Researchers from the Michigan State University said that eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables reduced the risk factors associated with heart disease and diabetes as they are rich in vitamins, minerals and other chemicals.

The researchers conducted the study on more than 2,000 teenagers in the United States between 12 to 19 years of age. The researchers tested for what is known as metabolic syndrome: set of conditions such as high blood pressure, high blood sugar levels, large waistline, low levels of HDL (good cholesterol) and high levels of fat in the blood.

The researchers found that approximately 6 percent of the teenagers had the metabolic syndrome. However the number went to nine percent among children who ate the least amount of fiber in their food compared to 3 percent who ate the most amount.

Lead researcher Joe Carlson was quick to point out that eating a fiber rich diet did not mean that teenagers could gorge on food items containing high levels of saturated fat. “We know if you eat a lot of saturated fat, or trans fat, it tends to raise (bad) cholesterol and total cholesterol”, he said.

Source-Medindia

Article source: http://www.medindia.net/news/Teens-can-Reduce-Risk-of-Diabetes-and-Heart-Disease-Via-Fiber-Rich-Diet-93239-1.htm

The findings has implications in the fight against type I diabetes along with other autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and celiac disease.

Aaron Michels, MD, an assistant professor of pediatrics and medicine, working with George Eisenbarth, MD, Ph.D., executive director of the Barbara Davis Centre for Childhood Diabetes at the CU School of Medicine, tested a series of molecules before finding one that stopped diabetes from developing in mice bred to get the disease.

“We found that when you put specific molecules into specific structural pockets you could block the formation of diabetes,” said Eisenbarth.

They found that the compound Glyphosine enhanced insulin presentation and prevented diabetes in mice genetically modified to develop type 1diabetes.

It had the same effect on human cells. The mice remained disease-free as long as they received daily injections of the compound.

However, it was not as effective on mice that already had diabetes.

The next step is to focus specifically on human cells to try and develop new therapies for clinical use. That could be at least five years away.

The study published in the latest edition of The Journal of Immunology.

Source-ANI

Article source: http://www.medindia.net/news/Promising-Compound-to-Prevent-Type-1-Diabetes-Discovered-92890-1.htm

“These findings are encouraging for preventing type 2 diabetes in the black population, which is more susceptible to the disease than other populations,” said Serena Tonstad, MD, a professor at Loma Linda University and lead author of the research, published in the October issue of Nutrition, Metabolism Cardiovascular Diseases.

In addition to being at a greater risk for developing diabetes, black persons in the U.S. are also more likely to suffer from diabetes-related complications, such as end-stage renal disease and lower-extremity amputations, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

“A vegetarian diet may be a way to counteract the increased diabetes risk for the black population,” Dr. Tonstad said.

Dr. Tonstad’s research showed that, compared to non-vegetarian blacks, vegan blacks had a 70 percent reduced risk of diabetes, and lacto-ovo vegetarian blacks (those who consume dairy, but no meat) had a 53 percent reduced risk of diabetes. Dr. Tonstad said one explanation was the protection associated with foods typically consumed in higher amounts in a vegetarian diet. Fruits and vegetables have a high fiber content, which may contribute to a decreased occurrence of type 2 diabetes. In addition, whole grains and legumes (beans) have been shown to improve glycemic control and slow the rate of carbohydrate absorption and the risk of diabetes.

Article source: http://www.medindia.net/news/Vegetarian-Diet-Exercise-May-Help-Reduce-Diabetes-Risk-Among-Blacks-92904-1.htm

The study looked at the link between maternal age, BMI and racial origin with the development of GDM and how they interact with each other.

Data were collected on 585,291 pregnancies in women attending for antenatal care and delivery at 15 maternity units in North West London from 1988-2000.The study included 1,688 women who developed GDM and 172,632 who did not.

Maternal age was divided into the following groups: below 20, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39 and above 40 years of age.

Maternal BMI was also divided according to the WHO international classification of BMI as follows: less than 18.5(underweight), 18.50-24.99 (normal weight), 25.00-29.99 (overweight) and more or equal to 30.00 (obese). Prevalence of GDM was calculated for each maternal age and BMI group.

There was a strong association between GDM development and advancing maternal age which varied by racial group.

Using White European women age 20-24 years as a comparison group, White European women older than 30 years had significantly higher odds ratios (ORs)for developing GDM.

The ORs for GDM development were also significantly higher in the other racial groups but at a younger maternal age (older than 25 years if they were Black Africans or Black Caribbeans and older than 20 years if they were South Asians). Moreover, the rate of GDM rose more rapidly with age. For example, in mothers aged 40 years or more, the rate of GDM had risen to 1.9% in white European mothers (from 0.5% at age 20-24), but to 11.4% in South Asians (from 1.1) and 21.7% in black Africans (from 0.7%).

Article source: http://www.medindia.net/news/Risk-Factors-for-Gestational-Diabetes-Identified-92821-1.htm

In collaboration with the DIPP – Finnish Type 1 Diabetes and Prediction study, VTT researches have previously found that specific metabolic disturbances precede early β-cell autoimmunity markers in children who subsequently progress to type 1 diabetes. However, the question remained what are the environmental causes and tissue-specific mechanisms leading to these disturbances?

Matej Orešič from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and collaborators Eriika Savontaus from the University of Turku, Samuel Kaski from Aalto University and Mikael Knip from the University of Helsinki set out to address this question, and the results were published on October 27, 2011 in PLoS Computational Biology journal.

The team carried out a study using non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice that recapitulated the protocol used in the DIPP clinical study, followed up by independent studies in which NOD mice were studied in relation to the risk of diabetes progression. Researchers found that young female NOD mice that later progress to autoimmune diabetes exhibit the same metabolic pattern as prediabetic children. These metabolic changes are accompanied by enhanced glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, upregulation of insulinotropic amino acids in islets, elevated plasma leptin and adiponectin, and diminished gut microbial diversity of the Clostridium leptum subgroup.

Article source: http://www.medindia.net/news/Specific-Bacteria-Which-Precede-Autoimmune-Diabetes-Identified-by-VTT-Researchers-92658-1.htm

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Article source: http://www.medindia.net/news/Type-2-Diabetes-Development-Associated-With-Low-Levels-Of-BNP-Hormone-92558-1.htm

This is the first time that the Alberta Diabetes Atlas has included additional sources of data. With this enhancement it has become a vital tool for front line health-care providers and policy makers.

According to the Atlas, many Albertans who have diabetes are not getting the recommended number of laboratory tests. By monitoring the frequency of key laboratory tests along with test results in diabetes patients, health-care practitioners can more easily make decisions about whether to change or intensify therapy. And at a higher level, being able to monitor these values across regions and communities in Alberta allow health-system managers and policy makers to monitor patient populations, identify disparities, and ultimately improve the quality of care.

“Our desire was to enhance the service we are providing to practitioners through the Atlas,” explains Jeffrey Johnson, a researcher with the University of Alberta’s School of Public Health.

“By including lab data, we are able to look at issues related to quality of care. We’ve extended the scope, content and depth of the report,” says Johnson. “We can identify trends over time, as well as across geography and age.”

Article source: http://www.medindia.net/news/Lab-Test-Information-Key-to-Diabetes-Management-Among-Albertans-92156-1.htm

African American women are less likely to develop GDM during pregnancy. But for those who were diagnosed of having GDM, their future overt diabetes risk is the greatest among all race/ethnic groups. Although Asian/Pacific Islander women are much more likely to develop GDM than African American or non-Hispanic white women, their future diabetes risk after GDM is similar to that for non-Hispanic white women, the study found.

“Race and ethnicity should be considered among the risk factors for type 2 diabetes when physicians and nurses counsel women about their risk of developing diabetes after a pregnancy complicated by GDM,” said study lead author Anny H. Xiang, a senior research scientist at the Kaiser Permanente Department of Research Evaluation in Pasadena, Calif.

This study of 77,666 ethnically diverse women who gave birth from 1995 to 2009 found that African American women who developed GDM had the highest risk of developing overt diabetes in the future in comparison to women from other racial and ethnic groups. For African American women, their risk of developing diabetes was almost 10 times greater if they had developed GDM during a past pregnancy than if they did not develop GDM. In comparison, the relative risks were 6.5 times greater for non-Hispanic White women, 7.7 times greater for Hispanic women, and 6.3 times greater in Asian/Pacific Islander women.

Article source: http://www.medindia.net/news/Long-term-Diabetes-Risk-Higher-in-African-American-Women-With-Gestational-Diabetes-92310-1.htm

“We did not identify a significant correlation between shockwave lithotripsy and the long-term development of diabetes mellitus,” says Matthew Gettman, M.D. (http://www.mayoclinic.org/bio/11940808.html), a Mayo Clinic urologist and co-author of the paper, “Shockwave Lithrotripsy and Diabetes Mellitus: A Population-Based Cohort Study.”

“We believe this ‘clears the air’ on this topic, which has been the subject of debate for some time,” Dr. Gettman says.

Among more than 5,200 patients analyzed, 14.1 percent were found to have developed incident diabetes, while just 8 percent were treated with shockwave lithotripsy (http://www.mayoclinic.org/kidney-stones/treatment.html), pointing to no significant correlation between the treatment and the incidence of diabetes (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/diabetes/DS01121). Multiple analytical approaches were used, and researchers controlled for age, gender and obesity.

According to the National Kidney Foundation, 5 percent of Americans will develop stones in the kidney, bladder and/or urinary tract. Shockwave lithotripsy, a nonsurgical technique for treating such stones, uses high-energy shock waves to break stones into tiny fragments small enough for patients to pass in their urine.

While shockwave lithotripsy is the most common treatment for kidney stones, it has been known to affect the pancreas in certain patients. Because of the critical role the pancreas plays in the development of diabetes, there has been some concern that the use of shockwave lithotripsy could cause diabetes.

Source-Eurekalert

Article source: http://www.medindia.net/news/Study-Finds-No-Link-Between-Kidney-Stone-Treatment-And-Diabetes-92325-1.htm

“It appears that both Type 2 diabetes and autism have a common underlying mechanism — impaired glucose tolerance and hyperinsulinemia,” said Rice University biochemist Michael Stern, author of the opinion paper, which appears online in this month’s issue of Frontiers in Cellular Endocrinology.

Hyperinsulinemia, often a precursor to insulin resistance, is a condition characterized by excess levels of insulin in the bloodstream. Insulin resistance is often associated with both obesity and Type 2 diabetes.

“It will be very easy for clinicians to test my hypothesis,” said Stern, professor of biochemistry and cell biology at Rice. “They could do this by putting autistic children on low-carbohydrate diets that minimize insulin secretion and see if their symptoms improve.”

Stern said the new finding also suggests that glucose tolerance in pregnant women may need to be addressed more seriously than it is now.

Stern said he first realized there could be a common link between Type 2 diabetes and autism a few years ago, but he assumed someone else had already thought of the idea.

Stern’s lab, which is located at Rice’s BioScience Research Collaborative, specializes in investigating the genetic interactions associated with genetic diseases like neurofibromatosis, a disorder in which patients are several times more likely to be afflicted with autism and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) like Asperger’s syndrome.

Article source: http://www.medindia.net/news/Autism-Diabetes-Linked-92223-1.htm