Paula Deen Has Public Support,Poll Shows

Despite her being excoriated in the media by everyone from rival chefs to a TV medical consultant with NBC Universal,a Yahoo poll shows the public isn't buying their bitter criticism of celebrity chef Paula Deen,who has persisted in presenting heavy Southern-style cuisine while hiding the fact that she suffers from type 2 diabetes.Asked whether she should be in the hot seat,62% of the Yahoo readers said no,people are being overly critical,while 38% said yes,she's a hypocrite.
Deen,who was diagnosed three years ago but kept the news to her family while she pondered her next move,has at the same time signed an endorsement contract with Danish pharma titan Novo Nordisk,maker of the flex pen insulin delivery device.Deen hosts the program "Paula's Best Dishes" on the Food Network cable channel.With her sons Bobby and Jamie,she is spearheading the "Diabetes in a New Light" campaign.It is an initiative to help adults find simple ways to manage everyday challenges of type 2 diabetes,the company said.
Resources of the initiative will include how to prepare diabetes-friendly food without compromising taste;incorporating physical activity into everyday life;managing stress;and working with your doctor to find a treatment plan that works for you.The Deens will create modified,diabetes-friendly versions of their favorite recipes and appear at diabetes cooking events across the country,according to Novo Nordisk.
Deen says she will also continue to present her beloved Southern cuisine for consumption in moderation.
Novo Nordisk(NVO)

A Successful Partnership:GlaxoSmithKline and Human Genome Sciences

British pharma titan GlaxoSmithKline is building on research carried out by Rockville,Maryland biotech firm Human Genome Sciences.Two of GSK's pipeline projects are based on HGS technology.
Darapladib is an inhibitor of the Lp-PLA2 enzyme,which is believed to be a risk factor for coronary heart disease and ischemic stroke.It is a potentially important new treatment for prevention of cardiovascular events.The candidate drug discovered by GSK using an HGS technology is in a Phase 3 trial for efficacy and safety of treatment.
Albiglutide is a biological product created by HGS and licensed by GSK IN 2004.It is designed to act throughout the body to help maintain blood glucose levels and control appetite.This potential long term treatment for type 2 diabetes is also in a Phase 3 trial.
HGS has a substantial financial interest in both of these GSK products which its research has had a formative influence on.
GlaxoSmithKline and Human Genome Sciences are also co-owners and developers of Benlysta,the first new lupus treatment approved in the U.S. in 50 years.
GlaxoSmithKline(GSK),Human Genome Sciences(HGSI)

Novo Nordisk Takes the Lead

Denmark's Novo Nordisk has a 51% share of the insulin market.It is their core business.In diabetes,the patient lacks enough insulin,or insulin of sufficient quality,to ensure that sugar reaches the cells rather than destructively remaining in the bloodstream.Diabetes is growing at an alarming rate,observed Lars Soerenson,Novo's CEO,which sets Novo apart from the rest of the pharmaceutical industry.
Novo's Victoza,which is delivered by a pen-like device,has insulin market leadership.It has been rolled out globally.The main treatment is a hormone.It's a balance between very powerful drugs and too low of an insulin level.Designer insulins reduce this problem.And the side effect profile is much better with designer insulins.
With poor treatment,Mr.Soerenson indicates,diabetes causes amputations,blindness and kidney disease,among other complications.Not treating it is very costly to society.Victoza costs 5-10 dollars per treatment.
The market is on the third generation of insulins.Novo Nordisk is in the lead now with the first new generation of designer insulins,Mr.Soerenson feels.
Novo Nordisk(NVO)

Exercise Counters Cell Damage

Researchers at the University of California San Francisco have confirmed that stress can cause physical damage to cell nuclei.In a stressed person,protective strips of DNA called telomeres are shortened,exposing the chromosomes they cap to unraveling.Chromosomes are rod-shaped bodies within the cell nucleus.Short telomeres are believed to be linked to diseases such as type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease,as well as premature death.
The UCSF study of post-menopausal female caregivers also found that those who engaged in vigorous exercise for as little as 42 minutes over three days did not suffer from shortened telomeres.Their physical activity seemed to protect their immune cells from the corrosive effect of stress.
The Centers For Disease Control recommend that adults get 75 minutes of vigorous exercise a week,or 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week.

Women Having More Strokes

Women aged 35-64 are about three times more likely than men of that age to have a stroke,says a new study by researchers at USC's Keck School of Medicine.They found that women had better blood pressure,homocysteine and triglyceride levels than men.On the other hand,61.9% of the women had abdominal obesity-a known stroke risk factor for women-while 50% of the men in the study did.Other stroke risk factors for women are elevated homocysteine-an amino acid-in the blood,as well as a history of heart attacks and diabetes mellitus.
Amytis Towfighi,principal investigator of the study,an assistant professor of neurology at Keck,said further investigation is needed to understand this sex disparity in mid-life stroke prevalence,which has apparently sharpened in recent years,judging by the results of an earlier study.Better management of coronary artery disease,diabetes and abdominal obesity may help middle-aged women to avoid strokes.
The study was presented at a February conference of the American Stroke Association in San Antonio,Texas.The Keck School of Medicine is a world leader in medical research and education,as well as clinical practice.

Budget Jeopardizes Student Health

In Frederick County,Maryland,school health rooms are staffed by health technicians,and these are supervised by registered nurses.Today,when an RN leaves her position,she is not being replaced for budgetary reasons.That means the RN's job must be done by the remaining nurses.RNs have gone from supervising two schools each to supervising three to four schools.As well,five schools lack a full-time health technician.When an HT isn't there,a school administrator mans the health room,rather than someone trained in the health culture.Such is the situation in this economic downturn as described by Dr.Barbara Brookmyer,Chief Public Health Officer,as she addressed a recent Board of Education meeting.She pointed out how serious this was for diabetic children,who need ongoing help with medication,glucose monitoring and so on.
BOE member Daryl F. Boffman said he was appalled that society has come to this point.Board President Kathryn B. Groth noted that some schools aren't close to an ambulance,so it could take some time for a professional emergency response.Dr.Brookmyer,who was supported by several of the school health staff who also attended the meeting,pleaded for the BOE to raise the issue with the County Commissioners,who control the purse strings.It was a scene undoubtedly being played out across the cash-strapped country,if not the developed world.

Diabetes Affects the Eye

As a metabolic disorder,diabetes affects many different organs.It can have a number of harmful effects on the eye.That is why eye care professionals may be the first to diagnose diabetes in their patients.Most distinctive is diabetic retinopathy,or damage to the blood vessels in the retina,at the back of the eye.Other diabetes-related eye problems include a 60% greater incidence of cataracts than normal-at earlier ages and with faster progression.Diabetics are 40% more likely to develop glaucoma as well.Such complications of diabetes are a leading cause of blindness.To safeguard their vision,diabetics must be vigilant in monitoring the condition of their eyes and securing needed treatment.

Aspirin May Prevent Diabetes

A study published in the American Journal of Medicine indicates that taking aspirin regularly may help prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes.In the study,22,000 men were followed for 22 years.Those who took aspirin were 14% less likely to contract type 2 diabetes.Men are up to 2.5 times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than women.Consuming 25-38 grams of fiber a day may also ward off the disease,as well as cardiovascular problems.Cereal,whole grain bread and oatmeal are good sources of fiber.

Health Uncle:Whole Grain Helps

Typically,an American eats 12 grams of fiber a day,but 25-38 grams are recommended to lower cholesterol,control weight,and prevent conditions such as diabetes and heart disease.Researchers at the University of Minnesota followed 14,000 American adults for 13 years.Their study showed that the participants who ate one extra serving of whole grains a day were seven percent less likely to experience heart failure.

Whole grain foods include oatmeal,cereal and wheat bread.Developing a taste for dark bread may help you considerably.Many oat cereals are available,including inexpensive private label cereals.The same holds true for wheat bread.

Health Uncle:Medtronic Manages Diabetes

Medtronic is deriving a good part of its growth from insulin pumps and blood glucose monitors,says CEO Bill Hawkins.It gets 10% of its topline growth from diabetes products.Ever more sophisticated devices are being developed to combat the chronic disease.Medtronic has been increasing its spending on research and development by over 70% for the past three years.In consequence,they're on the path of closing the loop with diabetes,Mr.Hawkins believes.
Bill Hawkins described a number of the company's diabetes products,such as a sensor you put on your skin for several days that continuously monitors your condition.They're making continuous insulin pumps,and also a sensor that turns the pump off if blood sugar gets too low.Medtronic is working on a pump patch for the abdomen that communicates to a handheld device.They are working toward an artificial pancreas,Mr.Hawkins revealed.Groups of pancreatic cells,the islets of Langerhans,named for 19th century German histologist Paul Langerhans,produce the hormone insulin,which regulates the body's use of carbohydrates.Diabetes is a disruption of this insulin production in the pancreas.

Health Uncle:Diabetes Alert

March 24 is Diabetes Alert Day.It's an occasion to warn people about the extent of this chronic illness,and encourage them to be screened for it.At present,around eight percent of Americans have diabetes.Of that number,more than 25% aren't aware of it.As well,some 57 million Americans are pre-diabetic.They have elevated blood glucose levels and,if they don't make lifestyle changes,are greatly at risk of developing the disease,and may even have sustained damage from their early stage of the condition.In one study,11% of pre-diabetics came down with diabetes every year.There is no cure for diabetes.Pre-diabetics have a fair chance of delaying or even preventing the full-blown illness by losing weight,eating less sugar and fat,and exercising.Weight,heredity and age are risk factors for diabetes.Diabetes screening is part of a complete physical.Consider making that appointment today.