Type 1 Diabetes May Develop More Slowly Than Thought

TUESDAY, Feb. 21 (HealthDay News) -- Insulin production may continue for decades after the onset of type 1 diabetes, according to a new study.

The findings add to growing evidence that the period of time for treatment after the onset of the disease is longer than previously believed, the Massachusetts General Hospital researchers said.

"Traditionally, it was thought that beta cell function completely ceased in patients with advanced type 1 diabetes. However, data from this study and others suggest that the pancreas continues to function at some level even decades after the onset of type 1 diabetes," study leader Dr. Denise Faustman, director of the MGH Immunobiology Laboratory, said in a hospital news release.

Beta cells are a type of cell in the pancreas that produce and store insulin.

The researchers analyzed blood samples from 182 patients with type 1 diabetes and found that C-peptide production can continue for decades after disease onset and remains responsive to blood sugar levels. C-peptide is a marker of insulin secretion/beta cell function.

C-peptide levels were lower in patients who had type 1 diabetes for a longer time, but the decrease was gradual and not the sudden decline believed to occur in people with the disease.

Even among patients who'd had type 1 diabetes for 31 to 40 years, 10 percent still produced C-peptide and beta cell functioning remained intact at very low C-peptide levels, according to the study in the March issue of the journal Diabetes Care.

Researchers say the new findings suggest that type 1 diabetes patients with low C-peptide levels or advanced disease may benefit from new treatments to preserve or enhance beta cell function.

"Our results contribute to a growing body of evidence suggesting there might be a longer window for therapeutic intervention in this disease and also may help explain the transient restoration of insulin production we saw in patients who received BCG (the generic drug bacillus Calmette-Guerin) in our phase 1 clinical trial," Faustman said.

More information

Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International has more about type 1 diabetes.

View the original article here

4 New Genes Linked to Type 2 Diabetes

THURSDAY, Feb. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Four new genes associated with type 2 diabetes have been identified by researchers, who also pinpointed six independent diabetes-associated gene variants at previously known locations on chromosomes.

These findings, from an analysis of 50,000 genetic variants across 2,000 genes linked to heart and metabolic function, appear in the Feb. 9 issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics.

The results offer valuable insight into the genetic risk for type 2 diabetes in multiple ethnic groups and could help lead to new treatments, according to a journal news release.

A number of environmental and genetic factors are associated with type 2 diabetes.

"Together, known [type 2 diabetes] genetic variants explain only about 10 percent of the genetic variance, indicating that additional genetic factors are likely to contribute to disease risk," senior study co-author Dr. Brendan Keating, of The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, said in the news release.

"Further, previous studies have been based almost exclusively on individuals of European ancestry, and genetic contributors to [type 2 diabetes] are less well understood in non-European populations," he added. "An important first step towards understanding genetic risk across populations is to establish whether known [diabetes-associated] genes span ethnicities or are population-specific."

Keating and an international team of colleagues analyzed 39 multiethnic studies on type 2 diabetes that included more than 17,000 people with diabetes and 70,000 people without the disease.

"As a result of our large-scale genetic analysis, we uncovered previously unknown European and multiethnic genetic variants and confirmed that, together, known genetic risk factors influence [type 2 diabetes] risk in multiethnic populations, including African-Americans, Hispanics and Asians," senior co-author Richa Saxena, of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, said in the release.

Saxena said that identifying new genes associated with type 2 diabetes in diverse ethnic groups could eventually guide strategies for developing treatments.

More information

For more on type 2 diabetes, go to Medline.

View the original article here

Short Breaks During Exercise OK for Diabetes Control: Study

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Taking short breaks while exercising, or "intermittent" exercise, is an effective way to improve insulin sensitivity and blood sugar control in people with type 2 diabetes, according to a new British study.

The researchers also found that exercising in a low-oxygen (hypoxic) environment improves blood sugar control more than intermittent exercise alone.

The study results were released online in advance of publication in the April print issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

Previous studies have focused on how continuous aerobic exercise and resistance exercise affect blood sugar (glucose) in people with type 2 diabetes. Few studies have assessed the effects of intermittent exercise, the researchers said.

"Current guidelines suggest that health benefits can be gained when patients with type 2 diabetes spend 30 minutes exercising each day, but published data has failed to show intermittent exercise to be effective," lead author Richard Mackenzie, of the University of Westminster in London, said in a news release from the Endocrine Society.

"Here we have shown that intermittent exercise seems to improve the glucose profiles of type 2 diabetics with a greater positive effect when intermittent exercise is combined with mild hypoxia, similar to doing the exercise at altitudes of 2,500 meters" (more than 8,000 feet), he added.

The study included eight men with type 2 diabetes who did three types of exercise routines: 60 minutes of continuous exercise in a low-oxygen environment; intermittent exercise in a low-oxygen environment; and intermittent exercise in a normal oxygen environment. Those in the intermittent groups had periodic 5-minute rest breaks.

The researchers found that both intermittent and continuous exercise with and without hypoxia led to improvements in the patients' insulin sensitivity.

"A combination of moderately reduced oxygen levels with exercise can significantly improve the body's ability to respond to insulin in type 2 diabetic patients over exercise alone," Mackenzie said in the news release. The findings suggest that it may be possible to use exercise in a low-oxygen environment for treatment of type 2 diabetes, he added.

More information

The American Diabetes Association has more about exercise.

View the original article here

When Mom Has Pregnancy Diabetes, Breast-Feeding Curbs Child Obesity

FRIDAY, Feb. 10 (HealthDay News) -- Breast-feeding reduces the risk of obesity in children born to mothers with diabetes during their pregnancy, a new study indicates.

Researchers followed 94 children of diabetic mothers and 399 children of non-diabetic mothers from birth until age 13.

It's known that children of diabetic pregnancies are at increased risk for obesity. The Colorado School of Public Health researchers wanted to assess how breast-feeding affected the growth of body-mass index (BMI), an indicator of childhood obesity.

The study found that children of diabetic pregnancies who were breast-fed for at least six months had a slower BMI growth as they grew older than those who were breast-fed for less than six months. The study found similar results in children of non-diabetic pregnancies.

The study was published online recently in the International Journal of Obesity.

"Breast-feeding support represents an important clinical and public health strategy to reduce the risk of childhood obesity," study author and epidemiologist Tessa Crume said in a University of Colorado Denver news release.

The findings offer another reason to encourage and support mothers to breast-feed for at least six months, the time recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the release said.

"We can work with pediatricians, obstetricians and the public health community to give these women targeted support immediately following birth," Crume said.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about childhood overweight and obesity.

View the original article here

When Mom Has Pregnancy Diabetes, Breast-Feeding Curbs Child Obesity

FRIDAY, Feb. 10 (HealthDay News) -- Breast-feeding reduces the risk of obesity in children born to mothers with diabetes during their pregnancy, a new study indicates.

Researchers followed 94 children of diabetic mothers and 399 children of non-diabetic mothers from birth until age 13.

It's known that children of diabetic pregnancies are at increased risk for obesity. The Colorado School of Public Health researchers wanted to assess how breast-feeding affected the growth of body-mass index (BMI), an indicator of childhood obesity.

The study found that children of diabetic pregnancies who were breast-fed for at least six months had a slower BMI growth as they grew older than those who were breast-fed for less than six months. The study found similar results in children of non-diabetic pregnancies.

The study was published online recently in the International Journal of Obesity.

"Breast-feeding support represents an important clinical and public health strategy to reduce the risk of childhood obesity," study author and epidemiologist Tessa Crume said in a University of Colorado Denver news release.

The findings offer another reason to encourage and support mothers to breast-feed for at least six months, the time recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the release said.

"We can work with pediatricians, obstetricians and the public health community to give these women targeted support immediately following birth," Crume said.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about childhood overweight and obesity.

View the original article here

4 New Genes Linked to Type 2 Diabetes

THURSDAY, Feb. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Four new genes associated with type 2 diabetes have been identified by researchers, who also pinpointed six independent diabetes-associated gene variants at previously known locations on chromosomes.

These findings, from an analysis of 50,000 genetic variants across 2,000 genes linked to heart and metabolic function, appear in the Feb. 9 issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics.

The results offer valuable insight into the genetic risk for type 2 diabetes in multiple ethnic groups and could help lead to new treatments, according to a journal news release.

A number of environmental and genetic factors are associated with type 2 diabetes.

"Together, known [type 2 diabetes] genetic variants explain only about 10 percent of the genetic variance, indicating that additional genetic factors are likely to contribute to disease risk," senior study co-author Dr. Brendan Keating, of The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, said in the news release.

"Further, previous studies have been based almost exclusively on individuals of European ancestry, and genetic contributors to [type 2 diabetes] are less well understood in non-European populations," he added. "An important first step towards understanding genetic risk across populations is to establish whether known [diabetes-associated] genes span ethnicities or are population-specific."

Keating and an international team of colleagues analyzed 39 multiethnic studies on type 2 diabetes that included more than 17,000 people with diabetes and 70,000 people without the disease.

"As a result of our large-scale genetic analysis, we uncovered previously unknown European and multiethnic genetic variants and confirmed that, together, known genetic risk factors influence [type 2 diabetes] risk in multiethnic populations, including African-Americans, Hispanics and Asians," senior co-author Richa Saxena, of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, said in the release.

Saxena said that identifying new genes associated with type 2 diabetes in diverse ethnic groups could eventually guide strategies for developing treatments.

More information

For more on type 2 diabetes, go to Medline.

View the original article here

Short Breaks During Exercise OK for Diabetes Control: Study

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Taking short breaks while exercising, or "intermittent" exercise, is an effective way to improve insulin sensitivity and blood sugar control in people with type 2 diabetes, according to a new British study.

The researchers also found that exercising in a low-oxygen (hypoxic) environment improves blood sugar control more than intermittent exercise alone.

The study results were released online in advance of publication in the April print issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

Previous studies have focused on how continuous aerobic exercise and resistance exercise affect blood sugar (glucose) in people with type 2 diabetes. Few studies have assessed the effects of intermittent exercise, the researchers said.

"Current guidelines suggest that health benefits can be gained when patients with type 2 diabetes spend 30 minutes exercising each day, but published data has failed to show intermittent exercise to be effective," lead author Richard Mackenzie, of the University of Westminster in London, said in a news release from the Endocrine Society.

"Here we have shown that intermittent exercise seems to improve the glucose profiles of type 2 diabetics with a greater positive effect when intermittent exercise is combined with mild hypoxia, similar to doing the exercise at altitudes of 2,500 meters" (more than 8,000 feet), he added.

The study included eight men with type 2 diabetes who did three types of exercise routines: 60 minutes of continuous exercise in a low-oxygen environment; intermittent exercise in a low-oxygen environment; and intermittent exercise in a normal oxygen environment. Those in the intermittent groups had periodic 5-minute rest breaks.

The researchers found that both intermittent and continuous exercise with and without hypoxia led to improvements in the patients' insulin sensitivity.

"A combination of moderately reduced oxygen levels with exercise can significantly improve the body's ability to respond to insulin in type 2 diabetic patients over exercise alone," Mackenzie said in the news release. The findings suggest that it may be possible to use exercise in a low-oxygen environment for treatment of type 2 diabetes, he added.

More information

The American Diabetes Association has more about exercise.

View the original article here

After diabetes diagnosis, US celebrity chef feels heat

US cooking star Paula Deen, self-proclaimed "Queen of Southern Cuisine" famous for her dishes smothered in butter, has met a storm of outrage after revealing she has diabetes and is hawking a drug to treat the disease.

Deen, who famously showed off trademark high-fat, high-calorie meals including such creations as a hamburger wedged between a doughnut, was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes three years ago -- but continued her show on the Food Network promoting what critics slammed as an outrageously unhealthy diet.

Detractors have lambasted the jovial cooking host in a country that is battling an obesity epidemic. According to recent studies one-in-three adults in America are obese, as are one-in-six children -- a grave, growing problem despite efforts to combat it with healthy eating campaigns.

Further sullying her image, however, 64-year-old Deen came out last month as a spokesperson for the pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk and its diabetes treatment Victoza, hawking the drug in a new campaign "Diabetes in a New Light."

Fellow US cooking celebrity Anthony Bourdain, a chef and host of Travel Channel show "No Reservations," took to Twitter to vent over Deen's decision.

"Thinking of getting into the leg-breaking business, so I can profitably sell crutches later," he quipped on the popular microblogging site.

Amid the US obesity crisis, Bourdain has laid into Deen before, due to her high-fat creations calling her "the worst, most dangerous person to America."

Known as "The Lady," Deen has become something of an institution for her heavy, no-apologies approach to cuisine, with a decade-long cooking show, 15 cookbooks, a well-known restaurant in Savannah, Georgia and a profitable lines of cooking wares sold in stores and online.

She has garnered a reputation for heavy, rich, fried southern dishes -- cooking up a combination of almost anything with the most butter, cream, sugar.

On savory dishes, she famously piles high the meat, heavily salted, drawing accusations of being in cahoots with giant meat firms that have in turn been blamed for rising cases of diabetes in the United States in recent years.

Her move to join "big pharma" and tout a diabetes drug has caused an uproar, not least because US authorities had approved the treatment Victoza in January 2010 despite evidence of a link to thyroid cancer. It also costs hundreds of dollars a month, compared to similar, less expensive options.

"I am here today to let the world know that it is not a death sentence," Deen said in announcing her diabetes diagnosis.

There was, however, little sympathy for her from fans and critics alike.

She had waited "three years before revealing she had developed diabetes -- three years of serving up ever-more carb-and-fat laden meals, dragging her legions down with her. And then, voila! She has the "magic bullet," ready for them to pop in their mouth," wrote one outraged viewer on an Internet forum.

Those closest to her meanwhile reportedly jumped ship over her decision to campaign for the dubious diabetes drug -- her publicist Nancy Assuncao Sanchez is said to have quit over the move.

Even her sons are apparently "furious" with her. The New York Post said Deen's children Jamie and Bobby -- the latter also hosts a cooking show called "Not My Mama's Meals" -- were worried that switching from a successful treatment to the new drug, for the sake of some millions of dollars in the endorsement deal, could endanger her health further.

Her defenders, however, pointed out the problem was not with Deen.

"She is not responsible for how people eat," insisted one commentator Gary Finger, on a blog for USA Today, saying she was simply geared towards giving people what they already wanted.

View the original article here