Diabetes News and Treatment
Coffee Can Curb Diabetes Risks
UCLA — Researchers at UCLA have discovered that coffee’s protective effects against Type 2 diabetes may be attributed to a protein that regulates sex hormones.
Sex hormone-binding globulin, or SHBG, regulates and biologically activates male and female sex hormones, which are commonly thought to play a crucial role in the development of Type 2 diabetes. By increasing coffee consumption, SHBG levels increase, lowering the subject’s risk of developing diabetes.
In a press release, UCLA professor of epidemiology Simon Liu and doctoral student Atsushi Goto reported that women who consumed four cups of coffee each day were 56 percent less likely to develop Type 2 diabetes compared to nondrinkers. The coffee-drinkers were found to have higher concentrations of SHBG in their blood than those who abstained from the caffeinated beverage.
According to Goto, the study’s findings are not correlated to decaffeinated coffee.
“Consumption of decaffeinated coffee was not significantly associated with SHBG levels, nor diabetes risk, so you probably have to go for the octane!” Goto said in a press release.
Old Drug Helps Alcohol Addicts
UC San Francisco — A group of scientists at UC San Francisco recently published a study of an FDA-approved drug that could potentially treat alcoholism.
Chlorzoxazone, commonly prescribed as a muscle relaxant, has been confirmed to decrease alcohol consumption in heavy-drinking rats. According to lead author Woody Hopf, an assistant adjunct professor of neurology at UCSF, the drug could reduce neuronal excitability in a region of the brain’s reward system known as the nucleus accumbens, which perpetuates cravings for alcohol or other addictive substances.
In their current study, Hopf and his colleagues discovered that rats that drink heavily have fewer SK channels — ion channels that allow potassium to pass across a cell membrane — in their neurons than rats that do not drink heavily. Chlorzoxazone was found to activate those SK channels, resulting in a loss of excitability of the nucleus accumbens, which plays a large part in addiction and pleasure as well as the suppression of alcohol consumption in heavy-drinking rats.
“Chlorzoxazone might be exactly the kind of drug to take the edge off that craving, without side effects.” Hopf said in a press release.
According to Hopf, the next step is clinical trials, which he said can be expected to begin immediately, as the drug has already been approved by the FDA.
Geneticists Gaze Into Gut Genome
UC Berkeley — Scientists at UC Berkeley have sequenced the genomes of microbes that exist within the gut of prematurely born infants in order to achieve a better understanding of the intestinal problems that commonly plague the population.
Researchers are still unsure if the diseases, including deadly necrotizing enterocolitis, or NEC, are caused by bacterial pathogens or imbalances within the population of organisms that live within the gut of premature infants.
As infants mature, the populations of organisms that reside in their gut change dynamically as various microbes compete for biological dominance. Babies born prematurely may have eccentricities in their cycle that lead to the proliferation of disease-causing bacteria, possibly resulting in illness.
According to assistant professor of surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Michael J. Morowitz, in order to gain a better understanding of the microbe populations, an analysis of normal, healthy microbial population dynamics is needed before disease-causing factors can be found.
“It’s become very apparent that there are some fundamental unanswered questions just about the colonization process under normal circumstances,” Morowitz said in a press release. “It’s really important to get a handle on what the normal process is first, and then, eventually, we can look closely at babies with NEC and see if they deviate from what appears to be the normal colonization process.”
Jill Banfield, a professor of earth and planetary science and of environmental science, policy and management at UC Berkeley, said in a press release that a full genome sequence is needed due to the possibility of even a few genes having strong implications for the character of the bacteria.
“We already know that just a few genes can make one strain a pathogen and one beneficial or commensal,” Banfield said. “We expect that a lot of the issues with the colonization process in the gut that leads to disease may be tracked to subtle differences in strains.”
Glaxo Sets Aside Over £2bn to Cover Legal Fees
18 January 2011 – The global pharmaceutical group GlaxoSmithKline has set aside £2.2 billion during the fourth quarter of 2010 to cover possible legal fees related to its diabetes drug Avandia.
The European authorities banned Avandia during 2010 while its use has been restricted in the United States due to a suspected link to heart disease, according to news reports.
The drug giant said in a statement that the £2.2 billion charge primarily relates to “additional provisioning” which is related to a US state investigation into the group’s US sales, promotional activities and product liability cases related to Avandia.
Such legal fees are an occupational hazard for large drug groups operating in the complex pharmaceuticals market which has weathered the global economic downturn relatively well.
Outside the US, the Asia Pacific region is emerging as the fastest growing pharmaceutical industry in the global arena, according to a new report, entitled “Asia Pacific Pharma Sector Analysis”.
The region’s low labor and manufacturing costs have attracted huge investments from the global giants, including GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer among other companies.
In combination with increasing disposable income of regional consumers and the increasing prevalence of lifestyle diseases, these factors will help the market to grow at double digit growth rate during the forecast years, according to the report which provides a comprehensive overview of the sector in the region.
Research and Markets: China Diabetes Management Devices Market Opportunity, Growth Trends & Forecasts Till 2016
The Market Intelligence report provides critical market data for China diabetes management devices market and its product categories. The data includes market size in terms of value and volume; average selling price for each product type, growth trends and market shares of companies at sector and category level. Its vital cross category comparison and cross sub-category comparison section makes analysis very handy for company professionals. The report helps professionals in mapping market size, competition, understanding historic and future growth trends. It covers important categories such as blood glucose monitoring systems and insulin delivery devices.
Market size in terms of value ($) and volume (units), for each level of segmentation from 2005 to 2010 and forecast till 2016.
Market growth in terms of value ($) and volume (units), for each level of segmentation from 2005 to 2010 and forecast till 2016.
Competitive Analysis: Market share (%) of companies is covered at sector and category level for 2010.
Pricing Analysis: Average selling price ($) for each product type from 2005 2010 and forecast till 2016.
Cross category comparison and cross sub-category comparison Forecast and historic market growth and market size comparison for various categories and sub-categories from 2005 to 2010 and 2010 to 2016.
We update this product from time to time in order to provide you with the most recent information. This process may take 24 to 36 hrs.
Key Topics Covered:
Introduction
Scope of the Report
Chinese Market for Diabetes Management Devices (2005-2016)
Definitions
Diabetes Management Devices
Blood Glucose Monitoring Systems
Insulin Delivery Devices
Diabetes Management Devices Overall Revenue ($ mn) by Category, (2005-2016)
Diabetes Management Devices Overall Company Shares, 2010
Chinese Market for Blood Glucose Monitoring Systems (2005-2016)
Definitions
Blood Glucose Monitoring Systems
Blood Glucose Meters
Blood Glucose Test Strips
Continuous Glucose Monitoring Systems
Blood Glucose Monitoring Systems Revenue ($ mn) by Sub-Category, (2005-2016)
Blood Glucose Monitoring Systems Volume (Units) by Sub-Category, (2005-2016)
Blood Glucose Monitoring Systems Average Price ($), (2005-2016)
Blood Glucose Monitoring Systems Company Share (%), 2010
Chinese Market for Insulin Delivery Devices (2005-2016)
Definitions
Insulin Delivery Devices
Insulin Pens
Reusable Insulin Pens
Disposable Insulin Pens
Insulin Syringes
Insulin Pumps
Insulin Delivery Devices Revenue ($ mn) by Sub-Category, (2005-2016)
Insulin Delivery Devices Volume (Units) by Sub-Category, (2005-2016)
Insulin Delivery Devices Average Price ($), (2005-2016)
Insulin Delivery Devices Company Shares (%), 2010
Appendix
Research Methodology
Contact us
Disclaimer
Companies Mentioned:
Abbott Laboratories
Animas Corporation
Apex Biotechnology Corp
ARKRAY, Inc.
AViTA Corporation
Bayer HealthCare AG
Becton, Dickinson and Company
BIONIME Corporation
Eli Lilly and Company
F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd
LifeScan, Inc.
Medtronic, Inc.
Novo Nordisk A/S
San Meditech(Huzhou)Co.,Ltd
Sanofi-Aventis
Smiths Medical
Terumo Corporation