BY JUDY HUCH: Dr. Ronny Jackson has been named head of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. He has no experience in hospital management but hopefully a system led by a physician can focus attention on chronic illnesses such as diabetes.
There are 29.1 million Americans who are currently diagnosed with diabetes, of these half have a significant hearing loss statistically. In the veteran’s population, diabetes is three times more prevalent than in the general population. Around 25 percent of those who receive care at the VA are diagnosed with this chronic disease. (read more)
KLF14 gene may increase risk of type 2 diabetes
BY DRUG TARGET REVIEW: Scientists have identified a gene that in women is linked to the creation and location of new fat cells and therefore is thought to contribute to the risk of type 2 diabetes.
The researchers found that genetic variations that control KLF14 were associated with where in the body excess fat was stored. In women, versions of the gene that result in fat being stored around the hips, rather than the abdomen, were linked to a lower risk of diabetes. (read more)
FDA permits marketing of artificial intelligence-based device to detect certain diabetes-related eye problems
BY ANGELA STARK: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today permitted marketing of the first medical device to use artificial intelligence to detect greater than a mild level of the eye disease diabetic retinopathy in adults who have diabetes.
Diabetic retinopathy occurs when high levels of blood sugar lead to damage in the blood vessels of the retina, the light-sensitive tissue in the back of the eye. Diabetic retinopathy is the most common cause of vision loss among the more than 30 million Americans living with diabetes and the leading cause of vision impairment and blindness among working-age adults. (read more)
Vitamin D could improve inflammation in type-2 diabetes: Meta-analysis
BY TIM CUTCLIFFE: Published in Nutrition Reviews, the meta-analysis of 20 randomised controlled trials (RCTs) revealed lower levels of three inflammatory markers in patients with type 2 diabetes ( T2D) who were supplemented with vitamin D, found the research team from Monash University, Melbourne.
Compared with controls, vitamin-D supplemented patients had lower levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFA) and erthrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). The researchers also found higher levels of the hormone leptin, which works to suppress hunger. (read more)
Blood Pressure Targets in Type 2 Diabetes: Latest Research
BY JASENKA PILJAC ZEGARAC: Research shows that treatment with antihypertensive medications in patients with type 2 diabetes and hypertension is effective in reducing the risk for adverse cardiovascular(CV) and renal outcomes. However, current guidelines provide varying recommendations for target blood pressure (BP) in this population. As new clinical evidence becomes available, the debate over more conservative BP control (systolic BP <120-130 mm Hg) in patients with type 2 diabetes continues.
Endocrinology Advisor discussed the emerging research on this topic with William C. Cushman, MD, FAHA, FACP, chief of the preventive medicine section at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center and professor in the department of preventive medicine, medicine, and physiology at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, both in Memphis, and Rhonda Cooper-DeHoff, PharmD, MS, FAHA, FACC, FCCP, associate professor and university term professor in the department of pharmacotherapy and translational research and division of cardiovascular medicine at the University of Florida in Gainesville. (read more)
