Byetta works great for controlling my type 2 diabetes. Made as a synthetic version of the Gila Monster’s saliva, it assists in the way that your stomach empties, causing a slower release of glucose into your system and it also stimulates the part of the brain which sends the signal of feeling full to your stomach.

It has been shown that Byetta can cause modest weight loss in those who take it. Byetta is like an appetite suppressant and a diabetes medication all in one. To good to be true right? Right.

The FDA released a warning earlier this week advising that Byetta has been linked to 30 confirmed cases of acute inflamed pancreatitus. The drug companies, Amylin and Eli Lilly, who co-developed this product will need to add this warning to it’s Byetta warning labels.

Before we all get crazy about the FDA’s warning about Byetta let’s look at the facts:

• Over 700,000 people use Byetta twice daily and of that amount only 30 cases of pancreatitis have been presented so far
• Of the 30 cases…none involved death. That’s always a good thing.
• Only 5 of the 30 cases of pancreatitis involved more serious complications like kidney failure.
• 22 of the reported pancreatitis cases involved the patient returning to full health once the Byetta was stopped.

I also wonder if the diabetic people in India taking Byetta have been notified about this warning.

The FDA also went on to report that 27 of the 30 cases also had at least one other risk factor for pancreatitis…yeah, I think it’s called Diabetes? Anyway, it seems that while serious, pancreatitis is treatable. If you are aware of the possible risk for pancreatitis while taking Byetta you will be able to spot it at early onset.

Warning Signs Of Pancreatitis

• Pain in the upper middle part of the abdomen
• Pain in upper left or upper right of abdomen
• Pain throughout the abdomen
• Pain traveling straight to the mid-back region

A bit vague? Yes. So I guess the best advice to follow would be that if you are on Byetta and you start to experience any severe abdominal pain, in any area of the abdomen, that you contact your doctor immediately.

As for me, there was a period of a couple of days that I thought I was going to stop using Byetta all together. Then came the rise in my blood glucose level and I decided that for now, I will continue to use Byetta. The small risk of Byetta induced Pancreatitis seems acceptable faced with the alternative of having high glucose levels causing permanent damage to my organs.

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A sweet summer blockbuster guaranteed to get your blood sugar level rising.

Jason Statham stars in DIABETES

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Studies are showing that excess levels of HGH can cause some pretty serious health problems. Human Growth Hormone effects many areas of the body which includes effecting the maintenance and function of pancreatic islets. So does this mean that everyone who has used HGH will develop diabetes? Coach Wade Wilson of the Dallas Cowboys did.

No. When used appropriately human growth hormone will most likely not up your chances for developing diabetes. But, we’re not really talking about using human growth hormone appropriately are we? We’re talking about the recent investigation into professional athletes and celebrities using HGH for purposes other than what it is intended for.

Administered at higher doses the human growth hormone can have some pretty positive side effects. These include: lower body fat, increased muscle mass, increased energy, restoring elasticity in skin, positively effecting the general mood of a person, ability to health from injury quicker and the ability to fight off common illnesses more effectively. Sounds pretty good right?

Along with the good comes the bad. Here are some possible negative side effects of HGH when administered at higher doses: pituitary tumors, thickening of bones in the jaw, toes and finger known as acromegaly which in turn causes problems of it’s own, muscle weakness, INSULIN RESISTANCE, TYPE 2 DIABETES, enlarging of the heart, and reduced sexual function. Those are some pretty serious negative side effects caused by HGH. Not to mention all the bad feelings people will have toward you for some reason like all the celebrities taking HGH controversy.

Excess use of the human growth hormone is not only used by celebrities and professional athletes. Body builders have been using HGH for years to increase their muscle gain and the anti-aging aspects of HGH has been catching on like wildfire lately. I guess that’s no so surprising considering the last big craze was to inject botulism into the “problem areas” on your face in order to paralyze the muscle and create a smoother look…botox anyone?

In an age when diabetes has reached near epidemic proportions it’s alarming to me to see that there are people willingly upping their chances of developing diabetes be it for fame, their profession, or for vanity.

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More than just size, the Nanopump allows a tiny pump to be mounted on a disposable skin patch. The Nanopump will allow continuous insulin infusion. Insulin Pump Therapy is becoming one of the most attractive available alternatives to the standard insulin injection. This form of insulin delivery mimics more closely the natural secretion of insulin from the pancreas. Therefor this is a step further along the road of diabetes management.

The Nanopump by Debiotech will utilize Micro-Electro-Mechanical System technology, also referred to as MEMS. This technology basically acts as eyes and arms. MEMS technology would sense what amount of insulin is needed and then react by releasing the insulin. This is a huge breakthrough in the fight to battle diabetes. Think about it, this is basically what the pancreas does right?

Another great feature of the Nanopump by Debiotech is the increased safety it will provide. When at rest the Nanopump has a closed fluid rest and an anti-free flow system. Along with having all of the standard safety features included on current insulin pumps, the Nanopump is able to detect occlusion and air bubbles substantially quicker than other pumps.

I know, you are thinking that the Nanopump by Debiotech must cost a fortune right? Wrong. Unlike traditional insulin pumps there is no substantial upfront cost with the Nanopump. This is thanks to the Nanopump’s design. The electronics are contained in a permanent part while the reservoir and pumping mechanism are contained in a disposable part. This design makes the Nanopump affordable for every patient.

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While researchers around the world race to produce ever smaller and more effective diagnostic biochips that can be mass produced cheaply, they have been unsuccessful in finding a power source that is as small and as cheap to fabricate as the detection technology itself. IBN’s latest invention solves this problem by using the urine test sample as the power source for the testing device.

The chemical composition of urine is widely used to test for signs of various diseases and as an indicator of a person’s general state of health. For example, the concentration of glucose in urine is a useful diagnostic tool for diabetics.

According to IBN Principal Research Scientist Dr. Ki Bang Lee who heads the team, a drop of urine placed on the battery will generate enough electricity to power a biochip device, enabling the latter to analyze the urine sample for specific disease biomarkers.

Urine-Powered Batteries 2The battery consists of an anode (upper layer), cathode (middle layer) and an electron-collecting (lower) layer between laminated plastic film (not shown).
Working principle: When a droplet of urine (0.2ml) is placed on the device, the capillary force drives the urine into the cathode layer and the battery is activated.

“We are striving to develop cheap, disposable credit card-sized biochips for disease detection,” said Dr. Lee. “Our battery can be easily integrated into such devices, supplying electricity upon contact with biofluids such as urine.”

IBN’s battery unit comprises of a cathode sandwiched between an anode and an electron-collecting layer. This multi-layer unit is then held in place via a lamination process, which involves passing the battery unit between a pair of transparent plastic films through a heating roller at 120°C. The final product has a dimension of 60 mm x 30 mm, and a thickness of 1 mm.

Studies have been conducted to characterize the urine-activated battery. Using 0.2ml of urine, IBN researchers were able to generate sufficient voltage to power the device and conduct effective analysis of analytes in the biofluid (urine). They also found that the battery performances such as voltage, power or duration may be designed or adjusted by changing the geometry or the materials used.

“Our urine-activated battery would be integrated into biochip systems for healthcare diagnostic applications,” said Dr. Lee. He envisions a world where people will be able to monitor their health easily at home, seeking medical attention only when necessary. “These fully integrated biochip systems have a huge market potential,” he added.

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It is the first time an islet cell transplant from a living donor has worked. Three months after the operation at Japan’s Kyoto University Hospital, both mother and daughter are fit and well, the BBC reported Tuesday.

Islet cells have previously been taken from dead donors, but the cells were often damaged, hampering their success.

Dr. Shinichi Matsumoto said islets from living donors are more viable and more likely to function properly and using donor cells from a close relation reduces the risk of rejection.

However, the woman must take powerful drugs to stop her rejecting the new cells, according to Matsumoto.

The findings are published in the Lancet.

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The Insulin Pen also contains memory of your last 16 injections. This makes keeping your injections trackable a cinch so that you and your doctor are better able to review your diabetes history. The Insulin Pen records the date, time and the amount of diabetic insulin dose including primer dose.

There is one Insulin Pen available right now named HumaPen Memoir. This pen currently will dispense insulin in whole unit increments. It is made to work with the most prescribed mealtime insulin used in America which is the insulin lispro injection.

Being released in April is an Insulin Pen called Luxura HD which will be able to dispense insulin in half unit increments, after the first unit. This will no doubt be very popular among children with diabetes.

The release of both of these Insulin Pens is a step in the right direction for making the control of diabetes easier. Right now the management of this disease can be quite overwhelming. Current statistics show that less than half of the 15 million patients being treated for diabetes have blood sugar levels within the recommended range. This new tool will certainly help.

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Pfizer has reported that Exubera, which was an inhaled powder insulin product geared towards type1 and type2 diabetes, never found the acceptance of doctors and patients.

Pfizer announced on October 18th that they will no longer be producing Exubera, their announcement did make it clear that their discontinuation of the Inhaled Insulin Device decision was not based on any safety issues, it was totally due to lack of interest. In other words, they were not making enough money off of Exubera to make it worth producing the product any longer.

What caused such disinterest in this product? Pfizer is speculating that the bulky canister device used to administer the powered drug Exubera was a problem for patients. But do you really think that was the problem? Would people rather give themselves injections of insulin using needles than carry around a bulky container of inhaled insulin? I guess so.

What If You Are Currently Taking Exubera?

The Pfizer pharmaceutical company has made a decision to carry Exubera for the next three months. If you are currently taking Exubera you are urged to contact your doctor immediately to find an alternative product. But what other inhaled insulin products are available?

From what I can tell, the only inhaled insulin product that was even close to being released on the market is Ollinix. I found this product on a website called inhalinginsulin.com which announced that they were taking pre-orders for Ollinix’s release (date not given).

The only glitch I can see with Ollinix is that it is said to be a generic version of, you guessed it…Exubera. What impact the discontinuation of Exubera will have on the release of Ollinix is unclear. What I do know is that when I went to the actual website for Ollinix, the only text on there states: website coming soon.

New treatment options would have been nice sooner rather than later. See what Bernard and Amy have to say on this. I guess it’s back to the basics for diabetes patients who were currently using the second generation insulin in the form of an inhaled powder. For now…who knows what the future holds.

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