All About Diabetes

Though diet does wonders in achieving satisfactory blood sugar levels for people with type 1 diabetes, there’s no template that works for all patients. Take the case of type 1 diabetics under the pre-school age bracket. University of Michigan researchers found that while the young patients have enough intakes of micronutrients, they are consuming low intakes of carbohydrate and calories.

The study which came out in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association observed 33 young type 1 diabetic patients and their diet, including adherence to diet. Conclusions were drawn from three-day diet diaries which gauge the nutrient and caloric intake of young children.

According to the researchers, the participants’ intake of other micronutrients either reached or exceeded the minimum intake levels based on Dietary Reference. On the other hand, the young patients consumed low levels of vitamin B-12 and calcium based on the same reference. Specifically, the young children participants’ daily carbohydrate consumption reached only 80 percent of the daily ideal levels according to their age and weight. Likewise, caloric intake of the patients fell short, only 78 percent, of the ideal levels.

The researchers emphasized the need for individualized diet plans especially for young children who experience “rapid growth during pre-school years”. They advised parents of young diabetic patients to consult dietitians who could modify diet plans accordingly.

Teenagers with type 2 diabetes are more likely to have signs of kidney damage and high blood pressure than teens with type 1 diabetes.

A group of investigators examined the prevalence of diabetes-related complications among young people with both types of the disease.

It was found that microalbuminuria (a sign of kidney damage) was detected in 28 percent of the type 2 diabetic patients compared with six percent of those with type 1 diabetes. High blood pressure was present in 36 percent of type 2 diabetes patients compared with 16 percent of type 1 diabetics.

Retinopathy was the only complication that was found to be significantly more common in type 1 diabetes patients than in those with type 2.

Experts say the findings of the study underscore the importance of screening children for complications when they are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes to reverse complications.

Diabetic women with sexual dysfunction may find that Viagra (sildenafil), the anti-erectile dysfunction drug marketed for men, may also help them improve arousal, orgasm and sexual enjoyment and may also decrease pain during intercourse, according to results of a study.

Study investigators hypothesize that the physiologic effects of Viagra, which are beneficial in men, may also be helpful for women.Women with diabetes may experience sexual dysfunction due to vaginal dryness, discomfort, and other factors.

For the study, the investigators recruited 32 women with type 1 diabetes with sexual dysfunction, but had experienced normal sexual desire in the past. These women were given Viagra or “inactive placebo” and then the opposite treatment for eight weeks at a time. They were likewise instructed to take the medication one hour before sexual intercourse.

Results of the trial show that Viagra was associated with significantly improved arousal, orgasm and enjoyment. Only sexual desire and frequency did not change significantly. The medication was also found to help improve blood flow in the clitoris.

We see children bounce around, hop and skip all the time. When we were younger, we could basically do anything we wanted — no pain in the joints and bones yet.We could easily do sports, bend forwards and backwards and not feel a single thing.

But as we get older, we become slower, and we realize that bending to get a coin on the floor now takes so much effort. All the fun and physical activities we used to do have become a little more difficult. As we age, we become more careful, scared of the fact that we might break our hips or arms with careless movement. That’s when we realize that we should have taken care of our bodies, especially our bones, when we were younger. Bone problems are usually associated with age, but little do people know that diabetes could also affect bone health. (more…)

Are you a diabetic and in search of a good mental stress? Swiss investigators say that the blood sugar levels of individuals with type 1 diabetes stay normal when exposed to short-term mental stress. In this case, they used a roller-coaster ride to attain this short-term mental stress, and to see how it can affect blood sugar levels.

Twenty type 1 diabetic patients were asked to monitor their blood sugar levels while riding two different roller-coasters within 15 minutes. A day before the actual experiment took place, the patients’ blood pressure, heart rate and levels of salivary cortisol, a hormonal response to stress, were measured.This was to check for any difference at rest and during the stress-testing experiment.

A device from Medtronic called the MiniMed continuous glucose monitoring system, was used to monitor blood sugar concentrations in five-minute intervals. During the roller-coaster ride, half of the participants did not eat anything while the others fasted 75 minutes after they had a meal with 50 grams of carbohydrates. According to Dr. Peter Wesli of the University Hospital in Zurich, “during the rides, heart rates rose from 82 beats per minute at the start of the ride up to a maximum of 158 beats per minute. Also that the average blood pressure increased from 124/79 to 160/96 mm Hg between the two rides, and salivary cortisol concentrations increased from 6.3 to a maximum of 19.3 nanomoles per liter per 60 minutes after the ride .”

Despite the apparent mental stress, researchers conclude that there was little significant results on glucose levels for the 10 patients who fasted on the stress-testing day when compared to the rest period. As for the other 10 subjects, the sugar level in their blood merely responded to the meal they took during the control and stress-test day, and returned to normal within three hours of the meal. This was also associated with the patients’ good metabolic control over their disease.

However, the results may vary for those type 1 diabetics who have poor control over their blood sugar even when faced with short-term or chronic mental stress.

Type 1 diabetes, which mostly affects children and teens, necessitates lifetime treatment and management. Patients regularly need insulin, glucose meters, and laboratory examinations, among other things. All these, of course, require money. But if patients don’t have any, where would it leave them? (more…)

According to the International Diabetes Federation, the number of people diagnosed with diabetes has increased from 30 million to 246 million over the past two decades. In the Philippines, the Department of Health says that there are currently eight million diabetics, with 500 newly diagnosed everyday. (more…)

Children with type 1 diabetes are more likely to benefit from a more intensive management of the disease. It debunked previous studies which said the use of intensive insulin therapy has its hangups, one of which is significant weight gain.
Researchers reported in the Journal o f Pediatrics that young patients,who frequently monitored their blood sugar levels, those who injected new insulin formulations and those who were under insulin pump therapy have half the chance of suffering from hypoglycemia while it also lessens by 25 percent the patient’s chance of visiting the emergency room. The patients also improved control over their blood sugar levels.

“There has been no excessive weight gain with (patients who used) these newer treatments… although we need to continue to find new and improved ways to normalize the blood sugars,” senior investigator Lori M.B. Laffel of the Harvard Medical School in Boston said.

The results of the study came out after Laffel and her colleagues studied 299 diabetic children for two years in 1997 and compared results to another 152 children who were also under them for two years.

Researchers from the University of Texas Medical School in Houston concluded that a minimal dose of oral interferon alpha could preserve beta cell function for patients who are newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Dr. Stanley Brod, principal investigator of the trial explains that interferon alpha can extend the ‘honeymoon phase’ of the disease, allowing the body to still produce insulin from beta cells, which correlates with lower complication rates. (more…)