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A United Kingdom woman's death by diabetes made the news recently. But empathy had no place in the story. Instead, she was recorded as having died of natural causes, yet also convicted of her own murder.
The point of the story, which was reported nearly six months after she was found dead in her home, appears to be the fact that her boyfriend was found not to be responsible for her death. The death was originally ruled suspicious because the 41-year-old woman who lived alone was found partially disrobed in her home. Turns out, the boyfriend didn't kill her, but saw her dead through a window and decided to rob her. That's not all he did. He paved the way for her to be publicly ridiculed for struggling with a chronic illness and ultimately dying from it.
A coroner's examination "revealed that due to diabetes and a lack of its treatment, she had a chemical imbalance in her blood" and that she "failed to co-operate with doctors who advised her about how to control the condition" and then died "after she let her diabetes get out of control." The coroner recorded that the woman died of diabetic ketoacidosis, apparently considered a "natural cause."
A particularly bad flu season in Australia has triggered a sharp rise in the diagnosis of type 1 diabetes, according to a recent report in the Sydney Morning Herald.
One doctor at Children's Hospital at Westmead in Sydney reported the hospital has diagnosed more than twice as many children than usual with type 1 diabetes. "Every year in the winter there's more children getting diabetes than at any other time of the year," said Dr. Neville Howard. "However, this year there's a mini epidemic occurring."
According to the story, the hospital made more than double the usual number of type 1 diabetes diagnoses this month. Six of the 17 cases required intensive care for diabetic ketoacidosis. Experts suggest symptoms of diabetes could have been masked by the flu and that the prolific season for sickness was probably the final straw for children poised to develop the disease, which is often preceded by a virus such as the flu.
Type 2 diabetes has previously been associated with obese people in the U.S and other rich countries, but it's beginning to hit the developing world hard, with 80 percent of sufferers in low and middle income brackets, according to the International Diabetes Federation.
A report in the British newspaper the Telegraph suggests that as poorer countries rapidly urbanize and experience other changes to traditional diet and ways of life, type 2 diabetes will become a much bigger problem. In the next 20 years, diabetes is expected to soar by 80 percent in Africa and 100 percent in Latin America, while growth in the US will be 43 percent, according to the same report. And, this year, diabetes will kill about 3.8 million people worldwide, about the same amount that will die of AIDS.
Bad news you say? Well, not if you're an insulin or diabetes drug manufacturer. "Diabetes is growing fastest in Africa, Asia and Latin America," said Lars Rebien Sorensen, chief executive of Novo Nordisk, the world's largest maker of insulin. "At the same time we are seeing pressure on the US health care system, where there could be price controls. That is going to put pressure on global growth."
Agent Orange, the now infamous substance used to clear jungles and forests during the Vietnam War, has caused myriad health problems in veterans. Type 2 diabetes is recognized as one of them. And now the hunt is on for those who have developed it so that the government can help.
"A lot of people just say, I'm getting older, I have it anyway," said Cliff Riley, a veteran who has diabetes and was featured in a recent Cincinnati TV station report on the search. "If they do in fact have that condition and did in fact have their boots on the ground in Vietnam they will qualify for some sort of disability or compensation."
A few mommies, both accomplished and aspiring, who have come to know more about each others' diseases than their doctors met in person for the first time today in Fairfax, Virginia.
The women, this blogger among them, have corresponded for various lengths of time at www.diabeticmommy.com, a forum for women who have diabetes and are pregnant, hope to become pregnant or have become mothers. Today, they met each others' husbands, laughed at the pair of 2-year-olds squirming at a Cheesecake Factory table, compared insulin pumps and meters, listened to each others' stories and chowed down. Some went bowling afterward.
All of the women have tales to tell about struggles with their illness, medical care, families, children, pregnancies, birth experiences and more. And all would probably give up diabetes if given the chance. But none would trade the support discovered and celebration of victories shared via the web while embarking on what is among a diabetic woman's greatest challenges.
The chairman of the FDA advisory panel that reviewed the safety of rosiglitazone (Avandia) last week believes the time has come to abandon "surrogate endpoints" for approval of type 2 diabetes drugs, according to a report at www.medpagetoday.com.
Huh?
OK. English. Basically, the FDA currently approves drugs for diabetes that show great promise for controlling blood sugar. And they do it very quickly. But just because a drug controls blood sugar, doesn't mean it won't hurt your heart.
Endocrinologist Clifford J. Rosen, M.D., wrote his version of that in a perspective published online today by the New England Journal of Medicine. You can read medical jargon filled reports on it here or here. According to the reports, Rosen suggests if the FDA fails to make the shift from surrogate to clinical end points (English: make change to the criteria by which drugs are approved) "with regard to diabetes drugs, we are certain to be in the same position five years from now that we are now: we will again find ourselves in possession of a new wonder drug that is designed to treat a devastating chronic disease but that may do more harm than good."
A new diabetes drug in the same class as Avandia has entered the final stage of its clinical trial, bringing it one step closer to government scrutiny in an effort to grab a chunk of the marketplace.
The final stage of testing for balaglitazone, known as the Phase III program, will comprise five to six studies involving different combination therapies for patients with Type 2 diabetes, as well as a long-term safety study, according to www.tmcnet.com. Philip Larsen, CEO of Rheoscience, which has partnered with Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd. to develop the drug, said there are no plans to submit a new drug application until after 2009. They also don't have a commercial partner for the product. "We'd really like to see what potential the drug has before we enter a deal," he said.
But it's never too soon to envision to revenue. "I would be a wimp if I said we would only get five percent of the market," he said.
A $50 million wrongful death lawsuit brought against Wal-Mart by the family of a man who was allegedly given the wrong insulin prescription has been settled during mediation without admission of liability or fault. Terms of the settlement, reached last month, were kept confidential, of course. The dusty news piece is now slowly trickling into more corners of the web.
On December 13, 2005, Keith Scofield visited a Wal-Mart pharmacy in Frederick, Maryland, and ordered over-the-counter Humulin R (u-100). Instead, he was allegedly given Humulin R (u-500), a prescription drug that contains five times the insulin of the requested medication. He injected the insulin on December 20, 2005, lapsed into a diabetic coma, and died on January 2, 2006, according to the lawsuit filed by his family.John Simley, a spokesman for Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart, said: "This was the best way to resolve the matter."
Of course it was. Wal-Mart won't feel a dent in its bottom line from whatever they decided to pay the man's mother and other family members. One report says that the settlement was reached "amicably" by both parties. Well, sure, why not take the money and run? But I doubt there were any clap routines or smiley-faced greetings. The lesson here? Whether you get your insulin at a brick-and-mortar pharmacy or wrapped in pounds of dry ice and bubble wrap (green living anyone?) in a package left by your mail carrier, you better check the label twice if you think your life is worth more than a settlement from a behemoth discount store.
More news out of the East. And more news about feet. This time from the Macabre file.
An artificial wood and leather big toe discovered on the foot of an Egyptian mummy could be the world's earliest functioning prosthetic body part, according to a report from www.indiaenews.com.
The fake toe from the Cairo museum in Egypt was found in 2000 in a tomb near the ancient city of Thebes. Archaeologists speculated that the 50- to 60-year-old woman the prosthesis came from might have lost her toe due to complications from diabetes.
I remember the endocrinologist who diagnosed my diabetes told me there wasn't one body part that wasn't affected by the disease. It also seems the body parts that exist furthest from one another are linked when it comes to diabetes.
The June 2007 issue of Diabetes Care published the results of a recent study out of Britain in which 253 diabetics with their first foot ulcer were assessed for depression. One-third of them suffered from clinical depression; 24.1 percent had major depressive disorder and 8.1 percent had minor depression. Eighteen months later, there had been 40 deaths, 36 amputations, and 99 recurrences of ulcer. Those who were considered depressed were found to be three times more likely to have died.
The study did not indicate whether the subjects were depressed about their foot ulcer, having diabetes, or something else altogether.
From the No, Duh file: Apparently diabetes doesn't stop destroying kidneys within the borders of India.
According to a recent study conducted there, diabetes is the leading cause of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end stage renal disease (ESRD) in that country.
The doctor who conducted the study offered another shocker when discussing the results of the study, stating that the "major reason behind diabetics developing kidney disease is uncontrolled diabetes." Wow.
The American Diabetes Association describes the inclusion of these programs and passage of the bill as a great first step toward the goal of a five-year extension and a nominal increase in funding to grow these vital programs.
From 1998 until next year, the special type 1 funding program will have provided $1.14 billion in research funds to support type 1 diabetes research. The House action is a step toward extending that funding beyond next year.
There is a man living in Springfield, MIssouri who developed diabetes because he took a commonly prescribed antibiotic, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday. The complaint against Bristol-Myers Squibb and Schering Corporation claims its antibiotic drug Tequin and its generic equivalent gatifloxacin may have significantly increased a patient's risk of developing diabetes or another blood-sugar disorder.
The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages for Patrick Bills, who developed severe hyperglycemia and new onset diabetes while taking Tequin for a skin infection. The drug was also commonly prescribed for sinus, lung, and urinary tract infections, as well as other illnesses.
According to the complaint, filed in the U.S. Southern District Court in New York, the pharmaceutical company ignored mounting reports of diabetes-related problems until February 2006 when -- in conjunction with the FDA -- it added a warning to the label that diabetics should not take Tequin. However, the newly added warning label did not include any danger to non-diabetic patients, which the plaintiff was.
The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Capitol Chapter has become the only JDRF chapter in the country to put a new spin on fundraising. And what better place to do it than Washington? The Chapter is currently planning the second annual Spin to Win fundraiser for next fall.
A proven success with JDRF's Canadian chapter, it is the organization's newest event -- an innovative, high-energy, outdoor event where participants from a variety of local industries pedal to a fast-paced musical beat for 8 minutes in a race to see who can rack up the most mileage and the most money for diabetes research. Each spinner is asked to raise at least $150.
Last year's inaugural event raised more than $75,000 and members of Congress, athletes, and TV personalities were among the participants. The Chapter is looking to double the amount raised this year.
This year's fundraiser will take place Thursday, October 18 at the old DC Convention Center site and involve five-person teams from the Washington business community who have raised money for a cure for diabetes. Visit the Spin to Win web page or call the JDRF office at 202.465.4122 for more information about the 2007 Spin to Win.
Beginning today, advocates across the country will be meeting with their Congressional representatives in an effort to push legislators to approve funding for type 1 diabetes research.
The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's Promise to Remember Me Campaign kicks off at 11 a.m. on the Cannon House Office Building Terrace in Washington, DC. Congressman Eric Cantor, R-Virginia, will join recording artist and American Idol finalist Elliott Yamin at the event. Yamin, who has type 1 diabetes, is set to perform at 5 p.m.
As part of the campaign, the JDRF invites participants to share their story of living with diabetes with legislators and encourage them to vote for type 1 diabetes research. The effort aims to join hundreds of families with legislators in the next 10 months to discuss funding for type 1 diabetes research; Yamin is the campaign's celebrity spokesperson.
Cantor is a sponsor of HR 2762, a bill that would reauthorize the Special Diabetes Program, which coordinates the efforts of research scientists to find a cure for juvenile diabetes.
A United Kingdom woman's death by diabetes made the news recently. But empathy had no place in the story. Instead, she was recorded as having died of natural causes, yet also convicted of her own murder.
A particularly bad flu season in Australia has triggered a sharp rise in the diagnosis of type 1 diabetes, according to a recent 
Type 2 diabetes has previously been associated with obese people in the U.S and other rich countries, but it's beginning to hit the developing world hard, with 80 percent of sufferers in low and middle income brackets, according to the 
Agent Orange, the now infamous substance used to clear jungles and forests during the Vietnam War, has caused myriad health problems in veterans. Type 2 diabetes is recognized as one of them. And now the hunt is on for those who have developed it so that the government can help.
A few mommies, both accomplished and aspiring, who have come to know more about each others' diseases than their doctors met in person for the first time today in Fairfax, Virginia.
The chairman of the FDA advisory panel that reviewed the safety of rosiglitazone (Avandia) last week believes the time has come to abandon "surrogate endpoints" for approval of type 2 diabetes drugs, according to a report at 
A new diabetes drug in the same class as Avandia has entered the final stage of its clinical trial, bringing it one step closer to government scrutiny in an effort to grab a chunk of the marketplace.
A $50 million wrongful death lawsuit brought against Wal-Mart by the family of a man who was allegedly given the wrong insulin prescription has been settled during mediation without admission of liability or fault. Terms of the settlement, reached last month, were kept confidential, of course. The 
More news out of the East. And more news about feet. This time from the Macabre file.
I remember the endocrinologist who diagnosed my diabetes told me there wasn't one body part that wasn't affected by the disease. It also seems the body parts that exist furthest from one another are linked when it comes to diabetes.
From the No, Duh file: Apparently diabetes doesn't stop destroying kidneys within the borders of India. 
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed 
There is a man living in Springfield, MIssouri who developed diabetes because he took a commonly prescribed antibiotic, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday. The 
The 
Beginning today, advocates across the country will be meeting with their Congressional representatives in an effort to push legislators to approve funding for type 1 diabetes research.
