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Healthy Feet Incompatible With Fat

Obesity can lead to foot amputations, warns a podiatry organization in Australia.

This is "particularly [true of] those patients who have diabetes, because they can lose feeling in their feet and sustain injuries, which can get infected and sometimes require amputation," said Brenden Brown, vice president of the Australasian Podiatry Council. And, he said, most people are completely unaware of the feet-fat connection. (Read more about Healthy Feet Incompatible With Fat)

"Electric" Foot Bandage May Help Diabetics

A patented bandage with tiny batteries that run micro-currents through a wound to kill bacteria may hold promise for healing the stubborn foot ulcers that plague so many diabetics.

"This electrical activity kills bacteria, keeps the wound clean and, in the studies we've had so far, has shown that this stimulates the wounds to heal," said Jeffry Skiba, president and CEO of Vomaris Innovations, based in Chandler, Ariz. (Read more about "Electric" Foot Bandage May Help Diabetics)

How Obesity Abets Type 2 Diabetes

Human fat can be healthy or sick - healthy in lean people and sick in obese. And a new research effort shows sick fat cells can produce proteins that contribute to type 2 diabetes.

The study, performed by researchers at Temple University, discovered that fat cells in obese people bear a great deal of stress in a cellular component called the endoplasmic reticulum, which is the cells' protein factory. The stress, says lead researcher Dr. Guenther Boden, apparently produces proteins connected with insulin resistance, a major contributor to obesity-related diabetes. In particular, 19 proteins were more abundant in obese people's fat cells than lean people's, including three that were related to a specific endoplasmic reticulum stress-related response. (Read more about How Obesity Abets Type 2 Diabetes)

Obesity Not Always Indicative of Cardiovascular Risk

Obese people do not always carry an increased risk of heart disease, while some individuals of normal weight do. Two studies published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, revealed that how fat was distributed, like fat around the abdomen, was a consistent risk factor for heart disease. People who have their abdominal cavity lined with fat appear to be more likely to develop insulin resistance and have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease. (Read more about Obesity Not Always Indicative of Cardiovascular Risk)

Research Suggests Ways to Slow Alzheimer's

A new study released at the International Conference on Prevention of Dementia on June 11th suggests that treating other health factors - like diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol can help slow the onset and severity of dementia caused by Alzheimer's disease.

This research further links heart and brain health. Cardiovascular problems like heart attacks or stroke may also increase the onset of dementia. Taking positive actions, like treating high blood pressure, exercising, and changing diet can all help reduce dementia. (Read more about Research Suggests Ways to Slow Alzheimer's)

Low Carb Diet For Diabetes

Have you ever wondered how low carb but higher fat diets actually work?

Surprisingly, one answer may lie in your liver. Researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) have identified a liver hormone known as FGF21 which is required to oxidize fatty acids - and thereby burn calories.

According to the senior author of the study, "When the diet is extremely low in starches and sugars, blood sugar levels drop substantially so that the muscles and brain have to turn to alternative fuels... consequently, fatty acids are broken down in the liver and converted to ketones, which then serve as a major fuel source." (Read more about Low Carb Diet For Diabetes)

Type 2 Diabetes and Teens

You’ve almost certainly heard about the obesity trends in America, how we’re all getting fatter--including kids!

Now, a disturbing set of data shows how that problem is playing out in terms of very real disease in our young people.

It’s one of the worst diseases to have, and ironically, for most of us, it’s truly preventable. Diabetes is increasing in American kids—specifically, Type Two Diabetes--and it’s directly related to the fattening of our children. (Read more about Type 2 Diabetes and Teens)

Inhaled Insulin

It’s been a long awaited, much talked-about treatment: The first inhaled insulin—Exubera-- is now given the green light to hit the market in the United States.

Exubera is designed to keep blood sugars under control around mealtime: it’s taken ten minutes before eating. When inhaled, it passes quickly into the blood stream.

The big payoff: it’s a relief for those who fear the needle.

Dr. Holly Schachner, Medical Director of Exubera for Pfizer, says, “It was an incredible innovation in order to take the insulin molecule, and actually the insulin that you take from Exubera is exactly the molecule that your body makes and what we needed to do was get it into a dry form so that it’s stable at room temperature, it does not need to be refrigerated and we needed to get it into a device that we knew would work reliably and effectively.” (Read more about Inhaled Insulin)

Family History

How well do you know your family medical history?

We mean, really know –in the sense of knowing what each parent, brother, sister, grandparent, and great-grandparent, aunt, uncle, and cousin has or has had in terms of medical conditions. (Read more about Family History)

Deadly Diabetes Drug

Pargluva, a new diabetes drug just approved by the FDA has been shown to, in fact, increase the risk of heart attacks, strokes, and death in patients taking it.

For patients with Type Two diabetes, which makes up 90 percent of all diabetes cases, new treatments are met with great excitement. The drug muraglitazar, which goes by the trade name Pargluva, and developed by Bristol-Myers Squibb, has been one of them--endorsed last month by an FDA advisory panel by a count of 8-1.

Two days ago, the company received an approvable letter from the FDA, meaning, with some additional information, including safety medication, Pargluva is soon to be given the green light to be marketed in the U.S. as a monotherapy--to be used alone in treating diabetes. (Read more about Deadly Diabetes Drug)