Family history of diabetes linked to increased bone mineral density
BY THE NORTH AMERICAN MENOPAUSE SOCIETY: Because patients with type 2 diabetes are at an increased risk of fracture, understanding the early pathophysiology of altered BMD could be critical in the development of preventive strategies for diabetic osteoporosis. Although strong evidence has revealed normal to high BMD in most patients with type 2 diabetes, no data have been published, to date, that demonstrate whether BMD is altered in persons with a first-degree family history of diabetes.
In this new study involving nearly 900 normoglycemic postmenopausal women, it was found that the BMD of the lumbar spine and femoral neck was significantly higher in participants with a first-degree family history of diabetes than in those without such history, even in women with normal blood glucose levels. These same participants additionally showed increased insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia.
Findings were published in the article “Association of bone mineral density with a first-degree family history of diabetes in normoglycemic postmenopausal women.” (read more)
Diabetes overtreatment seriously endangers health
BY MARIA COHUT: People with diabetes, particularly those with type 1 diabetes, may have an increased risk of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) if they receive too much glucose lowering therapy. New research now warns that many people with diabetes face that risk.
In 2018, Medical News Today reported on a study warning that many people with type 2 diabetes may be overmonitoring their glucose levels, which may lead to the misuse of tests and supply waste.
Now, new research from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, warns that the United States faces a much more dangerous problem: the overtreatment of diabetes.
According to the study paper — which now appears in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings — many people receive too much glucose lowering therapy. (read more)
What drives inflammation in type 2 diabetes? Not glucose, says new research
BY THE UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY: To date, the underlying causes of inflammation in obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) have been poorly understood, which has hampered efforts to develop treatments to prevent complications from a disease that is the third leading cause of death in the United States.
But new research at the University of Kentucky shows that changes to mitochondria — the powerhouse of cells — drive chronic inflammation from cells exposed to certain types of fats, shattering the prevailing assumption that glucose was the culprit.
Chronic inflammation fuels many of the devastating complications of type 2 diabetes, including cardiovascular, kidney, and periodontal diseases, and is thus one of the key targets for therapy development. This new data may enlighten the conversation about tight glycemic control as the dominant treatment goal for people with diabetes.
The research was recently published in Cell Metabolism by a team led by Barbara Nikolajczyk (UK Barnstable Brown Diabetes Center, Department of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences) and Douglas Lauffenberger (MIT Department of Biological Engineering).
(read more)
Many People with Diabetes Can’t Afford ‘Good’ Insulin. What Should They Know About Switching to the Cheaper Stuff?
BY LAURA GREGGEL: Josh Wilkerson began taking over-the-counter insulin for his type 1 diabetes when he aged off his stepfather’s health insurance policy at age 26. But compared with the insulin Wilkerson had previously taken, the less expensive medication was difficult to use and left more room for error. Within a year, the young man — who was saving money for his upcoming wedding — was dead, according to reporting by The Washington Post.
As the price of insulin surges, heartbreaking stories like Wilkerson’s are becoming more common. Some people with diabetes in the U.S. travel to Mexico or Canada, where insulin is sold at a fraction of the U.S. cost. Others ration insulin, a risky move that can lead to a host of medical problems, including mood swings, severe dehydration, increased infection risk, kidney and eye problems, limb amputation and even death.
In many cases, people like Wilkerson switch from the expensive but easier-to-use “analogue” human insulins to the more-difficult-to-use traditional insulins (we’ll explain the difference later) but then struggle to correctly time and partition each dose. Here’s why this switch can be so challenging and how medical professionals can help patients do it safely. (read more)
As more children adopt diabetes technology, schools must share best practices
BY HEALIO: Children with diabetes and their families are seeing improved health outcomes and better quality of life as they adopt newer diabetes technologies. However, the schools in which these children spend a substantial portion of their day are often under-resourced and under-informed about technology.
Diabetes care providers must empower families by writing orders for them to share with schools and also help to educate and train school staffs to offer effective education in a safe environment.
“We need to accomplish this as a community-wide effort and locally,” Anastasia Albanese-O’Neill, PhD, APRN, CDE, director of diabetes education and clinic operations in the division of pediatric endocrinology at the University of Florida, told Endocrine Today. “Communication and working in partnership will be important because there will be a lot of change in diabetes technology over the next decade.”
Albanese-O’Neill, who is an Endocrine Today Editorial Board Member, discussed the diabetes technologies children are using and their benefits, as well as resources for schools serving these students. (read more)
