Studies have shown that patients who have type 1 diabetes and severe hypoglycemia can experience a decrease in cognitive functions including visual perception, speed of information processing, attention span, psychomotor efficiency, and mental flexibility. Read more
Reducing the high cost of insulin in the United States will require multiple changes to the current complex drug pricing system, Mayo Clinic hematologist S. Vincent Rajkumar, MD, argues in a new commentary, The High Cost of Insulin in the United States: An Urgent Call to Action. Read more
Novo Nordisk has announced it would offer a free, one-time supply of insulin to people in immediate need and at risk of rationing the medication. Patients with prescription can get a free, one-time supply of up to three vials or two packs of pens of its insulin. Read more
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Fiasp (insulin aspart injection; Novo Nordisk), a rapid-acting human insulin analog, for use in children with diabetes. Fiasp has an additional ingredient, niacinamide, which increases absorption speed, and was previously approved for use in adults and in insulin pumps. Read more
The Tandem t:slim X2 insulin pump will not only discontinue the delivery of insulin if blood sugars detected by a CGM record low blood sugars, but will also calculate the amount of insulin needed and inject that insulin when needed for elevated blood sugars. Read more
A Phase 2b study in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) was completed for what looks likely to be the first oral form of insulin (ORMD-0801). The developing company, Oramed Pharmaceuticals’, CEO Nadav Kidron and Dr. Joel Neutel, Principal Investigator of the study discuss the results. Read more
According to recent research, greater than 75% of hospitals in the United States follow outdated insulin management protocols that are no longer recommended by the American Diabetes Association, American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, and Society of Hospital Medicine. Read more
A new US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) policy may help bring biosimilar insulins to market more quickly. (Biosimilars are biologic medical products that are highly similar to another already approved biological medicine.) However, analysts say there is no guarantee that the products will be significantly less expensive than branded insulins. Read more
The FreeStyle Libre wearable monitor could be of great benefit in helping older people with diabetes and memory loss manage their condition better, according to researchers have said. The device automatically reads glucose levels without a fingerstick, making diabetes easier to manage. Read more
The TTT-1 trial will begin in Scotland early in 2020 to assess a new combination therapy using insulin, dapagliflozin, and semaglutide. It is being led by Dr John Petrie from the University of Glasgow, a leading expert in the treatment of type 1 diabetes. The trial hopes the treatment will become a new option for […]
The circadian clocks inside the body’s cells that help regulate timing of many body functions and control cardiovascular disease risks within a 24-hour day appear to be affected by high glucose in obesity. “We know that high glucose impairs circadian clock functions, but now we want to know [if] by fixing the clock can we […]
The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced a plan to lower the “overly expensive” price of insulin. The agency, which is part of the United Nations, wants other drug companies to produce generic versions of insulin, which it will then test. Since its discovery in 1923, the price of insulin has risen in the United […]
Fingerstick tests of blood sugar levels can tell patients what their blood sugar level is at any given moment, but not how consistent that level may be. CGMs can take nearly 300 blood sugar measurements a day, thus providing a new standard for measuring blood sugar control: time in range. Time in range refers to […]
People who have diabetes or metabolic syndrome (a group of risk factors that often precedes diabetes) are at almost double the risk for developing dementia. One possible cause, the way the brain metabolizes sugar, is now being explored by researchers. Read more
Eli Lilly introduced a generic version of Humalog at half the price, called insulin lispro, in March 2019. But this effort to make insulin more affordable may not be having that much of an impact for many people with diabetes, a data analysis shows. One reason is that the cheaper version isn’t actually cheaper, or […]
Brittle diabetes — also called labile diabetes — is a term that describes particularly unstable type 1 diabetes; it typically refers to blood sugar (or blood glucose) levels that quickly swing from low (hypoglycemia) to high (hyperglycemia). Read more
A recent study found that sleeping too much and sleeping too little were both associated with glycemic values out of normal range in patients with prediabetes and recently diagnosed, untreated patients with diabetes. Short sleep times and shift work patterns were also found to be associated with higher BMI values. Read more
Many young Americans with type 1 diabetes rely on their parents’ health insurance to cover the costs of insulin. Insulin’s price in the us has tripled from 2002 to 2013, and from 2012 to 2016, its average annual cost increased from $3,200 to $5,900. This means that young people who turn 26 and are no […]
Hydroxychloroquine is an anti-inflammatory drug that is among the oldest prescribed drugs first used to treat malaria. Researchers have found it may help treat autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis (RA); now, researchers say it can also help with blood glucose management in diabetes. Read more
A new law signed by Colorado Gov. Jared Polis caps co-payments of the lifesaving medication at $100 a month for insured patients, and requires insurance companies to absorb the balance. The law also directs the state’s attorney general to launch an investigation into how prescription insulin prices are set throughout the state and make recommendations […]