New Drug for Islet Cell Transplants
NEW DRUG MAY MAKE ISLET
TRANSPLANTS A REALITY
Type 1 diabetes is caused by a failure of the
islet cells of the human pancreas. When they perish, insulin is no longer produced in the
body, and must be injected. For years, researchers have sought ways to restore the
insulin-producing function to the pancreas, and thus eliminate the need for insulin
injections.
The problem has always been immune rejection, the
HYPOGLYCEMIA
HYPOGLYCEMIA: LOW BLOOD
SUGAR
by Ed Bryant
Diabetes mellitus, by definition, is an inability
to properly process blood glucose. The untreated, out-of-control diabetic has abnormally
high blood sugars, and the diabetic who wishes to keep his or her blood sugars down in the
normal range uses diet, exercise, oral medications, and/or insulin to get them there. For
whatever reason, sometimes the sugars dip too low, and hypoglycemia results.
A "hypoglycemic reaction," also called
STUDY PROVES INTENSIVE FOOT CARE SAVES FEET
STUDY PROVES INTENSIVE
FOOT CARE SAVES FEET
One of the complications that can follow diabetes
is diabetic neuropathy, nerve damage from the extended toxicity of high blood sugars.
Another complication, diabetic vascular damage, peripheral arterial occlusive disease, is
frequently seen alongside it. Together, they raise the risk that diabetics will experience
undetected, slow-healing wounds and ulcers to the feet, and that some of these ulcers may
Newly Blind Diabetic
TIPS FOR THE NEWLY BLIND
DIABETIC
by Chris Kuell
Eli Lilly Correspondence
CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN
THE DIABETES ACTION NETWORK OF THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND AND ELI
LILLY AND COMPANY
by Ed Bryant
Long-term VOICE readers have no doubt been
following the progress of our campaign to convince insulin manufacturers to incorporate
tactile markings on insulin vials, so that blind diabetics, and those losing vision, could
reliably distinguish between their slower and faster-acting insulin types. We have been
pursuing this worthwhile goal for years.
Recipe Corner
RECIPE CORNER
Send your great food ideas to the editor. Your
recipes will be evaluated by dietitians, and if necessary, adjusted to make them more
diabetically appropriate. Then he gets to taste them...
Quick Pasta Primavera
from Boone Hospital Center of Columbia,
MO
Ingredients:
8 oz. uncooked spaghetti
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup sliced green onions
1/2 tsp. dried basil leaves
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
New Oral Medication Update
NEW ORAL DIABETES MEDICATIONS:
AN UPDATE
by Peter J. Nebergall,
PhD
The pace of change is very fast in diabetes,
perhaps fastest in the area of oral diabetes medications. Last issue, I discussed the
different types of "oral meds," but that data may soon be out of date. Here is
some new information:
Much of the new development is taking place in
the class of drugs I call "insulin sensitizers," those medications acting to
National Public Radio-Montana
NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO
HEARS FROM MONTANA'S BLIND
When Montana Association for the Blind
Missoula chapter member Dan Burke heard a commentator on National Public Radio's
"Morning Edition" describe author James Thurber as "imprisoned
by his blindness," he responded with a letter. A few short weeks later
a portion of his letter was read on the same program.
Imprisoned by his blindness? Ah, the prisons of
Fungus: Key to Diabetes Pill
FUNGUS MAY HOLD KEY TO
DIABETES PILL
by Denise Mann
NEW YORK, May 6 (Copyright Reuters Limited 1999;
reprinted with permission)--Scientists have found a promising, oral alternative to insulin
injections for insulin-dependent diabetics.
Researchers led by Dr. Bei Zhang, a senior
research fellow at Merck Research Laboratory in Rahway, New Jersey, report that a compound
derived from a fungus found on leaves from the African Congo can mimic the effects of
Resource Column
WHAT YOU ALWAYS WANTED
TO KNOW BUT DIDN'T KNOW WHERE TO ASK
(Resource Column)
Inclusion of materials in this publication
is for information only and does not imply endorsement by the Diabetes Action
Network of the NFB.
DIABETES BOOK AVAILABLE IN SPANISH
"Serving Individuals with Diabetes Who are
Blind or Visually Impaired: A Resource Guide for Vocational Rehabilitation
Counselors": is a diabetes and blindness reference for rehabilitation professionals,