Diabetes Mellitus Type II

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Diabetes

NIH - Diabetes (Medical Encyclopedia) Type 2 diabetes is far more common than type 1 and makes up 90% or more of all cases of diabetes. It usually occurs in adulthood. Here, the pancreas does not make enough insulin to keep blood glucose levels normal, often because the body does not respond well to the insulin. Many people with type 2 diabetes do not know they have it, although it is a serious condition. Type 2 diabetes is becoming more common due to the growing number of older Americans, increasing obesity, and failure to exercise. … Unlike type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes may respond to treatment with exercise, diet, and/or oral medications. … Some people with type 2 diabetes find they no longer need medication if they lose weight and increase activity, because when their ideal weight is reached, their own insulin and a careful diet can control their blood glucose levels."

NHS – Diabetes (Video)

NHS - Diabetes: the facts “Symptoms of diabetes The symptoms of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes include: • Increased thirst, and drinking a lot of fluids. • Passing a lot of urine. • Being tired for no reason. • Weight loss. • Genital itching or repeated bouts of thrush. • Slow healing of wounds. • Blurred vision. In type 1 diabetes, symptoms will typically develop over a few weeks and quickly become very obvious. In type 2, symptoms can develop more slowly, over a period of months. Some people with type 2 diabetes have only very mild symptoms, which they believe have other causes. A few people may have no symptoms at all. … Types of diabetes There are two main types of diabetes. • Type 1: in this type, the body can't produce any insulin. This type of diabetes usually occurs before age 40, and accounts for only around 10% of all cases. But it is the most common form of childhood diabetes. • Type 2: this is where the body doesn't make enough insulin, or where the body builds up a resistance to insulin so that it doesn't work effectively. It's the most common form of diabetes (90% of all cases), and is frequently linked with being overweight. One in 10 people in the UK will eventually develop type 2 diabetes.”

Highlighted Articles

Diabetes Seems to Heighten Glaucoma Risk: Regular screenings may help prevent irreversible nerve damage (2008) "A recent study in the journal Ophthalmology found that women with diabetes have about a 70 percent increased risk of developing the most common form of glaucoma -- primary open-angle glaucoma -- compared to women without diabetes."

Researchers report periodontal disease independently predicts new onset diabetes (2008) “These data add a new twist to the association and suggest that periodontal disease may be there before diabetes," said Ryan T. Demmer, PhD, MPH, associate research scientist in the Department of Epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health and lead author. "We found that over two decades of follow-up, individuals who had periodontal disease were more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes later in life when compared to individuals without periodontal disease." “

Intake of Fruit, Vegetables, and Fruit Juices and Risk of Diabetes in Women (Diabetes Care 2008) “CONCLUSIONS—Consumption of green leafy vegetables and fruit was associated with a lower hazard of diabetes, whereas consumption of fruit juices may be associated with an increased hazard among women.”

Diabetic Neuropathy--A Review (Nat Clin Pract Neurol. 2007) "Diabetic neuropathy is the most common neuropathy in industrialized countries, and it is associated with a wide range of clinical manifestations. The vast majority of patients with clinical diabetic neuropathy have a distal symmetrical form of the disorder that progresses following a fiber-length-dependent pattern, with sensory and autonomic manifestations predominating. This pattern of neuropathy is associated with a progressive distal axonopathy. Patients experience pain, trophic changes in the feet, and autonomic disturbances. Occasionally, patients with diabetes can develop focal and multifocal neuropathies that include cranial nerve involvement and limb and truncal neuropathies."

Adiposity Compared With Physical Inactivity and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes in Women (Diabetes Care 2007) "CONCLUSIONS—Obesity and physical inactivity independently contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes; however, the magnitude of risk contributed by obesity is much greater than that imparted by lack of physical activity."

Walking for exercise--does three times per week influence risk factors in type 2 diabetes? (Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 2006) "Our results suggest that an increase of regular physical activity equivalent to 45 min of walking 3 days/week may suffice to improve systolic and diastolic blood pressure, lipid metabolism and BMI in patients with type 2 diabetes."

Health Problems That Diabetes Can Cause

Internet Sites

NIH - NIDDK Diabetes

NIH - Diabetes

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Diabetes Mellitus Type II

General Information

NEWS:

44% of diabetics suffer sexual problems: Study

Adult-onset Diabetes Slows Mental Functioning In Several Ways, With Deficits Appearing Early

Among Obese Diabetics, Sleep Apnea May Be Common “Most of those who were undiagnosed also had a larger waist circumference, which the researchers found to be significantly associated with sleep apnea, as is higher body-mass index (BMI).”

Amputations Much More Common in Diabetics “Diabetics are eight times more likely than non-diabetics to have a lower limb amputated, according to a report published this month in the journal Diabetes Care. The findings are based on a study of all lower limb amputations performed due to clogged leg arteries in residents of an area of Sweden from 1997 to 2006. “

Antioxidants may raise diabetes risk “He says oxidative stress may be working not to damage the body, but to inhibit enzymes that hurt the body's ability to use insulin early on in the development of diabetes, and that antioxidants remove this protective mechanism. "Our work suggests that antioxidants may contribute to early development of insulin resistance, a key pathological hallmark of type 2 diabetes," says Tiganis. He cautioned that the study was in mice and more study in people is needed.”

Critical Link Between Obesity And Diabetes Discovered “The team, led by Associate Professor Matthew Watt, discovered that fat cells release a novel protein called PEDF (pigment epithelium-derived factor), which triggers a chain of events and interactions that lead to development of Type 2 diabetes. "When PEDF is released into the bloodstream, it causes the muscle and liver to become desensitised to insulin. The pancreas then produces more insulin to counteract these negative effects, " Associate Professor Watt said. This insulin release causes the pancreas to become overworked, eventually slowing or stopping insulin release from the pancreas, leading to Type 2 diabetes." “

Diabetes and heart attack “People with diabetes are highly susceptible to having heart attacks and therefore sudden death. They have about a four fold higher risk of having a heart attack than people without diabetes. This risk of sudden death is greater in women with diabetes especially those that have attained menopause.”

Diabetes Linked To Cognitive Deterioration “Blindness, renal failure, stroke and heart disease are potential complications of type 2 diabetes, which currently afflicts more than 15 million Americans. Now research from Tel Aviv University has found more worrying news ? type 2 diabetes can be a risk factor accelerating cognitive decline and dementia.”

Diabetes Weakens Your Bones, Research Finds

Diabetics On High-fiber Diets Might Need Extra Calcium

Diabetics show alarming increase in morbid obesity

Incontinence Very Common in Overweight and Obese Diabetic Women

Many Diabetic Foot Amputations are Preventable

Menopausal Hip Bone Loss Accelerated in Diabetic Patients

Most diabetics falling short on healthy eating “But many people in this study were not making healthy diet choices, even if they had long-standing diabetes, the researchers found. "The findings clearly illustrate a need to provide ongoing nutrition education for people with diabetes regardless of the amount of time they've had the disease," Vitolins said. "These people have, within their cupboards and refrigerators, the potential to really manage their diabetes well," she added. "Day to day, the foods they are eating should be considered a vital part of their treatment." “

Obesity and Physical Inactivity May Explain Insulin Resistance With Aging “Insulin resistance is not an inherent characteristic of aging, but rather a result of obesity and physical inactivity, according to a report in the August issue of Diabetes Care. "Since the prevalence of type 2 diabetes is higher among older adults, it has been suggested that aging is associated with insulin resistance," Dr. Bret H. Goodpaster, from the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, told Reuters Health. "The key question that our paper addresses in a novel way is whether or not insulin resistance is a fundamental characteristic of aging or (an outcome of) lifestyle patterns linked with aging, such as physical inactivity and obesity. … "Many of our older adults have a common belief that some of their ailments, including diabetes, or 'high sugar,' are merely an inevitable consequence of getting older," Dr. Goodpaster said. "Sadly, some health care practitioners share this belief." The "results of this paper and our previous papers clearly show that many aspects of declining health in older age, including insulin resistance, can be prevented or at least attenuated, by regular physical activity and maintaining a healthy weight," he added.”

Research shows why low vitamin D raises heart disease risks in diabetics “Low levels of vitamin D are known to nearly double the risk of cardiovascular disease in patients with diabetes, and researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis now think they know why. They have found that diabetics deficient in vitamin D can't process cholesterol normally, so it builds up in their blood vessels, increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke. The new research has identified a mechanism linking low vitamin D levels to heart disease risk and may lead to ways to fix the problem, simply by increasing levels of vitamin D. "Vitamin D inhibits the uptake of cholesterol by cells called macrophages," says principal investigator Carlos Bernal-Mizrachi, M.D., a Washington University endocrinologist at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. "When people are deficient in vitamin D, the macrophage cells eat more cholesterol, and they can't get rid of it. The macrophages get clogged with cholesterol and become what scientists call foam cells, which are one of the earliest markers of atherosclerosis." Macrophages are dispatched by the immune system in response to inflammation and often are activated by diseases such as diabetes. Bernal-Mizrachi and his colleagues believe that in diabetic patients with inadequate vitamin D, macrophages become loaded with cholesterol and eventually stiffen blood vessels and block blood flow. … "Cholesterol is transported through the blood attached to lipoproteins such as LDL, the 'bad' cholesterol," Bernal-Mizrachi explains. "As it is stimulated by oxygen radicals in the vessel wall, LDL becomes oxidated, and macrophages eat it uncontrollably. LDL cholesterol then clogs the macrophages, and that's how atherosclerosis begins." That process becomes accelerated when a person is deficient in vitamin D. And people with type 2 diabetes are very likely to have this deficiency. Worldwide, approximately one billion people have insufficient vitamin D levels, and in women with type 2 diabetes, the likelihood of low vitamin D is about a third higher than in women of the same age who don't have diabetes. The skin manufactures vitamin D in response to ultraviolet light exposure. But in much of the United States, people don't make enough vitamin D during the winter — when the sun's rays are weaker and more time is spent indoors. The good news is when human macrophages are placed in an environment with plenty of vitamin D, their uptake of cholesterol is suppressed, and they don't become foam cells. Bernal-Mizrachi believes it may be possible to slow or reverse the development of atherosclerosis in patients with diabetes by helping them regain adequate vitamin D levels.”

South Asians With Diabetes More Likely To Lose Their Eyesight Earlier Than White Europeans

Study finds over 90 percent of people with gum disease are at risk for diabetes

Study: Diabetics in Asia Are Younger, Thinner

Triglycerides implicated in diabetes nerve loss “"In our study, elevated serum triglycerides were the most accurate at predicting nerve fiber loss, compared to all other measures," says Kelli A. Sullivan, Ph.D., co-first author of the study and an assistant research professor in neurology at the U-M Medical School. "These results set the stage for clinicians to be able to address lowering lipid counts with their diabetes patients with neuropathy as vigilantly as they pursue glucose control," says Eva L. Feldman, M.D., Ph.D., senior author of the study and the Russell N. DeJong Professor of Neurology at the U-M Medical School.”

Type 2 Diabetes Raises Risk of Pancreatitis: Study “People with type 2 diabetes have an almost three-fold higher risk of acute pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas) and two-fold greater risk of biliary disease (disease of the gallbladder and bile ducts), compared with people without diabetes, a study shows.”

Twin study: Diabetes significantly increases risk for Alzheimer's disease and other dementia “Diabetics have a significantly greater risk of dementia, both Alzheimer's disease — the most common form of dementia — and other dementia, reveals important new data from an ongoing study of twins. The risk of dementia is especially strong if the onset of diabetes occurs in middle age, according to the study. "Our results . . . highlighted the need to maintain a healthy lifestyle during adulthood in order to reduce the risk of dementia late in life," explained Dr. Margaret Gatz, who directs the Study of Dementia in Swedish Twins. “

ARTICLES:

JOURNAL ARTICLES:

Diabetes and Peripheral Arterial Disease in Men: Trends in Prevalence, Mortality, and Effect of Concomitant Coronary Disease. (Clin Cardiol. 2009)

Diabetes Weakens Your Bones, Research Finds

Egg Consumption and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes in Men and Women (Diabetes Care 2009) “CONCLUSIONS—These data suggest that high levels of egg consumption (daily) are associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes in men and women. Confirmation of these findings in other populations is warranted.”

Patients diagnosed with diabetes mellitus are at increased risk for asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pulmonary fibrosis, and pneumonia but not lung cancer. (Diabetes Care. 2009)

Uncontrolled diabetes increases the risk of Alzheimer's disease: a population-based cohort study. (Diabetologia. 2009) “CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: Uncontrolled diabetes increases the risk of Alzheimer's disease and VaD. Our findings suggest a direct link between glucose dysregulation and neurodegeneration.”

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