Diabetes - Type 2

The results of a new study conducted by the Temple University School of Medicine conclude that fat cells in obese people are "sicker" than fat cells in lean people. The researched applied the simple definition of sickness: when something doesn’t work correctly, it is sick. The fat cells in obese people are not working right, and are by the simple definition, sick.

The Temple University School of Medicine study is the first to show that not all fat cells are alike. Fat cells in obese people are often stressed and inflamed, and they produce chemicals that interfere with the body’s ability to process and utilize insulin. As such, many obese people become insulin resistant, one of the early stages in the development of diabetes. In addition, the research suggests that the malfunctioning fat cells strengthen the already strong bond between obesity and the high risk of developing chronic life-threatening diseases (such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease).

According to Amylin Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lily, six patients who were prescribed the type 2 diabetes drug Byetta reportedly have died from pancreatitis. The Food and Drug Administration reported the Byetta patient deaths and will now strengthen its warnings about serious pancreatitis problems linked to the drug.

Byetta was approved by the FDA in 2005 for the treatment of type 2 or adult onset diabetes in patients whose diabetes was not well-controlled on other oral medication. The medication is injected subcutaneously twice per day using a pre-filled pen device and began being widely used after its approval, in part because it promoted weight loss, in contrast to insulin and many other diabetes medications. Byetta can improve blood sugar control and can be and has been combined with other diabetes drugs.

Blindness, Amputation of Limbs, or dialysis for the rest of their lives; these are the consequences of diabetes. Almost everyone with diabetes could anticipate that one of these catastrophic disabilities would happen to them. However, the Centers for Disease Control report that today, the complications are decreasing, even though the rates of diabetes are increasing. For the first time, heart decrease has decreased by almost 16%. This decrease is a result of new knowledge within the past decade that controlling blood pressure, managing cholesterol levels, and maintaining healthy blood sugar levels staves off the eventual outcome of diabetes.

Harvard Medical School has derived a number of healthy practices for all of us to emulate. The following article will try to paraphrase the critical points on exercise, and why all of us should do it. And, for the ones who do it, perhaps they need to do more!

The Benefit of Fitness

Probably by now, everyone acknowledges the health benefits of exercise. Everyone should get at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise daily. Daily is not too much, as human beings we were designed to get a lot more exercise than just daily for 30 minutes. Benefits accrue quickly. Among them are:

More than five million Americans must take insulin every day. Insulin Dependent Diabetics say the greatest bane in their life is their daily quota of insulin shots they must endure. Additionally, receiving this many injections causes scar tissue to eventually form, which decreases insulin absorption, and decreases skin integrity.

Therefore, inhaling your daily dose of insulin was thought to be a real boost to the quality of life of those diabetics required to take daily insulin. Exubera was cited by many as the answer to a diabetic’s prayers. Diabetes is a disease that affects the amount of insulin and sugar in your body. Exubera is a human form of insulin and as such, lowers blood sugar concentrations by allowing the blood sugar to be taken up by cells as a source of fuel. Exubera is a powdered form of insulin that is able to be inhaled into the lungs through the patient's mouth using a specially designed inhaler.

Blood vessels are damaged for a wide variety of reasons; but especially due to diabetes and arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). These damaged blood vessels become inflamed, and degeneration is progressive. Of course, the ultimate consequences of this process is significant: outcomes range from heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure, peripheral vascular disease, neurological manifestations, etc.

Lizard spit is helping some Type 2 diabetics lose weight. Don't worry.
They don't have to drink it. They inject it. Byetta, a drug whose
active ingredient is the synthetic version of a protein produced in the
spit of the Gila monster, has been found to cause considerable weight
loss in some of its users.

Important to note is that it is not marketed as a drug for weight loss; but for sugar control with diabetics. It is not intended to substitute for insulin, but rather increases the effectiveness of insulin. It works by mimicking a hormone called incretin. Incretin is manufactured in the upper gut, and works to suppress glucagon secretion. In diabetics, this hormone seems to be deficient.

Almost everyone knows someone who has diabetes. An estimated 20.8 million people in the United States—7.0 percent of the population—have diabetes, a serious, lifelong condition. Of those, 14.6 million have been diagnosed, and 6.2 million have not yet been diagnosed. In 2005, about 1.5 million people aged 20 or older were diagnosed with diabetes

Diabetes is a disorder of metabolism—the way our bodies use digested food for growth and energy. Most of the food we eat is broken down into glucose, the form of sugar in the blood. Glucose is the main source of fuel for the body.

Public awareness of the link between diabetes and CVD is low, and many people with diabetes do not understand all they can do to manage their disease and reduce their risk for complications, including heart attack and stroke.

Adults with diabetes have heart disease death rates about two to four times higher than adults without diabetes, and the risk for stroke is also two to four times higher among people with diabetes.

Kidney disease affects almost 2% of the population. Deaths from kidney disease are approximately 50,000 annually. The problem, as with most diseases, is that symptoms do not exist until one is in the advanced stage (and then, it is too late to treat).