Are you at risk for diabetes?

Definition of Diabetes

Diabetes is a disorder of metabolism, the process by which the body uses digested food for energy and growth. Most of the foods we eat are broken down into glucose, a form of sugar in the bloodstream that is used as the body's main fuel source. Insulin, the hormone produced by the pancreas, works together with glucose to help it enter the body's cells to be burned for energy. When people have diabetes, the pancreas either produces too little insulin, or the insulin produced cannot be used by the body. This prevents glucose from entering the cells, which ultimately denies the body of its main source of fuel.
Two Main Types of Diabetes

Type 1 diabetes occurs because the pancreas produces little or no insulin, which prevents glucose from entering the cells and causes high blood sugar levels. Type 1 diabetes can develop at any age, but is most common among people younger than 20 years old and must be managed by taking daily injections of insulin.

Type 2 diabetes is caused by insulin resistance, a condition in which the body cannot use the insulin produced by the pancreas. Type 2 diabetes is most common in people over age 45 and is usually associated with obesity (approximately 80% of people with type 2 diabetes are overweight), a family history of diabetes, previous history of gestational diabetes, physical inactivity and ethnicity.


Signs and Symptoms

When the body isn't processing enough glucose, the buildup is secreted into the urine, which passes out of the body. As a result, a person with diabetes will experience the following symptoms:

* Excessive thirst and appetite
* Increased urination
* Dry mouth
* Unusual weight loss or gain
* Weak, tired feeling
* Frequent yeast infections
* Blurred vision
* Numbness or tingling of the hands or feet
* Irritability
* Nausea, perhaps vomiting
* Itchiness, especially around the groin
* Slow-healing sores or cuts

People with type 1 diabetes usually develop symptoms within days or weeks, while people with type 2 diabetes often don't experience symptoms for years. Signs of diabetes may seem harmless and are often overlooked, but studies show early detection and treatment can greatly reduce the chance of complications.
Risk Factors of Diabetes

Doctors do not know why people develop RA, but it is believed to be the body's immune system attacking the tissue that lines a person's joints. More than 2 million people in the U.S. have RA. It is two to three times more common in women than men and typically develops between the ages of 20 and 50.

The following factors increase a person's chance of developing diabetes:

* Family history of diabetes
* Smoking
* Age (older than 45)
* Race or ethnic background
* Poor diet
* Diabetes during a previous pregnancy
* Being overweight, especially around the waist
* Years of heavy alcohol abuse
* History of hypertension (high blood pressure)
* Low activity level
* Abnormal blood cholesterol or triglyceride levels
* Certain drugs (these might increase blood sugar)
* History of gestational diabetes
* Delivery of a baby weighing more than 9 pounds

Managing Diabetes

While the cure for diabetes is still unknown, the goal of treatment is to keep blood sugars at a relatively even level. The main treatment for people with type 1 diabetes is exercise, a diabetic diet and daily injections of insulin. Insulin injections need to be balanced with meals and exercise, and blood sugar levels must be frequently tested.

When treating type 2 diabetes, doctors will first suggest lifestyle changes such as losing weight, following a diabetic diet and getting regular exercise. Once these measures become less effective in controlling glucose levels, oral medications are often prescribed. If oral medications are still unsuccessful, doctors may recommend insulin treatments.

Glucose levels that are excessively high or low can be extremely dangerous, even life-threatening. When blood sugar levels drop too low, a condition called hypoglycemia can occur, which causes a person to become nervous, shaky and confused. In severe cases the person may eventually lose consciousness. However, this condition can be reversed by eating or drinking something sugary, like a candy bar or glass of orange juice.

If you or someone you know has diabetes, making healthy lifestyle choices about diet, exercise and other health-related habits can improve glycemic (blood sugar) control and help prevent or minimize complications of diabetes.

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Medical Use Of IPod To Detect Heart Problems

Recent research has shown doctors can use iPods to greatly improve their stethoscope skills and their ability to diagnose heart problems.

Previous research has shown the average rate of correct heart sound identification by physicians is 40 percent.

In a new study, 149 general internists listened 400 times to five common heart murmurs during a 90-minute session with iPods. After the session, the average score improved to 80 percent.

Stethoscope proficiency -- and the ability to recognize abnormal heart sounds -- is a crucial skill for identifying dangerous heart conditions and minimizing dependence on expensive medical tests, said lead researcher Dr. Michael Barrett, clinical associate professor of medicine and cardiologist at Temple University School of Medicine and Hospital.

"It's important to know when to order a costly echocardiogram or stress test," Barrett said.

Barrett believes the best way of learning to identify heart problems is through intensive drilling and repetition, not by traditional methods, usually a classroom lecture or demonstration in medical school and then on the job.

"You don't build this proficiency by osmosis," Barrett said.

He presented the findings Monday at the American College of Cardiology's annual meeting.

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Women - Take Some Aspirin To Stay Alive

Women who take low to moderate doses of aspirin have a reduced risk of death from any cause, especially heart disease-related deaths, according to a new study published on Monday.

Researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston examined the association between aspirin use and death in 79,439 women enrolled in the study.

Beginning in 1980 and again every two years through 2004, the women were asked if they used aspirin regularly, and if so, how many tablets they typically took per week. At the beginning of the study, the women had no history of cardiovascular disease or cancer.

The study reported that a total of 45,305 women did not use aspirin; 29,132 took low to moderate doses (one to 14 standard 325-milligram tablets of aspirin per week); and 5,002 took more than 14 tablets per week.

By June 1, 2004, 9,477 of the women had died, 1,991 of heart disease and 4,469 of cancer. Women who reported using aspirin currently had a 25 percent lower risk of death from any cause than women who never used aspirin regularly.

The association was stronger for death from cardiovascular disease (women who used aspirin had a 38 percent lower risk) than for death from cancer (women who used aspirin had a 12 percent lower risk), according to the study published in the March 26 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

"Use of aspirin for one to five years was associated with significant reductions in cardiovascular mortality," said the study.

"In contrast, a significant reduction in risk of cancer deaths was not observed until after 10 years of aspirin use. The benefit associated with aspirin was confined to low and moderate doses and was significantly greater in older participants and those with more cardiac risk factors."

There are several mechanisms by which aspirin could reduce the risk of death, the authors note. "Aspirin therapy may influence cardiovascular disease and cancer through its effect on common pathogenic pathways such as inflammation, insulin resistance, oxidative stress [damage to the cells caused by oxygen exposure] and cyclo-oxygenase (COX) enzyme activity," also linked to inflammation, according to the study.

Because the study looked at women who made the decision themselves whether or not to take aspirin, as opposed to a clinical trial where women are randomly assigned to aspirin or a placebo, the results do not suggest that all women should take aspirin.

"Nevertheless, these data support a need for continued investigation of the use of aspirin for chronic disease prevention," the study concluded.

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