Diabetes Medication May Reduce Alzheimer’s Damage
BY DON RAUF: Type 2 diabetes may raise the risk of getting Alzheimer’s disease, but in people with both diseases, taking anti-diabetes medication to lower blood glucose levels throughout the body may limit some of the damaging effects of Alzheimer’s in the brain, a recent study found.
In a recent postmortem (after death) investigation, published on November 1, 2018, in the journal PloS One, scientists found that Alzheimer’s patients with type 2 diabeteswho had been taking diabetes drugs had many fewer abnormalities in their brain capillaries and in the endothelial cells that line the blood vessel walls compared with Alzheimer’s patients who weren’t on these drugs. (read more)
Diabetes type 2 warning: Does your breath smell like this? How to check risk in your mouth
BY MATT ATHERTON: Diabetes is a common condition that affects around 3.7 million people in the UK.
Around 90 per cent of all diabetes cases are caused by type 2 diabetes, when the pancreas is not producing enough insulin, or the body is not reacting to insulin.
Common diabetes symptoms include having cuts or wounds that take longer to heal than normal, blurred vision, and extreme fatigue.
But, you could also be at risk of the high blood sugar condition if you have bad breath. (read more)
Type 2 diabetes: Six foods to help control your blood sugar and avoid diabetes symptoms
BY KAROLINA KAMINSKA: Eating the right kind of diet is important for people with diabetes, as some foods can make symptoms worse, while others can help improve the condition.
According to Dr Ayesha Akbar, consultant gastroenterologist from The London Digestive Centre at The Princess Grace Hospital, a “sensible diabetes diet” involves a healthy-eating plan that is low in fat, sugar and salt, and packed with fresh fruit and vegetables.
“No single food group contains all the essential nutrients that a diabetic needs, so it’s important to consume a range of foods from each of the main food groups in moderation,” said Dr Akbar.
Dr Akbar recommends people with diabetes include the following six foods in their diet. (read more)
Cannabis tied to serious type 1 diabetes complications
BY LISA RAPAPORT: People with type 1 diabetes may be more likely to develop potentially fatal complications when they use cannabis, a recent study suggests.
Researchers surveyed 450 patients with type 1 diabetes in Colorado, where cannabis is legal for medical and recreational use. Overall, 30 percent of the participants used cannabis.
Compared to nonusers, cannabis users had about twice the risk of experiencing a serious complication known as diabetic ketoacidosis, which develops when blood sugar is elevated for too long and the body produces high levels of acids known as ketones. Left untreated, ketoacidosis can lead to severe dehydration, swelling in the brain, coma and death. (read more)
CDC: Prevalence of diabetes in pregnancy rising in US
BY REGINA SCHAFFER: The prevalence of both gestational diabetes and preexisting diabetes before pregnancy in the United States increased slightly between 2012 and 2016, with rates varying widely by race, jurisdiction and prepregnancy BMI, according to study findings published in the Nov. 2 issue of the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
In an analysis of birth data from the National Vital Statistics System across 40 jurisdictions in the U.S., researchers found that age- and race-standardized prevalence of preexisting diabetes was stable at 0.8%, whereas the prevalence of gestational diabetes increased from 5.2% to 5.6%. However, prevalence varied by all characteristics examined, according to the researchers, including race, prepregnancy BMI and jurisdiction. For example, the prevalence of gestational diabetes was highest among Asian women at 11.1% in 2016, whereas the 2016 prevalence of preexisting diabetes was highest among Native American and Alaskan native women at 2.1%. Among women with class III obesity, prevalence of preexisting and gestational diabetes was 3.2% and 13.9%, respectively, whereas prevalence among underweight women was 0.3% and 2.9%, respectively. (read more)
