Category Archives: Diabetes

MEMPHIS, Tenn. Methodist Healthcare is using lifestyle coaches to help patients reduce their risks of developing type 2 diabetes.

The disease affects the way the body processes insulin and blood sugar, and can lead to serious health problems like kidney damage, nerve damage, the need for amputation or blindness.

At Methodist, patients at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes can take part in free group meetings with a lifestyle coach.

They year-long program is designed to teach them how to eat better and lose weight.

When people are prediabetic, weight loss is one of the most important things we can modify during that stage. What we want to concentrate on is developing healthier eating habits overall rather than dieting. If you can develop healthy habits that`s something you can sustain for a longer time, said Dr. Lindsey French.

The Centers for Disease Control said you can cut in half your risk of developing the disease by losing five to seven percent of your body weight, improving food choices and increasing physical activity to at least 150 minutes per week.

For more information on the Diabetes Prevention Program call (901) 516-6616.

Quiz: Could you have prediabetes?

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Methodist Healthcare lifestyle coaches help reduce risk of type 2 diabetes - wreg.com

Hightower hosts women impacted by diabetes at Wonder Woman screening

FOXBORO -- Dont'a Hightower doesn't love the spotlight. He's taken a pass on Super Bowl parades and White House visits. He's not a bigpitch man or someone whowill wait at his locker to see waves of reporters headed for him with microphones at the ready.

But on Tuesday night Hightower made an exception when he hosted women whose lives have been impacted by diabetes at Showcase Cinema de Lux Patriot Place for a VIP screening of the movie Wonder Woman, which hits theaters on June 2.

Hightower'smom, L'Tanya, was diagnosed with diabetes a few years ago and she has encouraged her son, the Patriots linebacker, to help raise awareness and funds to fight the disease. He hosts an annual fundraiserto support the American Diabetes Association and has represented the ADA on Capitol Hill.

"My mom was definitely a big pillar, and [marketing director]Julia [Lauria]and a lot of people at SportsTrust have definitely pushed me in the right direction to step outside my comfort zone," Hightower said. "I'm not a big media public person, so I don't get to necessarily put my character and my personality out there, but I definitely don't mind, especially with a cause as good as this, to get out there and use my platform to try to promote awareness."

L'Tanya couldn't make the event -- she had some gardening back at home to attend to, Hightower said with a smile -- but he'll be back in Tennessee later this offseason to spend some time with her before the start of training camp.

"I go back home and see my mom each and every week, my mom and my sister," Hightower said. "I try to spend as much time with family and close friends that I don't get to see throughout the season that can't come up here. Any time I'm back home, I don't do too much. I'm not a big out there person. So I'm usually at home with my family and friends."

Hightower was part of a group of Patriots who were not on the field for last week's optional OTA practice that was open to the media, but he said that he's looking forward to getting back on the field eventually.

"When the time comes, yeah," he said, "but I'm enjoying my offseason while I can."

FOXBORO -- James White is used to sharing. In high school, he split carries with Bengals running back Gio Bernard for powerhouse program St. Thomas Aquinas in South Florida. In college, at Wisconsin, he ceded work to future NFL backs John Clay, Montee Ball and Melvin Gordon.

In New England, he wasn't counted on to be an every-down back until Super Bowl LI when Dion Lewis suffered a leg injury at the end of regulation and the Patriots were in the midst of the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history.

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In 2017, he's expected to be sharing once again. Though he looks like the front-runner for the team's sub-back work, Lewis is back in the fold and the Patriots added both Mike Gillislee and Rex Burkhead to the mix. Second-year pro DJ Foster and special-teams maven Brandon Bolden could also compete for touches.

None of that bothers White, who signed a three-year extension this offseason.

"For me,ever since college and Little League,I've always had other guys in the backfield so just make the most of your opportunities," he said of his approach. "Everybody's going to have a role. You may play one play one game. You may play 60 plays one game. Just be ready for the moment when your number's called."

White was ready for his moment last season in Houston with his team's fifth Lombardi Trophy on the line. During the comeback, with the Patriots relying on their sub packages as they threw their way back into contention, White responded with the performance of his career. He scored three times, including the game-winner in overtime, and caught a Super Bowl record 14 passes for 110 yards.

Despite adding another ring to the collection in 2016, the Patriots were aggressive in building their roster this offseason. Burkhead was signed to a one-year deal as a well-rounded back after spending the majority of his career in Cincinnati as a special-teamer behind Bernard and Jeremy Hill on the Bengals running back depth chart. Bill Belichick and his front office also handed their fifth-round pick to the Bills in order to sign Gillislee as a restricted free agent.

Both have impressed White in their short time with the Patriots thus far.

"They fit in very well," White said. "You gotta welcome the guys in. You never know who's going to be here so you get around those guys, help them learn the offense, let them know how we work here, let them get a feel for this system so that they're comfortable and they feel at home . . .

"They're both good football players. I've watched those guys since college. It's great to have more competition here. It's going to bring the best out of each and every player. I think competition brings the best out of you. You compete with each and every one of those guys that we have, and I think it'll make the team better."

FOXBORO -- James White wasn't necessarily seeking out a new deal. He wasn't banging on the office doors of Bill Belichick, Nick Caserio or Robert Kraft for a second contract. But when the team came to him with a proposal, he didn't turn it down.

"It was a surprising development," White said Wednesday. "I was just gonna come out and work hard, and they brought the offer to me, andI accepted. But at the same time, that's not gonna change who I am. I'm gonna continue to work and continue to do whatever this team asks me to do and follow the lead of all our leaders and the coaches."

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White signed a three-year contract extension with the Patriots back in April, a little more than two months after he had the game of his life in Super Bowl LI. He caught a Super Bowl record 14 passes for 110 yardsscored three times, includingthe game-winning touchdown in overtime to complete the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history.

Under his original deal, White was scheduled to earn $690,000 in 2017 as the final year of his four-year rookie pact. With his new contract, he was given a $4 million signing bonus and base salaries of $1 million, $2.5 million and $3 million in 2018, 2019 and 2020. He also has the opportunity to make up to $500,000in roster bonuses for each of those three years.

"Definitely nice," White said of the security he's been afforded."But at the same time, you still have to work. Nothing's for certain. You have to go out there and prove yourself each and every day. I just want to continue to work and continue to improve each and every day."

White is the frontrunner to serve as the team's sub back again in 2017. Primarily a weapon to be used on passing downs due to his hands, his route-running ability, and his understanding of pass-protection schemes, White proved in the Super Bowl that he can also serve as more of a traditionalrunner out of the backfield when needed.

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Hightower hosts women impacted by diabetes at Wonder Woman screening - Comcast SportsNet New England

FOXBORO -- Patriots linebacker Dont'a Hightower is continuing to do right by his mother, as he hosted another event tonight to raise awareness for diabetes.

Hightower hosted a private screening of Wonder Woman at Patriot Place for a group of women who face daily struggles with diabetes. Its a cause that has been personal for Hightower, whose mother, LTanya, was diagnosed with diabetes a couple years ago. His grandmother and aunt have also been affected.

My mom is my Wonder Woman, so what better movie to do it to? Hightower said.

Hightower has also hosted annual Monday Night Football watch parties since 2015 to raise money for the American Diabetes Association. Despite Hightowers loud presence in a Patriots uniform, he tries to stay out of the spotlight off the field, but his mother has encouraged him to put a face to the fight against diabetes

My mom is obviously the reason why Im here, Hightower said. She made a lot of sacrifices for me and my sister. Ever since shes gotten diagnosed with diabetes, Ive tried to do as much as I could to try to promote awareness and do what I can for it. The opportunity came up, and I couldnt say no to it.

Im still not a big public person. I dont mind doing what Im doing. A lot of people appreciate it. At the end of the day, thats all that matters so I dont mind stepping out of my comfort zone for a little bit.

Hightower watched his mother struggle with daily activities upon her diagnosis, so he has tried to promote early testing to get out ahead of the disease. He knows those early tests can ease the transitional phase for diabetic patients.

I know how hard it is to see and feel that change in the life that they go through, Hightower said. If I can change one or two peoples chances in that, it means a lot more to me than youll ever know.

Hightowers mother attended his Monday Night Football watch party last season in Norwood, but she stayed home Tuesday night to tend to her gardening. Hightower got a kick out of that, but there was also a sense of pride because she couldnt handle those household responsibilities a couple years ago.

I guess her lawn was more important, Hightower cracked. She is able to do stuff like that now. Earlier when she got diagnosed, she wasnt able to. She is doing well. She is healthy. Thats all I can ask for.

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Dont'a Hightower supports mom by rallying awareness for fight vs ... - Boston Herald

The real estate industry will be holding its second annual JDRF Real Estate Games at Chelsea Piers to raise money to fund Type One diabetes (T1D) research.

Jim Whelan, an executive vice president of the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY), who is also on the local JDRF chapters board of directors, is once again organizing the June 15 event.

Real Estate is a competitive industry and this is a different way to exhibit that competition, said Whelan, whose teenager, Jack, was diagnosed with T1D four years ago.

Last year, 19 teams raised over $82,000 and this year $220,00 has already come in.

So far, 20 ten-person teams from the citys top real estate companies have signed on to compete in six events. These include dodgeball, hot shot basketball, a relay race, and a rock climbing relay that last year was won by the REBNY team.

New this year is the challenging sport stacking that uses a dozen cups to see who is really physically fit, and a pass, catch and end zone dance competition that will get bystanders cheering for their favorite quarterbacks and receivers.

The event even has its own hashtag, #JDRFgames.

Teams already involved include AECOM Tishman, Brookfield Properties, The Carlyle Group, Douglaston Development, The Durst Organization, Eastdil Secured, Glenwood Management, Hines, JDS Development Group, JLL, L&M Development Partners, Langan, REBNY, Savills Studley, Silverstein Properties, SL Green Realty Corp., Tishman Speyer, TF Cornerstone, and Two Trees Management Company.

Participants will later stroll to the Sunset Terrace for a networking party.

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Real estate bigs teaming up at Chelsea Piers to fight diabetes - New York Post

Renal and Urology News

National Diabetes Prevention Program Shows Early Success Renal and Urology News "During the first four years, the National DPP has achieved widespread implementation of the lifestyle change program to prevent type 2 diabetes, with promising early results," the authors write. "Greater duration and intensity of session attendance ...

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National Diabetes Prevention Program Shows Early Success - Renal and Urology News

Imcyse will run its first clinical trial testing a specific immunotherapy that could finally provide a cureto autoimmune diseases.

Imcyse, a Belgian biotech spunout from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in 2010,just announced it has received approval from Belgian and British regulatory authorities to launch a Phase Ib trial in patients with type 1 diabetes. The study is backed with funding from the EU through the EXALT program, which has a budget of 6M over 5 years to promote the development of a cure for type 1 diabetes.

The trial, run in collaboration with the French Inserm, will be run in 18 sites across Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, and the UK. It will be the first study in humans testing Imcysesimmunotherapy technology, which is aimed at stopping the destruction of insulin-producing beta pancreaticcells in patients diagnosed with the disease within 6 months before the trial, when not all beta cells have yet been eliminated. Resultsare expected at the end of 2018.

Imcysedevelops Imotopes,modified peptides thatinduce cytolytic CD4 T cells to kill other immune cells involved in the destruction of a specific target, in this case insulin-producing cells,without affecting any other functions of the immune system. The peptides are composed of an epitope of the targeted antigen and a specific thioredox motif.

An Imotope therapy that could be used to treat the very early stages of diabetes or prevent its onset would be a major breakthrough for patients and for public health, Christian Boitard,the trials principal investigator, from the Inserm and Cochin Hospital in Paris, said in a statement.

Indeed, the technology aims to cure severe autoimmune and inflammatory diseases for which existing therapies can only, at best, attenuate the symptoms and slow down its progress. For type 1 diabetes, which affects over 40 million people worldwide, the incidence is rapidly increasing, particularly in younger children. However, the only treatment option to date is daily glucose control and insulin injections for life.

One of the alternatives currently under development is transplantation. With that aim, the British Catapult and the Belgian Orgenesis are growing pancreatic cells in the lab. NeoVacs, in France, has a different approach that resembles more that of Imcyse; a vaccine for type 1 diabetes, currently in the preclinical stage.

Imcyse is already planning to exploit the potential of its technology, with a trial in patients with multiple sclerosis scheduled for next year. In the future, the company could also be going afterrheumatoid arthritis, graft rejection, allergic asthma and rare diseases such as myasthenia gravis or neuromyelitis optica. On top of that, the technology could also act as an add-on to prevent patients from becoming immune to biological drugs, which is a grave problemwhen it affects life-saving drugs.

Images via Becris / Shutterstock; Imcyse

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Belgian Biotech Starts Human Trials for a Potential Type 1 Diabetes Cure - Labiotech.eu (blog)

Researchers have captured the first cryo-electron microscopy images of a key cellular receptor for diabetes in action.

The findings, published in Nature, reveal new information about workings of G protein-coupled receptorswhich are intermediaries for molecular messages related to nearly every function within the human body.

G protein-coupled receptors, often shorthanded as GPCRs, reside in the membrane of cells, where they detect signals from outside of the cell and convey them to the inside to be acted upon. They respond to signals including sensory input like light, taste, and smell, as well as to hormones and neurotransmitters.

The new, near atomic-resolution images provide an incredibly detailed look at how these important receptors bind to and transmit signals from peptide hormones.

The team revealed how the hormone GLP-1 (Glucagon-like peptide-1) binds to its receptor on the outside of a cell, and how this causes changes to the arrangement of the part extending into the cellwhich then engages and activates the G protein.

GLP-1 plays an important role in regulating insulin secretion, carbohydrate metabolism, and appetite. It binds to the B family of G protein-coupled receptors, though information about their precise interactions have heretofore been limited by a lack of images of the complex in action.

Its hard to overstate the importance of G protein-coupled receptors, says Georgios Skiniotis, a researcher at the University of Michigan Life Sciences Institute and Medical Schooland a senior author of the study. GPCRs are targeted by about half of all drugs, and getting such structures by cryo-electron microscopy will be crucial for further drug discovery efforts. The GLP-1 receptor is an important drug target for type 2 diabetes and obesity.

The size and fragility of GPCR complexes have made them notoriously difficult to capture using the longtime gold-standard of imaging: X-ray crystallography. It took Brian Kobilka, a professor of molecular and cellular physiology at Stanford University Medical School and a senior collaborator on the paper, many years to obtain the first onewhich led to a Nobel Prize for Kobilka in 2012.

The current study was done using a cryo-electron microscopy, or cryo-EM. Cryo-EM is an evolving, cutting-edge imaging technology that involves freezing proteins in a thin layer of solution and then bouncing electrons off of them to reveal their shape. Because the frozen proteins are oriented every which way, computer software can later combine the thousands of individual snapshots into a 3-D picture at near-atomic resolution.

Advances in cryo-EM now make it possible to capture protein complexes with similar resolution to X-ray crystallography, without having to force the proteins into neat, orderly crystalswhich limits the variety of arrangements and interactions that are possible.

Using cryo-EM, we can also uncover more information about how GPCRs flex and move, says Yan Zhang, a postdoctoral researcher in Skiniotis lab and a co-lead author of the paper. And we can observe functional changes in complexes that are difficult, if not impossible, to crystallize.

Grants from the National Institutes of Health supported the work. Additional study authors are from the University of Michigan, ConfometRx, and Stanford University.

Source: University of Michigan

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First snapshot of diabetes receptor may mean new drugs - Futurity: Research News

Do you want to learn more about managing your diabetes? Clarity Healthcare, along with University of Missouri Extension, will be offering a free six-week diabetes program starting Monday, June 12.

Do you want to learn more about managing your diabetes? Clarity Healthcare, along with University of Missouri Extension, will be offering a free six-week diabetes program starting Monday, June 12.

The program will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. at Clarity Healthcare, 141 Communications Drive, Hannibal. To register for the program please contact Clarity Healthcare at 573-603-1460 by June 5, 2017.

The Diabetes Self-Management Program is a nationally recognized diabetes program developed at the Stanford Patient Education Research Center. This program recognizes that people with diabetes must deal not only with their disease, but also the impact this has on their lives and emotions. Participants that have completed this program were found to lower their A1C as well as decrease their diabetes related symptoms.

This program is for people who have diabetes or have been diagnosed as pre-diabetic or live with someone that has diabetes. Do not miss out on this opportunity. Call today and register for the program at 573-603-1460.

If you have questions about the program, please contact Jim Meyer, MU Extension Nutrition and Health Education Specialist at 573-985-3911.

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Event planned to teach how to self-manage diabetes - Hannibal.net

People who received kidneys from non-living donors with diabetes were less likely to die than those who stayed on the wait-list.

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Kidneys from deceased diabetic donors can save the lives of patients on the transplant wait-list, researchers say.

For the study, investigators compared U.S. data from more than 8,100 recipients of kidneys from deceased donors who'd had diabetes with data from people on the kidney transplant wait-list. The patients were followed for an average of nearly nine years.

People who received kidneys from diabetic donors were 9 percent less likely to die during that follow-up period than those who were still on the wait-list or were seeking a kidney from a non-diabetic donor, the study found.

The people who benefited most from diabetic donor kidneys were those who were most likely to die while on the wait-list, the researchers said.

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But poor-quality kidneys from deceased diabetic donors did not improve survival chances, the findings showed.

And people under age 40 didn't benefit from diabetic donor kidneys, according to study author Dr. Jordana Cohen. She is an instructor at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine.

More than 100,000 people are on the U.S. kidney transplant wait-list. The study findings suggest that kidneys from deceased diabetic donors may help relieve the shortage of organs.

"As kidney disease has become increasingly common in the United States over the past few decades, the need for kidneys to be donated far exceeds the number of available kidneys," Cohen said in an American Society of Nephrology news release.

"As a result, poorer-quality kidneys are increasingly being used as a way to try to decrease transplant waiting times and thus decrease the number of people who die while waiting for a kidney transplant," she explained.

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The study was published online May 25 in theClinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

The author of an accompanying editorial, Dr. Richard Formica Jr., said the study findings support the use of deceased-donor kidneys that would likely be discarded.

"However, as important as this finding is," Formica said, "it is necessary to view it in the context of the larger problem facing the nephrology community as it struggles to care for patients with end-stage renal disease."

Formica, a professor and director of transplant medicine at Yale University School of Medicine, said that only a fraction of money spent to treat end-stage kidney disease goes to kidney transplantation, even though it is better than dialysis and costs less.

"It is unfortunate that despite spending 17.4 percent of its [gross domestic product] on health care, the United States does not focus more of its resources on solving the problem through increasing access to kidney transplantation," he concluded.

2017 HealthDay. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Kidneys from deceased diabetes patients may be organ donation source - CBS News

It all started with a skin rash.

Ten years ago, race car driver Charlie Kimball went to his doctor to check out that small rash on his arm.

In the course of their conversation, the physician learned that Kimball had also been unusually thirsty in recent days.

When he weighed Kimball, the doctor discovered his patient had lost 25 pounds in five days.

He immediately suggested Kimball be tested for diabetes.

Kimball admits he was pretty clueless about the disease. He even asked his doctor if he could prescribe antibiotics for it.

I didnt know what it was or what it involved, Kimball told Healthline.

He soon found out when he was officially diagnosed at age 22 with type 1 diabetes.

Since that time, Kimball has become educated about diabetes.

He has also adjusted his life, both at home and behind the wheel of his race car.

A few years after his diagnosis, Kimball became the first person with diabetes to be allowed to drive in the Indianapolis 500.

On Sunday, he will compete in his seventh Indy 500 race.

As he circles that famed track the required 200 laps, Kimball will have a water bottle and a container of orange juice by his side.

Hell also be watching his blood glucose level on his dashboard.

Read more: Athletes with diabetes to follow on social media

Kimball concedes his diabetes diagnosis was a bit of a shock.

At age 22 you feel 10 feet tall and bulletproof, he said.

Kimball immediately had to start changing his daily routine.

He now takes insulin four times per day. One dose is a long-lasting insulin he takes in the morning. The other three are fast-acting insulin he takes after each meal.

Kimball also watches his diet much more closely.

He has learned that the carbohydrates in pizza, for example, take longer to enter the blood stream than most foods. He learned that corn has carbohydrates, too.

Kimball was initially worried about whether hed be able to continue race car driving.

I was concerned about getting back in my race car, he recalled. The race car is the only place I feel really alive.

That involved more than just driving.

Race car drivers are athletes.

They are handling vehicles without power steering that are traveling around 200 miles an hour.

The stress keeps their heart rate high throughout an entire three-hour race. They can lose seven pounds of water weight due to the heat of the car. And they can burn more than 1,100 calories in a single race.

Im always concerned about the safety element and the performance element, he said.

Kimball quickly learned, however, that his new dietary routine was actually enhancing his skills.

It helps me be a better athlete, he commented.

During his races, Kimball wears special sensors on his skin that monitor his body functions.

On his dashboard, he can monitor his blood glucose level and other health-related data along with his cars speed and how many laps he has completed.

Kimball said it isnt a coincidence hes the first Indy 500 driver with diabetes.

Until recent years, there wasnt the technology to provide enough support and assistance to a driver with this particular condition.

In addition, Kimball said, most people with type 1 diabetes are diagnosed when they are children.

At that stage, most kids with the disease dont envision becoming a race car driver.

Kimball, on the other hand, was already doing it.

I wasnt going to let diabetes get in the way of my lifes dream, he said.

Read more: NASCAR driver getting the word out on colorectal cancer

Kimball hopes his drive to continue his race car career will inspire children and others with diabetes.

He said he wants youngsters to feel like they still can do whatever they want, whether its being an athlete, a rock climber, or a chief executive officer.

I want them to be able to chase their dreams, he said.

Kimball is also participating in a program at Michigan State University to study exercise physiology and race car driving.

David Ferguson, PhD, an assistant professor of kinesiology, oversees the program. Ferguson has been doing this kind of research for 12 years.

When Kimball came along, Ferguson saw an opportunity to hone his research even more.

Charlie is a good model for us to work with, Ferguson told Healthline.

One of the more interesting experiments the researchers have worked on is how driving on an oval track seemed to be a more difficult task for Kimball than driving on a more winding, surface street race course.

To discover what was happening, the researchers outfitted Kimball with a clear plastic box that encased his body from the waist down. The case was accompanied by some wooden blocks, cushions, and a bicycle seat.

By taking readings with the box, the researchers discovered that the blood in Kimballs lower legs was pooling more on oval courses because there are stronger g-forces.

With that knowledge, they set up a training schedule that exposed Kimball to that type of g-force to help him condition himself for it.

Ferguson said they hope to use what they learn from their experiments with Kimball to help the general population with diabetes management.

For Kimball, all of this helps him when hes on the race track.

The past two years, he has finished third and fifth in the Indy 500.

Hes hoping for an even better finish on Sunday.

If you want to keep track, Kimball will be in the car with the number 83 and the Novo Nordisk sponsor decals.

Read more: World Cup soccer stars next goal is to conquer lupus

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First Indy 500 Driver with Diabetes Talks About Racing, Life with His ... - Healthline