Your Lifestyle Could Be Giving You Type 2 Diabetes by Changing Your DNA
BY MIKE MCRAE: Changes to the expression of a gene responsible for managing important chemical messengers that keep glucose and fat metabolism in check could be behind the development of a number of cases of type 2 diabetes.
A new study has advanced earlier research that showed low levels of a protein that bound to insulin-like growth factors made it more likely that mice developed type 2 diabetes. By finding the same effect in humans, we might be able to spot the disease earlier, and maybe even prevent its onset. (read more)
Medicare steps up the fight against diabetes
BY BOB MOOS: Diabetes affects as many as 1 in 4 older adults with Medicare. It costs hundreds of billions of dollars to treat and results in the loss of tens of thousands of lives every year.
If we could better control diabetes, we’d be taking a leap toward creating a healthier America.
Diabetes occurs when your body doesn’t make enough insulin or doesn’t respond to the insulin it does make. Insulin is what your body uses to process sugar and turn it into energy. When too much sugar stays in your blood, it can lead to serious complications and even life-threatening problems, including heart disease, strokes and kidney damage. (read more)
This Is How Diabetes Can Affect Your Eyes
BY KORIN MILLER: When you think of type 1 and type 2 diabetes, it’s only natural to also think of high blood sugar. But do you know why prolonged high blood sugar is even a problem to begin with?
It turns out that ripple effects from diabetes-induced high blood sugar can harm so many physiological systems, including the eyes in a phenomenon known as diabetic eye disease. Here’s what you need to know about it, plus how to lower the odds it will happen to you.(read more)
ADA, AHA launch ‘Know Diabetes by Heart’ initiative
BY HEALIO: The American Diabetes Association and the American Heart Association have announced a joint, multiyear partnership to raise awareness about the increased risk for cardiovascular disease among those living with type 2 diabetes.
The Know Diabetes by Heart initiative, officially launched Thursday, includes a new website, www.KnowDiabetesByHeart.org, with resources for those with type 2 diabetes, including education materials on the increased risk for CVD. The site also includes a risk awareness quiz and a discussion guide with “conversation starters” for patients’ next appointment with their health care provider. (read more)
The Secret Link Between Sleep and Diabetes
BY CHRISTINE COPELAN: Rest is best—especially if you’re trying to curb a diabetes diagnosis.
Just one sleepless night could increase your risk for Type 2 diabetes, according to a study in the American Journal of Physiology—Endocrinology and Metabolism. Researchers at Toho University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan found that sleep-deprived mice had higher blood glucose levels and fat content in the liver—both of which are linked to insulin resistance and diabetes. (read more)
