Diabetes News March 4th 2011

Getting it Right: Improving the Classification, Diagnosis and Coding of Diabetes
Factsheet No. 34 (RCGP and NHS Diabetes)

Coding, Classification and Diagnosis of Diabetes
A review of the coding, classification and diagnosis of diabetes in primary care in England with recommendations for improvement 4.5 MB PDF (RCGP and NHS Diabetes)

Does exercise help patients with type 1 diabetes?
A new study to assess the benefits of exercise for adults with type 1 diabetes is about to start in the South West. The study will be led by Dr Rob Andrews, Consultant Senior Lecturer in Diabetes and Endocrinology at the University of Bristol’s School of Clinical Sciences (University of Bristol)

Diabetes Mellitus, Fasting Glucose, and Risk of Cause-Specific Death
In addition to vascular disease, diabetes is associated with substantial premature death from several cancers, infectious diseases, external causes, intentional self-harm, and degenerative disorders, independent of several major risk factors (New England Journal of Medicine)

Long-Term Effects of Intensive Glucose Lowering on Cardiovascular Outcomes
As compared with standard therapy, the use of intensive therapy for 3.7 years to target a glycated hemoglobin level below 6% reduced 5-year nonfatal myocardial infarctions but increased 5-year mortality. Such a strategy cannot be recommended for high-risk patients with advanced type 2 diabetes (New England Journal of Medicine)

Therapeutics of Diabetes Mellitus: Focus on Insulin Analogues and Insulin Pumps
Individualized treatment plans for insulin initiation and administration mode are critical in achieving target glycaemic levels. Progress in these fields is expected to facilitate and improve the quality of life of diabetic patients (Experimental Diabetes Research)

Evidence That Nasal Insulin Induces Immune Tolerance to Insulin in Adults With Autoimmune Diabetes
Although nasal insulin did not retard loss of residual ß-cell function in adults with established T1D, evidence that it induced immune tolerance to insulin provides a rationale for its application to prevent diabetes in at-risk individuals (Diabetes)

Brain Insulin Controls Adipose Tissue Lipolysis and Lipogenesis
Insulin infused into the mediobasal hypothalamus of Sprague-Dawley rats increases white adipose tissue lipogenic protein expression, inactivates hormone-sensitive lipase, and suppresses lipolysis (Cell Metabolism)

Functional Variants of the HMGA1 Gene and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
Compared with healthy controls, the presence of functional HMGA1 gene variants in individuals of white European ancestry was associated with type 2 DM (JAMA)