Patients on the road to recovery from type 2 diabetes

MONTREAL , Jan. 13, 2020 /CNW/ - What if you were told you could reverse the course of type 2 diabetes through exercise and a healthy diet? That was the challenge this past year for patients at the Montreal Heart Institute's Diabetes Prevention Clinic supported by Sun Life Financial. The health team is thrilled with the progress achieved by its 180 participants during the clinic's first year.

"These are impressive results after just one year!I congratulate the patients who undertook this challenge and I thank the clinic's health care professionals who've helped guide them on their road to recovery," said Jacques Goulet , President of Sun Life Canada. "With so many Canadians affected by diabetes, Sun Life is committed to fighting the disease and its potentially serious complications. This initiative aligns with our purpose, which is to help our Clients achieve lifetime financial security and live healthier lives. "

"Lifestyle is better than medication for treating diabetes, and doesn't involve the side effects frequently associated with medication. The clinic delivers the best tools to patients, so they can minimize complications related to their disease," said Dr. Martin Juneau , Director of Prevention at the Montreal Heart Institute and Diabetes Prevention Clinic supervisor.

A multidisciplinary team of health practitioners meets periodically with participants and gives them the tools they need to make healthy lifestyle changes and improve their health. This multidisciplinary program is offered at the Montreal Heart Institute's EPIC Center, thanks to a donation of $450,000 from Sun Life.

A tailored program to meet growing demandThe Diabetes Prevention Clinic's mission is to turn the tide on diabetes through early detection and healthy lifestyle strategies. This program meets a growing demand for preventive services for patients with diabetes and prediabetes, chronic conditions currently affecting 1 in 3 Canadians. Cardiovascular disease is the most common complication and leading cause of death in patients with type 2 diabetes1. Fortunately, many studies show that type 2 diabetics who make lifestyle changes, including a high-quality diet, regular moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, no tobacco use and moderate alcohol consumption, reduce their risk of premature death from cardiovascular disease.

Diabetes is the 5th-leading cause of premature death in the world. Hyperglycemia from the onset of diabetes has multiple adverse effects on cardiovascular risk factors, including atherosclerosis, hypertension and dyslipidemia. These issues, together with the damage hyperglycemia causes to small blood vessels, mean type 2 diabetes increases the incidence of coronary heart disease by 2 to 4 times2.

Sun Life in the community At Sun Life, we are committed to building sustainable, healthier communities for life and we're proud to hold the Caring Company designation from Imagine Canada. Community wellness is an important part of our sustainability commitment and we believe that by actively supporting the communities in which we live and work, we can help build a positive environment for our Clients, Employees, advisors and shareholders. Our philanthropic support focuses on two key areas: health, with an emphasis on diabetes awareness, prevention, care and research initiatives through our Team Up Against DiabetesTM platform; and arts and culture, through our award-winning Making the Arts More AccessibleTM program. Since 2012, Sun Life has committed $31 million globally to support diabetes awareness, prevention, care and research initiatives. In Quebec our sponsorship and donation initiatives also focus on home economics and financial education.

We also partner with sports properties in key markets to further our commitment to healthy and active living. Our Employees and advisors take great pride in volunteering over 29,000 hours each year and contribute to making life brighter for individuals and families across Canada .

About the Montreal Heart InstituteFounded in 1954, the Montreal Heart Institute constantly aims for the highest standards of excellence in the cardiovascular field through its leadership in clinical and basic research, ultra-specialized care, professional training and prevention. It houses the largest cardiovascular research center in Canada , the largest cardiovascular prevention center in the country, and the largest cardiovascular genetics center in the country. The Institute is affiliated with the University of Montreal and has more than 2,000 employees, including 245 doctors and more than 85 researchers.

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About the Montreal Heart Institute FoundationFounded in 1977, the Montreal Heart Institute Foundation raises and administers funds to support the Institute's priority and innovative projects and fight cardiovascular diseases, the world's number one cause of mortality. Its philanthropic events and the contributions of its donors have enabled this leading cardiovascular health care organization to become the largest cardiac research centre in the country. Since its creation, the Foundation has raised more than $283 million in donations. Its 27,514 donors helped make important discoveries and support specialists, professionals and researchers of the Institute to provide care at the cutting edge of technology to tens of thousands of patients in Quebec .

About the EPIC CenterThe MHI's EPIC Center is the largest centre for cardiovascular disease prevention in Canada , with more than 5500 registered members. The Center has a bit more than 80 employees and is part of the Prevention Branch of the Montreal Heart Institute. The centre is for healthy people who wish to keep it that way (primary prevention) as well as for patients who had a cardiac accident (readaptation and secondary prevention). The staff includes physicians, cardiologists, internists, emergency physicians, a physiologist, visiting professors, nurses, nutritionists, kinesiologists and rescuers.

Montreal Heart Institute Foundation Isabelle Pelletier 514 238-4178Ipelletier.pr@gmail.com

Sun LifeMylne Blanger514-904-9739mylene.belanger@sunlife.com

One year after the opening of the Montreal Heart Institutes Diabetes Prevention Clinic supported by Sun Life Financial, the health team is thrilled with the progress achieved by its participants. (CNW Group/Sun Life Financial Inc.)

Sun Life Financial Inc. (CNW Group/Sun Life Financial Inc.)

Montreal Heart Institute Foundation (CNW Group/Sun Life Financial Inc.)

SOURCE Sun Life Financial Inc.

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First year of the Montreal Heart Institute's Diabetes Prevention Clinic supported by Sun Life Financial - Yahoo Finance

Diabetes is a massive market in the healthcare sector. An estimated 415 million people have diabetes worldwide, and those numbers are growing. It's also an on-going healthcare issue, one that patients have to manage, often for the rest of their lives. As such, there is a lot of recurring revenue. It's not a bad idea to find a strong company focused on this vertical to add to your portfolio.

Over the last decade, one of the biggest stocks in healthcare has been diabetes specialistDexCom (NASDAQ:DXCM), a wireless health company that allows patients and doctors to track glucose levels in real-time. Another potential winner in this space isLivongo Health(NASDAQ:LVGO), an up-and-coming small-cap that sends updates, reminders, and coaching tips to all its clients with diabetes (and other health issues). And biotech companyProvention Bio(NASDAQ:PRVB)is hoping to get approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a drug that delays the onset of type 1 diabetes. Read more to see if any of these stocks are buys right now.

Image source: Getty Images

DexCom, a $21 billion large-cap stock, has been dominant in healthcare for a long time. Over the last 10 years, shareholders have been rewarded with a 2,563% return. DexCom achieved that impressive return with a singular focus on diabetes. Traditionally, people with diabetes had to prick their finger to check their blood in order to monitor their insulin level. DexCom introduced a wireless device inserted under their skin. This sensor, called a continuous glucose monitor (CGM), is appreciated by patients because of its ease of use and valued by doctors because of its superior data and better health outcomes.

DexCom recently signed a distribution deal withWalgreens Boots Allianceto sell the CGM device. Patients insert a tiny sensor under the skin using an automatic applicator.DexCom's sensor starts automatically and continuously taking glucose readings in the patient's interstitial fluid. A micro-transmitter sends the data wirelessly to a receiver. Patients can read their own data in any connected smart device. The CGM can also be set to alert the patient if certain glucose levels are reached.

In its most recent quarter, DexCom reported $396 million in revenue for the quarter, 49% higher than the previous year. Net income was $60 million for the quarter. DexCom's main competition in this space is withAbbott Laboratories(NYSE:ABT)that sells a popular CGM device calledFreestyle Libre. Abbott's CEO Miles White predicted in a conference call last year that his company's device would achieve sales of $5 billion a year (which would dwarf DexCom's $1.35 billion). So far, DexCom's fantastic numbers suggest DexCom is still winning in the diabetes space. Even with competition, clearly the market opportunity is vast.

Livongo Health is a fascinating company and a rising star in personalized medicine. While unprofitable, the company has phenomenal revenue growth. It brought in $46 million in sales in its most recent quarter,up 148% year over year. Over 200,000 diabetes patients are on Livongo's messaging platform, up 118% year over year, and the company has 771 enterprise clients.The company is creating additional verticals in prediabetes, hypertension, weight management, and behavioral health. Livongo specializes in helping all patients with chronic conditions, giving them advice, coaching tips, and interpretations of data readouts.

The company has conducted 48 studies measuring return on investment (ROI) and found that 90% of its clients had positive ROI in the first year. Indeed, some corporate clients are so happy with Livongo's offering, the clients are offering to reduce or eliminate the co-pay for hypertension or diabetes drugs for their employees, as long as the employees subscribe to Livongo.

So far, Livongo's stock has been a disappointment, down 30% from the company's initial public offering in July 2019.The company has a $2.5 billion market cap, $400 million in cash, and no debt. Its price-to-sales ratio is 17, about the same as DexCom, while Livongo is growing revenues three times as fast.Gross margins are 74%, suggesting the company can become profitable at any time. Right now though, the company is focused on escalating its top-line growth.Livongo has formed partnerships with MDLIVE and Doctor on Demand to enable virtual access to doctors for all its clients, which will roll out in 2020.The future looks bright for Livongo Health.

Provention Bio is an interesting biotech focused on preventing diseases before they become acute. It's a tiny company right now, with a market cap of $658 million.But the stock has been running wild, up 741% last year. What caused the stock to take off? The company reported amazing results in its phase 2 study for Teplizumab, a drug designed to delay the onset of diabetes in at-risk patients.

In this long-term study, the median patients on placebo developed diabetes in two years. That's in sharp contrast to the group on Provention's drug. Those median patients developed diabetes in four years. In fact, 73% of the people on placebo developed diabetes, compared to 43% of those on Teplizumab. Thus the drug not only delayed the onset of diabetes, on average, but many patients avoided diabetes altogether. The numbers were so good, the FDA decided the company can file its new drug application on the basis of its phase 2 study.

Provention has no profits and no revenues, so like many biotech stocks, it has to be considered speculative. On the other hand, the risk/reward ratio is very intriguing, since the diabetes market is so large.

After all, diabetes is a $45 billion market in the U.S. alone.Worldwide, the diabetes market will surpass $85 billion by 2022. It's a huge market opportunity for all three of these companies. Of the three stocks, DexCom has the largest upside. The stock has quadrupled over the last two years, so patient investors might wait for a better price.

Read more:
3 Top Diabetes Stocks to Watch in January - The Motley Fool

Often referred to as the king of fruits, mango (Mangifera indica) is one of the most beloved tropical fruits in the world. Its prized for its bright yellow flesh and unique, sweet flavor (1).

This stone fruit, or drupe, has been primarily cultivated in tropical regions of Asia, Africa, and Central America, but its now grown across the globe (1, 2).

Given that mangoes contain natural sugar, many people wonder whether theyre appropriate for people with diabetes.

This article explains whether people with diabetes can safely include mango in their diets.

Mangoes are loaded with a variety of essential vitamins and minerals, making them a nutritious addition to almost any diet including those focused on improving blood sugar control (3).

One cup (165 grams) of sliced mango offers the following nutrients (4):

This fruit also boasts small quantities of several other important minerals, including magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, iron, and zinc (4).

Mango is loaded with vitamins, minerals, and fiber key nutrients that can enhance the nutritional quality of almost any diet.

Over 90% of the calories in mango come from sugar, which is why it may contribute to increased blood sugar in people with diabetes.

Yet, this fruit also contains fiber and various antioxidants, both of which play a role in minimizing its overall blood sugar impact (2).

While the fiber slows the rate at which your body absorbs the sugar into your blood stream, its antioxidant content helps reduce any stress response associated with rising blood sugar levels (5, 6).

This makes it easier for your body to manage the influx of carbs and stabilize blood sugar levels.

The glycemic index (GI) is a tool used to rank foods according to their effects on blood sugar. On its 0100 scale, 0 represents no effect and 100 represents the anticipated impact of ingesting pure sugar (7).

Any food that ranks under 55 is considered low on this scale and may be a better choice for people with diabetes.

The GI of mango is 51, which technically classifies it as a low GI food (7).

Still, you should keep in mind that peoples physiological responses to food vary. Thus, while mango can certainly be considered a healthy carb choice, its important to evaluate how you respond to it personally to determine how much you should include in your diet (8, 9).

Mango contains natural sugar, which can contribute to increased blood sugar levels. However, its supply of fiber and antioxidants may help minimize its overall blood sugar impact.

If you have diabetes and want to include mango in your diet, you can use several strategies to reduce the likelihood that it will increase your blood sugar levels.

The best way to minimize this fruits blood sugar effects is to avoid eating too much at one time (10).

Carbs from any food, including mango, may increase your blood sugar levels but that doesnt mean that you should exclude it from your diet.

A single serving of carbs from any food is considered around 15 grams. As 1/2 cup (82.5 grams) of sliced mango provides about 12.5 grams of carbs, this portion is just under one serving of carbs (4, 10).

If you have diabetes, start with 1/2 cup (82.5 grams) to see how your blood sugar responds. From there, you can adjust your portion sizes and frequency until you find the amount that works best for you.

Much like fiber, protein can help minimize blood sugar spikes when eaten alongside high carb foods like mango (11).

Mango naturally contains fiber but isnt particularly high in protein.

Therefore, adding a protein source may result in a lower rise in blood sugar than if you were to eat the fruit by itself (11).

For a more balanced meal or snack, try pairing your mango with a boiled egg, piece of cheese, or handful of nuts.

You can minimize mangos impact on your blood sugar by moderating your intake and pairing this fruit with a source of protein.

Most of the calories in mango come from sugar, giving this fruit the potential to raise blood sugar levels a particular concern for people with diabetes.

That said, mango can still be a healthy food choice for people trying to improve blood sugar control.

Thats because it has a low GI and contains fiber and antioxidants that may help minimize blood sugar spikes.

Practicing moderation, monitoring portion sizes, and pairing this tropical fruit with protein-rich foods are simple techniques to improve your blood sugar response if you plan to include mango in your diet.

See original here:
Is It Safe to Eat Mango If You Have Diabetes? - Healthline

Alyssa Vela, PhD; Health Psychology Fellow, McLaren FlintPhoutdavone Phimphasone-Brady, PhD; Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Colorado School of Medicine

If you have diabetes, you probably know all too well that eating is often the most challenging aspect of diabetes management. You are not alone if you struggle to figure out what to eat, when to eat, and how to eat, even years after a diabetes diagnosis. When it comes to eating and diabetes, there are a few key aspects to pay attention to. Some of these eating habits may be familiar to you, and they might even start to cause problems in your life, such as your blood sugar, your relationships with friends and family, or even your relationship with your doctor.

Be on the lookout for red flags that your eating habits may be problematic:

Everyone has to eat, so how we think about food and go about eating, plays a really important role in our happiness and well-being. There are many ways these patterns of eating can be improved to prevent any further eating-related problems and to help people meet their diabetes management goals. Such strategies include:

If your eating habits affect your life and ability to manage diabetes, talk to your doctor, a diabetes educator, and/or a mental health provider who specializes in helping patients with the challenges associated with diabetes management (a list can be found here).

Back to Healthy Living

Excerpt from:
What You Should Know About Eating Behaviors and Diabetes | SBM - Society of Behavioral Medicine

KEY POINTS

One of the type 2 diabetes symptoms is blurred vision. If you have this condition, you might lose sharpness in your eyesight and may not be able to see the fine details of an object. According to Diabetes UK, around one in three people predisposed to the condition will suffer complications with their eyesight by the time doctors diagnose them with type 2 diabetes.

In the case of blurred vision, it can happen unilaterally (one eye) or bilaterally (both eyes). Doctors point to high blood sugar levels as the culprit of this condition. The high levels of sugar cause the lens inside the eyes to become inflamed or swell.

A Permanent and Serious Damage

If you are experiencing blurred vision, it might indicate you already have this chronic ailment and that it is not being properly managed.Consistent high levels of blood sugar can cause damage to the back of your eye or retina. This is known in medical circles as diabetic retinopathy. diabetes to cause serious eye problem Photo: Skitterphoto_Pixabay

The retina requires a steady supply of blood to function properly. This blood supply is delivered to it using a network of miniature blood vessels. With time, uncontrolled type 2 diabetes, characterized by consistently high levels of blood sugar, can cause damage to the blood vessels delivering blood to the retina.This occurs in three major stages, namely, background retinopathy, pre-proliferative retinopathy, and proliferative retinopathy.

Background Retinopathy

This happens when small bulges develop in the tiny blood vessels, causing them to bleed slightly. This does not oftentimes affect your vision.

Pre-Proliferative Retinopathy

In this situation, the blood vessels sustain widespread and more severe changes. This includes the occurrence of considerable bleeding into the eye.

Proliferative Retinopathy

This condition is marked by the scarring of tissue and the development of new blood vessels on the retina. These new blood vessels, however, are weak and can easily bleed, causing more damage and loss of some vision.

The National Health Service, in an advisory, said it often takes many years for diabetic retinopathy to reach that point where your sight is already threatened. If left unchecked and untreated, it can lead to partial or total blindness.

Common Symptoms of Diabetes

Other symptoms of diabetes that people need to be aware of are feeling more tired than normal, itching in the genitals, and with wounds taking a longer time to heal. There is also an urgent need to go to the toilet more often than usual, particularly at night. Some diabetes patients also report losing weight without undergoing a diet or weight loss program.

Continue reading here:
Eye Problems That May Indicate You Have Type 2 Diabetes - International Business Times

Of the 463 million people in the world with diabetes, up to 95 percent have type 2 (T2D). In T2D, peripheral tissues mostly muscles are resistant to insulin, a hormone made by the pancreas to stabilize blood-sugar levels and enable the body to use and store sugar.

Medications available today treat the symptoms and complications of T2D but do not solve the core problem of insulin resistance.

Zygosid-50, a drug under development in Israel, could be the first to restore near-normal cellular sensitivity to insulin, without side effects.

Concenter BioPharma in Jerusalem is raising funds for clinical trials approved by the FDA based on evidence from earlier testing in animal models for T2D.

In December, Concenter Biopharma cofounder and CSO Prof. Mottie (Mordechai) Chevion won first place at the 17th Annual World Congress on Insulin Resistance, Diabetes and Cardiovascular Diseases.

The World Congress attracts the top researchers and clinicians, who understand the problem and the limited solutions available which arent really solutions at all, says Concenter Biopharma cofounder and CEO Dror Chevion, Motties son.

To receive the award out of 80 submitted abstracts and six chosen for presentation is a real vote of confidence in our science and our achievements, Dror Chevion tells ISRAEL21c. The people sitting in that conference will be the ones prescribing our drug to patients.

Concenter BioPharma cofounder and CSO Prof. Mottie Chevion, left, receiving his award from Dr. Zachary Bloomgarden at the World Congress on Insulin Resistance, Diabetes and Cardiovascular Diseases in Los Angeles, December 2019. Photo: courtesy

Mottie Chevion developed the nonsteroidal, anti-inflammatory Zygosid family of drugs in his lab at Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem.

Zygosids work by robustly reducing insulin resistance and normalizing all diabetes-associated parameters to the normal range, says the professor. On the molecular level, Zygosid-50 is a potent anti-inflammatory drug that forces an intra-cellular exchange removal of bad free iron with zinc, depositing the zinc ion within the cells.

In 2015, some of the lab staff and their families successfully tried using Zygosid molecules topically for skin conditions including diabetic foot ulcers and psoriasis. They experienced no negative side effects.

My father felt it was inhumane not to try to bring these drugs from the lab to patients. He asked me to join him and take this initiative forward, says Dror Chevion.

The intellectual property was licensed to the inventors through the university and hospital tech-transfer companies. Silkim Pharma was set up as a holding company for the IP. Concenter Biopharma was founded as a subsidiary in 2019 to further develop and commercialize Zygosid-50 for treating and preventing T2D.

1 in 3 people has diabetes or prediabetes

Concenters US regulatory consultant, Dr. Susan Alpert, arranged meetings with the FDA in 2017 and 2018 to help determine which indication to focus on. The conclusion was to start with T2D and conduct clinical phase 1 and phase 2a trials in Israel while finalizing a pill formulation and completing preclinical toxicity studies.

One in three people in the world is diabetic or prediabetic, says Dror Chevion. The number is expected to reach 700 million by 2045. In the United States, 31 million people suffer from diabetes and 90 million are prediabetic. And the age of people contracting type 2 diabetes is getting younger and younger.

In animal trials, Zygosid-50 restored insulin sensitivity by better than 90%, bringing blood sugar into balance and lowering chronic and systemic inflammation levels. The drug also replenished zinc deficiency.

The FDA responded to Concenters investigational new drug (IND) application with a request for additional preclinical toxicity studies and more information on the drugs manufacturing process.

This is a great achievement for a small company, notes Dror Chevion.

We are working on accommodating those requests and making the final formulation of the drug as a pill. We plan to perform clinical studies here in Israel. Then we will submit another IND application to go to phase 2b, by the end of 2020. We are currently raising funds to do all of that.

Concenter was self-funded until six months ago. The company will launch a $5 million round for its T2D activities during 2020.

Concenter BioPharmas scientific advisory board includes three globally recognized diabetes experts: Dr. Peter Nawroth of Germany, Dr. Ralph DeFronzo from the United States, and Dr. Itamar Raz, chairman of the Israeli Council on Diabetes and the National Diabetes Prevention and Care Plan.

Diabetes is a global epidemic and is expected to grow, says Dror Chevion. The estimated cost of treating diabetes per year is over $850 billion. More than 150 companies are developing diagnostics or applications for diabetes, but there are no drugs to treat the actual problem of insulin resistance without side effects. This is what we are doing.

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Finally, a pill that could fix the root cause of diabetes - ISRAEL21c

, Submitted to the Pioneer

'Dining with Diabetes' classes offered in Barryton

BARRYTON The Lions Club International and Michigan State University Extension are partnering to offer free "Dining with Diabetes" workshops in Barryton.

Thanks to the Lions Club International for giving back to this community. It is extra special to be able to bring 'Dining with Diabetes' to the small community of Barryton, MSUE educator Pam Daniels stated in a press release.

"Dining with Diabetes" lasts four weeks and includes research-based education, food preparation demonstrations and healthy recipe tasting. Participants receive a textbook and materials. The goals of the classes are for participants to learn self-management skills surrounding their health and to work closely with their healthcare providers.

"Dining with Diabetes" is for anyone with or at-risk of developing diabetes. Both diabetes self-care and cooking skills are taught each week. MSUE Chef Don Zimmer will be the featured guest chef each week.

Classes will take place from 1:30-3:30 p.m. Jan. 22 and 29, and Feb. 5 and 12, at the Barryton Senior Center, 71 E. Northern Ave.

RSVP is required. Call Lisa Baker at 231-592-0792 to sign up.

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'Dining with Diabetes' classes offered in Barryton - The Pioneer