Diabetes News February 19th 2010

Six years on: delivering the Diabetes National Service Framework
The report reviews the development and delivery of diabetes services and identifies the progress made over the past six years towards meeting the Diabetes NSF (DoH, UK)

NICE recommends liraglutide for diabetes triple therapy
NICE has recommended the use of liraglutide (Victoza), a once-daily injection, for the treatment of type-2 diabetes as part of triple therapy regimens, under latest draft guidance (NICE)

Novo Nordisk Makes Victoza(R) Commercially Available in the United States
Victoza is the first once-daily human glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analog for the treatment of type 2 diabetes (Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News)

Infected foot ulcers in male and female diabetic patients: a clinico-bioinformative study
The study aimed at (i) characterizing the mode of transmission of blaCTX-M and blaTEM-1 among extended-spectrum-ß-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli strains isolated from infected diabetic foot ulcers, and (ii) identifying the risk factors for “sex-associated multidrug resistant Gram-negative bacterial (MDRGNB)-infection status” of the ulcers (Annals of Clinical Microbiology and Antimicrobials)

Joslin Study Finds Insulin Regulates Beta Cell Function in Healthy Humans
Finding by Joslin scientists may aid in understanding how insulin production eventually goes wrong in type 2 diabetes (Joslin Diabetes Center)

Self monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) cannot replace HbA1c
HbA1c is the gold standard for monitoring glycemia, and it cannot be replaced by SMBG (Internet Journal of Family Practice)

Effects of Exenatide on Systolic Blood Pressure in Subjects With Type 2 Diabetes
These results support the need for a prospective, randomized, controlled study of BP changes during exenatide treatment in patients with hypertension and type 2 diabetes (American Journal of Hypertension)

Diabetes danger of South Asian youngsters
Experts are warning of a worrying trend in the rise of children, particularly South Asians, developing type 2 diabetes at an earlier age than their previous generations (BBC, UK)

Understanding Insulin Resistance Video
When your cells become insulin resistant, they lose their sensitivity to insulin. As a result, large quantities of glucose cannot enter the cells, remaining instead, in the blood stream where it passes to the liver and is converted to fat (Diabetes Insider)

Using analogy-building to initiate insulin
Insulin initiation is a challenging aspect of diabetes management, and successful starting of this therapy calls for strong counseling skills (The Internet Journal of Family Practice)

Obesity ‘often set before age of two’
The “tipping point” that sets children on the way to a lifetime of obesity often occurs before the age of two, say US researchers (BBC, UK)

The Role of Mitochondria in the Pathogenesis of Type 2 Diabetes
We hypothesize that genetically determined and/or inactivity-mediated alterations in mitochondrial oxidative activity may directly impact adaptive responses to overnutrition, causing an imbalance between oxidative activity and nutrient load (Endocrine Reviews)

Diabetes drug stinks, doctors find
The commonly used diabetes drug metformin stinks, literally, and this may explain why many patients stop taking it, U.S. doctors report (Reuters)