We are getting closer to cracking the code on gestational diabetes and thus providing more treatment options for all diabetics. Researchers out of Stanford University School of Medicine have been closely examining the protein called menin in the pancreas. It is already known to help prevent cancer in the pancreas as well as other organs but now… we have a more specific gestational diabetes implication.
According to Kim’s work in mice, the pancreas accomplishes that adaptive growth by producing less menin during pregnancy. With less of the brake present, the pancreatic islet cells can divide, and this growth provides the additional …read more

Ok, so I was correct a few weeks back when I wrote about Halle Berry being a type 2 diabetic. And it seems that even though she has been a type 2 diabetic for quite some time, it doesn’t mean she is a very swift diabetic… It seems that Ms. Berry has ticked off many diabetics in the world.
Take this with a grain of salt. As I have told you before I love celebrity news so I found this while searching one of my fave websites, as embarrassing as it is… Perez Hilton. Yes, I am THAT person.

The actress has …read more

With an eye on curing diabetes, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have successfully transplanted embryonic pig pancreatic cells destined to produce insulin into diabetic macaque monkeys — all without the need for risky immune suppression drugs that prevent rejection.
Wow! Pretty darn cool. Within three weeks the transplanted “primordia” cells became embedded in three of the monkeys in which they were transferred. And the kicker… they started secreting pig insulin in response to rising blood sugars just like expected in a healthy “individual”.
The primates used in the study all had type 1 diabetes. …read more

I know that I have written about something similar to this in the past, but here is new research that offers a non invasive way to analyze blood sugars amongst type 1 diabetics.
By using a chemical analysis method developed for air-pollution testing, UC Irvine chemists and pediatricians have found that children with type-1 diabetes exhale significantly higher concentrations of methyl nitrates when they are hyperglycemic.
The methyl nitrate exhaled concentrations were found to be at least 10 times higher in diabetic children experiencing hyperglycemia than when they are not. Wow! This is very exciting news indeed for possible non …read more

Researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) have found that a triple combination therapy consisting of both tolerance-inducing and anti-inflammatory properties is successful in abolishing adverse autoimmunity against insulin-producing cells in a mouse model of Type 1 diabetes.
We all know that type 1 diabetes develops when the body’s immune cells attack and destroy its own pancreatic beta cells. And without beta cells, the body is unable to produce insulin. Thus the injection of insulin among type1 diabetics every day of their lives.
Up to this point, treatment in type 1 diabetes has concentrated on restoring immune tolerance, which …read more

Yes, she is still on the way. Kaitlin has been very busy these days with her summer break and summer jobs like lounging at the pool, and hanging with friends. No seriously, I will have my lovely, young, diabetic friend’s interview to share with you soon…
I have been put in touch with a wonderful, smart, athletic young lady by my friend who is a middle school teacher. Kaitlin is a middle school student that excels both in the classroom and on the playing field.
She has had type 1 diabetes for most of her life. Kaitlin lives …read more

I was reading through diabetes message boards and news sources today when I came upon a story about a teenage boy that had his insulin pump stolen while at the beach. You know what? Sometimes we take things for granted. First of all when I was 15 the only thing I worried about was where I played soccer that weekend and what friend was going to spend the night. Second, I am fortunate enough to deal with my type 2 diabetes with no injections.
In no way am I trying to say nanna-nanna-boo-boo about my diabetes treatment, …read more

There is a trial being conducted at 14 medical centers around the US. Researchers are testing oral insulin to see if it can prevent type 1 diabetes in people at risk for the disease.
An earlier trial suggested that oral insulin might delay type 1 diabetes for about four years in some people with islet cell autoantibodies in their blood. Some scientists think that introducing insulin via the digestive tract induces tolerance, which is a quieting of the immune system.
Previous trials like this suggested that oral insulin could delay the onset of type 1 diabetes for …read more

Dr. Diabetes. The villain who was created by 13 year old Kaamal Washington and his 11 year old brother, Malcolm, have gained national attention. Kaamal was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when he was 9.
The evil Dr. Diabetes leaps from a hospital window, crashing through the glass, determined to infect anyone in his path with the chronic, debilitating disease from which he takes his name. The imposing, green, wild-haired monster scowls, punches the air and taunts, “I will make sure that everyone on the planet feels my pain. The whole world will have diabetes.”
The two Kansas City brothers …read more

Yesterday was one of those emotional days for me. You guessed it, for no apparent reason. Maybe it was the fact that I haven’t slept in a week, thanks to my youngest daughter. Or it could have been that all the blogs I read yesterday morning were reflective and utterly depressing. Wait, was it a full moon? Whatever the reason, I let myself get sucked into my thoughts. Of course, they were about anything that has happened recently that left me saddened.
This explains the choice for my post yesterday. I have a close …read more