Disease Basics
Intensive Diabetes Therapy – A Bonus of Five Years of Health
03/24/07
Living Well, Treatment Options, Prevention, Disease Basics, General
We've been preparing a newsletter article (we'll email it out in the next five days) about intensive diabetes therapy. For the last 14 years, it has been an indisputable way to win the average person with diabetes the following benefits:
New Test for Diabetic Nephropathy Could Be Giant Leap
03/22/07
Diagnosis, Prevention, Disease Basics, General
One of the big problems with kidney disease is you don't know you have it until a lot of damage has been done. It is rare for a patient or physician to identify diabetic kidney disease, or nephropathy, early on. The urine test just does not pick up the proteins that indicate damage until a lot of damage is done.
How to Prevent Diabetes - New Study Reaffirms Much Established Wisdom
03/16/07
Diabetes Medications, Prediabetes and Impaired Glucose Tolerance, Type II Diabetes, Treatment Options, Prevention, Disease Basics, General
Last month, a team from University of Leicester reported on their findings after they searched through virtually all of diabetes literature from the last many years that deals with diabetes prevention. The findings are no surprise but they are worth reading.
Postprandial Glucose Levels Continue to Draw Attention of Doctors
03/05/07
Living Well, Treatment Options, Prevention, Disease Basics, General
- by Matt Nilsen
During the last few years physicians and diabetes researchers have debated how much value postprandial (after a meal) glucose levels have on diabetic health. As that debate has played out, the evidence is convincing that postprandial blood glucose levels most influence A1C scores.Exercise Like Crazy, But Don't Run Away from Insulin
01/03/07
Nutrition & Exercise, Living Well, Treatment Options, Prevention, Disease Basics, General
As you know, there are certain ethnic groups that run a high risk of developing type 2 diabetes. If you belong to one of these noble heritages, you have a lot to celebrate that far surpasses the worries associated with the risk of type 2 diabetes.
Education Is Just A Beginning
12/19/06
Living Well, Treatment Options, Disease Basics, General
When I first read the headline of this article, Education is the key in treating diabetes, I cringed.
I used to work in a children's hospital, and a large part of my job was working on teams that would make the hospital better. We would improve things. Whenever we had a problem, people often proposed having meetings to "educate" everyone about the problem so that it would not happen again.
"Double Diabetes" - The Combination of Type I Diabetes and Type II Diabetes
12/04/06
General, Disease Basics
Double diabetes occurs when a person who has type I diabetes, also develops insulin resistance, obesity and high blood pressure - the signs of type II diabetes. As this Washington Post article points out, physicians are observing double diabetes in their offices more and more. We encourage you to read the article for its good information. In addition there are just a few things to point out.
Combining Aerobic Exercise with Strength Training to Lower A1C
11/13/06
Nutrition & Exercise, Living Well, Treatment Options, Disease Basics, General
Sermon on Nutrition - Getting the Diabetes Message Out
11/10/06
Nutrition & Exercise, Living Well, Prevention, Disease Basics, General
Cumulative Damage of Diabetes for Those Who Develop it in Middle Age
10/31/06
Prevention, Research, Disease Basics, General
If you develop diabetes in middle age, you can expect different challenges resulting from diabetes than people who develop it closer to retirement age. The burden will be different. In a recent study, elderly persons who had been living with diabetes since middle-age were more likely to have retinopathy, reflecting the cumulative damage of high glucose levels over the course of many years. They also had much worse glycemic control. In contrast, elderly persons with newly diagnosed diabetes had a comparable burden of cardiovascular disease but required less aggressive treatment to reach blood pressure and cholesterol treatment goals.
Elderly persons diagnosed with diabetes during middle age (40-64 years) and those diagnosed later in life (over 65 years) comprise two distinct groups, according to new research from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The study, published in the November 2006 issue of Diabetes Care, found that these two age groups have different disease burdens and may require different treatment goals.
“The two types of elderly persons with diabetes have distinct characteristics, including different burdens of disease,” said Elizabeth Selvin, lead author of the study. “Elderly people with diabetes are a heterogeneous group and doctors may need to consider different treatment goals for these two groups in clinical practice.”