Diabetes experts on Friday urged a switch to a diagnostic test for the disease that’s more useful to primary care doctors and more convenient for patients because it doesn’t require fasting.

An international panel recommended that a test known as the hemoglobin A1c assay be the new standard test for diabetes. In the past, this test has primarily been used to monitor if diabetes treatment is working. However, the committee — which unveiled its recommendations at this weekend’s American Diabetes Association meeting in New Orleans, La. — said the A1c test’s long-term measurement of chronic blood sugar control problems provides a better diagnosis than current “snapshot” tests.

The test has not been adopted by all doctors for diagnostic purposes. Many of them prefer to rely first on the tried-and-true techniques such as the standard fasting plasma glucose test (FPG) and the less common oral glucose tolerance test — tests that the A1c screening would unseat as the new standard.

Still, other physicians have welcomed the new screening. Dr. Joel Zonszein, director of the Clinical Diabetes Center at Montefiore Medical Center in New York, said many colleagues have been “waiting years for this to happen.”

Proponents favor the A1c because it measures average blood glucose over the preceding two to three months, rather than just at one point in time, the researchers said.

“A1c values vary less than fasting plasma glucose values, and the assay for A1c has technical advantages compared with the glucose assay,” said Dr. David M. Nathan of Massachusetts General Hospital, who chaired the expert committee.

“Also, testing for diabetes using A1c is more convenient and easier for patients who will no longer be required to perform a fasting or oral glucose tolerance test,” Nathan added.

The recommendations — made jointly by the American Diabetes Association, the International Diabetes Federation, and the European Association for the Study of Diabetes — were published online today in Diabetes Care and will appear in the July issue of the journal.

Can Doctors Agree on A1c?
Many primary care doctors already use A1c screening as a first-line tool for diagnosis, while others use it in combination with FPG. One reason for caution about the A1c in the past, doctors said, has been concern about standardization in A1c screenings — that is, whether doctors agree that a given result indicates that a patient has diabetes.

Diabetes affects nearly 24 million children and adults in the United States and another 57 million have pre-diabetes, a condition that places them at increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes. If you don’t know the risk factors or symptoms for diabetes, you may very well be risking your life to this silent killer.

Diabetes is a silent killer because many people can live with the disease for years and never find out that they have it until they start experiencing diabetes-related damage that can lead to a heart attack, stroke, vision problems or kidney disease. In fact, most people with type 2 diabetes do not notice the symptoms because some signs of diabetes aren’t easy to recognize. Symptoms of diabetes include:

• Being very thirsty
• Urinating often
• Losing weight without trying
• Having vision problems, such as blurred vision

Diabetes is a serious disease, but early diagnosis and treatment can help people with diabetes live healthy and active lives. A person’s risk for diabetes goes up as they get older, gain weight, or if they do not stay active. So how can you find out if you might be at risk for diabetes? Risk factors include:

• Being overweight or obese
• Not being physically active
• Having a family history of diabetes
• Having high blood pressure
• Having diabetes during pregnancy or having a baby weighing more than 9 pounds at birth
• Being older than 45 years of age

Diabetes is also more common in African Americans, Latinos/Hispanics, Native Americans, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

To find out if you or a loved one are at risk for type 2 diabetes, you can take the American Diabetes Association’s Diabetes Risk Test. This is a simple test that asks questions about weight, age, family history and other potential risk factors for diabetes. Based on your response, you can find out whether you are at low, moderate or high risk for diabetes. You can take the test online at www.diabetes.org/alert or by phone (in English or Spanish) at (800) DIABETES (800-342-2383).

If you find that you are at high risk for having diabetes, talk with your doctor to find out for sure. Only your doctor can determine if you have diabetes.

To learn more about diabetes risk factors, diagnosis and treatment, or to take the Diabetes Risk Test, visit the American Diabetes Association’s Web site at www.diabetes.org or call (800) DIABETES (800-342-2383).

Courtesy of ARAcontent

Living with Type II Diabetes?

But did you know that using pedal power could help to find a cure for one of the nation’s deadliest diseases? With your family, on your own or as part of a team you can ride your bike and raise funds for the Tour de Cure.

Take the Ride of Your Life
Tour de Cure, the American Diabetes Association’s nationwide cycling event, welcomes riders at all levels — from novice to experienced cyclists — to support the Association’s mission: to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes. Last year more than 38,000 cyclists — people with diabetes, friends, families and supporters — raised more than $15 million to support diabetes research, advocacy and education.

Diabetes is a deadly disease affecting nearly 24 million children and adults in the United States. Another 57 million have pre-diabetes, a condition that places them at increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes.

Whether you bike for fun or because you dream of being the next world champion, bicycling is great exercise that can have significant health benefits. Tour de Cure events feature routes that vary in length and difficulty, from 15-mile family distances to 100-mile “century” rides. It is a ride, not a race, so participants are encouraged to go at their own pace.

Are You a Red Rider?
If you have diabetes and plan to ride in Tour de Cure, don’t forget to join the Red Riders, a special section of Tour de Cure that the American Diabetes Association created to recognize participants who have diabetes.

“The Red Rider Recognition Program is a way for those of us with diabetes to gather the strength, courage and motivation to live well all the other days of the year when we aren’t riding in Tour de Cure,” says Mari Ruddy, founder of the Red Rider program. “It gives us an opportunity to celebrate the hard work, dedication and teamwork it takes to manage this challenging and complex disease. Best of all, when we can give a participant a red jersey that proclaims with joy, ‘I ride with diabetes!’ it brings a face to the disease with the heart, soul and passion of the participants who are riding with diabetes.”

Join Tour de Cure to benefit your health and to support the fight to stop diabetes. To register as an individual rider, a Red Rider, start a team, or learn more, visit Tour.Diabetes.org or call (888) DIABETES (888-342-2383).

Courtesy of ARAcontent

Living with Type II Diabetes?

In one study, U.S. researchers found the same cluster of metabolic disorders that raise a woman’s risk for heart disease and diabetes also increase her chances of memory declines later in life.

A second study found that a history of diabetes and high cholesterol hasten the rate of mental declines in people with Alzheimer’s disease.

“Preventing heart disease, stroke and diabetes — or making sure these conditions are well managed in patients diagnosed with them — can potentially slow the disease progression of Alzheimer’s,” said Yaakov Stern of Columbia University Medical Center, whose study was one of several on metabolic diseases and dementia published in the Archives of Neurology.

The findings build on recent studies that suggest people who take cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins have a lower risk of developing all forms of dementia. And diabetics who take pills that help their bodies use insulin better have a lower risk of Alzheimer’s.

Now many teams are trying to get a better understanding of how these disorders affect Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.

Researchers at the University of California San Francisco and the San Francisco Veterans’ Affairs Medical Center studied the effects of heart risk factors such as abdominal fat, high blood pressure and low levels of good cholesterol, known collectively as the metabolic syndrome.

Dr. Kristine Yaffe and colleagues followed 4,895 women with an average age of 66 who had no memory problems or other cognitive impairment at the beginning of the study.

Of the nearly 500 women in the group who had metabolic syndrome, 36 percent developed cognitive impairment during the four-year study period, compared with just 4 percent of the 4,400 women who did not have metabolic syndrome.

The team said future studies need to focus on whether modifying behaviors could reduce these risks.

Stern and colleagues at Columbia looked to see whether cholesterol levels and a history of diabetes affected the progression of Alzheimer’s disease in 156 older patients over 10 years.

After an average of three and a half years, those with higher levels of low-density lipoprotein or LDL cholesterol — the so-called bad cholesterol — declined more quickly than those with normal cholesterol readings.

“These findings suggest that perhaps dealing with some of these metabolic vascular issues early in life might help,” Stern said in a telephone interview.

“Even if people have Alzheimer’s disease, this is one thing people might want to try to slow its progression,” he said.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia among older people, affecting 5.2 million people in the United States and 26 million globally, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. There is no cure for Alzheimer’s, and current drugs merely delay symptoms.

By Julie Steenhuysen (Editing by Maggie Fox)

© Reuters 2009

Living with Type II Diabetes?

Although for some the development of diabetes is inevitable, perhaps due to heriditary and other factors, for the vast majority it can be prevented by taking these 7 simple steps…

Before diabetes type 2 becomes fully developed you go through a stage known as pre-diabetes. This is where you start to show some of the symptoms, which if ignored, can lead to full blown diabetes.

Make these 7 action points part of your daily routine and you could stop this disease happening to you:

1. If you are overweight you risk developing diabetes. Reduce the amount of food on your plate so you gradually eat less and start to lose weight. Drink a glass of plain water or a sugar-free drink before your meal to take the edge of any hunger pains.
2. Reduce the amount of fat you are eating; grill or bake foods instead of frying; use low-fat spreads and reduced fat meals.
3. Check the Glycemic Index of the food you are eating – knowing what each food contains helps maintain your blood-sugars, which in turn can prevent the full onset of diabetes.
4. Drink at least 8 glasses of water every day. If you keep a bottle of water with you and sip frequently you’ll be surprised how much you do drink throughout the day.
5. If you are feeling peckish choose a healthy snack rather than a chocolate bar.
6. Use skimmed rather than full-fat milk in hot drinks.
7. Exercise is good for health. But if you are not use to exercise then start in moderation. 15 minutes gentle walking each day will ease you into a regular exercising pattern.

All of these action points are also the ones that diabetics are advised to take – if you take them now you might possibly prevent irreparable damage to your health.

Living with Type II Diabetes?

However it does mean that you are susceptible to developing type 2 diabetes and heart disease if you do nothing about it.

Unfortunately, more often than not, there are no physical symptoms to warn you if you are in a pre-diabetes stage. So it’s worth getting yourself checked out and, if you fall into any of these categories, ask your physician if you are likely to be at risk of pre-diabetes:

• You are overweight and you are aged 45 or older
• Your weight is OK and you’re aged 45+. Ask your doctor during a routine check-up if testing is appropriate for you
• You are an adult under age 45 and you are overweight
• You have high blood pressure; low HDL cholesterol and high triglycerides
• Your family has a history of diabetes
• There’s a history of gestational diabetes in your family
• You have given birth to a baby weighing more than 9 pounds
• You belong to an ethnic or minority group that has a high risk for diabetes, such as African American, American Indian, Asian American, Pacific Islander, or Hispanic American/Latino.

you can take positive action to reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and heart diseaseThe good news is, if after testing you discover that you do have pre-diabetes; your blood-sugar levels are rather higher than they should be but not in the diabetes range, you can take positive action to reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

• Reduce the amount on your plate – eating just a little less helps reduce your risk factor.
• Avoid snacks; if you must snack go for a healthy rather than sugar-laden option.
• Drink a glass of water 10 minutes before eating to take the edge of your appetite so you don’t overindulge in food.
• Choose whole-grain foods or sugar-free foods.
• Take a little more exercise; such as walking up the stairs instead of taking the lift or an escalator.
• Don’t shop for food when you are feeling hungry. You’ll be more tempted to buy the foods that increase your blood-sugars; add on weight and generally create a higer risk of moving from your pre-diabetes state into being a fully diagnosed type 2 diabetic.

Taking these and other simple actions can reduce your risk of turning pre-diabetes into type 2 diabetes.

Living with Type II Diabetes?