A study published in Diabetes Care in January of 2012 showed that patients with diabetes are more likely to develop cancer than people without diabetes and that adults with diabetes are more likely to die of cancer than their non-diabetic counterparts.  The association between diabetes and cancer was first noted over 100 years ago, but physicians have become increasingly aware of this association only in the last few years as recent studies have demonstrated that having diabetes increases the risk of almost all types of cancer. ...

The results of a randomized clinical trial funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) in children with type 2 diabetes show that children and adolescents treated with a combination of metformin and Avandia (rosiglitazone) had better glycemic control than children treated with metformin alone or with metformin and with an intensive lifestyle-intervention program.    The trial included 699 children with type 2 diabetes aged 10 -17 who were treated with metformin (at a dose of 1000...

Yesterday I went to the diabetes clinic for my tri-annual visit. I went there feeling guilty and ready to be scolded for my latest test results, especially my A1c.  When I got there, before checking in with the receptionist, I ran into the nutritionist I was on my way to see. “I was just going over your blood test results,” she said to me with a smile. Oh no, I thought to myself. When I sat down with the diabetes nurse and the nutritionist I said, “I guess you’re going to be giving it to me now.” The nutritionist said (smiling...

Prediabetes is like the two minute warning just before the end of the first half in a football game.  You have those minutes of reflection and then perhaps the entire second half, but if you’re too far behind much of the second half might be a hopeless effort.  This isn’t an exact analogy, of course, but if you’ve got that two minutes, that A1c rising into the diabetic zone at about your own midpoint or even later, your response to the warning could have everything to do with the nature of the second half.  Studies...

JDRF-funded researchers have begun enrolling adult patients with type 1 diabetes in the REMOVAL study, to test whether metformin-a drug commonly used to treat type 2 diabetes-could help prevent or reduce the risk of cardiovascular complications in people with type 1 diabetes. The REMOVAL study (Reducing with MetfOrmin Vascular Adverse Lesions in type 1 diabetes) is a multi-center, international trial that will study 500 patients with type 1 diabetes aged 40 or older, a patient group known to be at higher risk for cardiovascular...

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and AstraZeneca announced that type 2 diabetes drug Kombiglyze XR (saxagliptin and metformin HCl extended-release), approved by the FDA on November 5, 2010, is now available by prescription in pharmacies across the United States. Kombiglyze XR is the first and only once-a-day metformin extended-release (XR) plus dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitor combination tablet offering strong glycemic control across hemoglobin A1c levels, fasting plasma...

A press release issued today by Depomed, Inc. and Santarus, Inc says that according to the clinical trial results, patients previously intolerant of metformin may be able to tolerate higher efficacious doses of metformin when treated with GLUMETZA, with fewer gastrointestinal side effects. GLUMETZA is a once-daily, extended release formulation of metformin, and is approved for use in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Notably: Patients treated with GLUMETZA versus other metformin products were able to use a higher mean maximum...

According to a new report published in the Lancet, taking a low dose of GlaxoSmithKline’s diabetes drug Avandia (rosiglitazone) combined with metformin was highly effective in prevention of type 2 diabetes in patients with impaired glucose tolerance, with little effect on the clinically relevant adverse events of these two drugs. The study included 207 patients with impaired glucose tolerance who were randomly assigned to receive combination rosiglitazone (2 mg) and metformin (500 mg) twice daily or matching placebo...

Diabetics treated over long periods with the drug metformin, one of the most commonly prescribed drugs for the treatment of diabetes, are at risk of developing vitamin B12 deficiency.  This condition is likely to get worse over time, according to a study published in the British Medical Journal. Symptoms of Vitamin B12 deficiency, like fatigue, could be misdiagnosed as diabetic complications, but a simple blood test to check B12 levels could revel whether levels are low.  Vitamin B12 is found in meat, dairy products, eggs, fish,...

The Type 2 diabetes drug metformin works differently than previously thought, EurekAlert reports. Metformin, marketed first by Bristol-Myers Squibb as Glucophage, is widely prescribed to people with type 2 diabetes and may be extended to the treatment of certain cancers. The drug blocks the production of glucose and increases sensitivity to insulin—a hormone that converts sugar and other foods into energy within the body. Until now, researchers believed metformin disabled the mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) complex...