Archive for the 'Research' Category

Pregnancy and Diabetes

diabetes13.jpgHaving diabetes during pregnancy cause certain risk such as miscarriage, stillbirth or birth defects. That’s why years ago, doctors are advising women who are diagnosed with diabetes not to get pregnant. However, these threats or risks can be reduced through proper observation and intake control of sugar. It’s better to consult your doctor and have a complete medical checkup if you plan to get pregnant to identify any complications. At the same time to avoid any impediment during pregnancy, be sure to achieve proper diet, have a regular exercise (consult your doctor about this), control of insulin, and watching signs of dangerous fluctuations in glucose.

November 01 2009 | Research | No Comments »

Diabetes Undiagnosed – High Health Care Costs

diabetesIn the US, there is and estimated 6.3 million people who are living each and every day without even knowing they had diabetes and that undiagnosed number accounts for $18 Billion dollar in health care expenses each and every year. This is the danger of diabetes which if left unmanaged, tends to get out of hand, late discovery is a sure way to get it beyond control and can even lead to death. The situation is critical enough for the government and private pharmaceutical groups to start investing money into the diagnostics industry where cheap and fast diagnostic tools can be developed for the general public. Most of these unknown’s are discovered after unscheduled visits such as in cases of emergency or through annual blood-work needed by companies. Late discovery is assured chances of having late stages where the liver is totally unable to cope with the needs for insulin often leading to death. continue reading »

March 13 2009 | Care and General and Information and Research | No Comments »

Rheumatoid Arthritis Drug Prevents Diabetes

arthritis1Many people suffer from rheumatoid arthritis, an often debilitating disease that results from swelling of the joints making movement painful and slow. A drug used to treat the said disease hydroxychloroquinine, has been found to have a desirable side effect on the prevention of diabetes, another disease that affects millions the world over. Initially designed to treat malaria, the drug was then found to have use with arthritis and many other auto immune diseases. In patients who use the said drug, more than 50% drop in development of diabetes has been noted making this another avenue to follow as a cure for diabetes.
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January 30 2009 | General and Information and Research | No Comments »

How to Keep Your Kids Diabetes-Free


image source: www.topnews.in

Here are some ways to help your child stay healthy:
Parents can help their kids stay a healthy weight by limiting video games and television time to an hour or two a day. Creating opportunities to have fun without electronic diversions can be a family undertaking. Dancing to music or working with art supplies are all ways to fire a child’s imagination. Turning off the TV can help kids become more plugged in to the world around them. Let kids earn their TV time. For every minute they play outside, they can watch one minute of television. Thirty minutes of outdoor play will buy them a favorite half-hour television show later that day. Encouraging sports that the whole family can participate in can go a long way toward encouraging kids to be active. Some kids feel self-conscious when they are overweight and don’t want to participate in team sports. They might feel that they won’t be able to keep up, or that they’ll let the team down.

August 09 2008 | Camp and Care and Exercise and Fun Run and General and Information and Open Letter and Research and Tips | No Comments »

Fasting–A challenge for diabetics

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A study looked into the characteristics and care of people with diabetes from Muslim countries, and studied the features of diabetes during the period of fasting–Ramadan.

Sample of 12,243 people from 13 countries; 1,070 had type 1 diabetes while 11,173 had type 2 diabetes.

During Ramadan, 42.8% of those with type 1 diabetes and 78.7% of those with type 2 diabetes fasted for at least 15 days, however less than 50% of the whole group assessed changed their treatment dose.

Findings: Severe hypoglycaemic episodes were seen to be significantly more frequent during Ramadan compared with other months, more so, they were even more frequent in people who changed their dose of oral antidiabetic drugs or insulin or their level of physical activity.

Healthcare professionals are therefore challenged with the huge number of people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes who fast during Ramadan.

Recommendation: More intensive education, dissemination of guidelines should be given before people with diabetes fast. More studies should be conducted to assess the impact of fasting.

July 01 2008 | Care and Research | No Comments »

The Retinopathy Exam Routine: It’s Not Routine Yet

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An annual eye check up should be done for those with diabetes. The doctor whould check the eye dilation every year. However, only very people follow this drill, and lesser and lesser people do so every year.

An analysis fo 48 studies was done, comprising 160,000 participants worldwide. The purpose was to look at efforts to increase the number of diabetic patients who would actually have their eyes tested.

The following interventions were able to help propel people to have their eye examined: by increasing patient and caregiver of diabetic retinopathy; improving access to healthcare; using computer-based reminder systems; augmenting collaboration among screening organizations; and developing a community-based healthcare system. Combining interventions together worked even better.

May 15 2008 | Care and Research | No Comments »

Prevention Of Pre-Diabetes

33.jpg People with pre-diabetes contain blood glucose concentrations that are higher than any normal diagnosis of diabetes. This situation increases the threat of acquiring type II diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. Pre-diabetes is classified into impaired fasting glucose (IFG) or impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), depending on the test used to diagnose it.

  • IFG is a state in which the blood glucose is relatively high  after an overnight fast.

  • IGT is a circumstance in which the blood glucose level is high after a 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test.

Report says that if you have pre-diabetes, you can do a lot to prevent or delay the disease. One solution is to lose weight by cutting fat and calories and by means of exercising.

April 14 2008 | Research | No Comments »

Coffee Break

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Coffee addicts get lower chances for developing type 2 diabetes, according to a medical research conducted in Netherlands. The only catch is, that person should at least have seven cups of coffee a day. Caffeine, which we all know is evident in coffee may influence the way our bodies control sugar. Though some studies explains, drinking coffee too much in one way or another affects the heart. In spite of everything, the best way to lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes is to maintain a healthy living – like eat a heart-healthy diet, maintain your ideal weight  and get appropriate amounts of exercise.

April 09 2008 | Research | No Comments »

The Dangers of Pre-eclampsia

The risk involved for diabetic pregnant women is called pre-eclampsia. It is a  medical condition where hypertension occurs in connection with significant amounts of protein in urine. Studies shows, a sdiabetes11.jpgubstance from placenta which bring about endothelial dysfunction in the maternal blood vessels is the cause of pre-eclampsia. While high blood pressure is the most evident sign of the disease, damage can be seen in other organs as well like in endothelium, kidneys, and liver. When diagnosed with this illness, the common recommendations are abortion, caesarion section, or induced labor. So far, pre-eclampsia is the most dangerous pregnancy complications for both the mother and fetus. 

April 05 2008 | Research | No Comments »

Risk of an Obese Child Rises With Mother’s Glucose Levels During Pregnancy

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“The higher your blood glucose is during pregnancy, the greater your child’s chances of growing up to be obese”, according to a recent study published in Diabetes Care.

Metabolic imprinting is the mechanism behind this outcome. It is presumed that when children in the womb are overfed by the high blood sugars of their mothers, they become pre-programmed for obesity, or imprinted.

It was noted however that given the proper treatment of the high blood sugars would help eliminate the risk. Mothers who received treatment had children who were not likely to get fat compared to other children. This includes mothers who initially had the highest blood sugars.

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February 08 2008 | Care and Research | No Comments »