oung adults who were exposed to diabetes in the womb appear to be at increased risk for developing diabetes at an early age. In the SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study -- a survey of ethnically diverse people diagnosed with diabetes before age 20 years -- exposure to diabetes during gestation was associated with an earlier age at diagnosis of type 2 diabetes in offspring. Join discussion...

The drop in blood potassium levels caused by diuretics commonly prescribed for high blood pressure could increase diabetes risk, U.S. researchers said. Researchers at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore said diuretics accelerate loss of fluids and also deplete important chemicals, including potassium, so that those who take them are generally advised to eat bananas and other potassium-rich foods to counteract the effect. Join discussion...

Good metabolic control and intensive insulin treatment doesn't normalize the onset of menstruation, which is usually delayed in girls with type 1 diabetes compared with girls without the disease, study findings confirm. Dr. Paolo Pozzilli, at Universita Campus Bio-Medico, in Rome, and colleagues compared the age at onset of menstruation among 162 girls who received intensive insulin therapy and blood sugar control since their type 1 diabetes diagnosis, which was 3 to 5 years earlier. These girls were matched with 214 same-age girls without the disease (the controls). Join discussion...

Women younger than age 65 with diabetes tend to have worse cardiovascular risk profiles than diabetic men of the same age, leading to higher death rates following a heart attack, research shows. "The female advantage with fewer cardiovascular events than in men at younger ages is attenuated once a woman has the diagnosis of diabetes," Dr. Anna Norhammar and associates report. Join discussion...

Hiromu Sakurai and colleagues from the Suzuka University of Medical Science gave the drug based on vanadium and allaxin -- a compound found in garlic -- orally to type I diabetic mice. The researchers said they found it reduced blood glucose levels. Join discussion...

Gene tests may be no better for predicting diabetes risk than having a doctor ask some old-fashioned questions about weight, smoking status and family history, according to two studies published on Wednesday. Both studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine looked at more than 16 genes linked to type 2 diabetes and found that the information they provided was no better than traditional risk factors, including blood sugar levels. Join discussion...

Two common cancer drugs have been shown to both prevent and reverse type 1 diabetes in a mouse model of the disease, according to research conducted at the University of California, San Francisco. The drugs – imatinib (marketed as Gleevec) and sunitinib (marketed as Sutent) – were found to put type 1 diabetes into remission in 80 percent of the test mice and work permanently in 80 percent of those that go into remission. Join discussion...

The application processes to the national regulatory agencies and ethics committees have proceeded according to plan, and the company has now received agency approvals for a European Phase III study of children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes in the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Finland, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden. Join discussion...

In a set of mouse experiments, scientists attempt to learn more about why sulfonylureas eventually fail in the treatment of patients with type 2 diabetes. They may be more likely to keep working if they are used in moderation and stopped for a period of time. Join discussion...

The researchers indicated that the T-cells that regulate the immune system lose their effectiveness over time, leading to type 1 diabetes . These ‘lazy’ cells are therefore the root cause of the disease, and could open up new treatment pathways in the future. Join discussion...