UTHealth Research: Misfolded Form Of Pancreatic Protein Could Induce Type 2 Diabetes Symptoms

UTHealth research: Misfolded form of pancreatic protein could induce type 2 diabetes symptoms

HOUSTON – (Aug. 1, 2017) – The symptoms of type 2 diabetes can be induced by a misfolded form of a pancreatic protein and possibly be transmitted by a mechanism similar to prion diseases such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease), according to researchers from McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).
The findings were reported today in a paper published in The Journal of Experimental Medicine.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 29 million Americans suffer from type 2 diabetes, a condition in which the body is unable to regulate blood glucose levels using the hormone insulin. Although the disease has been linked to a variety of genetic and environmental risk factors, what causes type 2 diabetes is still not completely understood.
More than 90 percent of type 2 diabetes patients show abnormal protein deposits in their pancreatic islets that are aggregates of a misfolded form of a protein called islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP). The precise role of these IAPP aggregates in type 2 diabetes is unclear, but they may damage and kill the pancreatic beta cells that secrete insulin in response to elevated blood glucose levels. In this respect, type 2 diabetes could be similar to other diseases caused by misfolded protein aggregates, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and prion disorders.
“Until now, this concept has not been considered,” said Claudio Soto, Ph.D., senior author, professor in the Department of Neurology and the directo Continue reading

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9 Tips for Fitting in Sweets With Diabetes

Got a hankering for something sweet? When you have type 2 diabetes, you probably should abstain, but sometimes the craving is strong or you feel left at social gatherings. Our bodies may be wired for craving carbohydrates, simply because they are the body's main source of fuel, but when you have diabetes all carbohydrates count and can affect blood sugar. Therefore, we have to learn how to handle that in a smart way.
Sweets don't have to be banned, but there are ways to satisfy your craving while maintaining blood sugar control. Try the following:
1) Be Prepared
If you use exchange lists or count carbohydrates, try to fit the treat into your meal plan. Do a little planning and counting. Swap a high-carbohydrate food item or two from a meal for a sweet treat, or make sure you are within limits of your carbohydrate count goals per meal if you are counting carbohydrates.
Download a carbohydrate counting app or carry around a book that lists nutrition information. Take advantage of free smartphone apps that provide nutrition data and even let you log what you eat on the run. It is amazing how comprehensive, easy to use, and fast these databases have become.They can help you to make great choices. Another option is to memorize counts of your favorite treats.
2) Make Sure You're Not Tired
Sometimes we mistake fatigue with hunger.
If it's nighttime and you've just finished dinner, odds are you are not hungry. It is more likely that you are tired. Avoiding late night eating can not only help with blood sugar control, it can help you to lose weight.
3) Make Sure You're Not Hungry
Ea Continue reading

“The Best and Worst Diabetes Food Advice I’ve Seen”

What’s the best and the worst diabetes food advice ever? Here’s Adam Brown’s take, which makes a lot of sense:
I’ll never forget the diabetes food advice I received from my doctor at diagnosis:
“You can eat whatever you want, as long as you take insulin for it.”
In my view, this advice is misleading, overly simplistic, and damaging. In fact, I’d nominate it for the “worst” diabetes food advice out there. Unfortunately, those who are newly diagnosed tell me it is still common. Ugh.
diaTribe: The Best and Worst Diabetes Food Advice I’ve Seen
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Type 2 diabetes
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Insulin Inhaler: New Diabetes Option Before Meals

There’s good news for patients who would like an easier way to get their insulin. A new rapid inhaled insulin has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The new drug, called Afrezza®, delivers insulin in the form of a fine powder, and you can inhale it at the start of a meal to help with blood sugar control.
As a nurse and certified diabetes educator who has also lived with diabetes for the past 17 years, I wanted to try this new option. After using it for a few months, I found the inhaled insulin to be effective, easy to use, and a great alternative to an injection when I needed mealtime insulin. It can be used safely with any basal insulin, such as Lantus®, Levemir® or Toujeo®. Anyone who has Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes can benefit from this treatment option.
Inhaler benefits
Here are some of the benefits of the inhaled insulin:
It decreases risk for hypoglycemia. The onset time is 12 to 15 minutes and it is totally out of your system within 180 minutes.
It is painless, convenient and effective. Once inhaled, the insulin gets released into the body through your lungs and released into tiny airways that help move the insulin into the bloodstream quickly.
Color coding makes the dosages easy to identify. The color coding of the blisters are blue for four units, green for eight units and yellow for 12 units of insulin. This color coding decreases the possibility of errors.
The blister and the inhaling device are small and compact. Both can easily fit into a small purse or pant pocket.
The inhaling device is included with the monthly prescription. The dev Continue reading

The 6 Best (and Worst) Diets If You Have Diabetes

Are you looking for a way to reset your diet to lose weight? Losing weight has many benefits, especially for people with diabetes. It not only can improve blood sugar levels but it can lower your high blood pressure and heart disease risk.
But it’s important not to go for a quick fix. For lasting success, focus on good nutrition and changes you can commit to long term. Yes, but how do you do that? There are many diets out there claiming health benefits. Here, we’ll talk through some common diets out there and offer our advice for people with diabetes.
Besides sticking to a particular diet, here’s some tried-and true tips:
Watch portion sizes (particularly for carbohydrates). This can help cut down on calories and improve blood sugar.
Divide food choices for a healthy plate. Go for half vegetables, one-quarter protein and one-quarter carbohydrates.
There many diets out there that you can look to for weight loss, but our list highlights the three best and three worst diet choices for people with diabetes.
Best diets
Champion diets offer well-rounded nutrition
1. DASH. Created to help lower blood pressure (aptly named Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension), the DASH diet goes well beyond that. It is a well-rounded, healthy nutrition plan for everyone. DASH is rich in fruits, vegetables and grains, and low in fat, sugar and sodium.
For example, on a 2,000-calorie DASH plan, each day you would eat:
Six to eight servings of whole grains
Four to five vegetables
Four to five fruits
Two or three servings of dairy
Six or fewer servings of meats (in this case, a serving is one Continue reading