Monthly Archives: June 2006

Having a relatively high blood pressure level at night may increase the risk for congestive heart failure, according to a study in the June 28 issue of JAMA.

Scientists have discovered what may be a successful non-dietary therapy for celiac sprue, an inherited inflammatory disorder of the small intestine that impacts an estimated 1 in 200 people around the world.

Black women, even if their weight is normal, may be at increased risk for insulin resistance, a condition associated with diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart vessel disease, according to new research by Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

Populations in rural India may be set for an epidemic of diabetes according to new research conducted by The George Institute for International Health and published today in Diabetes Care.

Scientists are making headway in exploring the potential future use of stem cells to treat heart disease, according to a review article in the current issue of Nature.

Researchers at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health have found drinking decaffeinated coffee may lower a person's risk for type 2 diabetes.

Nerve signals relayed directly to the pancreas after eating a meal play a critical role in normal blood sugar control, according to a report in Cell Metabolism. Therefore, drugs that increase the sensitivity to such signals might offer a new approach to diabetes treatment, the researchers said.

Obesity is under-diagnosed in people with diabetes overall and especially in African-Americans, even though both conditions are more prevalent in African-Americans than whites, a new study finds.

A recent study in the Journal of Biological Chemistry confirms that mutations in an enzyme called glutamate dehydrogenase can cause congenital hyperinsulinism.

Study notes that type 2 diabetes accounts for up to 95 percent of all diabetes cases and virtually all undiagnosed diabetes cases.

Researchers have identified an unsuspected role of a protein named SHP-1 that could constitute a new therapeutic path against Type 2 Diabetes.

Non-traumatic amputations – those caused by arterial blockages related to diabetes, smoking, obesity and vascular system complications – are occurring at an alarming rate. Yet physicians may be too quick to amputate as 85 percent of them may be preventable.

A potentially ground-breaking treatment for nerve damage caused by diabetes has shown promising results in preclinical and early patient trials.

The landmark Diabetes Control and Complications Trial showed conclusively that tight blood glucose control significantly reduces the risk of developing complications of diabetes such as eye, kidney and nerve disease. But the DCCT also showed that tight control -- achieved by taking three or more insulin injections daily -- can come at a cost.

Children with type 1 diabetes who exercise regularly may have improved blood glucose levels compared with those who do not, and regular physical activity does not appear to increase the risk of severe hypoglycemia (low blood glucose levels).

A Gardenia fruit extract traditionally used in Chinese medicine to treat the symptoms of type 2 diabetes does indeed contain a chemical that reverses some of the pancreatic dysfunctions that underlie the disease, researchers report in Cell Metabolism. The chemical therefore represents a useful starting point for new diabetes therapies, they said.