Diabetes News March 5th 2010

Diabetes Inpatient Activity, England
Length of Stay, Day-cases & Readmissions by Healthcare Resource Group chapter 2007-08 (NHS)

Clarity of insulin prescriptions
Focus week 8-14 March 2010 (Patient Safety First, NHS)

Number of women with gestational diabetes underestimated
A new study claims that twice as many women as previously thought develop gestational diabetes during pregnancy (DiabetesUK)

Cross Party Group on Diabetes launched
A new Cross Party Group on Diabetes is being launched later this month at the Welsh Assembly by Jeff Cuthbert AM and Diabetes UK Cymru (Aberdare Online)

Maternal age and diabetes in childhood
The higher risk of type 1 diabetes in the offspring of older mothers is well known but still unexplained (BMJ)

Novo Nordisk awarded contract by VA as primary source provider of insulin
Novo Nordisk, a global healthcare company and leader in diabetes care, announced it has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) as the primary source provider of insulin (Medical News)

Dynamic insulin sensitivity index: importance in diabetes
These results suggest that SFormula yields a comprehensive, precise, and cost-effective assessment of insulin sensitivity in subjects with impaired insulin action like impaired glucose tolerant subjects or diabetic patients (AJP – Endocrinology and Metabolism)

Renal Doppler indices in diabetic children with insulin resistance syndrome
The present work concluded that renal Doppler indices are worse in diabetic children and particularly those with IRS. These children appear to be at graver risk for diabetic nephropath (Pediatric Diabetes)

Diabetic Retinopathy: An Update on Treatment
Treatment with laser photocoagulation is effective at preventing severe vision loss; thus, diabetic patients should be referred for regular screening by an ophthalmologist. New inhibitors of vascular endothelial growth factor may provide targeted nonsurgical treatment to improve vision in diabetic retinopathy (American Journal of Medicine)

DPP-4 Inhibitors in Type 2 Diabetes
Importance of Selective Enzyme Inhibition and Implications for Clinical Use (Journal of Family Practice)

Reaching HbA1c Goals with Saxagliptin in Combination with Other Oral Antidiabetetic drugs
Combination therapy with saxagliptin can thus offer a potential advantage in achieving glycemic goals for the majority of patients with type 2 diabetes without additional tolerability concerns (Postgraduate Medicine)

Weighing Risks and Benefits of Liraglutide
The FDA’s Review of a New Antidiabetic Therapy (NEJM)

Glycated Hemoglobin, Diabetes, and Cardiovascular Risk in Nondiabetic Adults
In this community-based population of nondiabetic adults, glycated hemoglobin was similarly associated with a risk of diabetes and more strongly associated with risks of cardiovascular disease and death from any cause as compared with fasting glucose. These data add to the evidence supporting the use of glycated hemoglobin as a diagnostic test for diabetes (NEJM)

Relationship Between Coronary Microvascular Dysfunction and Cardiac Energetics Impairment in Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus
We demonstrate that young subjects with uncomplicated type 1 diabetes mellitus have impaired myocardial energetics irrespective of the duration of diabetes and that the impaired cardiac energetics status is independent of coronary microvascular function (Circulation)

Why mobility scooters can increase your risk of diabetes and heart disease
The research, published in the American Journal of Cardiology, shows many of the benefits to patients’ health from being able to get around more easily are being wiped out by the effects on the cardiovascular system (Daily Mail)