PLEASANT PRAIRIE At 6 years old, Addison Morton is headed to Washington, D.C., to tell Congress and the White House not to cut federal funding for Type 1 diabetes research.

The daughter of Brian and Erin Morton, she is the youngest of five Wisconsin children selected to join more than 150 boys and girls ages 4-17 to participate in the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundations 10th Childrens Congress since 1999.

Addison and her mother will travel to Washington July 24-26 to attend the biennial Childrens Congress. Brian, a pharmacist at St. Catherines Medical Center, likely will join them there, he said Friday.

Like Addison, who had just turned 3 when doctors diagnosed her in November 2013, all the delegates have Type 1 diabetes or, as its often referred to, juvenile diabetes.

Im excited because Ive never been to Washington, D.C., before, and I also want to find a cure, Addison said, between breaks from playing with her brothers, Tucker, 5, and Tate, 4.

What would finding a cure mean to her?

No more diabetes. No more shots. No more pump. No more Dexcom. No more highs and lows, Addison quickly replies.

Draped in Erins lap, Addison cradles her doll Stace, whom she introduces as also having Type 1 diabetes. Stace wears her own mini medical ID bracelet, as well as a tiny pump and continuous glucose monitor replicas.

Unlike people with Type 2 diabetes so-called adult onset diabetes those with Type 1 currently must rely on externally delivered insulin to live.

Most commonly that means injecting the glucose-regulating hormone via hypodermic syringe or increasingly by way of small, portable, electro-mechanical pumps worn on their bodies or attached to their clothing.

Addison rolls up her shirt to reveal an Omnipod by Insulet Corp., affixed with transparent adhesive film to her abdomen, midway between navel and right side. Twisting slightly, she hoists the left side of her shirt just above her waist to show an even smaller device adhered to her back near her hip. Its Insulets Dexcom continuous glucose monitor.

It watches my blood sugar, Addison says.

As with similar CGM systems, Addisons stores and transmits data. Her parents monitor the data using wristwatch-like devices. In addition, Brians cellphone displays it via an app.

Traditional glucose monitors are used at least several times daily for the most accurate information and to calibrate the CGM, but the most recent technology enables Addisons parents to keep an eye on her blood sugar levels day and night. In addition, the data is recorded and retrievable.

Erin recalls how she first suspected a urinary tract infection was causing their daughter to keep soaking through diapers as a 3-year-old until lab tests showed inordinately high amounts of blood sugar in Addisons urine. Subsequent blood tests proved she had Type 1 diabetes.

As a mother, she found herself crying at thoughts that Addison wouldnt be able to enjoy the kinds of things other kids love like ice cream, cookies, playing sports and engaging in other physical activities.

Remember, at that time I had no idea what diabetes is. Weve come a long way from the beginning, Erin said.

She says together she and Brian make a great team supporting their daughter, as well as Tate, who has been identified with four of the five known markers showing he is at high risk for developing Type 1 as a child. They agreed to enroll Tate in an ongoing research study that could lead to forestalling onset of the disease or possibly even leading to a cure.

Meanwhile, Addisons diagnosis apparently has changed their outlooks on life more than her own.

In a handwritten letter to Speaker of the House Paul Ryan applying for selection in JDRFs Childrens Congress, Addison wrote:

Diabetes is all I know. I do the same thing as other kids, but I have a pump and a Dexcom. ... I want to be a diabetic superhero when I grow up and get a cure. That means you can eat whatever you want without insulin. ... I like to talk about (diabetes) and show off my pump and Dexcom. My mom tells me I am already a diabetic superhero. I hope talking about it and showing people will bring awareness and a cure.

Says Erin, Thats what were going to be talking about in Washington: Special Diabetes Research.

They call it SDR, Brian said. The federal government puts $150 million a year into it, and they usually fund it for two years. That accounts for one-third of all federal funding for Type 1 diabetes research. This time, we want to see the spending bill renewed for three years instead of two.

The Childrens Congress focuses on advocacy and entails what Erin anticipates as a steady parade of meetings with congressmen, possibly Administration officials and other influential people in high places. She doesnt expect their schedule to include sightseeing and fun things to do.

Were there for a lot of reasons. Weve got things to do. We dont have a lot of down time, Erin said.

Looking across their backyard, where Addison is leading her younger brothers in exuberantly climbing around an elaborate play set, Erin thinks ahead to their Washington trip.

Shes a really good advocate for diabetes, Erin said, smiling. She has no memory of her life before diabetes. Now, this is all she knows. Shes innocent about it. She doesnt hold anything back. Im so proud of her.

To learn more about the JDRFs 2017 Childrens Congress and to watch Addison Mortons application video, go to http://www.cc.jdrf.org.

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Pleasant Prairie girl heads to Washington to be 'diabetic superhero' - Kenosha News

By Mayo Clinic News Network

Poor diet can obviously lead to health problems and weight gain. Conversely, proper food choices help people become healthier and manage certain conditions. For those with diabetes and prediabetes appropriate monitoring and management of diet is extremely important. Mayo Clinic Health System registered dietitian Sue Seykora offers these meal-planning tips to help keep diabetes under control and maybe avoid it all together.

Carbohydrate counting

Carbohydrate counting is a meal-planning approach that focuses on the total number of carbs consumed. It's an easy method to follow and allows variety in food choices that fit preferences and lifestyle.

Most of the foods you eat contain carbs: breads, crackers, pasta, rice, potatoes, milk and many more. Carbs are often thought of as bad foods. In reality, your body needs carbs to create energy. The problem is that many people don't choose healthy types and amounts of carbs. "People should consume healthier carbs like fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy foods. All foods -- even healthy foods -- need portion control," says Seykora.

Although there is no universal amount of carbs you should ingest, the following guidelines serve as a good starting point and can be adjusted as needed (note that one serving of carbs is considered 15 grams):

"Although carb counting is the initial focus for a diabetic diet, protein and fat levels cannot be ignored," says Seykora. "Work with your dietitian to discover how to limit excessive protein and fat in your diet."

The plate method

"Another meal-planning system is the plate method. Not only is this good for people with diabetes and prediabetes, it's a healthy option for anyone," adds Seykora. She shares some basic principles for the plate method:

Actions for people with prediabetes

It's amazing what health-conscious eating and physical activity can do for preventing the progression of diabetes. Try these tactics to improve your health:

Source: http://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/tips-for-prediabetes-and-diabetes-meal-planning

Distributed by LAKANA. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Originally posted here:
Tips for diabetes and prediabetes meal planning - ClickOnDetroit - WDIV Detroit

Implants that deliver a constant metered dose of medication have plenty of promise. Theyre especially useful for making sure patients dont have to orient their daily schedule around their medication times. For the same reasons, theyre a potential solution for patients who tend to forget to take medications that have to be delivered right on schedule. Their major strength is being able to keep a patients serum concentration of their medication at a specific level.

For example: Nexplanon, a hormonal contraceptive implant, delivers a constant dose of medication that keeps a womans progesterone levels within a particular range that prevents her from ovulating. Too high or too low a dose, and everything would get out of whack. But the implant keeps the serum concentration pretty stable.

But because of the steady diffusion of the active substance, such drug-delivery implants arent fabulous for conditions that require medication only when symptoms appear. There hasnt been a lot of luck with an implant for asthma, for example, because we havent surpassed the rescue inhaler for timely asthma treatment. Another condition that has resisted the implant approach is type 2 diabetes. Because type 2 is all about insulin insensitivity, and insulin is something that operates in a tight feedback loop with fluctuating blood glucose levels, you dont necessarily want a blood insulin concentration thats always held stable at the same level.

Not to worry, though: the biotechnologists are on this. Scientists are developing implantable biomedical microelectromechanical systems (bioMEMS) that can monitor your blood chemistry in real time, deliver timed and quantized doses of medication, and phone home to your doctor to report on what theyve done.

Currently people with type 1 diabetes have the option to get an implanted insulin pump that can deliver insulin on demand, so they dont have to stab themselves every time they need insulin. You may have seen these they clip to a persons belt and look a little like a pager. But type 2 diabetes is more related to insulin insensitivity than it is to failure to produce insulin in the first place. Some diabetics can manage their disease through diet alone, and others take metformin by mouth, while more severe cases can become insulin-dependent. Insulin demand changes along with blood sugar and activity levels.

Credit: Intarcia

Successfully managing type 2 diabetes with an implant necessitates real-time monitoring of blood chemistry, and quantized dose delivery. So scientists have been attacking this problem from multiple angles.

Real-time blood chemistry analysis happens via an implanted lab-on-chip (LOC). These tiny but promising devices are around the size of your thumbnail, but their capabilities are huge. From where theyre implanted in well-vascularized connective tissue, they take a continuous account of blood chemistry and perform basic analysis to report what your likely insulin demand will be. Wired UK reports one such LOC capable of monitoring for five separate biomolecules its inductively charged by a battery pack worn outside the skin, and it can report its results via Bluetooth.

As for drug delivery, in November 2016 a company called Intarcia filed for marketing approval with the FDA, in order to market an implantable drug delivery pump (above right) for type 2 diabetes. It would need replacing to top up its proteins once or twice a year. But the rest of the time, it would deliver timely doses of a drug called exatenide that beat another big-name diabetes medication, sitagliptin, in clinical trials.

Now, the biomedical sciences are just as riddled with startups that overpromise and underdeliver as any other industry. But we hate vaporware just as much as you do, which is why were even talking about this thing. Its solid enough that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has invested in the project; theres a version of the implant that can also be used for HIV medications. If they get FDA approval, Intarcia hopes to release the implant in late 2017.

The combined powers of real-time analysis and metered drug delivery present a tantalizing possibility of real relief for type 2 diabetics, especially in difficult cases where blood chemistry just doesnt want to behave. Minding diabetes at home is a laborious and often painful process involving careful time and calorie management, and sometimes needles. But it might not have to be all needles much longer.

Image credit, top: Intarcia

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New Implants Could Treat Type 2 Diabetes Without Needles - ExtremeTech

Macintosh is a 10-year-old Schnauzer that has diabetes. His caretaker Paula has been treating him with an injection of insulin twice daily for the past 16 months and he has been doing quite well. Paula checks Mac's blood sugar level three to four times weekly and he appears to be well regulated. Recently, Mac has developed a mass along the top of his back just behind his shoulders. When Paula first noticed the mass, it was raised and about the size of pea. It now has grown to about one inch in diameter and has become reddened in color. Paula is understandably concerned about this mass and wants to have it removed but is also very concerned with the increased risk of infection associated with diabetes and surgery.

First of all, I want to congratulate Paula for her good work in treating Mac's diabetes. Diabetes is a common disease in our companions and is a fatal process. It can, however, be very effectively treated with long survival times when the blood sugar is well regulated. I also am thrilled to hear that Paula is able to monitor Mac's blood sugar.

Monitoring blood sugar requires a blood sample that is applied to a special strip which is inserted into a blood sugar or glucose meter. Within a few seconds, the meter responds with a blood sugar number that is ideally kept between 60 and 150 in dogs. Historically, it was very uncommon for caretakers to monitor their companion's blood sugar, but with the advent of newer meters requiring very tiny blood samples, it is now a much easier process.

I won't use the rest of my column to discuss diabetes only because Paula has a valid concern involving Mac's likely need for surgery.

Without question, diabetic patients are at a greater risk of developing infection when compared with patients that do not have the disease. This is because of the microscopic tissue changes that occur with diabetes, as well as the effects the disease has on the immune system. As a result, Mac is at a greater risk of developing an infection with surgery to remove his mass. This however does not mean he can't have the surgery. To put this in what I consider to be proper perspective, let's say there is a one half of one percent chance of a "normal" patient developing an infection with surgery to remove a mass such as Mac's. If a patient with diabetes has a 100 percent increase in the risk for developing infection from a surgery of this type, we are still looking at a mere one percent chance on infection. These are not real numbers, but the point is made.

Mac should have the surgery, and while he's under anesthesia if needed, he should have his teeth cleaned as well. Dental disease can be a source of infection within the body, and as we know, diabetes can increase the chances that this type of infection will spread. I feel with what I know about Mac's case, there is a greater risk for him if the mass is left unaddressed when compared to the chance of infection from the surgery itself. It's also important to have the mass biopsied after removal to know whether or not it will require further follow-up.

Kahler is a veterinarian in Modest, Calif., who writes his column for the Modesto (Calif.) Bee.

Originally posted here:
Pet Vet: Diabetes complicates Schnauzer's surgery - Lewiston Morning Tribune (subscription)

Do you struggle to reach blood glucose targets set by your healthcare provider? Taking a group diabetes education program could help, according to a study whose results were released in the Oct. 10, 2011 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine Journal. The study divided volunteers with uncontrolled diabetes into two groups. One group attended group sessions (5 2-hour sessions held once a week). The other group used a free-form individual program with sessions available a la carte. Over a year's time, those who had attended the group sessions lowered their A1Cs almost twice as much as those using the individual program.

The American Diabetes Association recommends that people enroll in an ADA-approved self-management program. The diabetes self-management program at Sterling Regional MedCenter is an ADA-recognized program, which means the program has met all of the national standards as set forth by the American Diabetes Association to ensure excellence and quality. Taking Charge of Your Diabetes, a five-week program, is scheduled to begin on Monday, July 3, at 1 p.m.

Medicare and other insurance plans may cover all or part of the cost of the program. Ask your physician's office to check on your insurance coverage before referring you into the program. A written referral from your physician is required. Pre-registration is also required. To pre-register or for more information call Glenda Amen, Wellness Manager, at 970-521-3260.

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Self-management program important to your diabetes treatment plan - Journal Advocate