Friday, November 30, 2012
According to new study from Washington University School of Medicine.
Gastric bypass surgery has been thought to offer advantages, independent of weight loss, for improving insulin sensitivity and blood glucose levels in obese patients. But new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis shows that those improvements are related to weight loss alone and not to the surgical procedure itself. Gastric bypass reduces the size of the stomach and re-routes food to lower in the intestine. Gastric banding places a ring around the upper portion of the stomach to make it smaller. In a study comparing gastric bypass to laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding, the researchers report that although both procedures help patients lose weight, gastric bypass does not provide additional advantages for …
Thursday, November 15, 2012
According to a new study from Washington University School of Medicine.
People with diabetes often develop clogged arteries that cause heart disease, and new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests that low vitamin D levels are to blame. In a study published Nov. 9 in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, the researchers report that blood vessels are less likely to clog in people with diabetes who get adequate vitamin D. But in patients with insufficient vitamin D, immune cells bind to blood vessels near the heart, then trap cholesterol to block those blood vessels. “About 26 million Americans now have type 2 diabetes,” said principal investigator Carlos Bernal-Mizrachi, MD. “And as obesity rates rise, we expect even more people will develop diabetes. Those patients are more …
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
A new study finds that fish oil pills make little difference in heart disease incidence over a placebo.
For the last several years research studies have looked at the health benefits of consuming more fish. As the studies progressed, researchers were able to identify components of fish that seemed to be associated with the heart disease prevention benefit and possibly the mental health benefit. A new study now questions whether fish-oil pills are a benefit to disease prevention. According to a large scale, randomized, clinical trial that compared fish-oil pills with a placebo for more than six years, the study found little difference in heart disease incidence between the groups. The study, of more than 12,000 individuals with diabetes or prediabetes, and an average age of 64, found that incidence of heart attack, stroke and heart failure …
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
A new study from Washington University School of Medicine have identified mutations in a gene that affects insulin-secreting cells.
The rare disorder Wolfram syndrome is caused by mutations in a single gene, but its effects on the body are far reaching. The disease leads to diabetes, hearing and vision loss, nerve cell damage that causes motor difficulties, and early death. Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston and the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research report that they have identified a mechanism related to mutations in the WFS1 gene that affects insulin-secreting beta cells. The finding will aid in the understanding of Wolfram syndrome and also may be important in the treatment of milder forms of diabetes and other disorders. The study is published online in the journal Nature Cell …
Friday, August 3, 2012
According to a study from Washington University School of Medicine.
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified a potential target for treating diabetes and obesity. Studying mice, they found that when the target protein was disabled, the animals became more sensitive to insulin and were less likely to get fat even when they ate a high-fat diet that caused their littermates to become obese. The findings are published online in the journal Cell Metabolism. The researchers studied how the body manufactures fat from dietary sources such as carbohydrates. That process requires an enzyme called fatty acid synthase (FAS). Mice engineered so that they don’t make FAS in their fat cells can eat a high-fat diet without becoming obese. “Mice without FAS were significantly more…
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Officials will explore the disease in people with diabetes, the St. Louis Business Journal reported.
A multimillion-dollar grant will help Washington University School of Medicine researchers study explore heart disease in people with diabetes, the St. Louis Business Journal reported. Washington University has a presence in University City, Clayton and St. Louis city. Quoting from the Business Journal article: "Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have received a $4.7 million grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute to study heart disease in patients with diabetes, the school said." Read more about what researchers hope to learn in the complete Business Journal article.
Monday, July 16, 2012
According to new study from the Washington University School of Medicine.
Children with a rare syndrome that includes a form of insulin-dependent diabetes have brain abnormalities that appear to set the stage for cognitive problems later in life, according to new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Brain scans identified regions of significantly reduced gray matter (right column) and white matter (left column) in young people with Wolfram syndrome. The brainstem and the cerebellum were particularly affected. The scientists studied children with Wolfram syndrome, which causes insulin-dependent diabetes in childhood. The disorder also causes hearing and vision loss and kidney problems. As patients get older, they can develop cognitive difficulties and dementia, and more than half die…
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
According to study from Washington University School of Medicine.
Drugs for type 2 diabetes can contribute to weight gain, bone fractures and cardiovascular problems, but in mice, an investigational drug appears to improve insulin sensitivity without those troublesome side effects, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown. The experimental medicine works through a different pathway, which could provide additional molecular targets for treating insulin resistance and diabetes. The new study appears online in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. “Current diabetes medications activate a receptor that improves insulin sensitivity, but unfortunately also contributes to side effects that make some people discontinue the medication, contributing to other health problems,” …
Thursday, October 13, 2011
The new Washingto University diabetes research center will look at developing better ways to prevent and treat Type 2 diabetes in high-risk patients, including American Indians and Alaska Natives.
Washington University has received a five-year, $3 million grant to establish a new diabetes research center, according to a news release from the school. The center will focus on developing better ways to prevent and treat Type 2 diabetes in high-risk patients, including American Indians and Alaska Natives. Washington University was one of seven institutions awarded funding to establish this type of diabetes facility. “This grant will enable us to support research that addresses the root causes of diabetes and disparities,” said Debra Haire-Joshu, professor of public health at the Brown School and the School of Medicine and director of the new center. Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes, according to the American Diabetes …
Ed Horsewalker
9:28 pm on Wednesday, November 14, 2012
My grandmother has eaten fish everyday since the stock market crash. She catches most of the fish herself. She loves fishing Gravois Creek and the Crestwood Lagoon. more ›