Category Archives: Diabetes

Posted: Jul 14, 2021 / 12:28 PM CDT / Updated: Jul 14, 2021 / 12:28 PM CDT

Dr. J Murray Hockings, DO, founder of Help Your Diabetes, spoke with Studio 512 Co-Host Stephanie Gilbert about the connection between type-2 diabetes and COVID-19, how the disease can be reversed with his patented system, and more.

What is the connection between COVID-19 and type-2 diabetes?

The CDC says that 94% of anyone who died from Covid had at least one underlying health condition and type-2 diabetes is one of the most common underlying conditions, so its important to reverse your diabetes so you can help prevent serious complications from COVID-19, Dr. Hockings said.

What are the most common complications of type-2 diabetes?

Blurred vision that can lead to blindness, kidney stress that can lead to dialysis or transplant, heart disease that can lead to heart attack or stroke, neuropathy that can lead to blindness, Alzheimers (type-3 diabetes), erectile dysfunction (ED), and cancer, Dr. Hockings said.

Is type-2 diabetes reversible?

Yes, it is and we have the only patented system in the world that reverses type-2 diabetes, and we guarantee results. After finishing our program as directed, if you are still taking any diabetic medications, you will get a 100% refund plus $500 just for trying it, so you have nothing to lose by trying our program, Dr. Hockings said.

How do people find out more about your program?

We are a comprehensive diabetes reversal consultation, which includes a diabetes reversal video training, a diabetes reversal score, and a diabetes reversal assessment and customized plan. The first 30 people who sign up only have to pay $37 instead of our normal fee of $150. They can go toStopYourDiabetesNow.com, Dr. Hockings said.

This segment is paid for by Help Your Diabetes and is intended as an advertisement. Opinions expressed by the guest(s) on this program are solely those of the guest(s) and are not endorsed by this television station.

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What Is The Connection Between Type-2 Diabetes And COVID-19? - KXAN.com

Millions of US adults aged 70 years and over previously advised to take aspirin for primary prevention would not now have it recommended for routine continued use in particular those with diabetes at low risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) say the authors of a new study investigating trends in use of the medication.

The cross-sectional study looked at aspirin use for both primary and secondary prevention of CVD in older adults ( 60 years), with primary prevention being the key concern in this age group for whom harms, mainly bleeding, might outweigh benefits.

In fact, older people with diabetes were found to be twice as likely to use aspirin for primary prevention as those without diabetes (odds ratio [OR], 1.98).

The authors, led by Elizabeth Liu, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, suggest "that older adults may have potential overuse of aspirin therapy if it is not actively discontinued, especially among those with diabetes," in their article published online June 21 in JAMA Network Open.

In an accompanying editorial, Wilson D. Pace, MD, chief medical officer, DARTNet Institute, Aurora, Colorado, points out that the study shows "a large percentage of individuals 70 years and older take daily aspirin in the absence of known CVD."

Indeed, "more than 20% of individuals with low cardiovascular risk use daily aspirin," he noted. "And this increased to over 50% in those people over 80 years. This rate of aspirin use is poorly justified by current evidence and would seem likely to be causing more harm than good."

Revised guidelines from the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and American College of Cardiology (ACC) in 2021 recommend consideration of aspirin use for primary prevention in individuals with diabetes who have an increased CVD risk, without increased risk of bleeding, but generally not in those aged 70 years and older.

Studies published in 2018 were a turning point. Evidence from three large trials (ASCEND, ASPREE, and ARRIVE) led to a change in guidelines by the ADA and ACC.

Both organizations discourage the use of aspirin for primary prevention in people over 70 years with or without diabetes.

The findings from the new cross-sectional study show the potential to reduce aspirin use in older adults.The new studyis based on data on preventive aspirin use in 7103 adults over aged 60 from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) in 2011-2018,

Overall, aspirin use for primary or secondary prevention in older US adults was 46.7%. For those with diabetes it was 61.7%, compared to 42.2% in those without diabetes.

Among people with diabetes, the likelihood of aspirin use in older vs younger age categories (reference, 60-69 years) did not differ in multivariable logistic models adjusting for race, sex, education, CVD risk category, and body mass index.

"Preventive aspirin use was higher among older adults with diabetes than in those without diabetes," the researchers say.

Extrapolating from their analysis, they suggest that continued aspirin use would now not be recommended in the 9.9 million older US adults who have been taking aspirin for primary prevention, particularly those with diabetes.

Going forward, it will be important to examine if the changes to guidelines made in 2018 will have any effect on such prescribing, they add.

"Ultimately, future studies should examine the influence of updating guidelines on clinician behaviors and the association of changing trends in preventive aspirin use with the development of CVD in older adults," they write.

Senior author RitaKalyani, MD, also of Johns Hopkins, emphasized the importance of initiating a conversation about the benefits and risks of aspirin use in older patients.

"It's important that for patients taking aspirin, as well as clinicians treating those over 70 years, with and without diabetes, to discuss if they're taking aspirin for primary prevention," she told Medscape Medical News.

"If they are, then on an individual basis, they need to together discuss the potential benefits and harms involved in the context of recently updated guidelines and studies," she added.

Pace noted that most individuals older than 70 years are not newly initiating aspirin, but continuing therapy started at a younger age.

"Stopping a therapy on which an individual appears to be doing well can be a much harder decision for both patient and clinician than not starting the treatment in the first place," said Pace.

"Only through careful, ongoing assessments can physicians make sure they are following what many consider to be the most important ethical tenet of clinical care primum non nocere first, do no harm."

JAMA Netw Open.2021;4:e2112210. Full text

The authors, including Liu and Kalyani, as well as Pace, have reported no relevant financial relationships.

For more diabetes and endocrinology news, follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

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Is Aspirin Overused in Older Patients With Diabetes? - Medscape

Summertime can bring extra challenges for people with diabetes. Research suggests that hot weather can lead to health issues for people with diabetes, making you more sensitive to high temperatures and humidity.

You may find it harder to keep your blood sugar levels under control, and you may be at increased risk for developing heat exhaustion.

So, when the weather heats up, its important to closely monitor your blood sugar levels and watch for possible symptoms that your body is not handling the heat very well. That way, you can take action before the situation becomes serious.

Its not just that the hot weather can make you feel tired and sluggish. It can have some negative effects on how your diabetes affects your body. For example, people with diabetes tend to get dehydrated more quickly than people without diabetes. Signs of mild to moderate dehydration can include:

When dehydration becomes more severe, you may develop:

Some people even notice their sweat production drops off.

Dehydration can make your blood glucose levels rise. Then, you may develop a more frequent need to urinate, which compounds the problem.

Youre also more vulnerable to heat exhaustion because diabetes can damage your blood vessels and nerves, including the nerves in your sweat glands, so you may not be able to cool your body as efficiently as it needs.

Additionally, high temps can alter how your body uses insulin. Typically, if youre exercising, it reduces your need for insulin. But hot weather can throw a wrench into that, and you may be at risk for both high and low blood glucose levels.

Thats a good incentive for discussing with a medical professional how to adjust your insulin, if need be, to account for your activity level and the weather.

In some places, its not just hot. Its hot and humid at the same time. The extra moisture in the air can make the heat feel worse.

And heres the challenge for people with diabetes: When its humid, your sweat doesnt evaporate as well as it would under drier conditions. That makes it harder to stay cool, and that can make it harder for you to keep your blood glucose levels under control.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests monitoring the heat index in your area, since that takes both temperature and humidity into account.

Managing your diabetes carefully is the best way to stay on top of the situation. Here are a few tips to help you do that and stay safe in the heat this summer:

If you have diabetes, youll want to monitor yourself for the possible development of symptoms of heat exhaustion, as well as hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia. Sometimes the symptoms can be similar, so you may want to keep an eye out for a range of symptoms, and when in doubt, seek medical care.

Your body can overheat in response to hot weather and develop a condition known as heat exhaustion. Symptoms tend to include:

While not as serious as heat stroke, heat exhaustion can pave the way for it, so dont ignore these symptoms.

Hypoglycemia occurs when your blood sugar drops to abnormally low levels. Officially, it occurs when your blood glucose levels fall below 70 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL).

Your risk for hypoglycemia increases in the summer because your metabolism tends to run higher in hot, humid weather, and youre more likely to absorb more insulin.

When hypoglycemia develops, you may start feeling confused or develop blurred vision. Other symptoms include:

In extreme cases, you may lose consciousness. Be sure to keep glucose tablets or another source of fast-acting carbohydrates on hand so you can take them right away if your blood sugar levels start to drop.

Hyperglycemia occurs when your blood glucose levels are too high. Your body either doesnt have enough insulin or it cant use the insulin it has effectively.

You have hyperglycemia if your blood sugar levels exceed 180 mg/dL after meals or hover above 130 mg/dL before you eat.

Feeling really thirsty or fatigued? Do you need to pee frequently? Those are common signs of hyperglycemia. Of course, excessive thirst and fatigue can also develop as a result of dehydration. But either way, you dont want to brush them off. Check your blood sugar levels and make sure youre also drinking enough fluids.

If you start developing signs that you are becoming dehydrated or having heat exhaustion, stop what youre doing. Head indoors to a cool spot, drink some fluids to help you rehydrate, and check your blood sugar levels.

If your blood sugar levels have dropped below 70 mg/dL, remember the 15-15 rule, suggests the American Diabetes Association. That is, consume 15 grams of carbs to raise your blood sugar levels and wait 15 minutes to test your levels again.

If your blood sugar levels are too high, quick-acting insulin can help counteract high blood sugar levels in many cases.

However, if your blood sugar levels are dangerously high, dont wait. Have someone take you to the hospital. If you have low insulin levels, and very high blood sugar levels, you could go into diabetic ketoacidosis, which is a medical emergency.

Summer can be a marvelous time, but the heat and humidity can take their toll on people with diabetes.

Its important to watch out for signs of dehydration and heat exhaustion, and keep close tabs on your blood glucose levels. Keep an ample supply of fluids, medications, and other supplies close by. That way you can reach for your medication, fast-acting carbohydrates, or other supplies as soon you need them.

Excerpt from:
Diabetes and Heat: How to Stay Safe in Hot, Humid Weather - Healthline

Diabetes is a grave comorbidity for coronavirus and associated with several complications, including severity, increased oxygen requirement, prolonged recovery timelines and to an extent, mortality. However, for many, a battle with COVID-19 is leading to an altogether new diagnosis of diabetes, or COVID diabetes, as it is now being called.

A recent report published in the International Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism has also warned about the onset of new diabetes increasingly becoming a post-COVID-complication and a new danger to be scared of.

But what's fueling the rise? Is it COVID, or underlying risk factors? We asked doctors to weigh in on the same...

Can COVID-19 trigger a complication like diabetes?

From the heart to the digestive system, there's been a lot of evidence detailing just how worrisome a battle with COVID-19 could be. Newer studies have also highlighted that the SARS-COV-2 virus can launch a scathing attack on the pancreas, impair cells that produce and regulate insulin and as a result, cause diabetes.

READ MORE: After black fungus, doctors now worried about rising bone death cases

Doctors are also now worried that the rising blood sugar levels recorded in cases of COVID- without prior history is making management of the disease even more challenging, and leaving patients with a lot more health implications than they once were diagnosed for.

"There are various mechanisms which can trigger high blood sugar post-COVID. For one, COVID-19 virus has been seen to directly affect the beta cells of the pancreas that produce insulin, which can lead to permanent diabetes," shares Dr Shavial Chandalia, Consultant, Department of diabetology and endocrinology, Jaslok Hospital, Mumbai.

The apparent commonalities between COVID-19 and diabetes, also a vascular disease, both caused by inflammation could also be a grave risk factor allowing the virus to attack the lungs and the pancreas, which could be fueling diabetes as a post-COVID complication, according to Dr Sunil Kumar Mishra, Director, Endocrinology and Diabetology, Medanta.

Some, like Dr Arbinder Singal, MBBS (Gold Medalist), DNB, M. Ch (AIIMS, Gold Medalist), also believe that "intense stressors" such as inflammation caused by cytokines could be a probable reason why hyperglycemia is triggered in patients who are on the road to recovery.

ALSO READ: Digestive post-COVID symptoms to not ignore after recovery

New diabetes an added risk to hospitalization and COVID severity

India, infamously dubbed to be the Diabetes Capital of the world also records the early onset of diagnosis, typically a decade before global averages. The problem fueled by COVID-19 is also adding to the crisis, with doctors seeing both young and old patients come in with symptoms and signs of hyperglycemia.

While there has been an incidental rise in the COVID diabetes cases, the likelihood of developing Type-2 diabetes is more in those who suffered from moderate or severe cases and put on steroid therapies, according to doctors. The big factor? Severe complications and steroid usage.

"Diabetes, so to speak, is a highly affecting disease in our country, and we are definitely seeing a rise due to previously high caseloads and hospitalizations in recent months. The incidence rate is definitely high. In terms of treatment, we have seen that in some cases of moderate to severe COVID, steroid usage could be what is possibly triggering this problem. Certain steroids, especially when given in high doses can be diabetogenic, and bring in certain unwelcome changes that could be causing diabetes. "

Steroids, largely used to help patients deal with problems of oxygen deprivation and respiratory complications, have been subjected to controversies over indiscriminate and excessive use. Now, as doctors say, the greatest risk of raging sugar levels may be for those administered steroids or continuing to use steroids weeks after recovery.

Dr Chandalia and Dr Mishra also highlight that hyperglycemia is an added risk with steroid usage and must be considered a big warning sign before being administered the same. The damage or the diabetes diagnosis could be temporary, or permanent enough to cause problems.

Undiagnosed diabetes, poor awareness adding to the risks

Dr Mishra, who has treated some acute cases of post-COVID-hypoglycemia recently also believes that rather than new triggered COVID-diabetes, the bigger problem lies with the undiagnosed cases, which according to the doctor, are more at risk of COVID complications later on.

"There have been cases of in-hospital hyperglycemia, but from what we have seen, the incidental risk is higher for those who have an apparent family history, prediabetic or simply unaware", says Dr Mishra, adding that over 50% of the diabetes cases in India go unnoticed, or aren't diagnosed well.

Prediabetes is also a big risk factor that needs to be taken into consideration. Additional steroid use and COVID complications could put one at risk for unusually high sugar levels or permanently push them into diabetes. For the ones who are 'borderline' or have stable control, the insulin sensitivity could become much worse.

Pandemic-induced sedentary lifestyles a big risk factor for diabetes

Dr Singhal believes that the COVID-19 pandemic has very poorly derailed glycemic control for people, even for those without any history, and so agrees Dr Mishra.

From lack of physical activity, unhealthy eating habits and patchy focus to screenings and preventive measures, all these factors have acted as big risks for blood sugar flare-ups, which, in turn, has pushed many into prediabetes or made them diabetic without being primarily aware. "There has also been a rise in young-onset of diabetes in the west," shares Dr Mishra, who believes that many of the cases were simply aggravated by COVID-19.

Doctors also add that COVID induced diabetes risk is greater for those already at risk- history of a sedentary lifestyle, overweight, high BMI, suffering from PCOS and hence, must keep a check.

Preventive screenings and monitoring sugar levels vital

While doctors do see a lot of diabetes cases in India, one of the biggest issues could be bleak unawareness about the symptoms, one's disposition and diabetes risk.

One of the primary things Dr Mishra and Dr Chandalia advise patients to invest in is on a glucometer- especially after the age of 35, with or without a COVID risk.

Dr Chandalia adds that with a lot of new COVID cases, ones resultant of COVID-19, "If a COVID patient continues to be on steroids, frequent readings and monitoring is definitely one way to be in control of your health and know when to seek help."

Dr Mishra also asserts that monitoring glucose readings is the way to control the disorder. "For people who are suffering from obesity, have PCOS, family history we recommend starting the checks earlier than the recommended age.", he adds.

What are the warning signs and symptoms to be careful of?

Fasting levels over 250-300 should be a cause of concern and demands a doctor's attention. However, with diabetes, a lot of symptoms can go unnoticed at the primary level, or come up late. Nonetheless, it is imperative that patients be careful about critical signs of worry like:

-Excessive thirst

-Too much hunger

-Frequent urination

-Fatigue

-Unexplained weight loss.

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COVID diabetes: Why is COVID-19 causing diabetes in some people? Here's what doctors say - Times of India

Researchers are observing a new long-term health concern in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 an increase in new-onset hyperglycemia lasting months after infection. An Italian study found that about half of the patients admitted to the hospital for COVID-19 during the start of the pandemic had new cases of hyperglycemia, or high levels of blood sugar. They also had poorer outcomes.

These people were not diabetic before, says lead author Paolo Fiorina, MD, PhD, who is affiliated with the Division of Nephrology at Boston Childrens Hospital. But during admission, about 46 percent of the patients were found to have new hyperglycemia. While most cases resolved, about 35 percent of the newly hyperglycemic patients remained so at least six months after the infection.

The study assessed the health of 551 people admitted to the hospital in Italy from March through May 2020. A follow-up period included six months after hospital admission.

Compared with patients with no signs of glucose abnormalities, the hyperglycemic patients also had worse clinical concerns:

We wanted to understand the mechanism why these patients did poorly compared to those who did not have hyperglycemia, says Fiorina, who published an earlier paper showing COVID-19 worsened glucometabolic control in diabetics. The current study was published in Nature Metabolism.

To learn more, all patients were fitted with a glucose sensor at admission. Over the course of time, the researchers detected many abnormalities in glucose metabolic control in the hyperglycemic patients.

They also found that hyperglycemic patients had abnormal hormonal levels. We discovered they were severely hyperinsulinemic; they produced too much insulin, says Fiorina. They also had abnormal levels of pro-insulin, a precursor of insulin, and markers of impaired islet beta cell function. Islet beta cells make and secrete insulin.

Basically, the hormonal profile suggests that the endocrine pancreatic function is abnormal in those patients with COVID-19 and it persists long after recovery, he says.

Hyperglycemic patients also had severe abnormalities in the amount of inflammatory cytokines, including IL-6 and others.

We thought that blocking IL-6, and potentially even other cytokines, would be a benefit for beta cell function, adds Fiorina, whose theory was proven true. Patients treated with anti-IL-6 therapy (tocilizumab), had greater improvement in glycemic control higher compared with those who did not receive the medication.

While glucometabolic abnormalities declined over time in some patients particularly after COVID-19 infection other issued remained. Many patients had higher post-prandial (after eating) glucose levels and abnormal pancreatic hormones in the post-COVID-19 period.

This study is one of the first to show that COVID-19 has a direct effect on the pancreas, says Fiorina. It indicates that the pancreas is another target of the virus affecting not only the acute phase during hospitalization but potentially also the long-term health of these patients.

The study points to the importance of evaluating pancreatic function in patients hospitalized for COVID-19 while in the hospital and over the long term. This goes beyond fasting glucose testing because we observed glucose metabolic abnormalities during the day which were not always present in a normal fasting test, says Fiorina.

In terms of treatment, questions remain about how to care for patients with COVID-19-related glucose abnormalities. Should patients be treated just with an anti-diabetic drug like an insulin sensitizer, or should anti-inflammatory drugs like tocilizumab and other drugs be used?

If you keep targeting and blocking insulin, but you have a strong and chronic inflammation, it may lead to chronic damage, says Fiorina, who suggests larger studies need to be done to test anti-diabetic and anti-inflammatory treatment. When you consider how many patients have been hospitalized with COVID-19, and continue to be worldwide, we may see a huge increase in the diabetic population.

Read more about our COVID-19 research discoveries.

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A coming wave of diabetes? The link with COVID-19 - Boston Children's Answers - Boston Children's Discoveries

Like any parent of a sick child, Sean Doherty wanted to help his son, Finn, who has Type 1 diabetes. Unlike many parents, he had the professional and personal resources to actually make a difference.

Four years ago, Mr. Doherty, then the general counsel of the private equity firm Bain Capital, teamed up with other parents of children with Type 1 diabetes to create the T1D Fund, a private equity-like investment vehicle organized as a nonprofit. The idea was to give a financial incentive to drug companies to develop a cure for Type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease thats different from the more common Type 2 diabetes.

Doing this fund philanthropically, we have the luxury to take risk, Mr. Doherty, who lives in Boston, told me at the time. The new fund got early support from JDRF, a foundation focused on research into Type 1 diabetes, and drew large donors who could meet its minimum $500,000 donation.

The fund was started as venture philanthropy was gaining traction. The model was the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Instead of simply giving money away, donors could contribute to a fund that would invest in a cause and generate a return that would stay in the fund and be invested in promising ideas.

Today, some of those investments have paid off. Others have not. Mr. Doherty, who left Bain to concentrate on the T1D Fund, said he and the funds other trustees had taken some valuable lessons on what works and what doesnt.

As a result, the fund has found success. That came in part because of its base of wealthy, connected and committed donors but also because of the smaller scale of the disease. A similar fund started by the American Cancer Society, by contrast, is being rebooted after stalling during the pandemic. That fund has had trouble standing out among the many organizations trying to raise funds to fight cancer.

Mr. Doherty said the purpose of his fund was to catalyze a market. Type 1 diabetes, he said, is a disease that affects 20 million people around the world, and the market was ignoring it.

People thought insulin devices were a cure, but they were just treating the symptoms, he added. People thought it was a kids disease, when 85 percent of people affected are adults. We focused on our precise, differential value.

The fund received seed capital from JDRF, and the foundation also covered T1Ds operating expenses for several years so all donations went toward investing in companies working on the disease. The funds trustees also sought to attract support from the Helmsley Charitable Trust, a leading funder of Type 1 diabetes research. The association with Helmsley gave the fledging T1D Fund credibility with venture capital firms that could invest alongside it.

Helmsley saw the fund as a way to magnify its donations: Its money was paired with other donations to the T1D Fund and leveraged again when the fund brought in venture capital partners.

It became clear if we got involved in the fund that we could raise three to five times as much money, said David Panzirer, a Helmsley trustee. What the fund is doing is very complementary to what weve done and what were doing going forward. We have partnered with companies along with JDRF and others to accelerate things.

The fund has also attracted donors eager to have a more direct connection to the recipients of their money.

Coming from a tech background, Ive seen how impactful venture capital can be. said Mike Fisher, the chief technology officer of Etsy and the parent of a child with Type 1 diabetes. I spent years working with the local board here in Cleveland, helping them on marketing and organizing walks to raise money. The whole time I was thinking what they need is V.C. backing.

Mr. Fisher said he had donated more than $1 million to the T1D Fund. Theyve had success, he said.

Others, like David Nelms, a former chief executive of Discover Financial, said the fund provided a different way to approach Type 1 diabetes. He said he and his wife, Daryl, would continue to donate to JDRF in support of its scientists and the research they are doing. But they have also been giving to the T1D Fund over $3 million so far because they feel more involved in the investment process.

Its gratifying to feel like you see some of the specific things that theyre doing with the money, Mr. Nelms said. Its a little bit more like an endowment at a university, where you give money upfront and hope it can become self-supporting over time.

The fund has $160 million now, but $50 million came from returns on investments the fund made, Mr. Doherty said. A big success was its 2017 investment in Semma Therapeutics, which is focused on using stem cells as a cure for Type 1 diabetes. Vertex Pharmaceuticals bought it for $950 million in cash in 2019.

Pharmaceutical companies are naturally risk adverse, Mr. Doherty said. So in this case, youre using venture money to prime the pump and keep the cycle going. Vertex will be investing in this for years to come.

The fund is looking to raise $50 million more to get its assets above $200 million, which would allow it to be self-sustaining.

Yet the fund has faced some issues. It struggled in the beginning when private equity firms poached some of it staff, though retaining talent has gotten better as the fund has had success, said Jay Eastman, who works in private equity and has contributed over $1 million to the fund.

Mr. Doherty said the fund had also had to rethink at what stage in a drug companys evolution its investment made the most sense. Its been harder to be the early-stage gap filler between great research in the lab and creating a company, he said. We thought that would happen more, but it hasnt.

Instead, the fund has invested in companies that are already operating. It has also been in meetings with companies that are working on treatments for other autoimmune diseases. One of these is Pandion Therapeutics, which has been developing drugs for diseases like ulcerative colitis.

Now Type 1 treatments are being researched by 20 companies that have much stronger balance sheets than if we had started little companies on our own, Mr. Doherty said.

Beyond the basic logistics of hiring staff, expanding operations and paying people with private equity expertise on a nonprofit budget, the existing interest in a disease matters a lot, too.

Type 1 diabetes is a relatively small disease, but were not quite an orphan disease, Mr. Panzirer said. But were not Type 2 diabetes, either, where the big money comes in.

Diseases that affect more people and already have well-heeled backers present a different challenge. Early this year, Alice Pomponio became managing director of BrightEdge, the American Cancer Societys venture fund, with the task of reinvigorating the fund. BrightEdge received some $35 million from the American Cancer Society in 2019 to make venture philanthropy-like investments, but it hadnt grown much.

Oncology is a crowded space, and theres a lot of money going into this already, Ms. Pomponio said. Thats what makes it more difficult to do than with rare diseases or orphan diseases.

Still, she sees it as another option for donors who want to give to organizations trying to treat and cure cancer.

What I see over time is us evolving the model so we can achieve a range of fund-raising objectives, Ms. Pomponio said. There are philanthropists who would be happy to give to the American Cancer Society and others who see this model as more attractive because it is self-sustaining. Then there are others who would like to partner with us on investments and have returns that are shared.

Mr. Doherty said he was gratified that the T1D Fund was getting close to being self-sustaining. But he said he was happier that about $500 million of outside venture capital had been invested alongside the fund in the past four years.

They had almost never invested in diabetes space before, he said. Now, we get brought into deals by them.

Originally posted here:
Quest to Help Diabetic Son Endures With a Different Kind of Giving - The New York Times

Pancreatitis, a painful inflammation of the pancreas, is sometimes associated with older people. But there is another form of pancreatitisone that is hereditary and impacts infants and children. There is no cure, and often, these kids are left enduring a lifetime of pain. Now, a new treatment is helping them live a happy, pain-free life.

Lilah Fords pets pals kept her company when she was so sick, she couldnt get out of bed.

Like a sharp pain that would go from my stomach, like all the way to my back, Lilah explained.

Get connected to a healthier life.

Just every couple months it would hit and she'd be in constant pain for about a week, shared Leah Ford, Lilahs mom.

Born with hereditary pancreatitis, her dad knows first-hand the pain his daughter was dealing with.

You couldn't even imagine. Having experienced that, knowing that she's got to live with that. [It's] terrible, stated Joe Ford.

Dr. Jordan Winter, a pancreatic surgeon at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Childrens, removed Lilahs gallbladder, spleen and most of her pancreas.

If you take out the disease, the patient is often cured, which is really exciting, said Winter.

But islet cells in the pancreas make insulin. Without one, diabetes is almost certain, almost, until now.

What is really innovative as an option for patients with pancreatitis is the auto islet transfusion. We were able to give her islet cells, which make insulin, back to her, said Winter.

Lilahs diseased pancreas was taken to a lab and the islet cells were removed.

The next day we take Lilah back to the operating room and infuse those islet cells directly into her liver. In that case, her liver becomes her new endocrine organ or insulin-producing organ, explained Winter.

Lilah will need to check her insulin levels regularly, but so far so good.

I don't have this pain anymore, Lilah Ford said with a smile.

Now she's basically as normal as its gets again. It's great to hear laughter, said Joe Ford.

Doctors hope that in the future, researchers will not only be able to take islet cells from the existing pancreas but also regenerate even more in the lab, giving patients an even greater chance at not becoming diabetic.

Contributors to this news report include: Marsha Lewis, Producer; Kirk Manson, Videographer; Roque Correa, Editor.

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Treatment for Hereditary Pancreatitis Allows Children to Live Pain-Free and Avoid Diabetes - NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

After learning that the venom of a Gila monster lizard contained hormones that can regulate blood sugar, Daniel Drucker started wondering why. And could the venom somehow help treat diabetes?

Drucker is a scientist and endocrinologist at the University of Toronto who has dedicated his career to understanding the universe of hormones in the body, which do everything from regulating appetite to helping with digestion. His curiosity about the Gila monster led to a call with a zoo in Utah. In 1995, Drucker had a lizard shipped from Utah to his lab and began experiments on the deadly venom.

Ten years later, a synthetic version of a hormone in the venom became the first medicine of its kind approved to treat type 2 diabetes. Known as a GLP-1 (for glucagon-like peptide-1) receptor agonist, the medicine set off a cascade of additional venom-inspired discoveries.

After doctors noticed mice and humans on the drug for diabetes appeared to lose weight, they began to consider its use in obesity science. In June 2021, another effective treatment, this one for obesity, got Food and Drug Administration approval. Called semaglutide and marketed as Wegovy, it also takes its structure from the lizards venom.

If this origin story sounds outlandish, consider the history of obesity treatments. Over the years, people have turned to extreme and unlikely interventions to try to lose weight, from jaw wiring, laxatives, and vagotomies to lap band operations and fen-phen, a miracle diet drug that was ultimately recalled.

The new treatment a once-weekly injectable from Novo Nordisk, a Danish pharmaceutical company that has hired many leading diabetes and obesity scientists as consultants is poised to safely help many people with health-threatening obesity, physicians and researchers say. It may even illuminate some of the mysteries around how appetite works in the first place.

Its phenomenal, says Michael Krashes, a diabetes and obesity investigator at the National Institutes of Health. Semaglutide is a big step forward we finally have something thats reliable and able to produce sustained effects over time, adds Ivan De Araujo, a neuroscientist who studies brain-gut interactions at Mount Sinais Icahn School of Medicine. Neither scientist is affiliated with Novo Nordisk.

Doctors who treat obesity patients told Vox they wished they had a treatment option like semaglutide years ago, and patients described the drug as life-altering.

Yet many people with obesity may not seek out semaglutide, and doctors may not prescribe it to them not only because of the dangerous history of weight loss medications, but also because of a persistent bias and stigma around a disease that now afflicts nearly half of Americans. Obesity is still widely viewed as a personal responsibility problem, despite scientific evidence to the contrary. And history has shown that the most effective medical interventions, such as bariatric surgery currently the gold standard for treating obesity often go unused in favor of dieting and exercise, which for many dont work.

Theres also a practical challenge: Health insurers dont typically cover obesity medications, says Scott Kahan, an obesity doctor and professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the George Washington University School of Medicine. Medicare explicitly excludes weight medications, Kahan, who consults with Novo Nordisk, says. And most insurers follow what Medicare does.

The new drug certainly wont be a cure-all for obesity, Krashes adds. You are not taking a 280-pound person and making them 130, he points out, though reductions that are enough to improve health outcomes are typical. Drucker, who began consulting with Novo Nordisk and other drug companies after his reptilian discovery, agrees that its a starting point for obesity: It will only scratch the surface of the problem in the population that needs to be healthier.

But semaglutide is the most powerful obesity drug ever approved, he adds. Drugs that will produce 15 percent body weight loss we did not have that before in the medical therapy of obesity. With additional, potentially more effective GLP-1 receptor agonists coming online in the future, were at the beginning of a promising new chapter of obesity therapeutics. A look at the fascinating science of how the medication works could also go a long way to changing how Americans think about this disease.

We have to thank the lizard for that, Drucker says.

To understand how semaglutide causes some people to eat less, its helpful to understand what hormones do. Theyre the bodys traveling messengers: Manufactured in one area, they move to another to deliver messages through receptors molecules that bind to specific hormones in distant organs and cells.

The gut makes dozens of hormones, and many of them travel to the brain receptors that either curb appetite or stimulate it, Drucker explains. GLP-1 is one such gut hormone. Its unleashed in the gut in response to food and stimulates the pancreas to make more insulin after a meal, which lowers blood sugar. (GLP-1 is also made in the brain stem, where it may modify appetite.)

It sends a signal to our brain that says, You know, weve had enough to eat, says Drucker.

Enter semaglutide, one of a class of medicines the GLP-1-receptor agonists that imitate GLP-1, helping the body lower glucose (in the case of people with diabetes) and, researchers suspect, curb appetite (in the case of people living with obesity who may also have diabetes).

The precise way the drug works on obesity is still unknown, in part because scientists dont understand exactly how appetite works. But researchers generally agree that the drug harnesses the brains GLP-1 receptors to curb food intake. When researchers delete the GLP-1 receptors from the brains of mice, the drug loses its appetite-suppressing effects, says Krashes.

Obesity is primarily an issue of our brain biology, and the way its processing info about the environment we live in, says Randy Seeley, a University of Michigan researcher focused on obesity treatments, who also consults with Novo Nordisk.

With semaglutide, the idea is that were changing your brain chemistry for your brain to believe you should be at a lower weight, Seeley added.

This brain-based pharmacological approach is likely to be more successful than diet and exercise alone, Seeley says, because the most important underlying part of somebodys weight has to do with how their brain operates, not a lack of willpower.

Some people with a higher body mass index are perfectly healthy and dont require any treatment. Semaglutide was only indicated by the FDA for patients who classify as clinically obese with a body mass index of 30 or greater or those who are overweight and have at least one weight-related health problem.

For the many people who have used it, it has proved safe and effective, according to the FDA. In weight loss clinical trials, semaglutide helped people lose about 15 percent of their body weight on average significantly more than the currently available obesity drugs and more than enough to improve health outcomes.

The drugs most common side effects nausea, diarrhea, constipation, and vomiting were mostly short-lived. De Araujo is finding that adverse reactions might be caused by how the drug differs from the naturally occurring peptide hormone: The hormone acts mostly locally and degrades quickly, while the medicine works mainly on the brain and is designed to stick around in the body. Thats where the nausea, vomiting probably derive from, De Araujo argues.

Patients who have tried semaglutide told Vox that it helped them manage their weight and relationship to food, and that their side effects were manageable and quickly resolved.

Jim Eggeman, a 911 operator in Ohio, said that before taking semaglutide, I could sit down and eat a large pizza, and now its one to two pieces at the most. He started on the drug for diabetes after a heart attack in December 2019 and lost 35 pounds, bringing his weight to 220.

Paula Morris-Kaufman, of Cheshire, UK, used the drug to address weight gain following cancer treatments. It helped her bring her weight back to a normal range, she says, and curb her habit of compulsive eating. If you give me a plate of food, I just eat a small portion of it and feel full really quickly.

Its possible that some of the benefits of treatment come in part from lifestyle changes, which were encouraged by the clinical trials. In many cases, patients on semaglutide also switched to a healthier diet when they started on the drug and added exercise to their routines. But study participants taking the drug still lost significantly more weight than those under the same conditions who received a placebo.

The need for additional interventions like diet and exercise is one reason why Kahan stops short of calling this drug a game changer. Its an incremental improvement over existing drugs, he says, and its still out of reach for many of the individuals who could benefit from it. The game changer description is not appropriate, because many people dont have access to these medicines.

Only about 1 percent of eligible patients were using FDA-approved medications for obesity in 2019, a study showed. The same is true for bariatric surgery, currently the most effective intervention for obesity, which can also drive type 2 diabetes into remission.

If someone walks into your office with heart disease and you as a physician dont try to treat it, thats malpractice, Seeley says. If somebody comes in with a BMI over 30 and you dont treat it, thats Tuesday. He thinks some of the hesitancy for treating patients with obesity medications comes from the history of dangerous weight loss drugs.

Ingrained biases about obesity have also made it harder for patients to get access, Kahan says. Obesity tends to be categorized as a cosmetic issue in health insurance policies, he says. In order to get coverage, employers have to explicitly decide to buy a rider and sign a contract to add weight management services and products to their insurance plans. Hed like to see obesity treatments covered by insurers in the same way diabetes and hypertension drugs are.

That will require a shift in mindset, Drucker says. We would never blame other individuals for developing high blood pressure or cardiovascular disease or cancer, he says. Its widely known that those conditions are driven by complex biological determinants, including genes, as well as environmental factors. Obesity is no different.

When Drucker started in endocrinology in the 1980s, he didnt have many tools to help patients. With the addition of semaglutide, there are multiple surgical options and drugs for obesity and diabetes. The challenge now is helping those who would benefit gain access.

I would be delighted if no one needed GLP-1 for diabetes and obesity, Drucker says. That might be possible in a food landscape that didnt nudge people toward the overeating and poor diet that leads to these chronic conditions. But for now, we have new options that are safe, appear to reduce complications, and are very effective. ... We shouldnt just throw up our hands and say theres nothing we can do.

Originally posted here:
New obesity drug semaglutide is safe and effective for weight loss and diabetes - Vox.com

Walmart is seeking to bring everyday low prices to medical care.

They announced the launch of a version of insulin that will be less expensive to people who do not have health insurance or struggle to afford the cost of life-saving drugs.

These products will save customers between 58% to 75% off the cash price of branded analog insulin products, which translates to a savings of up to $101 per branded vial or $251 per package of branded FlexPens, said the company in a new release this week.

Starting this week, Walmart will be selling its own private-label version of analog insulin (a newer, more reliable form of the drug) to anyone who has a prescription. Called ReliOn NovoLog, it will also be available at Sams Club in mid-July.

The insulin will cost about $73 for a vial or about $86 for a package of pre-filled insulin pens.

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We know many people with diabetes struggle to manage the financial burden of this condition, and we are focused on helping by providing affordable solutions, said Dr. Cheryl Pegus, executive vice president, Walmart Health & Wellness. We also know this is a condition that disproportionately impacts underserved populations.

With ReliOn NovoLog insulin, were adding a high-quality medication for diabetes to the already affordable ReliOn line of products and continuing our commitment to improve access and lowering cost of care.

RELATED: Could Electromagnetic Fields Treat Diabetes? These Scientists Think So

ReliOn products include private label, lower priced versions of blood glucose monitors, lancets, and other diabetes management essentials.

According to CNBC, US lawmakers have scrutinized diabetes drug companies in the past, like Eli Lilly and the French company Sanofi, for increasing prices over the last two decades, leading Sanofi to roll-out a limited price reduction program.

Walmart worked directly with manufacturer Novo Nordisk to reduce costs.

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This price point, we hope, will improve and hopefully revolutionize the accessibility and affordability of insulin, said Dr. Cheryl Pegus, Walmarts executive vice president of health and wellness.

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Walmart Unveils Low-Priced Insulin to Diabetes Patients Who Can't Easily Afford it - Good News Network

Global Type 1 Diabetes Drugs Market 2021-2025 The analyst has been monitoring the type 1 diabetes drugs market and it is poised to grow by $ 2. 83 billion during 2021-2025, progressing at a CAGR of almost 6% during the forecast period.

New York, July 05, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Global Type 1 Diabetes Drugs Market 2021-2025" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06102922/?utm_source=GNW Our report on the type 1 diabetes drugs market provides a holistic analysis, market size and forecast, trends, growth drivers, and challenges, as well as vendor analysis covering around 25 vendors.The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current global market scenario, latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment. The market is driven by the growing prevalence of type 1 diabetes and feasibility of early diagnosis of type 1 diabetes. In addition, the growing prevalence of type 1 diabetes is anticipated to boost the growth of the market as well.The type 1 diabetes drugs market analysis includes the product segment and geographic landscape.

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The analyst presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources by an analysis of key parameters. Our report on type 1 diabetes drugs market covers the following areas: Type 1 diabetes drugs market sizing Type 1 diabetes drugs market forecast Type 1 diabetes drugs market industry analysis

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The analyst presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources by an analysis of key parameters such as profit, pricing, competition, and promotions. It presents various market facets by identifying the key industry influencers. The data presented is comprehensive, reliable, and a result of extensive research - both primary and secondary. Technavios market research reports provide a complete competitive landscape and an in-depth vendor selection methodology and analysis using qualitative and quantitative research to forecast the accurate market growth.Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06102922/?utm_source=GNW

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The Global Type 1 Diabetes Drugs Market is expected to grow by $ 2.83 billion during 2021-2025, progressing at a CAGR of almost 6% during the forecast...