Young people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes are often overweight and many turn to unhealthy weight loss practices, such as using over-the-counter diet aids without a doctor's advice, fasting and taking laxatives, new research shows. Dr. Jean M. Lawrence, of Kaiser Permanente Southern California, Pasadena, and colleagues studied 1742 female and 1615 males, of whom 520 had type 2 diabetes and 2837 had type 1 diabetes. The subjects' average age was 15 years. Join discussion...

In people with type 1 diabetes, adequate control of blood sugar over the long haul helps reduce the risk of diabetes-related eye and kidney disease, new data suggest. The findings stem from a look at 1,441 type 1 diabetic patients followed for roughly 9 years as part of the pivotal Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT). Join discussion...

Following gestational diabetes, a type of diabetes that developments during pregnancy and usually goes away after pregnancy, treatment with metformin or intensive lifestyle interventions can prevent or delay diabetes from becoming permanent in the postpartum period, new research shows. Lead author Dr. Robert E. Ratner at Medstar Research Institute in Hyattsville, Maryland, and co-researchers evaluated responses to each intervention among pregnant women with impaired glucose tolerance, a major risk factor fore diabetes, enrolled in the prospective Diabetes Prevention Program. Join discussion...

For people who have type 2 diabetes, a low-glycemic index diet is significantly better than a high-fiber diet for keeping blood glucose levels down, researchers report Glycemic index, or GI, refers to how rapidly a food causes blood sugar to rise. High-GI foods, like white bread and potatoes, tend to spur a quick surge in blood sugar, while low-GI foods, such as lentils, soybeans, yogurt and many high-fiber grains, produce a more gradual increase in blood sugar. Join discussion...

A new study suggests that sugar may be as addictive as hard drugs such as cocaine and heroin. Researchers at Princeton studied binge eating and addiction in rats and found that when the animals ate large amounts of sugar there were chemical changes in the brain that mirrored the type that happen when addicts use drugs. Join discussion...

Two inflammatory disorders, type 1 diabetes and celiac disease, cosegregate in populations, suggesting a common genetic origin. Since both diseases are associated with the HLA class II genes on chromosome 6p21, we tested whether non-HLA loci are shared. Join discussion...

A study of more than 36,000 people has linked sleep disorders to Type 2 diabetes. Researchers say an abnormality in the MTNR1B gene appears to boost the body's fasting blood sugar level and to cause a 20 percent increase in the risk of Type 2 diabetes. The MTNR1B gene is associated with the body-clock hormone melatonin. Previous studies have found a link between sleep problems and obesity, and obesity and Type 2 diabetes, and researchers say that understanding this genetic link may lead to new and better treatment options for all three conditions Join discussion...

Scientists have identified 12 new genes that are somewhat strange bedfellows: Some link gallstones and blood cholesterol levels, others link melatonin and sleep patterns to small increases in glucose levels and larger jumps in the risk of diabetes. Join discussion...

People with high blood sugar levels and diabetes have a greatly increased risk of developing a range of conditions, including cardiovascular diseases. The new study shows that a mutation called rs1387153, near a gene called MTNR1B, is associated with having an increased average blood sugar level and around a 20 percent elevated risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Join discussion...

Non-beta "progenitor" cells in the pancreas can be stimulated to turn into beta cells even after birth or autoimmune injury to the pancreas, say researchers at Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School. The cells, pancreatic duct cells, can be coaxed inside or outside the body to become insulin-producing beta cells. The finding addresses two problems: finding a new source of beta cells with which to treat type 1 diabetes via transplantation, and overcoming recipients' immune system reactions to transplanted cells. Join discussion...