Twelve years ago, Irving Weissman discovered a treatment that might have saved the lives of thousands of women with advanced breast cancer, but pharmaceutical companies weren’t interested in developing the therapy. Though that interest is finally being reignited, Weissman doesn’t pull any punches. “I hate to say I told you so,” he said.

Weissman, a professor of pathology and developmental biology at Stanford University, spoke Wednesday and Thursday as part of the Columbia University Department of Religion’s Bampton Lecture series. The lecture series is modeled after a centuries-old Oxford series of the same name, and invites famous authorities in their respective fields to give talks on various issues of interest to the religious community.

In Wednesday’s lecture, Weissman laid out the conceptual foundation of his work—that stem cells are rare, self-renewing, and can regenerate body tissues. Weissman repeatedly expressed frustration that while many of his discoveries seemed to hold remarkable potential for life-saving treatments, commercial or regulatory hurdles have prevented his scientific research from benefiting human beings.

One example is Weissman’s mid-’90s research on type I diabetes, in which he demonstrated the ability to fully cure type I diabetes in mice using stem cells. But even though the experiments avoided political controversy by using so-called adult stem cells, which do not come from embryos, Weissman ran into a road block when pharmaceutical companies refused to sponsor clinical trials. The therapy went nowhere. Weissman implied that the pharmaceutical companies had put profit over principle, preferring to keep diabetes sufferers dependent on costly insulin than to cure them once and for all.

Source: http://www.columbiaspectator.com/2009/01/23/scientist-revives-research

New technological and scientific advances have allowed a Canadian genetics research company, Sembiosys Genetics, to develop a method to grow insulin in plants to be used by type 1 diabetics. Researchers at Sembiosys Genetics managed to insert insulin into a plant called a safflower thus causing the production of a compound called pro-insulin. After pro-insulin is produced, various enzymes are introduced to convert pro-insulin into a type of insulin known as SBS-100. Further testing of SBS-100 is required, but if successful, a new method of developing relatively low cost insulin will be discovered.

Source:http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20126902.500-insulin-grown-in-plants-gets-human-tests.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=online-news

Recent findings show that in Britain, a person is diagnosed with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes every 3 minutes! Actual statistics show that an estimated 150,000 people are diagnosed every year. This is an alarming figure because compared to the previous year that is a 50% increase (up from 100,000 newly diagnosed cases each year).

The majority of the newly diagnosed cases are in fact type 2 diabetes, the more common form of the disease. Experts attribute this increase in diabetes to unhealthy lifestyle habits. Increasing numbers of overweight citizens, and improper diet, and lack of exercise among Britain’s citizens are directly linked to this substantial increase in occurrences of the disease. Diabetes has been linked to other potentially deadly health problems including heard disease, stroke, and various neurological diseases.

These new statistics bring the total number of diabetics in Britain to around 2.5 million. While this figure is large in is not near the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate of 24 million people that have diabetes in the United States. Furthermore, experts estimate that 1 in 4 Britons are in fact obese.

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1106953/A-person-Britain-diagnosed-diabetes-THREE-minutes.html

Liberty Medical: A Diabetes Testing Supplies Company

Liberty Medical has been a trusted provider of diabetes supplies for nearly two decades. Dedicated to the utmost quality in both customer satisfaction and service, Liberty Medical provides high quality diabetes supplies to diabetics. Many patients with diabetes are unaware that they are eligible to receive all of the necessary diabetes supplies at a fraction of the cost of most diabetic supplies providers. Liberty Medical works hand-in-hand with Medicare to ensure that those diabetics that qualify receive low cost diabetes supplies delivered right to their door. Liberty Medical also ensures that there are no shipping costs associated to the delivery of diabetes supplies along with a no risk guarantee. Furthermore, in cooperation with Medicare, Liberty Medical completes all necessary Medicare forms for their patients in order to make ordering all the necessary diabetes supplies as easy and convenient as possible.

Because diabetes requires constant and comprehensive management, Liberty Medical provides a wide range and variety of diabetic testing supplies to fit the needs of every diabetic. Besides glucose meters and test strips, Liberty also offers insulin supplies, A1C Test Kits, insulin pumps, Continuous Glucose Monitoring Systems, and even CPAP products. Those patients that qualify are eligible to receive all of the aforementioned supplies for free, delivered right to their door.

In addition to the systematic monitoring of blood glucose levels for patients with type 2 diabetes, and regular insulin injections for patients with type 1 diabetes, a comprehensive lifestyle change is necessary for those diagnosed with diabetes. A healthy diet and regular exercise in conjunction with blood glucose monitoring are essential in a diabetic lifestyle. Therefore, Liberty Medical is committed to improving the health of all of its customers through their various products and services. Liberty offers a vast amount of resources to help promote a healthy diabetic lifestyle among its customers. Health Matters magazine is one of these efforts to help promote a healthy diabetic lifestyle. A subscription to the magazine is free when you join Liberty Medical. The magazine includes a multitude of information related to diabetes and diabetes management. Each issue features includes tips and articles from physicians, inspirational patient stories, and diabetes-friendly recipes and much more.

Please go to www.diabeticseniors.com for more information on Liberty Medical and diabetes.

Byetta, a diabetes drug made from the saliva of the Gila monster. Is a new FDA-approved anti-diabetic medicines and is FDA-approved that can be used to help Type 2 diabetics.

Diabetic Testing Supply Companies May Have a Solution

During these challenging economic times, many families are finding it harder and harder to afford some of the simple necessities of every day life. No longer are people putting aside and saving up money to make substantial purchases like a new house or a car. In fact, many families are being forced to frantically save money to buy items that they were previously able to afford.

With a rising cost of living, already expensive medical supplies have become increasingly unaffordable to many families. In particular, medical supplies related to diabetes have become a substantial burden. Above all, seniors with diabetes have been crushed by the high cost of diabetic testing supplies. Diabetes is a disease that requires constant attention, monitoring, and treatment. Therefore, diabetics find themselves required to purchase a multitude of testing supplies and medications. Some seniors, many of whom primarily rely on a pension as a source of income, are finding that purchasing these costly medical supplies has become nearly impossible. However, despite the grim economic outlook and increasing costs, there are options for seniors with diabetes to afford diabetic testing supplies and medication.

Several companies offer discounted and free diabetic testing supplies to seniors that are on Medicare. One of these companies is Liberty Medical, a trusted source of testing supplies to thousands of seniors with diabetes. In cooperation with Medicare, Liberty Medical is able to provide seniors with home delivered medical supplies with no shipping costs. Liberty even provides products related to diabetes complications, including foot care products. Liberty provides an affordable and convenient option to seniors struggling in today’s economy. If you are a senior struggling to afford the costs of your diabetes related medications and supplies don’t wait! Affordable and convenient supplies are available.

In a press release today Johnson & Johnson talked about the establishment of the Johnson & Johnson Diabetes Institute (JJDI). This is important diabetes news because it illustrates the growing epidemic of diabetes.

“In sheer numbers and the costs in human suffering and money spent on health care, diabetes has reached crisis proportions around the globe,” said Dr. Moritsugu, who has type I diabetes and is an advocate for improved diabetes care. “At a time when the annual direct health care costs for diabetes worldwide are estimated to be at least $232 billion, new strategies are needed to raise the level of care for people with diabetes, including stepped-up education and hands-on training of health professionals working at the local level.”

The coinciding fact that American seniors will now be enrolling for Social Security and Medicare in record numbers points to the fact that more education and training is needed to combat the diabetes epidemic in the USA and worldwide.

Seniors|Medicare|Social Security

For all the seniors out there and even the young Americans watch out. This is a very important article that showcases the reality of the American Social Security program. We need to realize that life for seniors is about to change and that programs like Medicare and Social Security may not be avaliable for ever.

With all of the advertising I see about Exubera I felt the need to provide a comprehensive list of all the relevant Exubera information that I could find.

Exubera: Is an inhaled Insulin that is produced by drug manufacturer Pfizer. Exubera is a fast acting insulin that can start working faster than traditional insulin injections. While it Exubera may help to eliminate the need for insulin injections. It by no means eliminates the need for insulin injects in diabetic patients.

Exubera Information:

http://www.drugs.com/exubera.html

http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/exubera_ad.htm

http://www.nytimes.com/

http://medguides.medicines.org.uk

Here is a list of alternative sweeteners for diabetics.

1. Stevia, a naturally sweet herb that is commonly found in health food stores in powder or liquid forms
2. Agave, cactus nectar that resembles maple syrup, also found in most health food stores
3. Xylitol, a naturally occurring sweetener found in the fibers of many fruits and vegetables that looks like typical white sugar
4. Organic raw honey, which is readily found in most stores.

This list is referencing an recent article, Controlling Type 2 Diabetes Through Diet and Exercise, from Fox News.