People with type 1 diabetes who go through prolonged periods of uncontrolled blood glucose may have greater risk for dementia, according to a new study. Risk of dementia has often been linked to diabetes; elderly people with type 1 diabetes are over 80% more likely to have the memory loss condition than people who do […]
Would you trust an algorithm to decide your insulin dose? A recent clinical trial found that letting an algorithm decide the amount of insulin a person with type 1 diabetes needs helped keep blood sugar levels under control more effectively than when the participants managed their insulin needs themselves. Read more
There has been a lot of discussion on whether it’s better to exercise before or after eating. A new study says that eating breakfast before you exercise helps control blood sugar. Study participants who ate breakfast before they exercised had lower insulin levels at subsequent meals. Read more
For patients with type 2 diabetes who need large doses of insulin, adding an SGLT2 inhibitor to insulin therapy can mean much less insulin is needed according to new research. Patients with daily insulin doses between 101 and 200 units experienced an insulin dose reduction of 17 units/day with the addition of canagliflozin (brand name […]
A young woman with type 1 diabetes shared her experience of receiving special diabetes care during her pregnancy. While the care she received was excellent and helped her and her baby stay healthy throughout the pregnancy, a breakdown in communication after her baby was born early nearly led to disaster. Read more
I’s not unusual to gain weight from using insulin and from treating bouts of low blood sugar. A diabetes exercise expert shares her tips on how to avoid weight gain from insulin use and from treating diabetic lows. Read more
Omnipod® is about half the width of a credit card, and adheres to the skin. It does not require any tubing and connects wirelessly to a handheld device. It can be worn in water for up to an hour, which is helpful for people with active lifestyles. Insulet, makers of the Omnipod system, will have a […]
The Omnipod Closed-Loop Insulin Delivery System is a hybrid closed-loop (HCL) system: it combines the technology of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) and insulin pumps, and a personalized control algorithm to deliver insulin as needed, day and night. Research showed it helped patients stay in their target glucose range. Read more
Researchers have been working on a way to deliver insulin in pill form instead of via injection for a long time, an innovation that would make the lives of people with type 1 diabetes much easier. However, they have struggled to find a method that would allow insulin to survive the human digestive system. Now […]
Newer types of insulin can be very hard to afford for people who have no insurance coverage, or poor prescription coverage. Regular and NPH insulin are much more affordable, but you need to learn about the best ways to make use of them. For some guidance, read more
Weight loss is usually a beneficial thing for people with diabetes. However, it’s important not to lose sight of the fact that weight loss is sometimes a sign of a problem — and one problem that can cause unexpected weight loss is high glucose levels. A diabetes educator shares why it’s so important to look […]
Scientists have created an adhesive skin patch that measures blood glucose levels every 10-15 minutes — a potential replacement for the fingerstick blood tests which many patients find painful. Created by researchers from the University of Bath in the United Kingdom, the patch has performed well in tests of its function as a noninvasive strategy […]
Surgery places physical stress on the patient, and patients with diabetes and hyperglycemia are especially vulnerable to complications from surgery. A recent study found that poor glycemic control before surgery (elevated HbA1c levels) was a major risk factor for adverse outcomes after surgery. The research demonstrates the need to assess patients’ glycemic levels prior to […]
The American College of Physicians recently issues new guidelines stating that adults with type 2 diabetes can aim for an easier-to-achieve blood sugar target than what’s been used to guide treatment in the past. These recommendations differ from the guidelines from most national and international organizations, such as the American Diabetes Association and American Association […]
A new recommendation from the American College of Physicians that many people with type 2 should relax their blood sugar goals has drawn strong disagreement from the American Diabetes Association (ADA). Based on research analysis, the College has decided that the problems caused by trying for for the lowest blood sugar score outweigh the benefits, […]
A pharmacist recent conducted a study of the quality of insulin. He tested 18 vials, purchased at pharmacies, and found that on average the vials had less than half what was listed on the vial. But were his methods accurate, and does such a small study really mean anything? Insulin makers, advocacy groups and diabetes […]
The VoiceDiab is an Android app that works through voice recognition. Users can speak to the app, giving descriptions of their meals. The app then calculates needed insulin doses to compensate for the content of the meals. 887 basic foods are programmed into the app with information about their caloric value and amounts of carbs, […]
Novo Nordisk, the world’s largest insulin manufacturer, is looking to transform the diabetes market with a pill. Its oral semaglutide medicine is currently in late-stage trials, with a planned launch date in 2020. Semaglutide, one of the GLP-1 drugs, stimulates insulin production. It’s currently available as a once-weekly injection, and Novo hopes that the pill […]
People who have been dealing with type 1 since childhood can get “burned out” on dealing with their diabetes every day, and lose the motivation to test numbers regularly and do the other tasks they need to do to manage their diabetes. For some of those patients, new technologies like CGMs can make managing their […]
Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre, a continuous glucose monitoring system (CGM) has received Medicare coverage. This CGM is the first in the market that does not require diabetes patients to prick their finger to draw blood. The Medicare coverage and ease of use of the system are expected to make it an attractive option for senior citizens […]