Diabetes news and diabetes widget

Drugs widely used to treat type 2 diabetes may be more likely to keep working if they are used in moderation, researchers at Washington University School of medicine in St. Louis have found in a study using an animal model. The drugs, sulfonylureas, help type 2 diabetics make more insulin, improving control of blood sugar levels. But in most patients the effects of sulfonylureas are lost after several years of use, causing insulin secretion to shut down.

The Business Intelligence firm La Merie S.L. conducted an analysis of the product portfolios and R&D pipelines of human insulin-based products. The study revealed that three companies dominate the worldwide insulin market, but experience more and more competition in volume sales of insulin by local manufacturers in off-patent countries, especially in China, India and Russia. The worldwide market of the major human insulin products in 2007 was US$ 10.2 bln.

The things that people really fear aren't all that likely to happen to them - unlike diabetes, which affects nearly 24 million people. According to a new survey by the American diabetes Association, more people reported fear of being in a plane crash, hit by lightning, attacked by a shark, or bitten by a snake, than a fear of developing diabetes.

Because of the increased number of patients, growing reliance on multiple medications and the shift toward more expensive new medicines, the annual cost of diabetes drugs nearly doubled in only six years, rising from $6.7 billion in 2001 to $12.5 billion in 2007 according to a study in the Oct. 27, 2008, issue of the Archives of Internal medicine.

The Rutgers University Cell and DNA Repository (RUCDR) has received two major awards worth more than $57.8 million from the National Institutes of health (NIH). One will fund genetic studies of mental disorders and the other will support investigations into the causes of digestive, liver and kidney diseases, and diabetes.

An estimated 24 million Americans now have diabetes, with the number expected to grow at least five percent annually in future years. One serious consequence of the disease can be vision loss or blindness. November is Diabetic Eye Disease Awareness Month, and the American Academy of Ophthalmology urges anyone who may be at risk for diabetes to see their ophthalmologist and primary care physician.

AFP - The annual cost of treating adult cases of diabetes in the United States nearly doubled between 2001 and 2007, according to a study published Monday that questioned the efficacy of new, more expensive drugs.

HealthDay - TUESDAY, Oct. 28 (HealthDay News) -- While millions of Americans are at risk for developing diabetes, too few perceive the threat it can pose to their health, according to a new survey.

The annual cost of prescription diabetes drugs nearly doubled to $12.5 billion between 2001 and 2007, according to a study by researchers at the Stanford University School of medicine and the University of Chicago. the researchers say the findings raise questions about whether the higher cost actually translates into improved care and better outcomes.

Title: Cost of diabetes Care Has DoubledCategory: health newscreated: 10/28/2008 2:00:00 amlast Editorial review: 10/28/2008