A couple of days ago I bumped into a video produced by the guys at Tu Diabetes, and I thought it was too good not to give it a plug.  The video is a compilation of submissions by members of the Tu Diabetes community, and while humorous, shows the serious ways in which type 1 diabetes affects each of us.

According to DHF, the video was made “to raise diabetes awareness and in preparation for World Diabetes Day”. “We held the Making Sense of Diabetes video contest during October 2009. We sought video entries about the impact diabetes has on our lives through one of the five senses: sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell. We produced compilation video, showcasing footage from some of the videos for each of the senses.”

Here is the final compilation

Thanks to Manny and his team for organizing the contest and to all contributing members for their submissions.

It is increasingly clear that vegetarian diets, whether exclusive, or predominantly so, are becoming more common.  It is also clear that they are essentially healthy diets in every respect, political ideology aside.  What has been of concern is the impact of vegetarian diets on children.  It appears that with some thought and planning, even a strict vegan diet can supply young children with all the nutrition needed for healthy growth and maturation.  Certainly, this view was not always the case.  Also, it is not likely that extreme vegetarianism will become the pre-dominant dietary choice – at least not in the near future.  However, it is reassuring to know that vegetarian choices are good not only for adults who so choose, but also for parents who may choose this for their children.  So eat those veggies, follow some common sense guidelines regarding essential nutrients, and choose the diet that best fits your dietary preferences . . . ben kazie md

It’s hard to pin down just how many people are eating vegetarian diets. For one thing, definitions vary. Some people call themselves vegetarian even if they occasionally eat fish or chicken, while others have stricter views. For another, statistics vary depending on how surveys are done. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has estimated that about 1.5% of adults followed a vegetarian diet in 2007, about the same number as in 2002. In 1994, the group estimated that 1% of American adults were true vegetarians, eating diets free of meat, fish and seafood. Today, about 3% of American adults (between 6 – 8 million people) avoid those foods, according to the vegetarian group’s 2009 poll of more than 2,000 people. There are also a growing number of people — kids included — who still eat meat but are eating less of it and choosing more typical vegetarian foods instead. Sales of processed vegetarian products, such as soy milk, soy yogurt and vegetarian breakfast sausages, totaled about $1.4 billion in 2008, according to the market research firm Mintel, up 15% from 2003. Close to one-third of adults say they ate a soy-based meat substitute in the last year, Mintel reports.

Vegetarian kids – http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-vegetarian-kids9-2009nov09,0,4323261.story?track=rss

Parents of preschoolers and school-age children often wonder whether a vegetarian diet is appropriate for their youngsters. Well-planned vegetarian diets — even a vegan diet — can supply all the nutrients that children require for their growth and energy needs. Parents should pay special attention to children’s calcium and iron intake. If your child doesn’t eat any meat, poultry, fish, eggs and dairy foods, be sure to find good food sources of protein, vitamin B12, vitamin D and zinc.

Is a Vegetarian Diet OK for Kids? – http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/home_16835_ENU_HTML.htm

It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence, and for athletes. A vegetarian diet is defined as one that does not include meat (including fowl) or seafood, or products containing those foods. This article reviews the current data related to key nutrients for vegetarians including protein, n-3 fatty acids, iron, zinc, iodine, calcium, and vitamins D and B-12. A vegetarian diet can meet current recommendations for all of these nutrients.

Vegetarian Diets – http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/advocacy_933_ENU_HTML.htm

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Chronic wounds are among the most difficult medical problems faced by physicians.  A variety of age old techniques ranging from basic local care, to exotic creams and tinctures, to various surgical procedures both simple and complex may be involved in caring for and hopefully resolving a chronic, slow to heal wound.  In the United States, where we have large populations with chronic cardiovascular disease and diabetes, chronic wounds are a challenge to the healer, the system and the economy.  Any advance in technique which may potential aid in the healing of these wounds is welcomed.  It seems that with the new therapy outlined below, there may be some additional help on the way.  Chronic leg wounds, such as venous stasis ulcer and foot wounds secondary to diabetic infections are among the most notorious of the slow healers.  The greatest risk in these cases is the that the wound, not responding, grows or becomes infected resulting in eventual amputation.  Often times, the amputation is actually a slow process with the patient looses a foot, then a lower limb, then the entire limb.   As always, the best treatment is prevention and patient and their doctors need to be vigilant in regard to any wound that is slow to heal . . . ben kazie md

Ultrasound is said to heal chronic wounds that don’t respond to other treatments

The treatment, called Mist Therapy, was developed by Celleration of Eden Prairie, Minn. It generated $10 million in sales last year for the ten-year-old company. Mist and biologically engineered skin grafts represent a new generation of what’s known as active wound healing technologies, aimed at the 6 million people suffering from chronic wounds. Mist is energy rather than a drug,” says Celleration’s technology chief, Kevin Nickels. Using a device that looks like a plant mister, physical therapists spray on the wound saline droplets that carry ultrasound energy produced by the device. Ultrasound is a high-frequency wave energy that, just like audible sound, travels more easily through water than air. Ultrasound dilates blood vessels and increases the flow of infection-fighting white blood cells and antibiotics. The energy also stimulates new blood vessel formation, which raises circulation, a crucial part of the healing process. It penetrates below the wound, where its high frequency vibrations destroy bacterial walls to fight infections.

Healing Power – http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2009/1116/health-wounds-medical-celleration-healing-power.html

Celleration, Inc – http://www.celleration.com/

MIST Therapy System – http://www.celleration.com/mist_therapy_system.html

MIST Therapy System – Acoustic Pressure Wound Therapy – http://www.celleration.com
/pdf/ML-66057_E_MIST_Therapy_Large_Sales_Presentation.pdf

Ultrasound Therapy for Recalcitrant Diabetic Foot Ulcers – Ostomy/Wound Management 2005;51(8):24-39 – http://www.celleration.com/pdf/Ennis_Ultrasound.pdf

Diabetic Complications and Amputations Prevention – http://www.footphysicians.com/footankleinfo/diabetic-amputations.htm

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Many people with chronic conditions successfully manage them with pills. This, however, is not the case for those of us living with Type 1 diabetes.

When first diagnosed I remember being told that the main issue with insulin is that it was a protein, and that as a consequence, it would be digested if taken in oral form. While there has been a number of attempts at alternative methods of delivery, we are still ultimately stuck with shots (or variations like a pump).

This may now be about to change. A group of scientists have combined nanotechnology and magnetism to create a delivery system that is simple, but extremely durable and accurate.

According to an article published in Diabetes Health, “The Boston researchers’ solution is a small implantable device, less than a half inch in diameter, that is placed in a patient’s body. The device contains a drug-filled membrane that is also embedded with nanoparticles of magnetite, a naturally magnetic mineral. The nanoparticles are about 1/100,000^th the width of a human hair.”

“The amount of the drug that a patient receives can be controlled by how long the magnetic field is applied. Longer pulses produce higher doses. Theoretically, diabetes patients using such a system would be able to self-administer insulin simply by passing a magnetic field near their implanted drug delivery devices for a set amount of time.”

An article published in August by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation has brought great news for those of us living with the big D.

According to the study “Thirty years of data from international trials show that the rate of serious complications amongst people with type 1 diabetes is lower that was has been reported historically.”

In another article published in a diabetes journal, it was reported that the main decline has been in mortality, renal failure and neuropathy. On the other hand overt nephropathy and proliferative retinopathy do not seem to be showing such positive signs.

The other odd issue in the report is around cardio vascular disease. The researchers observed a reduction in incidence in people who have had diabetes for 20 years, but this reduction seems to disappear in those who have lived with teh condition for more than 25 years

While a lot of this reduction seem to be driven by the adoption of intensive management, there is also significant progress coming from the development and use of new technologies including insulin pumps.

For me, and insulin pump is the best thing that could happen to me since becoming a diabetic. It has allowed be a level of flexibility and control that has never been possible before. With the pump I’ve been able to get as normal a life as a type 1 diabetic can have and I’ve been able to achieve nearly normal glucose levels with a fraction of the effort that it would take otherwise.

I wear a Medtronic Paradigm 522, and trust it with my life. Is exactly for that reason that recent news published in the canadian newspaper The Windsor Star where someone got killed by their pump.

Steven Krueger used an insulin pump for four years after nine years of daily injections, and according to his parents “it allowed him to accomplish things he otherwise would not have been able to do as a diabetic. He received his scuba diving certificate, completed the Red Cross Lifeguard Program and earned his recreational pilot’s licence.

Steven’s pump failed by giving him a lethal dose of insulin and he died in his sleep three years ago at the age of 27, while living in British Columbia. The cause of death was confirmed by the B.C. coroner’s office. Dr. Phillip Neufeld at the Health Canada lab in Ottawa tested the pump and confirmed the failure and cited some additional interesting facts regarding the Medtronic Minimed Paradigm infusion pump, model MMT-511 that Steven used.”

Other deaths by lethal insulin doses have been recorded in the past, but the pumps have never been tested and therefore, a solid link can not be established. I must admit, however, that the thought of my pump having the potential of killing me makes me nervous.

I can only hope that Medtronics newer pumps have corrected any potential issues…

Diabetes as a disease is a major cause of health expenditures in America.  Undiagnosed diabetes leads to more advanced disease with corresponding advanced damage to the heart, blood vessels, kidneys, eyes and other organs.  Thus, diabetes diagnosed late in its course is not only worse in terms of health outcomes but also in terms of episodic illnesses and injuries.  Proper screening and testing is essential for early detection, treatment and alteration of lifestyle and dietary factors where possible . . . ben kazie md

Study indicates undiagnosed diabetes may account for $18 billion in healthcare costs annually
Millions of Americans who have diabetes don’t even know they have the disease, but they run up an estimated $18 billion bill in healthcare costs annually. Researchers used data from more than 3 million people included in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to estimate costs and numbers of people in the US with undiagnosed diabetes, tabulating bills for treatment of various symptoms of the disease.  They found that about 6.3 million adults — about a fourth of the people in the US with diabetes — have the disease but haven’t been diagnosed.  This undiagnosed population accounts for about $18 billion in healthcare costs annually. Diabetes costs the American economy about $174 billion in medical care expenses and lost productivity. Medical costs associated with undiagnosed diabetes include $2.3 billion for cardiovascular disease, $720 million for hypertension, $443 million for kidney problems, and $293 million for neurological symptoms.

Risk factors for the development of diabetes
Family history
Age
Race/ethnicity
Dyslipidemia
Obesity
Hypertension
Prior gestational diabetes
Polycystic ovary syndrome
Physical inactivity
Inflammation
Prothrombotic factors

Costs Are High From Undiagnosed Diabetes – http://diabetes.webmd.com/news/20090508/costs-are-high-from-undiagnosed-diabetes

The Economic Costs of Undiagnosed Diabetes – http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1089/pop.2009.12202

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http://www.ingenix.com/Home/

http://www.diabetes.org/

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[From Scientists Step Closer To Helping Diabetics Regenerate Insulin Making Cells]

Today is July 14th, #14KWD Day, the day 14,000 people with diabetes will test their blood sugar at the same time and post the result on Twitter, Facebook, their blog, send via text message to others, etc. If you can’t post at the exact time, it’s okay to do it earlier or later. The point is to raise awareness about testing blood sugar and its importance so what are you waiting for?

Here are the testing times:

* 1:00 pm PT
* 2:00 pm MT
* 3:00 pm CT
* 4:00 pm ET
* 8:00 pm GMT

Connie, be ready to get a text from me around 3 PM!

Sleeping Too Little Increases Your Risk of Diabetes
DATE: May 15, 2009

People who get too little sleep, or too much, are far more likely to develop diabetes, say scientists. A study has found that those who did not enjoy the optimum level of seven to eight hours sleep a night were two and a half times more likely to develop a blood sugar abnormality linked to type 2 diabetes. Researchers who studied the habits of 276 volunteers over a six-year period said they did not know the cause.

The findings, published in the journal Sleep Medicine, suggest seven to eight hours’ sleep a night seems to be the ideal amount for adults to protect against common diseases and premature death. Scientists say they do not know the cause, but previous studies have shown a link between sleep patterns and obesity, cardiovascular disease and overall mortality. Obesity is known to be linked to diabetes, but the greater risk of diabetes due to sleeping habits remained even when obesity was taken into account. Previous research suggests sleep loss could disturb the production of hormones that control the desire for calorie-rich foods, hunger and energy expenditure.

Researcher Angelo Tremblay said ‘This study is a continuation of our recent investigations having focused on the relationship between sleep duration and the risk of obesity. ‘The greater risk towards diabetes that we document in our most recent paper remains significant even after a statistical adjustment for body mass index and waist circumference. ‘With respect to clinical implications, it is clear that the recommendation to seek an optimal sleep duration seems to be appropriate but for some individuals, it is easier to say than to do.’ Other surveys have revealed fewer and fewer people are getting the right amount of sleep. Around one third of the adult population regularly sleep five hours or fewer a night. The average night’s sleep is seven hours which research suggests is the ‘healthiest’ amount. It is possible the increased risk for long sleepers might be a symptom of impending health problems

I’ve read about the research that shows eating low glycemic foods helps blood sugar and I grasp the concept. What I don’t grasp is how/why some particular foods are low glycemic. Take beans, for example. Those little babies might be “good for us” but they spike me. So does most fruit. And oats or rice (unless its wild rice) ? Forget about it! But those are four foods considered to be low glycemic.

I suppose I need to experiment with those foods again, perhaps eating them in very small quantities to see how my body handles them. There are a few fruits I can eat between noon and four in the afternoon but not in the morning and not in the evening. Maybe some of these low glycemic foods that normally spike me will be like that. It sure would be nice to be able to add a few more foods to my diet, which gets pretty boring at times.

Terminally ill rodents with type 1 diabetes have been restored to full health with a single injection of a substance other than insulin by UT Southwestern Medical Center scientists.

Since the discovery of insulin in 1922, type 1 diabetes (insulin-dependent diabetes) in humans has been treated by injecting insulin to lower high blood sugar levels and prevent diabetic coma. New findings by UT Southwestern researchers, which appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggest that insulin isn’t the only agent that is effective. Leptin, a hormone produced by the body’s fat cells, also lowers blood glucose levels and maintains them in a normal range for extended periods, they found.

“The fact that these animals don’t die and are restored to normal health despite a total lack of insulin is hard for many researchers and clinicians to believe,” said Dr. Roger Unger, professor of internal medicine and senior author of the study. “Many scientists, including us, thought it would be a waste of time to give leptin in the absence of insulin. We’ve been brainwashed into thinking that insulin is the only substance that can correct the consequences of insulin deficiency.”

[From Scientists Discover Leptin Can Also Aid Type 1 Diabetics]

Techcrunch covers Wellsphere – acquisition by HealthCentral

Just to remind you, we’re a part of their blogging network. Not a really active part but I think we need to stay informed about what’s happening. Thoughts?

Source: http://www.columbiaspectator.com/2009/01/23/scientist-revives-research

New technological and scientific advances have allowed a Canadian genetics research company, Sembiosys Genetics, to develop a method to grow insulin in plants to be used by type 1 diabetics. Researchers at Sembiosys Genetics managed to insert insulin into a plant called a safflower thus causing the production of a compound called pro-insulin. After pro-insulin is produced, various enzymes are introduced to convert pro-insulin into a type of insulin known as SBS-100. Further testing of SBS-100 is required, but if successful, a new method of developing relatively low cost insulin will be discovered.

Source:http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20126902.500-insulin-grown-in-plants-gets-human-tests.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=online-news

Recent findings show that in Britain, a person is diagnosed with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes every 3 minutes! Actual statistics show that an estimated 150,000 people are diagnosed every year. This is an alarming figure because compared to the previous year that is a 50% increase (up from 100,000 newly diagnosed cases each year).

The majority of the newly diagnosed cases are in fact type 2 diabetes, the more common form of the disease. Experts attribute this increase in diabetes to unhealthy lifestyle habits. Increasing numbers of overweight citizens, and improper diet, and lack of exercise among Britain’s citizens are directly linked to this substantial increase in occurrences of the disease. Diabetes has been linked to other potentially deadly health problems including heard disease, stroke, and various neurological diseases.

These new statistics bring the total number of diabetics in Britain to around 2.5 million. While this figure is large in is not near the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate of 24 million people that have diabetes in the United States. Furthermore, experts estimate that 1 in 4 Britons are in fact obese.

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1106953/A-person-Britain-diagnosed-diabetes-THREE-minutes.html

For the next 16 weeks I’m going to be taking part in a research study testing the effectiveness of an insulin pump in type 2 diabetics. I go in next week to be fitted with a continuous insulin monitor. After one week of continuous monitoring, plus self-monitoring 6 or 7 times per day, I will be placed on an insulin pump for the duration of the study. They are hoping to demonstrate to the insurance companies that it is more cost-effective to pay for an insulin pump for a type 2 than to pay for the consequences of out-of-control blood glucose.

The Diabetes Talk Fest is rallying against the Insurance Companies. They are looking for supporters to assist them in gathering to fight against the insurance companies not assisting in purchase of Continuous Glucose Monitoring Systems!

These life saving devices are being denied to those who need it! IF you are interested in helping the cause you can visit Diabetes Talk Fest or Diabetes Health.

Until next time,

Smiles,

Hiya guys,

Got an email the other day from The 30-Day Diabetes Miracle that I thought some folk might be interested in. Up front, they are selling a product – their books and program. But the site also seems to have some good free resources and they are having a contest to give away the following:

The Lifestyle Center of America is offering one winner:

All-expenses paid travel to one of LCA’s campuses this fall

A 12-day residential stay to kick-start the new diet and lifestyle

Continued long-distance health coaching for the entire year

A digital video camera which will be used to chronicle the journey

Check it out for yourself if you like, let me know your opinion.

Medtronic Inc on Tuesday said it would eliminate about 1,100 jobs this year in businesses whose growth has slowed, including its flagship heart rhythm device unit.

This seems like bigger news to me than it’s being made out to be. Most of the articles I’ve seen are about other devices than the pumps – problems with recalls and possible kickbacks. Any pumpers hearing anything or having issues with the stability of Medtronic?

This article was sent to me by my fellow blogger, Ben who suggested that this might be an interesting article for readers. Seems so:

Pfizer Inc and said on Wednesday clinical trials of the inhaled insulin Exubera found increased cases of lung cancer, leading Nektar to stop seeking a marketing partner for the troubled product and abandon it.

I had hopes for Exubera. Did you?

Check this out.  Some laboratory tests suggest that obesity may be, in part, due to a physical abnormality in the brain.  There is even some evidence that this defect can be corrected with proper medication.  It’s an interesting article.

The New York Times reports that a study on heart disease and lowered blood sugar has been partially halted due to unexpected mortality.

For decades, researchers believed that if people with diabetes lowered their blood sugar to normal levels, they would no longer be at high risk of dying from heart disease. But a major federal study of more than 10,000 middle-aged and older people with Type 2 diabetes has found that lowering blood sugar actually increased their risk of death, researchers reported Wednesday.

The researchers announced that they were abruptly halting that part of the study, whose surprising results call into question how the disease, which affects 21 million Americans, should be managed.

Good lord. Can’t win, can’t break even, can’t get out of the game.

Stem cell transplant ‘cures’ diabetic mice
09 February 2008
Andy Coghlan
Magazine issue 2642
THE prospect of using transplants derived from stem cells to reverse diabetes has come a step closer with the news that the technique seems to work in mice.

A team from Novocell in San Diego, California, told a stem cell conference in Evry, France, last week that this is the first hint therapies derived from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) might cure type 1 diabetes. The only existing treatments for people with this autoimmune disease are regular insulin, or islet-cell transplants from cadavers.

The Novocell team grew hESCs – the embryonic cells from which all the body’s tissues originate – in the lab until they differentiated into insulin-producing islet cells. They then injected these cells into the abdomens or backs of mice whose own islet cells had been destroyed, to see if they could regulate glucose concentrations in the animals’ blood.

[From Stem cell transplant 'cures' diabetic mice - health - 09 February 2008 - New Scientist]

I keep recommending joining Lifescan’s One Touch Gold even if you don’t use a One Touch meter. They have downloadable books every month or so. This month’s book is about dealing with the emotional part of diabetes. It’s a brief overview but worth reading.