Diabetes News and Research

Latest Diabetes News and Research

Half of patients undergoing cerebrovascular stent placement do not respond well to clopidogrel

A study by researchers at Rush University Medical Center, published in the February issue of the American Journal of Neuroradiology, finds that half of patients undergoing cerebrovascular stent placement did not respond well to clopidogrel.

7 Feb 2008

Scientists gain new understanding of gut bugs

Scientists have made a major step towards understanding precisely which bugs in the gut are involved in which processes in the body, by mapping the different species of bugs living in seven members of the same Chinese family.

7 Feb 2008

For safety, NHLBI changes intensive blood sugar treatment strategy in trial of diabetes and cardiovascular disease

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health has stopped one treatment within a large, ongoing North American clinical trial of diabetes and cardiovascular disease 18 months early due to safety concerns after review of available data, although the study will continue.

6 Feb 2008

Lack of equity in health care for minority children in America

The UT Southwestern analysis, available online and published as an abstract in the February issue of the journal Pediatrics, suggests certain disparities are particularly pronounced for specific racial and ethnic groups.

6 Feb 2008

Australian gene test opens door to personalised care

Australian researchers have led a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine that shows a simple blood test can allow doctors to predict which HIV patients will have a side effect, known as a hypersensitivity reaction, to a particular medication before it is prescribed.

6 Feb 2008

Two new studies examine non-invasive ways to determine liver fibrosis and cirrhosis

An enhanced version of the Original European Liver Fibrosis panel was found to have good diagnostic accuracy for fibrosis in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Conversely, transient elastography was unreliable for detecting cirrhosis in patients with acute liver damage. The studies are published in the February issue of Hepatology, a journal by John Wiley & Sons on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD). The articles are also available online at Wiley Interscience.

5 Feb 2008

Enbrel shown to significantly reduced levels of C-reactive protein

Amgen and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth have announced findings from a retrospective analysis, which demonstrated that ENBREL reduced C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of inflammation, in patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis following 12 weeks of treatment. Median reduction in CRP levels was 10 times greater in the ENBREL treated group compared to the placebo treated group.

5 Feb 2008

The obesity epidemic - does the evidence stack up?

Last week, the UK health secretary declared that we are in a grip of an obesity epidemic, but does the evidence stack up? Researchers in this week's BMJ debate the issue.

5 Feb 2008

Gene ENPP1 is linked to preterm birth and low birth weight among Hispanic women

Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have found that the gene ENPP1 is linked to preterm birth and low birth weight among Hispanic women.

5 Feb 2008

Insomnia patients often denied sleep treatment when they have mental health problems

Patients with insomnia who are diagnosed with accompanying mental health ailments often are not prescribed medication that will help them sleep - which could then make related anxiety or depression worse, new research suggests.

4 Feb 2008

Study suggests Risperidone long-acting injection combined with standard treatment helped delay time to relapse in patients with bipolar disorder

Patients with frequently relapsing bipolar disorder had a significant delay in the time to an initial relapse when risperidone long-acting injection (RLAI) was combined with standard treatment, according to a new study. The study compared patients who received RLAI and standard treatment to those who received standard treatment combined with placebo.

4 Feb 2008

Minority children experience disparities in care

A national survey found significant disparities for minority children in medical and oral health and access to care.

4 Feb 2008

Intensive insulin therapy reduces the risk of death in critically ill patients

For critically ill patients, intensive insulin therapy (IIT) to keep blood sugar (glucose) at normal levels reduces the risk of acute kidney injury, reports a study in the March Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

4 Feb 2008

Researchers seek trial participants for experimental HIV vaccine called PENNVAX-B

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine researchers are recruiting healthy, HIV-negative adults to participate in a phase I clinical trial of an experimental HIV vaccine called PENNVAX-B, a DNA-based vaccine which is made using synthetic DNA-based HIV genes.

4 Feb 2008

New understanding of ion channel regulation

A study at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago published this week in the online version of Biophysical Journal proposes that bubbles may control the opening and closing of ion channels.

4 Feb 2008

Body fat protein adiponectin plays role in tumour growth

Scientists have discovered how low levels of a protein hormone found in body fat, plays a crucial role in tumour growth and spread. Their findings are published in a paper in the British Journal of Cancer.

31 Jan 2008

U.S. mental health survey of people with schizophrenia and providers

Mental Health America has released results of the first national online survey to examine overall healthcare in mental health settings from the perspective of both people with schizophrenia and psychiatrists.

31 Jan 2008

Low-intensity group support improves diet, may cut diabetes risk in American Indian women

Even low-intensity group support helps motivate young American Indian women to hit the produce aisle, a new study suggests.

30 Jan 2008

Oseltamivir resistance in European Influenza viruses

Preliminary surveillance into antiviral drug susceptibility against seasonal flu viruses currently circulating in Europe has revealed that some of the A (H1N1) viruses (13%) have shown resistance to the antiviral drug, oseltamivir.

29 Jan 2008

Smaller pancreatic tumors greatly increase survival odds

The odds of surviving cancer of the pancreas increase dramatically for patients whose tumors are smallest, according to a new study by researchers at Saint Louis University and the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston - the first study to specifically evaluate the link between tumor size and survival rates for one of the most common and deadly cancers.

28 Jan 2008