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 insulin. Within a week after delivery the menin levels in the mice were back up to normal and the pancreatic islets began shrinking to their original size.

Thus those that produce too much menin would have issues controlling their blood sugars and regulating their own insulin with limited production of islet cells.

Understanding the mechanisms of regulating menin should lead to new ways of growing islets for transplantation into people with type-1 diabetes and could lead to new treatments for diabetes in pregnant women or obese adults, Kim said.

Well hot dog!!! As I said before, I just love science sometimes!

Post from: Blisstree

Cracking The Code On Gestational Diabetes

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 been quoted saying that she was a Type 1 diabetic but now she has been able to ween herself off insulin to be a Type 2. SOMETHING THAT IS NOT POSSIBLE.

 

Pregnant HALLE BERRY is winning her battle with diabetes, thanks to a healthy diet and good living. The actress was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes after she passed out while shooting a TV show called Living Dolls when she first arrived in Hollywood. But the disease has now dropped to Type 2 diabetes because Berry is no longer “insulin dependent”. She says, “I’ve managed to ween myself off insulin, so now I like to put myself in the Type 2 category.”

Man oh man! I am a little disappointed that a beautiful, intelligent actress like Halle Berry would make a HUGE mistake like this. I am hoping that she was just misquoted. Maybe she just has “pregnancy brain”. But none the less, there are pretty upset people out there!

via Perez Hilton

Post from: Blisstree

Ms. Halle Berry Really Stepped In Some Diabetic Hot Water…

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. This could be huge news in aiding in the cure for diabetes. None of the monkeys had the need for ANY immune system altering medications. Yes I said NO anti-rejection meds. Huge!!!

via Science Daily

Post from: Blisstree

Successful Cell Transplant With No Use Of Immune Supression Drugs In “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 invasive type testing in the future. Wouldn’t that be grand? To test your blood sugar without a single prick… but would it be as precise and accurate? That is my only hang up. But I am sure time will tell and I am keeping my fingers crossed. What do you think? Exciting or murky waters? Tell me your opinion.

via Science Daily

Post from: Blisstree

Non Invasive Way To Test Blood Sugars On Horizon

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 would then prevent the cells from being broken down. But guess what? That hasn’t worked. They knew that a presence of inflammation in the muscle and fat was a sort of “trigger” for type 2 diabetics. So researcher’s started to wonder if that same inflammation could play a role in type1 diabetes. And if it did, would understanding it’s properties and function allow us to develop new treatments to steady blood sugars?

That is where the above mentioned research took us. Of course, the mice are responding to the triple therapy which consisted of two novel immunoglobulin-fusion proteins and it was aimed at both increasing tolerance and decreasing inflammation. But what will it prove to do in human diabetics? Once again, time will tell but the outlook is promising. Could this inflammation be the break that scientists have been long looking for among diabetics? What do you think?

via Science Daily

Post from: Blisstree

Could Treating Inflammation Among Cells Aid In The Treatment Of Type 1 Diabetics

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 her life to the fullest and doesn’t let a “little thing” called diabetes get in her way. Look forward to reading what she has to say about growing up diabetic and how she deals with the added stresses in her life.

I know she has made her parents very proud, and I envy any young lady that can handle so much at a young age!

Post from: Blisstree

We Have A Diabetic, Teenage Guest Blogger Coming Soon… She Is Still On The Way!!

In no way am I trying to say nanna-nanna-boo-boo about my diabetes treatment, just stating that so many have it much tougher than me! This poor kid decided to take a surf and came back to a missing bookbag worth about $10,000. What a shame.

Its loss meant Jeremy would have had to revert to blood tests and up to six needles a day  a bit of a dampener on the life of a young bloke who loves surfing and cricket. And then there’s the cost.

Technology these days is amazing and is only going to get better. I am sure by the time my kids are parents, pumps will be like microchips. This story did have a happy ending though… The bookbag was found in the sand dunes and returned to the family, insulin pump and all.

“For a 14-year-old boy, Type 1 Diabetes is a big handbrake on your life and this allows him the freedom to hang with his mates. I’m just so happy he can have that level of control over his life again.”

via Sunshine Coast Daily

Post from: Blisstree

Stolen Insulin Pump Puts A Damper On Teenager’s Beach Trip

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 a few years. What do you think? Would you want to be one of the “experimental” patients in a study like this? Do you think that type 1 diabetes will ever be preventable? I can only hope so!

via Science Daily

Post from: Blisstree

Can Oral Insulin Prevent Diabetes?

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 created the comic books to spread awareness about the disease and empower those that have it. Right now the books are sold online, but soon they will be available at Walgreen and CVS shops in the Kansas City area and comic book shops nationally.

How cool is this? Kaamal and Malcolm are working on their third diabetes themed comic book as we speak. In this episode, the politicians refuse to increase funding towards the cure for diabetes and the hero must convince them otherwise. What neat young men!

via Sci-Tech Today

Post from: Blisstree

Dr. Diabetes Comic Books Created By 2 Brothers From Kansas City

This explains the choice for my post yesterday. I have a close RN friend who I have known for 8 years or so. We talk almost everyday. From what is happened at work the night before, yes us RNs love to talk, to what is going on with our kids, husbands and emotional wellbeing. Sometimes that latter of that list is in serious question. That is another story all together, right?

Well, my friend called me a few weeks back and was pretty upset about her nephew. He is 2 years old. Apparently, his mom called the doctor because she had some concerns, he was drinking to much and peeing excessively. The doctor told her to take him to the ER. I am sure after much poking and prodding, once again, thanks to us good ol’ RNs, the results came back. His glucose was in the danger zone, 600-ish.

Holy bananas, that is high, especially for a young child. He was living in danger and they didn’t even know. Isn’t it strange how we can be existing everyday, moving through life and not have a clue that anything is wrong? Scary! Some of my patients have had aneurysms that were ready to burst and blood clots the size of a grape. Lucky for them, they had the poops and went to the ER. Those poops saved their lives. Now I am rambling on.

Getting back to my friends nephew, he was admitted to a peds floor. After stabilizing his blood sugar to a mere 300, the RNs, doctors and dietitians started shoving info down their throats. Just imagine having to digest a months worth of information in 2 days. He was admitted on Saturday morning and was released on Monday afternoon. That means in those 3 very stressful, chaotic, emotional days, his mom and dad had to learn how to use a glucometer, draw up and give insulin, serve up a correct meal and detect the warning signs of high and low blood sugar. I think that is a bit much for anyone! In my opinion, we should thank the insurance companies for that. Don’t get me started on that topic!

Thank the sweet lord us moms and dads can do anything when it comes to our kids. You want to hear something scarier than the hospitalization? My friends nephew had to go back to day care the next week. So now, his parents have to go to work and worry all day if their son is being given the right foods, medicine and attention. I can’t imagine what those first few days were like!

I decided to look into laws and regulations for day care providers that deal with diabetic children after a conversation I had with that same friend today. Do they have to have certification and training? Well, I came up with a big ol’ goose egg. I could find nothing that stated there was regulations. If anyone knows any different, I would love a point in the right direction. Thank heavens today is a new day or I would probably be boo-hooing about this finding to!

Type 1, or juvenile diabetes, is not a very talked about topic. I know my pediatrician has never asked questions pertaining to any worries I might have about signs and symptoms in my own kids. Would I even know what they were if I wasn’t a nurse?

My heart truly goes out to any family that has to deal with this on a daily basis. Some days I can’t get all three of my girls dressed before the bus picks up my oldest, let alone the tedious regimen that goes along with juvenile diabetes.

Post from: Blisstree

We Need To Talk About The Seriousness Of Juvenile Diabetes!