Scientists find genes linked to diabetes

Scientists have found six new genes linked to type 2 diabetes, a discovery that will improve understanding of how the disease develops.

Each of the disease variants of the genes raises the risk of developing diabetes by only a small amount, but scientists say the combined impact of the collection of genes could be powerful, and the discovery could help develop new forms of prevention and treatment. One of the genes has also been linked to prostate cancer. More...

Good diabetes foot care can prevent amputations

Following an initiative to provide better diabetes foot care in the South Tees area of northeastern England, the rates of diabetes-related amputations fell substantially, according to the results of a study published in the current issue of Diabetes Care. More...

Antidepressants raise risk of Type 2 diabetes

People taking certain medications to treat depression appear to be at greater risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, says a University of Alberta researcher.

Lauren Brown, whose study was published recently in Diabetes Research & Clinical Practice, said people with histories of depression had a 30-per-cent higher risk of developing diabetes versus those with no histories of the illness. More...

Humble vegie may end diabetes fight

Many people swear by the health benefits of Chinese traditional medicine, but often there are concerns such medicine may not have been subjected to rigorous scientific analysis. More...

Metformin may delay diabetes onset in those at risk

In people who are at risk of developing diabetes, treatment with metformin leads to modest improvements in weight, lipid (fat) profiles and fasting blood sugar. In addition, substantial reductions in insulin resistance, a condition that usually precedes diabetes, are seen, as well as the actual development of diabetes, according to a large review of published studies on this topic. More...

Fizzy drink addiction costs diabetes sufferer his sight

Thomas Ngere says sugary fizzy drinks stole his sight. He can hear, touch and talk to his children. But he would give anything to see them again.

He never will. Mr Ngere is blind - a complication of his type 2 diabetes. More...

Canine Diabetes Guide For Owners Of Diabetic Dogs Released

Knowing the diabetes symptoms dogs exhibit can help owners manage their dog's diabetes and avoid the pitfalls of poor control, which often leads to costly complications like cataracts, liver and kidney infections or even failure. More...

Breast-feeding lowers type 2 diabetes risk

Breast-fed babies appear to be less likely to develop type 2 diabetes when they reach adolescence. More...

Genes Point to Varied Diabetes Subtypes

You've heard of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, but what about a kind called MODY? Diabetes is undergoing a genetics revolution that suggests there actually are many subtypes of the disease.The discoveries already trigger important changes in treatment for a fraction of patients with some rare diabetes types caused by single genes gone awry — if they have a doctor aware of the findings More...

How Diabetes Drives Atherosclerosis

Researchers have discovered how diabetes, by driving inflammation and slowing blood flow, dramatically accelerates atherosclerosis, according to research to be published in the March 14 edition of the journal Circulation Research. More...

Don't wait to be diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes to protect your vision

Diabetic retinopathy is one of the severe complications of diabetes. Just like the other complications of diabetes, it’s caused by damage to the blood vessels as a result of high blood sugars. In this case the blood vessels of the retina in the eye are the target. It’s the most common eye disease among people with diabetes and a leading cause of blindness. Retinopathy is a progressive condition that at first may have no symptoms. About 45% of people with diabetes have some degree of retinopathy. More...

Vitamin D reduces diabetes risk

Children who take vitamin D supplements are less likely to develop diabetes later in life, a study has shown.

The British study, which appears in Archives of Disease in Childhood , suggests that children who receive vitamin D supplements were around 30 per cent less likely to develop type 1 diabetes later than those who did not take such supplements, the BBC reported. More...

New diabetes monitor via internet

A Dorset hospital is to become the first in the UK to allow people with diabetes to monitor their blood sugar levels remotely.

The Royal Bournemouth Hospital will install equipment enabling patients to carry out tests at home and send the data back over the internet.

Clinicians on hand around the clock can then view the information and advise where appropriate. More...

Diabetes danger foods

Processed food such as breakfast cereals and white bread lead to a greater risk of diabetes, heart disease and even some types of cancer, research shows.

Switching to a low-GI diet was as beneficial to health as increasing fibre intake, Sydney University researchers found. More...

New Method Can Revolutionise Diabetes Research

Scientists at Karolinska Institutet and the University of Miami have developed a method for studying complicated cell processes, such as the secretion of insulin in the pancreas, of living animals - something that has not been possible to this date. The new method, which involves the transplantation of a tiny part of the pancreas onto the iris of mice, paves the way for radical approaches to diabetes research, which has previously been conducted on single cells in artificial laboratory environments. More...

Chromium may help fight diabetes

Supplements are increasingly becoming recognized as having a place in the management and treatment of diabetes.

Aside from the already popular ampalaya (bitter melon) supplement, another product that is believed to have similar if not better effect is chromium, particularly the type called trivalent chromium. More...

Diabetes May Be Disorder Of Upper Intestine: Surgery May Correct It

Growing evidence shows that surgery may effectively cure Type 2 diabetes — an approach that not only may change the way the disease is treated, but that introduces a new way of thinking about diabetes. More...

Black tea could help combat diabetes: study

Scientists in the UK have found that drinking black tea could help prevent diabetes.

The report, which is published in the latest issue of the journal 'Aging Cell', indicates that certain constituents of tea could act as an insulin substitute, potentially able to combat type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease. More...

Frog skin secretions brings hope for diabetes treatment

Skin secretions from a South American frog could be used to treat type 2 diabetes, researchers say.

A compound isolated from the "shrinking" frog, which grows to 27 cm as a tadpole before shrinking to 4 cm in adulthood, stimulates insulin release and a synthetic version of the compound-- pseudin-2 -- could be used to produce new drugs, BBC reported on Monday. More...

1 in 10 Expectant Mothers Develops Diabetes

This type of diabetes varies greatly in different parts of the country. In southern Ostrobothnia more than one in five develop gestational diabetes, whereas in the southwest the frequency is one in six. In the 1990s, the figures were far lower, with gestation diabetes only affecting between three and four percent of women. More...