Diabetes News Hound » Type 2 Diabetes

AT&T Settles Diabetes Discrimination Suit

Chris Frankie — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 18:03:48 +0000

AT&T Services is paying $60,000 to settle a discrimination suit over its alleged refusal to hire an applicant due to his diabetes.

The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed the suit in Austin, Texas, federal court, charging that the telecom company violated the Americans With Disabilities Act.

The applicant “indisputably had the necessary experience and expertise” to perform the job of cable splicer technician in Austin, and had even safely performed a similar job for AT&T previously, the EEOC says in a release announcing the settlement.

“Employers who respond to disabled individuals with knee-jerk exclusions based on myths, fears and stereotypes, rather than considering individual abilities, put themselves at risk,” said EEOC lawyer Eduardo Juarez.

Also under the settlement, AT&T agreed to provide training regarding the ADA to all staffing managers at its non-management staffing office located in San Antonio.

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Mediterranean Diet Reduces Need for Drugs

Chris Frankie — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 18:01:58 +0000

New research finds people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes are less likely to need drugs for lowering blood sugar if they eat a Mediterranean diet.

Fifty-six percent of diabetics who had developed the disease recently and followed the meal plan for four years were found to not subsequently require antihyperglycemic drugs, compared with 70% of patients on the standard low-fat diet recommended by cardiologists, according to an ABC News summary.

The Mediterranean diet consisted mainly of vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats such as olive oil and poultry and fish instead of red meat. Women were restricted to 1,500 calories per day and men to 1,800, and no more than half of all calories could come from complex carbohydrates while no less than 30% of daily calories came from fat.

The others followed a low-fat regimen endorsed by the American Heart Association, rich in whole grains while restricting fats, sweets and high-fat snacks. The caloric limits were the same as for the Mediterranean diet group, but no more than 30% could come from fat and no more than 10% from saturated fat.

The findings emphasize the impact of lifestyle interventions, often overlooked by doctors too quick to medicate, the authors say.

The study is published this week in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.

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Calif. Diabetes Rate Up 26% in Six Years

Chris Frankie — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 07:11:53 +0000

The prevalence of diabetes shot up 26% in California in just six years and most of the state’s residents are now overweight, according to a study from UCLA.

The research, culled from state health survey data, finds 7.8% of adult Californians had diabetes in 2007, compared with 6.2% in 2001. Thirty-four percent are overweight, and 23% obese.

All racial and ethnic groups experienced increases, though rates among American Indians, African-Americans and Latinos were disproportionately large. Both conditions were also more common among the poor, but all income groups as well saw increases.

The striking numbers illustrate the need for radical measures, the study’s authors say.

“When so many people of different ages, income and educational levels, and cultural backgrounds are struggling with obesity and diabetes, it suggests that going on a diet is not enough,” said co-author Allison Diamant in a press release announcing the results. “We need to take a hard look at the environmental and structural factors that contribute to these conditions.”

Among the study’s recommendations are increasing access to recreational facilities and parks, promoting policies to foster farmers markets and generally improve access to healthy food.

Diabetes is estimated to cost the state $24 billion annually, with $17 billion spent on direct medical care and $7 billion on indirect costs associated with the disease.

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Diabetes Drains Vietnam Veterans Disability Claims

Chris Frankie — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 07:09:58 +0000

Diabetes is the most common ailment for which Vietnam veterans are receiving government disability compensation, despite tenuous grounds for the claims, the Associated Press reports.

About 270,000 veterans of the war, or 27% of those on disability of any kind, are claiming the checks for diabetes, an AP investigation discovered. Their claims total at least $850 million annually, out of $34 billion spent on disability benefits for all wars.

Claimants ostensibly attribute their diabetes to exposure to the defoliant Agent Orange, which was used widely during the campaign. But decades of research have failed to prove a certain link, according to the AP.

A 2000 study by the National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine concluded that a link between Agent Orange and diabetes was merely possible, prompting Veterans Affairs to designate diabetes as an ailment qualifying for automatic benefits approval. A study carried out five years later found airmen who carried out Agent Orange spraying missions were actually less likely to develop diabetes than pilots not participating.

One claimant draws diabetes disability despite having spent just eight hours in Vietnam, during a layover on a flight home, the AP reports. Other common ailments, including erectile dysfunction, are also drawing compensation due to putative links to Agent Orange exposure.

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Breastfeeding Lowers Type 2 Risk: Study

Chris Frankie — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 14:33:56 +0000

Breastfeeding appears to protect mothers against diabetes.

Research from the University of Pittsburgh finds mothers who did not breastfeed were nearly twice as likely to develop type-2 diabetes than women who had breastfed or never had children. Mothers who did breastfeed all their children were no likelier to become diabetics than women who never gave birth.

The disparities remained after controlling for age, race, physical activity and tobacco and alcohol use.

The study, published in the September American Journal of Medicine, covered 2,233 women aged 40 and 78. Fifty-six percent of mothers reported having breastfed an infant for at least one month, while 27% percent of mothers who did not breastfeed went on to developed type 2 diabetes.

Breastfeeding’s beneficial impact results from its ability to decrease maternal belly fat, said Pitt professor Eleanor Bimla Schwarz in announcing the results.

“Our study provides another good reason to encourage women to breastfeed their infants, at least for the infant’s first month of life,” she said. “Clinicians need to consider women’s pregnancy and lactation history when advising women about their risk for developing type 2 diabetes.”

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Avandia No Riskier Than Actos: Study

Chris Frankie — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 15:32:38 +0000

Newly published research shows Avandia poses roughly the same heart-attack risk as competing drug Actos, contradicting earlier studies suggesting Avandia was more dangerous.

The new study, published this week in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, may have arrived at a different conclusion in part because its subjects may have been younger and healthier than in previous studies, says study author Debra Wertz in a WebMD interview.

A recent FDA study finding an elevated risk with Avandia focused on diabetics over age 65, with an average age of 74.4, WebMD notes. The Wertz study subject’s average age, by contrast, was 54, and all were privately insured, suggesting that they were likely to be employed and consequently in generally good health.

The findings will likely muddle Avandia’s regulatory status. Last month, an FDA advisory panel recommended adding a second warning to Avandia’s label warning of the cardiac risks while holding off on a similar warning for Actos.

Sales of Avandia have plunged this year, to about $1.1 billion from as high as $3.4 billion in 2006, while Actos sales have soared to $4.6 billion, according to the Los Angeles Times.

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Grapefruit Compound Mimics Positive Attributes of Avandia

Chris Frankie — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 15:30:18 +0000

New research shows an antioxidant found in grapefruit has promise as a treatment for type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome.

The study finds naringenin, which is derived from the bitter flavor of grapefruits and other citrus fruits, seems to cause the liver to break down fat and increase insulin sensitivity, dLife.com reports.

The mechanism was similar to that of drugs such as the lipid-lowering Fenofibrate and the diabetes medicine Rosiglitazone, marketed as Avandia. The results were also suggestive of the body’s reaction to long periods of fasting, says senior study author Yaakov Nahmias in the dLife summary.

As a dietary supplement, naringenin could become vital in treatment of type 2 diabetes as well as hyperlipidemia and metabolic syndrome, dLife reports.

Researchers from Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Massachusetts General Hospital carried out the study, which appears this week in the online journal PLoS ONE.

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Court Curtails Stem Cell Research

Chris Frankie — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 14:29:38 +0000

A federal court decision has blocked a White House policy allowing more embryonic stem cell research, a change that research advocates say will postpone long-awaited breakthroughs.

The ruling by chief judge Royce Lamberth of Federal District Court for the District of Columbia, granted a temporary injunction rescinding a 2009 executive order by President Obama loosening constraints on the research, saying that the president had violated a ban on federal money being used to destroy embryos.

Obama’s order had let federally funded scientists research 75 stem cell lines created with private money, compared with 21 allowed under President Bush. It is not clear, however, if the injunction means that work financed under the Obama standard had to cease immediately or merely that future grants must apply the old standard.

Health institutes officials tell The New York Times that the Justice Department would interpret the ruling for them; a Justice spokeswoman tells the times that agency lawyers were reviewing the decision.

Research into cures and treatments for diseases such as diabetes and Parkinson’s will have to wait, though the delay may be temporary, said the New York Stem Cell Foundation in a press statement.

“Although we are confident that the court’s decision will not be upheld, the net effect of this decision is to slow the progress of advancing revolutionary new therapies that have the potential to advance cures and successful treatments for a broad range of the diseases and conditions, including diabetes.”

Lisa Hughes of the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research called the ruling “a blow to the hopes of millions of patients and their families suffering from fatal and chronic diseases and disorders.”

But she too expressed hope for a judicial remedy. ”We have full confidence that the extensive, deliberative process that shaped federal guidelines now in place will be upheld upon further review,” she said.

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Raised Glucose Fosters Infections

Chris Frankie — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 14:29:17 +0000

Unhealthy glucose levels in diabetics can severely inhibit defenses against bacterial and fungal infections, new research shows.

The study carried out at the UK’s University of Warwick finds that the raised glucose can create a sugar coating that serves to impair the body’s attempts to fight off such infections, according to a summary at dLife.com.

Specialized receptors that recognize molecules associated with bacteria and fungi are in effect blinded when glucose levels surpass healthy levels, the researchers say. The excess glucose also binds in a way that blocks the chemical processes that typically follow to attack such infections.

The findings help to explain why diabetic complications often include heightened risk of viral infections such as influenza and inflammatory conditions such as cardiovascular disease.

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No Need for Meds After Bariatric Surgery: Study

Chris Frankie — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 12:33:30 +0000

A new study shows diabetics undergoing bariatric surgery typically no longer need to take insulin and other medications controlling blood sugar, Dow Jones Newswires reports.

Nearly three-quarters of obese patients diagnosed with type 2 were off the medicine within six month of the weigh-loss surgery, according to the research carried out at Johns Hopkins University and published in the Archives of Surgery.

In light of the findings, the researchers say, insurers should now cover the $30,000 procedure because it appears to be the only treatment resulting in sustained reversal of obesity as well as type 2 diabetes.

Many patients were able to halt their medications almost immediately after the surgery and before they lost large amounts of weight. Those results help to confirm the theory that stomach hormones altered by surgery become more effective in controlling blood glucose levels than weight loss by itself.

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