Diabetes News August 13th 2010

The organisation & delivery of diabetes services in the UK: a scoping exercise
This scoping exercise will provide an overview of current developments in the organisation and delivery of diabetes services in the UK – download final report (NHS, NIHR)

Comparison of diabetes management in five countries for general and indigenous populations: an internet-based review
The aim of this review was to provide an overview of diabetes management in five selected Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development OECD countries (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the US and the UK), based on data available for general and indigenous populations where appropriate (BMC Health Services Research)

Mixtard 30 – going, going, gone?
The withdrawal of Mixtard 30 will have a major impact on patients, healthcare professionals and healthcare expenditure (Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin)

Shining a light – literally – on diabetes
Device from MIT’s Spectroscopy Lab could help diabetic patients monitor their blood glucose levels without finger pricks (MIT News)

Gluco oxidative stress in the diabetic kidney
This brief review has discussed the functions of RAGE, and its potential as a therapeutic strategy in managing diabetic nephropathy. It has tried to simplify a difficult aspect of pathophysiology of diabetes/diabetic nephropathy, to enable family practitioners understand the advances taking place in this field of science (The Internet Journal of Family Practice)

Type 2 diabetes – controlling hyperglycaemia with early insulin use
In general, initiation of insulin should be considered in individuals on maximal tolerated doses of metformin and sulfonylureas with HbA1c levels >7.0% over a 3–6 month period. Current Australian guidelines recommend initiating insulin therapy as once daily basal therapy or as premixed insulins (Australian Family Physician)

Iron Overload in Diabetic Retinopathy
A Cause or a Consequence of Impaired Mechanisms? (Experimental Diabetes Research)

Endothelial-myofibroblast transition, a new player in diabetic renal fibrosis
Recent evidence from our laboratory and others suggests that EndoMT plays an important role in the development of renal fibrosis in several pathological settings, including experimental DN. This review considers the evidence supporting the occurrence of EndoMT in normal development and in pathology, as well as the latest findings suggesting EndoMT contributes to fibrosis in DN (Nephrology)