FDA Approves New Drug for Type 2 Diabetes 267
Neopallium writes to tell us that the FDA has approved the first of a new kind of treatment for type 2 diabetes. From the article: "JANUVIA belongs to a new breakthrough class of prescription medications called dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors that improves blood sugar control in patients with type 2 diabetes. JANUVIA enhances a natural body system called the incretin system, which helps to regulate glucose by affecting the beta cells and alpha cells in the pancreas. Through DPP-4 inhibition, JANUVIA works only when blood sugar is elevated to address diminished insulin due to beta-cell dysfunction and uncontrolled production of glucose by the liver due to alpha-cell and beta-cell dysfunction."
For those of us with Journal access... (Score:3, Informative)
Fatties of the world... (Score:2, Funny)
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Cause? Or correlation? Some recent research suggests that, in people with so-called metabolic syndrome, the real problem might be systemic inflammation. Systemic inflammation = increased blood fats, increased blood pressure, decreased insulin response, and weight gain.
We really don't understand type II diabetes so well just yet. Type I, we do. Some suggest that type II patients who are obese might be obese because of the diabetes, not have the diabetes because they're obese. I'm not
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"Yet you can have no compassion for the smoker, because it was their own doing, they know they should have quit."
Of course I can have compassion for the smoker. Nowhere in the definition you provided does it say that the the one "stricken by misfortune" must be undeserving of it. To say otherwise demonstrates your lack of understanding of just what compassion is and demonstrates that you fundamentally aren'
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You've put your finger on something here. It really is "fun to build up a big load of righteous indignation." That's a big part of the problems in the world and 99.999% of the problems on
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No, it was clear at all. You displayed contempt for fat people, their ugliness, and how stereotypically American they are. Somehow I bet you aren't overweight, much less obese, and that you're too young to even appreciate how difficult it can be to maintain weight with insulin resistance. It is clear that you feel qualified to be judgemental.
"So calm down. I know it's fun to build up a big load of righteous indignation, but there's just no call
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Do any of these things refute the fact that your comments were those of an asshole? I'm sure that anyone who's dealt with weight issues is aware of the problem. More so that you've demonstrated.
"Should I challenge your assumptions that I'm 1) thin 2) young, or 3) conceited?
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Genetic predisposition.
Thank you! Come Again!
- A Type II Diabetic.
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And the day I start making a concerted effort to eat "way less red meat", is the day I think I start thinking what the hell did I do this for?
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Seriously, though, what you're getting at (which many self-induced fatasses don't see) is moderation and I completely agree. Consumption of red meat may be linked with heart disease if the rest of the diet is ignored, but consumers of large quantities of red meat generally get it through McDonalds hamburgers, not steaks (I'm extrapolating this from purchasing statistics, McD
Translate... (Score:2)
I'll take a shot (Score:4, Informative)
This drug works by decreasing the amount of sugar produced by the liver. In most type II diabetics the liver produces too much, for reasons we only partly understand. It also makes the pancreas produce more insulin in response to high blood sugar. This mechanism is also defective in type II diabetes, again for reasons poorly understood. It does these things by a new mechanism of action, and is the first drug that affects the first problem I listed above.
Does your father go to an endocrinologist? Diabetes is still not as well understood as we would like, and this is the third brand new treatment for diabetes in the last couple of years (one of them is for type I diabetics only). There are a lot of new options out there.
Not just fat people (Score:2)
Brain aneurism! (Score:4, Insightful)
*faint*
Actually... (Score:5, Insightful)
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Which, of course, may be the very reason why the treatment exists at all. If you want something, a good way to get it is to make it worth someone's while to do so.
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And insurance companies get their money from the magical money well where fairy elves shoot out of my ass?
No. That money comes out of everyone's pocket. When you take money from everyone to support a few people, what's that called? Oh, right, welfare.
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Really, I'm sick of this "lose a little weight and the diabetes is gone ingorance. Type II is not fully understood, and is made worse by primarily two things:
1) Weight
2) Time.
Even a thin person who has type II, or a type II who loses all of their excess fat, will worsen with age.
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Or... (Score:2)
While I wouldn't go so far as to say type 2 diabetes can be totally prevented, it's generally a self inflicted disease. And our society isn't helping either because the crappiest foods are often the easiest to get (eg. fast food).
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They didn't put this crap in food at all 30 years ago - and you saw much less Type II diabetes.
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I don't use salad dressings or ketchup so I can't comment much there. In fact, since I started eating
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It's so common to hear people recommend a "proper diet" and blame "crappy" foods. The problem is that people don't know what either of these are, even many who correctly identify them as a problem.
It's common to see someone eating a lunch consisting of nothing more than a bowl of rice. They can certainly be given credit for avoiding the Big Mac and fries, but they're still eating a meal of 0% protein
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You shouldn't be eating white rice anyway. Brown rice does in fact contain protein and a number of other nutrients. Ideally it should be combined with beans or something similar to provide a complete protein.
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I agree, but from a glycemic index point of view you shouldn't be eating rice at all. There are far better sources of complete proteins than rice and beans. Of course, that doesn't help the vegetarian. I am certainly not one of those.
"Aspartame (Nutisweet) really is listed as a poison in many countr
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http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/abuse/parkin
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For most people though it's not a direct genetic problem. Just like most obese people are not obese due to direct genetic problem.
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I'm also surprised they died so young. Sound like they went undiagnosed for a long time. Were they not seaking health care or it wasn't available?
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You know, the linked article is spam. It's not even a genuine news article and contains 20 or so paragraphs, each beginning with "JANUVIA does this and that".
If this is worthy of front page on Slashdot, well that's pretty sad for Slashdot I think.
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From diabetes.org: The first treatment for type 2 diabetes is often meal planning for blood glucose (sugar) control, weight loss, and exercising.
But, for the lazy asses who got themselves into this mess to begin with,
Insulin != necrosis (Score:2)
No it doesn't. That happens when people don't take enough insulin. Then the sugar level in their blood gets too high. A lot of people with diabetes constantly walk around with about 2-3x as much sugar in their blood stream as what's normal.
Sugar is sticky. So it sticks to the insides of the blood vessels. When a blood vessel is coated with enough sugar on the inside, it won't be ab
the best of cases can do better! (Score:2)
http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/ [phlaunt.com] Most important conclusion: If you can keep blood sugar controlled enough, Type-2 need not deteriorate. Don't reply until you've read the article and references.
I will be on the lookout to see
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Your ignorance is showing (Score:2)
It's "dead". It's what happens if you shoot too much insulin.
Every cell in your body needs glucose, it their fuel! If you don't eat carbohydrates at all, the body will start manufacturing glucose
from fats and proteins. Unfortunately the byproducts of this process are poisonous and can kill you - WILL kill a diabetic.
If you're not a diabetic, I think it's called the Atkins diet and can kill you by starvation
For people skipping AC post,
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Recommending a carb-loaded diet as the ADA is has done for decades is a crime.
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Bullshit.
Bad genes and lack of exercise are the factors most influential in causing type 2.
Look at the diabetes rate and the diets (lard, sugar, butter) in the 1950s.In addition, fat kids existed then, but they didn't get type 2 diabetes as kids (they got it after 40 - hence the old term "adult onset").
Exercise has gone down by leaps and bounds, and people with bad genes are s
Inhibitor of Glucagon (Score:4, Insightful)
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Let me add: Some times a movie may show a diabetic with a "low"[1] getting an injection in the emergency room. That injection is not insulin, because that would kill him, it's glucagon, which stimulates the liver to release glucose.
The rest of us would do well to give him a non-diet sweet drink, a piece of candy, or almost any kind of food.
Unfortunately some type 1s have died in police custody because cops mistake a low for a roaring drunk.
[1] This [umich.edu]
Why the hostility? (Score:5, Insightful)
Why are so many slashdrones so terribly hostile toward diabetics? It's not possible to post a story mentioning diabetes without various people posting inaccurate information ("Being lazy and getting fat causes diabetes!") combined with hearty invective ("You're sub-human slobs and you all deserve to die!").
(Just for the record, obesity is associated with diabetes but is not the cause. Diabetes is a failure of various regulatory mechanisms and heredity plays a big part. There's lots of good research that indicates the process of becoming diabetic tends to make you fat rather than the reverse. And treatment is severely problematical, often because common drugs cause massive weight gain, a problem this new drug is supposed to address.)
So why all the bile poured out on diabetes sufferers? I really don't understand it. There are lots of other diseases that make people unattractive or can be partially blamed on lifestyle, but I don't see anyone jumping on the "People get cancer because they're stupid!" or the "All alcoholics should be shot!" bandwagons, even though those ideas make about as much sense as condemning diabetics for being sick.
What's up? Anyone want to clue me in?
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When someone contracts Type-II diabetes, don't just ask how much they ate. Ask what they ate. I'd wager the second is by far the bigger contributor to the disease. If HFCS was a banned substance, I would
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So, I understand your point, bu
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Washington Post [washingtonpost.com]
Re:Why the hostility? (Score:4, Informative)
A1C - 5.5% on a modified Atkins diet. Drives my flaming idealist vegetarian sister-in-law nuts... I tell her "Get over it... biochemically, I'm a carnivore".
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I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes about 5 years ago. No-one in the family (either side) has diabetes and there is no family history of it either. I am not overweight for my height (6ft 2in), my diet is reasonably balanced and healthy (I reckon I visit KFC/McDs/Burger King etc. about 5 times a year) and the doctors think I became diabetic as a result of a viral infection.
I don't get annoyed at people who post 'diabetes = fat people' messages 'cos there's no point,
it isn't about diabetics (Score:2)
It's not about you. It's about them. They're better than you -- that's their point. They're "the good people". How would you know how much better they are if they didn't tell you how bad you are in comparison? More importantly, how would they know?
Similar people drive a Prius, only buy organic food, support smoking bans in taverns, and "only watch PBS on TV".
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They reassure themselves by thinking that if they don't do [something], then they won't be ill. This is easier to handle than thinking that you could wake up tomorrow and find you have cancer because you just had bad luck.
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Instead of more drugs... (Score:5, Insightful)
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Wikipedia says "A more recent study found a link exists between obesity and high HFCS consumption, especially from soft drinks.".
So instead of banning HFCS, how about cutting down on the fizzy drinks, for example by reducing the serving size at your local golden arcs? The bucketloads of soda-pop served as a single serving in the States are beyond ridiculous. An average restaurant in Europe w
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"My point is, instead of telling the government to 'ban HFCS instead of making the people spend more money', what about educating the people and letting them take some responsibility for thei
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No, it would not be "just as bad", because cane sugar and HFCS affect the body very differently. Go read some of the links in this thread and you'll see. They are not equivalent. That is the whole point. The "hysteria" you point to is actually quite justified. HFCS is a dangerous ingredient, regardless of people's eating habits.
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In the above statement, replace "HFCS" with "nicotine" or "crack." Why does anyone do anything when they know it's bad for them?
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While I agree with you that there is entirely too much high fructose corn syrup in the foods that are commonly available, I don't think banning it is an appropriate fix. Corn syrup, in and of itself, isn't deadly, so there's no need to ban it. People who cannot grasp
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High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is dangerous stuff indeed. But first, to really understand how dangerous it is you have to understand how the body processes sugar. (information taken from the book 'Good Carb, Better Carb Cookbook' which you can find here http://tinyurl.com/ycuvmx [tinyurl.com])
Glucose, fructose and galactose can all be absorbed directly by the body--no breaking down at all. They are monosaccharides (one sugar) and they are 'simple sugar'. Glucose is also called 'blood sugar' and it is this that diabetics
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On the other hand, your plan to ban high fructose corn syrup is, of course, stupid totalitarian nanny-state nonsense. People should be allowed to choose what they eat, not be forced to eat what you think is "the good food".
Copy Protection (Score:2)
The rest of us get screwed again (Score:2, Interesting)
Genetics sucks.
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And the cost is? (Score:2)
Cost Benefit? (Score:4, Insightful)
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In fact, in our case such a pill could be dangerous, as injections of glucagon (which this inhibits) are the "last resort" treatment for severe hypoglycemia (low blood sugar, caused by either an overdose of insulin, a smaller than normal meal combined with a normal insulin dose, or exercise without accompanying food or reduced insulin.)
Others have hinted at this, but the basics of diabetes, Type I and T
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But it is Gen 1 product, it'll get better. She beta tested the Gen 1 blood meters back in the day. It was the size of a textbook, had to be
Since a lot of diabetics will be reading this ... (Score:5, Informative)
I have been doing this for the last few months and it has really turned the tide for me, before I really felt like I was loosing the battle against diabetes. The only trick is finding the right *kind* of cinnamon can be difficult. There are hundreds of types of cinnamon and the kind you want is commonly called "cassia" or "cinnamonium aromium" (sp?) or sometimes "cinnamonium romulus" (generally the chinese name). It is grown in indonesia and china. Problem being that most cinnamons sold in the US are blends of Saigon Cinnamon which does not seem to have the same properties. A number of nutrition stores sell cinnamon pills (vitamin shoppe, gnc) that have the correct cinnamon in them. Currently the best price i've found is at GNC -- if you buy their GNC card ($15/year) it knocks a bottle of 200 pills down to about $12. Before you say "thats expensive for cinammon" as yourself -- what are you spending on medication right now? On your glucophage, on your metformin, on your zocor, on your benazepril, on your insulin?
For me the cinnamon does not have the horrible side effects of things like metformin and glucophage. The side effects (sudden intense hunger, increased appetite) make me eat more, gain weight, and thus require more medication. I am not suggesting you replace your medications for cinnamon, but if you are having trouble controlling your blood sugar, try adding cinnamon to your diet. If you are not having trouble, try replacing some of your medication with cinnamon.
I am planning on starting a website soon about this to try and get the word out. How many times in life is there something simple and safe that can improve your health?
Wilford Brimley (Score:2)
Why so quick to fawn over patents? (Score:2)
If you're at risk for diabetes, control your diet, exercise, and take chromium [bioactivenutrients.com]. Chromium for diabetes is not new. It's three or four decades old.
The link to the vendor I provided listed only the positive studies. There are some negative studies as well. Because chromium opens up the cell gateway for fat, my personal unscientific opinion is that it accelerates fat loss or gain, depending on diet. That's been my experienc
sounds like a combo of metformin and avandia to me (Score:2)
results if you take metformin and avandia together..which I will not do. Beta cell depletion will just lead to type I symtoms and you will need to be on insulin. Here's what I do. I take 100mg of metformin a day along with 1000mg of chromium picolin
Watch it. (Score:2)
(I could have slugged that eye specialist. He examined my eyes carefully and told me I had no diabetic damage to my retinas. As I breathed a sigh of relief
Mod Parent "Jackass" (Score:2)
It isn't funny, and is very indicative of a class of people in this world. We generally refer to them as "jackasses".
And no, it isn't funny either.
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It was a comment designed to provoke an outraged response, which is pretty much the definition of flamebait to me.
oh-so-funny? (Score:2)
No not really, my oh-so-sarcastic post simply failed to mention my own genetic predisposition for type 2 diabetes and it also should have mentioned that I used to be one of those lazy nerds. Crawling behind a genetic predisposition for cover won't help you any more than it helped me. It is a statistical reality that the majority of patients with type 2 diabetes have been obese. Most of the time (
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The other big problem is storage of Byetta. Constant refridgeration in a small range (36-46 degrees f) is a royal pain. This is a pill, so room temperature is great!
Also this drug does not seem to have as many side effects as Byetta. Thou the one good side effect of Byetta is missing
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You can compensate for that by exercising and eating properly.
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How about that folks? Response to an e-mail to not only a doctor, but a specialist, and the response lists the time as exactly 30 minutes after sending the original e-mail. That ought to be worth a
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How about if you do what works for you and other people do what works for them?
(You can still think you're better than everyone else. No one can take that away from you.)
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I agree.. this drug, all it is doing is accelerating your depletion of Beta cells. beta cells are not regenerated.
Everyone has x number of beta cells. They die off after they produce x amount of insulin. That's why type I diabetics
have to take insulin, it's usually an autoimmune destruction of the beta cells. But in Type II, the pancrease tries to keep
adequae insulin production, and in doing so the p
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Interesting because of the science, it will help people, and I really wish I had stock in the company right now!
(one can make a killing on pharma companies, one can also get burned).