Diabetes

For millions of patients with diabetes, daily insulin injections are a necessary nuisance. A once-a-week shot might be more palatable, and new results from phase 2 clinical trials suggest just such a drug is safe and effective.

A new review article is presenting a promising case for phenformin, an old diabetes drug related to metformin, being repurposed as an adjunct to new immunotherapy cancer treatments. A phase 1 clinical trial is underway to test the novel combination.

An oral pill would be much easier for diabetics than daily insulin injections. An experimental new method for packing insulin into capsules helps it survive the trip through the stomach to the bloodstream, and releases its payload only when needed.

A team of scientists is investigating the bi-directional relationship between COVID-19 and diabetes. The researchers suggest SARS-CoV-2 infection may be triggering the onset of diabetes and a global registry has been set up to track this phenomenon.

Obesity is one of the most pressing health problems, but a new study suggests a potential non-invasive treatment. In tests in mice, researchers found that directing ultrasound to the liver helped reduce a number of markers associated with obesity.

Scientists at the University of Texas Southwestern have demonstrated how restoring a delicate balance of cells in the pancreas can cure diabetes in mouse models, by essentially converting one type of cell into the other.

Two studies are offering new evidence the microbiome is intertwined with our metabolic and brain health. One shows a link between gut bacteria and cognitive changes in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s, while another suggests microbial biomarkers could predict the progression of diabetes.

Exercise can be a means to an end, namely better health. Now scientists at USC have studied a hormone that the human body releases during exercise, and found that administering it to even elderly mice improves their fitness and overall health.

A new systematic review and meta-analysis published in the British Medical Journal has concluded adhering to a low-carbohydrate diet for six months is the most effective dietary strategy to put type type 2 diabetes into remission.

A new study has affirmed the link between the presence of brown fat and improved cardiac or metabolic health, validating the relatively new hypothesis that the type of adipose tissue commonly referred to as brown fat confers broad health benefits.

Scientists have distinguished six different subtypes of prediabetes, a condition that precedes the onset of type 2 diabetes. The subtypes should allow clinicians more precise identification of those patients most likely to develop diabetes.

Continuous blood monitoring would be a transformative advance for doctors and a new study brings that reality closer. New research describes a device that can detect real-time changes in blood levels of any molecule a doctor would need to monitor.