doctor. He'd lost 20 lb (9 kg) in less than eight weeks, he was constantly tired and found he just cou Continue reading

Too much salt could increase diabetes risk

Too much salt could increase diabetes risk
The threat on your plate: salt may significantly increase the risk of developing different forms of diabetes.
Researchers suggest that sodium - which we commonly ingest through salt, or sodium chloride - could increase the risk of type 2 diabetes and latent autoimmune diabetes in adults.
Diabetes is a common condition that affects more than 29 million people in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Type 2 diabetes accounts for up to 95 percent of all diagnosed cases and is characterized by abnormal levels of blood sugar.
This type of diabetes is most often diagnosed in middle-aged and senior people. Another metabolic condition called latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA) is often misdiagnosed as type 2 diabetes; it also appears later in adulthood.
LADA is a more slowly progressing disease, and it does not initially require insulin treatment.
A new study conducted by Dr. Bahareh Rasouli, of the Institute of Environmental Medicine at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden - in collaboration with researchers from other Swedish and Finnish institutions - now looks at the impact of sodium intake on the risk of type 2 diabetes and LADA.
The researchers havepresented their findings at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes , held in Lisbon, Portugal.
Existing research had already suggested that the sodium we usually absorb from our daily intake of salt may significantly increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
The team explai Continue reading

What I have learned at the 2017 International Diabetes Federation (IDF) Congress in Abu Dhabi.

What I have learned at the 2017 International Diabetes Federation (IDF) Congress in Abu Dhabi.
First, diabetes is a worldwide pandemic affecting people at all socio-economic levels. Rich or poor, young or old, thin or obese—diabetes crosses all boundaries and barriers, bringing with it serious and life-threatening consequences. Pandemic is an epidemic over a wide geographic area and affecting a large proportion of the population- DIABETES!, Which is not a disease that with a proper hygiene life could keep one away from developing diabetes and its complications.
Second, despite the progressive nature of this disease, not all nations are able to offer adequate and timely treatment and education. As the state of the science of diabetes care and education advances, new treatment and technology, modalities may be inaccessible to the populations most in need of care. Dr. Shaukat Sadikot shared a powerful story in one his presentation. He said that at one time he was educating people of diabetes about what is best to eat to better control diabetes. When he finished his talk, a person approached him to say that he appreciated the knowledge that he was sharing as a doctor to help him control his diabetes, but the problem that this person had was that he was not so sure if his family would have something to eat that day. Wow a powerful story, one that changed Dr. Sadikot and all of us who listened to him. Yes, we as healthcare professionals need to be reminded about the social determinants of health and the impact of these in all of the aspects related with diabetes care and diabet Continue reading