September 19, 2001 - This week's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) has three studies that show that angiotensin II receptor blockers, normally used for treating high blood pressure, can forestall or prevent kidney failure in diabetics.

"These studies constitute a major sea change for type 2 diabetes. We really have something," said Barry M. Brenner, a kidney specialist at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital and principal author of one of the reports.

Here is a layman's summary from MSNBC.

"Renoprotective Effect of the Angiotensin-Receptor Antagonist Irbesartan in Patients with Nephropathy Due to Type 2 Diabetes" - abstract from the NEJM.

"Effects of Losartan on Renal and Cardiovascular Outcomes in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes and Nephropathy" - abstract from the NEJM

"The Effect of Irbesartan on the Development of Diabetic Nephropathy in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes" - abstract from the NEJM

July 19, 2001 - An update on diabetes-related news:

An article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) links inflammation and the onset of diabetes. Here is the abstract of the study entitled, "C-Reactive Protein, Interleukin 6, and Risk of Developing Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus".

"Delays in new dry insulin powder that is inhaled into the lungs" - news analysis from the TheStreet.com/Yahoo. (link is no longer available)

"Study Identifies Risks Associated With Alternate Site Testing" - press release from Internet Wire/Yahoo. The study shows significant time delays between when the capillary blood glucose level at an alternate site (forearm) matched the glucose level at the fingertip.

June 18, 2001 - There have been several diabetes-related medical news stories recently:

The Clinical Islet Transplant Program (web site) at the University of Alberta announced setbacks (web page no longer available) to their initial success in getting Type I diabetics off insulin.

The cover story of this week's issue of US News and World Report is about the epidemic of diabetes. Among U.S. adults, diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure.

Researchers at Duke University announced that they have grafted insulin-producing cells from swine into a diabetic baboon (wep page no longer available), reversing the baboon's diabetes. This research may produce a solution for humans with Type I diabetes.

May 21, 2001 - Three studies were released Saturday at the American Society of Hypertension (ASH web site) Annual Scientific Meeting suggesting that a specific class of blood pressure drugs called angiotensin receptor blockers, or ARBs, have a strong renoprotective effects for diabetics. Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure. Here is a summary from WebMD.

Here are two press releases on these drug studies:

"Irbesartan Prevents the Progression of Kidney Disease or Death in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes and High Blood Pressure" - from Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center/Yahoo. (web page no longer available)

"COZAAR(R)Dramatically Reduced Progression of Kidney Disease In Patients with Most Common Form of Diabetes, In a New Study" from Merck Frosst Canada Ltd./Yahoo (web page no longer available)

In other diabetes-related news, researchers reported at the American Thoracic Society meeting that an inhaled form of insulin has been used for over two years without harming the lung function of test subjects.(web page no longer available)

January 29, 2001 - The latest diabetes-related health news:

Summary from Doctor's Guide of "Diabetes and All-Cause and Coronary Heart Disease Mortality Among US Male Physicians" - Abstract from the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Diabetes Rates Rise Another 6% in 1999 - Press release from the CDC.

Prevastatin reduces risk of developing diabetes - story from the BBC

January 19, 2001 - There have been several stories this week on diabetes:

"Hormone May Link Obesity and Diabetes". Here is the abstract from the journal Nature.

Summary of "Diabetes Linked To Increased Risk Of Bone Fracture In Older Women". Here is the abstract from the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

Living with Diabetes: Advances in Research and Care - a special media briefing held by the American Diabetes Association and the American Medical Association on Thursday, January 18, 2001 in New York City.

January 12, 2001 - This week's issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) contains a study that shows the benefits of a small, sustained improvement in the management of Type II diabetes. Here is the abstract from JAMA.

Another new study shows that middle-aged people with diabetes and hypertension show a greater decline in thinking and learning functions than do adults of comparable age without these diseases. Here is the abstract from the Neurology journal.

Another study in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) demonstates that amount of glucose in red blood cells can be used to measure cardiovascular health, rivaling even blood pressure and cholesterol as a gauge of the risk of heart attack.

Here is the Diabetes Topics page from RenalWEB.


[This message has been edited by Gary Peterson (edited 03-06-2002).]