Trans-fatty acids have been the topic of a lot of negative health news, but in the July Journal of Lipid research, a dietary study in rats suggests that trans-fats do not increase the risk of insulin resistance and diabetes, which may ease at least one area of concern. Epidemiological studies indicate that chronic consumption of trans-fats may alter muscle insulin sensitivity, as their unusual molecular shapes can reduce muscle's ability to burn energy; in turn, reduced fat oxidation may promote insulin resistance........

A study by scientists at the Joslin Diabetes Center has shown that adherence to prescribed dietary recommendations is linked to better glucose control in children with type 1 diabetes. "In recent years, diabetes management has been focused around new medications and technologies," said Lori Laffel, M.D., senior author of the paper, which is reported in the recent issue of Diabetes Care. "In this study, we were encouraged to identify the unique importance of diet on blood sugar control in children and teens with type 1 diabetes"........

In today's issue of the prestigious journal Cell Metabolism Uppsala scientists are presenting new findings that shed light on the processes that determine the release of the blood sugar-lowering hormone insulin. The discovery is based on the development of image analysis methods that make possible the detailed study of events immediately inside the plasma membrane of the insulin-secreting cells........

Hearing loss is about twice as common in adults with diabetes in comparison to those who do not have the disease, as per a new study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). "Hearing loss may be an under-recognized complication of diabetes. As diabetes becomes more common, the disease may become a more significant contributor to hearing loss," said senior author Catherine Cowie, Ph.D., of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), who suggested that people with diabetes should consider having their hearing tested. "Our study found a strong and consistent link between hearing impairment and diabetes using many different outcomes.".......

For people with diabetes, sipping a mug of steaming, flavorful cocoa may seem a guilty pleasure. But new research suggests that indulging a craving for cocoa can actually help blood vessels to function better and might soon be considered part of a healthy diet for the prevention of cardiovascular disease........

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis working with diabetic mice have examined in unprecedented detail the immune cells long believed to be responsible for type 1 diabetes. Scientists were able to examine the immune cells from isolated insulin-making structures in the pancreas known as the islets of Langerhans. They caught the immune cells, known as dendritic cells, "red-handed" carrying insulin and fragments of insulin-producing cells known as beta cells. This can be the first step toward starting a misdirected immune system attack that destroys the beta cells, preventing the body from making insulin and causing type 1 diabetes........

Scientists at the John A. Moran Eye Center at the University of Utah and collaborative institutions have identified a gene called erythropoietin (EPO) that contributes to increased risk of severe diabetic eye and kidney diseases, called retinopathy and nephropathy. The sight-threatening form of diabetic retinopathy, termed proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR), is the most common cause of legal blindness in working-aged adults in the United States, accounting for 10% of new onset blindness overall. Diabetes is also the leading cause of kidney disease, called end-stage renal disease (ESRD), in the U.S. and the Western world........

Two major eye diseases and leading causes of blindnessage-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathycan be reversed or even prevented by drugs that activate a protein found in blood vessel cells, scientists at the University of Utah School of Medicine and several other institutions have announced in a new study........

Data from the ADVANCE Study, involving 11,140 high-risk patients with type 2 diabetes, provides no evidence of an increased risk of death among those patients receiving aggressive therapy to lower blood glucose. This contrasts findings from the 10,251 patient ACCORD trial which halted the intensive glucose control arm of the study 18 months early because a data review revealed that patients who received intensive therapy to lower blood glucose are at higher risk for death. While the trial will continue, patients will be transitioned from the intensive therapy arm (targeting A1c levels of <6.0 %) to the less intensive, standard therapy arm (targeting A1c levels of 7.0 to 7.9%)........

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are seeking individuals who have depression and are overweight to volunteer for a study evaluating whether a diabetes drug might help improve mood. The five-year, NIH-funded study seeks 200 people with depression who are overweight and at risk for developing diabetes. Participants will be screened for depression and insulin resistance, one of the first signs of developing diabetes. Those who qualify will be treated and followed for 16 weeks........

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health has stopped one therapy within a large, ongoing North American clinical trial of diabetes and cardiovascular disease 18 months early due to safety concerns after review of available data, eventhough the study will continue........

One way diabetes is bad for your blood vessels is by creating too much competition for an amino acid that helps blood vessels relax, scientists say. That amino acid, L-arginine, is broken down by the enzyme arginase to urea, which helps the body eliminate toxins resulting from the proteins we eat. Diabetics have a lot of arginase activity, which means they use a lot more L-arginine, says Dr. Maritza Romero, postdoctoral fellow at the Medical College of Georgia and lead author of the paper reported in the current issue of Circulation Research........

A novel gene called rumi regulates Notch signaling by adding a glucose molecule to the part of the Notch protein that extends outside a cell, said researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and Stony Brook University in New York in a report that appears today in the journal Cell. Cellular signaling governed by the Notch protein determines cell fate determination and differentiation........

Patients with type 2 diabetes are often advised to cut out sucrose (table sugar) all together. However, in recent years this traditional advice has been questioned by some scientists who suggest that moderate amounts of sugar can be safely consumed as part of the diet of patients with diabetes. Now a new study has been published that is consistent with this revised approach. It showed that patients who increased their daily sugar intake (in the form of carrot cake) but maintained a stable body weight, showed no adverse changes in their blood glucose........

If the human body were a stage, then proteins would rank among the lead actors in the play we call Life. These large biological molecules hold a number of starring roles, and their lines are dictated by information encoded in our genes. They are production powerhouses, regulating the basic processes of living and controlling countless functions. A number of are enzymes that produce or use energy. Others regulate genes........