Recently, the American Association of Diabetes Educators revised and reformatted its blog. Formerly the AADE Side by Side blog, we have re-launched it as Diabetes Education Voices, available at: www.diabeteseducationblog.org.





It's AADE's hope that the blog will continue to help patients develop healthy diabetes self-care behaviors and offer an educator's insight into healthy eating, being active, monitoring blood glucose, medication-taking, problem solving, reducing risks, and coping strategies.

The are working diabetes educators—so their subjects are based on their real world experiences and their on-the-ground perspective. Our 2009-2010 bloggers are Amy Campbell, RD, CDE, Barbara Walz, RN, BSN, CDE and Sharlene Emerson, CRNP, CDE.

Checkout Diabetes Education Voices.

Daily supplementation of Omega-3 fatty acids promotes heart health in people with diabetes.

Such were the findings of a new study from Iran:

"We found that consumption of omega-3 fatty acids (3 g/day) for 2 months decreases the production of homocysteine in diabetic patients, which can lead to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease," wrote the researchers from the Tehran University of Medical Sciences.

Studies have linked increased blood levels of the amino acid homocysteine to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). It has been suggested that by lowering levels of homocysteine in the blood, people could cut the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Remember as well that Omega-3 fatty acids are promotes heart health (even in people without diabetes), reduced risk in arthritis, including other inflammatory conditions.

According to study reported in the June issue of Diabetes, overtreatment of people with type 2 diabetes improves their glycemic control without worsening their mental or physical status.

According to Laura N. McEwen, PhD, from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and colleagues:

"Ideally, diabetes treatment regimens should be individually designed to prevent complications and comorbidities while respecting patient preferences and optimizing quality of life.

The current analyses were designed to assess the impact of changes in antihyperglycemic therapies on health outcomes in managed care patients with type 2 diabetes.

Specifically, we assessed the predictors of intensification of antihyperglycemic therapy, its impact on [hemoglobin] A1C, body weight, symptoms of anxiety/depression, and health status, and patient characteristics associated with improvement in A1C."

In the said study, intensification of therapy was defined as starting or increasing the number of classes of oral antihyperglycemic medications or starting insulin.

Well...I'm just a little apprehensive that intensification of treatment doesn't have side effects o your pancreas, liver of even your kidney.

What do you think?

As part of its ongoing partnership with Nick Jonas, Bayer has unveiled a new CONTOUR® meter commercial, starring Nick Jonas! The commercial started running this week and will run during the last two weeks in June.

In the commercial, Nick talks about the rollercoaster of managing diabetes, a challenge he's faced for the several years since he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. It's especially important for Nick to test before he goes on stage, and he uses his Bayer CONTOUR®meter to keep his diabetes in check. For someone always on the run, "never slowing down" is Nick's Simple Win.

To view the commercial, visit www.NicksSimpleWins.com.

Makers of the controversial diabetes drug Avandia wants to improve on it with the use of plant-based extracts, especially from Cannabis Sativa.

From the UK Guardian:

Professor Mike Cawthorne led the team that developed GlaxoSmithKline's Avandia, which became the company's second-biggest selling drug until sales plunged in 2007 after a study linked it to a higher risk of heart attacks.

"I sincerely believe it is possible to improve on it (Avandia), and plant-based medicines could be one way to do that," he told Reuters in a telephone interview.

Cawthorne is collaborating with GW Pharma, a specialist developer of cannabis-based medicines, at a new laboratory dedicated to looking for plant-based treatments for diabetes.

Different cannabinoid molecules that have been found within the cannabis plant will be investigated to determine whether they can be used for diabetes treatment.

Novo Nordisk has a new diabetes drug under clinical trials - Victoza (liraglutide) - that is proving much better than Byetta (exenatide).

From WebMD:

Byetta is the first of the class of type 2 diabetes drugs called GLP-1 analogs. The drug takes advantage of the body's own signaling system to increase insulin output in response to meals.

Byetta is a popular drug, and it's helped many patients. But liraglutide - soon to be called Victoza if approved by the FDA - works better, says Lawrence Blonde, MD, director of the diabetes clinical research unit at Ochsner Clinic Foundation, New Orleans.

"Our direct comparison study shows patients who took liraglutide once a day had a greater reduction in [average blood sugar levels] at the end of the 26-week study than did [Byetta] twice a day," Blonde tells WebMD. "Obviously, once-a-day injections would be preferred by many patients because of the convenience - and it is not tied to meals. Liraglutide can be taken any time as long as you take it the same time each day."

Remember that Byetta has been implicated in pancreatitis and death. And we thought it was the best thing that ever happened to diabetes treatment...

Byetta is a product of Amylin Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lily.

With nearly 25 million Americans already diagnosed, America is in the throes of a diabetes epidemic that's quickly gaining in momentum. According to the Centers for Disease Control, one out of every three children will develop diabetes sometime in their life. The prognosis is even more grim for Latino children: the CDC predicts that one in every two will eventually develop diabetes.

According to New York City podiatrist Dr. Michael Perlstein, the severity of the diabetes crisis is illustrated by a trend he's seeing in his practice: more and more patients are undergoing highly preventable amputations due to complications from diabetes.

"The statistics are staggering: more than 60 percent of all nontraumatic lower-limb amputations occur in diabetic patients," says Dr. Perlstein, pointing out that foot problems are the leading cause of hospitalization among diabetics and adding that with proper treatment, many of those problems and most importantly, amputations could have been avoided

Why is diabetes so tough on the feet?

• Diabetic neuropathies, a family of nerve disorders caused by diabetes, are present in about 70 percent of diabetic patients. Sometimes there are no symptoms and other times there may be tingling or loss of feeling, very commonly in the feet and legs. "In the absence of pain a diabetic patient cannot tell what is going on with their feet. A small cut that became infected goes undetected until an ulcer has developed or a bone infection has set in," explains Dr. Perlstein.

The likelihood that a patient will develop a nerve disorder increases with age, but lifestyle factors such as smoking and alcohol use can also lead to neuropathy.

• Dr. Perlstein also warns that diabetes is the most common cause of peripheral vascular disease, which can lead to numbness in the foot or toes, changes in the temperature of the feet and skin infections and sores that do not heal well. Skin infections and sores left untreated are also common causes for amputations.

Diabetics are likely to develop peripheral vascular disease and smoking, drinking and lack of physical activity increases that risk.

What can you do?
One of the most effective ways to prevent diabetic amputations, says Dr. Perlstein, will literally knock your socks off.

"Check your feet. Insist that your primary care physician carefully examine your feet in order to identify any red flags before it's too late," says Dr. Perlstein, going on to say that "self foot exams" among diabetics are the key to avoiding amputation.

"Check your feet every single day. Look them over completely, including between the toes and with the help of a mirror to see underneath. If you see anything out of the ordinary, especially an open wound, call your doctor immediately."

Summer time is open season for the foot complications that all too often lead to amputations in diabetic patients, which is why Dr. Perlstein urges all diabetics to invest in saving their feet this season.

Bayer Diabetes Care announced the launch of A1CNow®SELFCHECK - a new A1C monitor that enables people with diabetes to check their A1C level at home.

As you may know, an A1C reading provides the average blood sugar level over the past three months and indicates how well blood sugar is being managed.

With Bayer's A1CNow®SELFCHECK - which was recently cleared by the FDA - patients will be able to more closely watch their A1C level in between healthcare provider visits so they may modify their diet and exercise, or have a more informed discussion with their healthcare provider based on the results.

It is important to note that A1CNow®SELFCHECK complements the healthcare provider-administered A1C test and is not intended to replace it or routine blood glucose testing.

The A1CNow®SELFCHECK is available without a prescription through leading online pharmacies.

We already know that heart disease is strongly linked to diabetes. If there is one recipe that will fight both conditions, will you embrace it?

Luckily there is a recipe that fights both diabetes and heart disease. We can always trust ChefMD to come up with such a recipe. Here it is, from ChefMD:

Spicy Creole Gumbo with Shrimp and Brown Rice

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon extra light olive oil
1/2 cup each: diced green bell pepper, onion and celery*
2 teaspoons reduced sodium Creole seasoning, such as Tony Chachere's brand
1 cup reduced sodium chicken broth, preferably organic
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced fire roasted tomatoes, undrained
1 (16 ounce) can no-salt-added red beans, rinsed, drained
1 (10 ounce) package sliced okra, thawed (2 cups)
3/4-lb. frozen uncooked peeled and deveined medium shrimp, thawed
1 cup hot cooked brown rice
Optional garnishes: chopped parsley, hot pepper sauce

Preparation:
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add bell pepper, onion and celery; sauté 5 minutes. Sprinkle seasoning over vegetables; sauté 2 minutes. Stir in broth, tomatoes, beans and okra; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered 15 minutes. Stir in shrimp; cook 5 minutes or until shrimp are opaque. Ladle into shallow bowls; top with rice and garnish as desired.

Substitutions:
*1-1/2 cups frozen seasoning blend (chopped onion, bell pepper and celery) may be substituted (no need to thaw first).

The preparation time of the above recipe is 10 minutes while cooking takes only 25 minutes.

Diabetic neuropathy - a consequence of diabetes - is a condition characterized by damaged or lost nerves resulting to numbness, tingling and pain, most often in the hands, arms, legs and feet.

Now, researchers from University of Michigan and Wayne State University found that triglycerides (a known cardiovascular disease risk factor) can also be used to by doctors to predict which patients with diabetes are more likely to develop neuropathy.

In a study report now online in the journal Diabetes and will appear in print in the journal's July issue:

The data revealed that if a patient had elevated triglycerides, he or she was significantly more likely to experience worsening neuropathy over a period of one year. Other factors, such as higher levels of other fats in the blood or of blood glucose, did not turn out to be significant.

Read more.