Hear ye! Hear ye! I have an announcement to make. About 3 months ago, a committee formed to explore the possibility of creating a new conference series for adults with type 1 diabetes. Most conferences are currently geared towards all types of diabetes, but a group of us felt there should be more for the unique challenges that are posed to adults living with type 1.

With that in mind, we are conducting an interest study for the conference. Who would you like to see at the conference? Tell us what is missing from Type 1 diabetes (besides the obvious **cure**). This will help us with programming, as well as securing sponsorships for the event. Besides giving you all you want from the latest and greatest in type 1 diabetes - you have a chance to leave your mark on this revolutionary event. At the end of the survey, there is a question about creating a name for the conference. The committee will choose the winning name. The winner will receive an autographed copy of Know Your Numbers, by Amy Tenderich and Dr. Richard Jackson. The second and third places prizes are a Six Until Me mug and a Diabetes Mine mug, donated by Kerri Morrone and Amy Tenderich.

The survey closes on Friday, September 7, 2007 so don't miss your opportunity to voice your opinion. Take the survey today!!

Dr. Faustman's lab is currently collecting blood samples from individuals with established Type 1 diabetes. These samples are being used to quantify the number of autoreactive T-cells and develop the adequate dosage for Phase 1 of human trials to cure Type 1 diabetes.

The research has been presented and the NIH confirmed it. By reeducating the confused T-cells and instructing them not to attack healthy islets, an apparent cure of established type 1 diabetes in non-obese diabetic mice is possible. Now, Dr. Faustman is collecting human samples to bestow the same cure for diabetes in humans.

If you wish to be a part of this revolutionary event for curing Type 1 diabetes, please contact the Clinical Coordinator or call Dr. Faustman's lab at (617) 726-4084. Each participant is asked to bring a control person along with them - an unrelated person without Type 1 diabetes or another autoimmune disease. Diabetic or not - you can be a part of history in curing Type 1 diabetes!

TuDiabetes.com is a site for people touched by diabetes. The creator of the site, Manny Hernandez, got the ball rolling on a topic of interest we all take to heart - diabetes book recommendations.

When you ask diabetics to brainstorm on a terribly intrinsic topic you get some pretty good responses. One suggested read was The Diabetes Improvement Program. This book helped a diabetic overcome depression, when the talented team of healthcare professionals could not. Other honorable mentions include: Psyching Out Diabetes, Dr. Bernstein's' Diabetes Solution, Diabesity, and Diabetes for Dummies.

Somebody actually asked something very interesting - where is the book on the evolution of diabetes treatment? Often a topic of discussion, and yet so rarely documented is the sequential events of diabetes treatment, starting with the discovery of insulin. A lull ensued from about 1930 till the boom of genetically modified human insulin, in the early 80s. Any investigative journalist willing to take a stab at it? I guarantee the book will make my must read. And Eli Lilly might actually pay you not to write it.

P.S. One reader pointed out - a chapter of Brent Hoadley's book, Too Profitable to Cure presented a chronology of the evolution of diabetes treatment.

What is the purpose of body fat? We all have it, some of us a little more than others. As we grow older, some of our diets fall out of balance with our energy needs causing our white fat cells to become swollen.

White fat cells secrete leptin, adiponectin and resistin. Leptin and adiponectin work together in suppressing appetite. Resistin is the newest discovered - and has been found to participate in the inflammatory response and resistence to insulin. It also triggers an immune response to irritation, so it may be the fat cells attempt to shut your piehole because we're not gonna take it. As the white fat cells take on excessive calories they begin swelling, resulting in an inflammatory response.

Inflammation, by definition, is a protective attempt to remove the injurious stimuli (excess calories) and initiate the healing process. As the fat cells dispatch hormones signaling inflammation - one could hypothesize that Type 2 diabetes is a response to an imbalanced diet - calories in versus calories out. So what do our white fat cells do for us? They are designed to store energy for use in times of need. When your body is sending out DEFCON signals of inflammation - I'd say that is a time of need, indeed. Would inducing ketosis till the swelling goes down help?

Last week Amy Tenderich, creator of Diabetes Mine and co-author of Know Your Numbers, Outlive Your Diabetes, sent out an email asking us to speak out on behalf of Mr. Universe. I remembered the gist of the story when it first happened, back in April. What I didn't realize was the ensuing atrocities for Mr. Burns after the event.

Back in April, Doug Burns was maced by police during a hypoglycemic event at a movie theater. During the episode, the police assumed he was intoxicated, despite a bystander's insistence that it might be a diabetes issue. He was handcuffed, thrown into a car, and driven to a nearby ER without proper treatment for his hypoglycemia. Officers arrested him for assault and resisting arrest. Prosecutors initially insisted Burns needed to provide more medical evidence that he was a Type I diabetic suffering from insulin shock at the time. For some unknown reason -- a blood sugar of 40 isn't proof enough? The records from the event show that Doug never struck anyone, and in fact, he was the only party injured in the incident. However, the case was raised to assault and resisting arrest when one of the policemen suddenly reported an injury -- week-and-half later.

Turns out the county prosecutors have dropped misdemeanor charges against Mr. Universe. Ladies and gentleman, this is proof of how misinformed the general public is of the hurdles diabetics must overcome to continue life, uninterrupted. I'm proud to say that when issues are raised, awareness prevails. Thanks to everybody who called into the DAs office last week and thanks to Amy for calling out for the help.

If you've been around the diabetes online community you've certainly heard of Amy Tenderich. Her award-winning site is touted as one of the most influential diabetes sites out there. If you're looking for a gold mine of straight talk and encouragement -- Diabetes Mine is your destination. And now is your chance to speak to the celebrity herself! Amy will be chatting live on Tuesday, May 22, 9pm EST on Diabetes Talkfest.

Her charm comes through, loud and clear, in her cynically optimistic view of the trials of living with diabetes. Her journalistic flair derives from the heart and covers topics like breaking news and inside looks at diabetes research, as well as daily life with diabetes and uncovering the diabetics' deepest hopes and fears. Her all inclusive panache, along with her comedic nuances, make every moment of reading worth it.

Diabetes Mine has been featured in the Wall St. Journal, the UK Guardian, TechCrunch, NPR's Future Tense, and a number of other publications. The most recent feather in Amy's cap was added when she collaborated with Dr. Richard Jackson, a leading physician from Joslin Diabetes Center, to co-author the book Know Your Numbers, Outlive Your Diabetes. True to form, the book is hailed as the first-ever straightforward guidebook providing a clear strategy for living well with diabetes and avoiding the long-term health damage it can cause. I look forward to the opportunity of chatting with Amy. Hope you all can join us!

Researchers found that the type of body fat an individual has -- - white and brown-- may explain why one person gains weight easier than another.

White fat is the more familiar form of fat that accumulates in the abdomen, thighs, and buttocks. Brown fat burns energy and generates heat. White fat is deposited around internal organs and as visceral fat - the most harmful form of abdominal fat. Brown fat contains small lipid droplets tucked behind tiny energy factories called mitochondria. These cells are most prevalent in cute, little chubby babies, but tend to mostly disappear by adulthood. A 2005 Joslin study discovered genes that control the creation of the precursor cells that give rise to brown fat cells. This latest study shows that brown fat may not disappear in all adult animals and that little collections of brown fat may account for why some mice are protected from obesity and diabetes and others are not.

This study compared the difference in fat metabolism between the B6 mouse and the 129 mouse. The B6 mouse is one of the most commonly used strains in metabolic research and an established model for diet-induced obesity. When placed on a high-fat diet, the B6 mouse develops severe obesity, high blood glucose and insulin resistance with extremely high insulin levels. By contrast, the 129 mouse gains 30% to 50% less weight than the B6 mouse and is resistant to dietary induced obesity and glucose intolerance.

The only difference between the B6 and 129 mice is the type of body fat. The B6 mice had a majority of white fat cells, whereas the 129 mice had over 100 times the number of brown fat cells than the B6 mice. The mice with more white fat cells had a tendency to gain weight and develop diabetes on a high-fat diet. The study showed that the 129 mice had higher basal energy expenditure than the B6 mouse, resulting in a mitigated response to dietary effects. So I guess this begs the question -- how does one turn white fat into brown fat?

Neuropeptide regulating appetite may help in developing new diabetes treatments. The neuropeptide called melanin concentrating hormone (MCH) plays a role in the growth of insulin-producing beta cells and the secretion of insulin. MCH is found in the brain and regulates energy balance and appetite.

A previous study conducted at Joslin found an association between high levels of MCH and an increase in the number of beta cells in mice. When we eat food, our body needs more insulin. When MCH induces appetite, it simultaneously increased insulin secretion. This calls upon the beta cells and enhances their growth. If the proteins that mediate the growth mechanism can be identified, it could lead to the development of new drugs that would enhance beta cell growth to treat type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

Sounds great! However, this sounds similar to the function of SYMLIN, which is the synthetic form of amylin. Amylin is a hormone secreted by beta cells at the same time as insulin. If you've heard of Byetta - you've heard of Amylin Pharmaceuticals, the makers of SYMLIN. The researchers at Joslin and the guys at Amylin should get together and do lunch. They might have a lot to discuss between this research and the development of yet another biotechnological blockbuster drug.

Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy and Diabetic Macular Edema are two of the leading causes of vision loss or blindness, in spite of the great strides that have been made by health professionals. In efforts to create a better understanding of these two degenerative eye disorders, researchers from the Joslin Diabetes Center have compiled an extremely vast inventory of the proteins present in a part of the eye known as the vitreous. They have also identified a group of proteins that may play a significant role in causing blood vessel leakage in the eye.

The findings of this study were published in the January 28th issue of Nature Medicine, in which it was suggested that an analysis of the protein composition in the human vitreous has lead to the identification of a new group of molecules involved in diabetic retinopathy. One of these molecules is said to cause leakage of retinal blood vessels, contributing to the retinal swelling (Diabetic Macular Edema) that is usually liked with advanced diabetic retinopathy.

As stated, this study was spearheaded by the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, MA, and was conducted with funding provided by the JDRF, the Massachusetts Lions Eye Research Fund, the National Institutes of Health, the Adler Foundation, and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research Medical Free Electron Laser Program.

Many of us fear what we do not know, which could be why the diagnosis of diabetes is so harrowing. Fear no more. Amy Tenderich has teamed up with Dr. Richard Jackson, MD of the Joslin Diabetes Center to shed some light on the heaps of material we must digest to control our diabetes. Amy and Dr. Jackson have simply explained it all in Know Your Numbers, Outlive Your Diabetes: 5 Essential Health Factors You Can Master to Enjoy a Long and Healthy Life (Marlowe Diabetes Library).

The book is a priceless addition to any diabetic library. It begins by explaining the five tests that are the cornerstones for monitoring your overall health with diabetes. These tests are: A1c, blood pressure, lipids, microalbumin, and an annual eye exam. You may think you know it all because you've been there, done that. But do you really know - what it tests, why it's done, and what your numbers should look like? After you learn what those tests mean to you and your health - Amy and Dr. Jackson help you develop a plan of action. They build a road, paved with easy to understand (and explained remarkably well) information about nutrition, medicine, organic treatments, support, and specialized shopping sites for diabetes.

I was impressed beyond my expectations. Knowing the award winning caliber of work Amy produces, and the integrity of Dr. Jackson's work with Joslin Diabetes Center and Harvard Medical - I was looking for a good guidebook on diabetes care. No ma'am. This book is AWESOME! I knew it would be good, Amy. You've outdone yourself, once again. I hope this book motivates everyone who reads it to know their numbers and outlive their diabetes. And when it does - remember us little people, ok? Thanks a million, Amy!