Diabetes News February 6th 2009

Canadian Diabetes Association 2008 Clinical Practice Guidelines
Published only once every five years, the Association’s Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Prevention and Management of Diabetes in Canada represent the best and most current evidence-based clinical practice data for healthcare professionals – Guidelines download as PDF (Canadian Diabetes Association)

Clinical and cost-effectiveness of self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) for non-insulin treated type 2 diabetes
Recently published high quality trials have demonstrated the lack of significant benefit of SMBG compared to standard care in certain patient groups. 4-page PDF (Evidence Note, NHS)

National Diabetes Survey
The RCPCH has been commissioned by the National Diabetes Support Team to find out the number of children and young people under the age of 18 who have diabetes (RCPCH)

NHS failing people with diabetes
Two thirds of adults with diabetes in England and Wales are not receiving all their vital annual health checks (Diabetes UK)

Emergency care tsar appointed head of Diabetes UK
Prof Sir George Alberti to be next chairman (Guardian, UK)

Insulin Analog Therapy: Improving the Match With Physiologic Insulin Secretion
Insulin analogs offer many benefits over human insulins, including improved physiologic profile, greater convenience, reduced risk of hypoglycemia, and, in some instances, less weight gain (Jounnal of the American Osteopathic Association)

Controversies in type 2 diabetes
This article examines the context for glitazone therapy in patients with type 2 diabetes, the risks associated with pioglitazone and rosiglitazone, and arguments for targeting HbA1c at the threshold of 7%. 4-page PDF (Australian Family Physician)

Glycogen storage disease type I: diagnosis, management, clinical course and outcome
Results of the European Study on Glycogen Storage Disease Type I (European Journal of Pediatrics)

Perinatal risk factors in young adult-onset type 1 and type 2 diabetes – a population-based case-control study
Birth size significantly affects the risk for T2DM diagnosed in young adulthood but no evidence was found of an association between late-onset T1DM and perinatal factors (Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica)

Diamyd(R) Combination Trial Aimed at Regenerating Insulin-Producing Capacity in Established Type 1 diabetes Gets Approval from FDA
The trial will test the diabetes vaccine Diamyd® in combination with drugs that are believed to stimulate new beta cell growth. The aim of the combination therapy is to try to restore lost insulin-producing capacity in established type 1 diabetes patients (Pipeline Reviews)

American Diabetes Association cuts 10% of staff
A local nonprofit trying to address cuts in diabetes research funding and fundraising woes in a tough economic climate cut its staff late last year (Washington Business Journal)

Oramed Pharmaceuticals Completes Proof of Concept Study of Insulin Suppository
The insulin suppositories showed rapid insulin absorption and reactive glucose lowering effect. The suppositories were well tolerated and no adverse events were encountered (Oramed, Israel)

Novo Nordisk and Sciele launch diabetes drug
Novo Nordisk AS and Sciele Pharma Inc. have launched type 2 diabetes drug PrandiMet, a fixed-dose pill which combines two older diabetes treatments (Forbes)

National Paediatric Diabetes Survey – February 2009
The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) is conducting a survey of hospitals to find out the number of children and young people (CYP) under the age of 18 in England who have diabetes (Diabetes UK)

Insulin protects brain from Alzheimer’s: U.S. study
Insulin appears to shield the brain from toxic proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease, U.S. researchers said on Monday, supporting a theory that Alzheimer’s may be a third form of diabetes (Reuters)

Insulin and memory
These experiments were carried out in the laboratory and should be viewed only as preliminary evidence of the effects of insulin on neurological function in humans. Further studies in people with Alzheimer’s disease will provide a clearer picture of the potential of these drugs in treating dementia-related memory loss. (Behind the Headlines, NHS Choices)

Study Tests Anti-Inflammatory Drug for Poorly Controlled Type 2 Diabetes
Researchers in 20 medical centers across the country are enrolling adults with type 2 diabetes who have poorly controlled blood glucose to participate in a clinical study, Targeting Inflammation with Salsalate in Type 2 Diabetes (NIH)

New Diabetes Resource Provides Tools and Support to Families of Newly-Diagnosed Children with Type 1 Diabetes
“KidCare Kit” offers quick-reference materials and multimedia tools to guide families through the first 30 days following a child’s diagnosis (PR Newswire)

Overview of the gliptin class (dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors) in clinical practice
This article reviews data from a number of clinical trials, presentations, and abstracts indicating the importance of the DPP-4 inhibitors sitagliptin, vildagliptin, and alogliptin both alone and in combination with insulin sensitizers in the treatment of type 2 diabetes (PubMed)

Reimbursment of Onglyza and Alogliptin once they are available for the treatment of Type 2 Diabetes
Sixty-two percent of surveyed pharmacy directors say they expect their managed care organization to reimburse both products, while 26 percent say they expect their organization to reimburse only one (Market Watch)

Metabolic Effects of Low Glycaemic Index Diets
The currently available scientific literature shows that low glycaemic-index diets acutely induce a number of favorable effects … the long-term effect of the combination of these changes is at present not known. 26-page PDF (Nutrition Journal)

Low glycaemic index, or low glycaemic load, diets for diabetes mellitus
A low-GI diet can improve glycaemic control in diabetes without compromising hypoglycaemic events (Cochrane Library)

Weight Loss May Reverse Blunted Sympathetic Neural Responsiveness to Glucose Ingestion in Obese Metabolic Syndrome Subjects
This is relevant to postprandial energy utilization and body weight homeostasis (Diabetes )

Defective insulin signalling in placenta from pregnancies complicated by gestational diabetes mellitus
Our results suggest that post-receptor defects are present in the insulin signalling pathway in placenta of women with pregnancies complicated by diabetes and obesity (European Journal of Endocrinology)

EndoBarrier™ Technology
The EndoBarrier™ is a gastrointestinal liner that acts as an impermeable barrier to prevent food from coming in contact with the wall of the intestine (GI Dynamics)

Individual patient education for people with type 2 diabetes mellitus
Overall there did not appear to be a significant difference between individual education and usual care (Cochrane Library)

Treating Type 2 Diabetes: How Safe Are Current Therapeutic Agents?
An informative 6 page overview (Medscape)

Novo Nordisk sees big growth potential in Russia
Danish pharmaceuticals group Novo Nordisk sees big growth prospects for insulin in the Russian market, comparable to what the company has seen in China in recent years (Reuters)

Novo Nordisk profits soar, driven by modern insulins
Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk has posted a massive 138% increase in net income for the fourth quarter (PharmaTimes)

Could parasites be the key to preventing type 1 diabetes?
Professor Anne Cooke’s team at the University of Cambridge is investigating how infections with parasites in early life can influence the development of the immune system, and how this might relate to type 1 diabetes (JDRF)

Landmark for diabetes charity – and Janet
A woman who has lived with diabetes for 75 years was today helping a national charity celebrate reaching the same landmark (Evening Times)

GI News—February 2009
Good eating, good health and good reading (GI News)