Hyperbaric wound treatment, often for diabetics, is booming. Is that a good thing?
The American Diabetes Association does not recommend the treatment. After an ADA committee of experts in diabetes care reviewed the available research last year, it concluded there was “not enough supporting data on the efficacy of this treatment to recommend its use,” said William Cefalu, the association’s chief medical officer.
Some experts say hyperbaric therapy’s increased use for diabetic wounds owes more to hospitals’ pursuit of Medicare revenue than to the treatment’s proven value. (read more)
Sweat monitor could help management and diagnosis of diabetes
The researchers, from the University of Texas at Dallas, are working on devices that will help to manage and regulate type II diabetes, a growing problem not only in the US and UK but increasingly in India. Their wearable biosensor can take measurements every hour for up to a week, giving users and clinicians valuable feedback on whether measures they are taking to manage their condition are effective. (read more)
Oral insulin may delay type 1 diabetes onset in ‘responders’
Close relatives of people with type 1 diabetes who had certain autoantibodies believed to put them at high risk of progression to clinical type 1 diabetes did not benefit from taking oral insulin vs placebo, in a new trial. The participants were mostly children and adolescents, with a median age of 8.
However, “surprisingly,” among a small subset of participants with the same autoantibodies against islet cells but with low insulin secretion, those who received insulin tablets were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 2.5 years later than those who got placebo. (read more)
