Oct

Diabetes in the News

Jo on October 22nd, 2007

Sales of Inhaled Insulin Exubera Halted
Drug Company Cites Financial Reasons for Removing Exubera From Market

Oct. 18, 2007 — The drug company Pfizer announced that it will stop selling its inhaled insulin product Exubera for financial reasons.

“Despite our best efforts, Exubera has failed to gain the acceptance of patients and physicians. We have therefore concluded that further investment in this product is unwarranted,” Jeff Kindler, Pfizer’s chairman and CEO, says in a Pfizer news release.

“We will work with physicians to transition Exubera patients to other treatment options in the next three months,” says Kindler.

Some analysts speculated the bulky canister device used to administer the powdered drug was a problem for patients

Mothers With Diabetes Parted From Newborns, UK

Mothers with diabetes are being separated from their newborn babies, according to findings out.

The Confidential Enquiry into Maternal and Child Health (CEMACH) claims that over half of newborn babies whose mothers have Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes are automatically moved to a special care baby unit.

This has negative impacts, the report warns. It says breastfeeding becomes difficult because infant formula is used and says newborns’ body temperature becomes harder to regulate as a result.

Uh? I can’t find anywhere in the article WHY they babies are removed to a special unit. The mother is the one with the diabetes. If the baby is healthy - let the child stay with its mother! OMG this smacks of so much I don’t want to get into with this post.

Is there a Type 3 Diabetes?

Research has proven that the pancreas is not the only place that insulin is produced. It is also produced in the brain. According to a study from Northwestern University, there is a link between Alzheimer’s disease and brain insulin resistance.

Breakthrough In Diabetes Treatment

DiabeCell® is a treatment for insulin-dependent diabetes which is administered to patients without the need for immunosuppressant drugs. The trial in Russia will determine whether a small dose of live microencapsulated pig islets injected into the abdominal cavity of type I diabetic patients is safe and can produce enough insulin to have a measurable effect on improving the control of blood glucose levels. Medical Director of Living Cell, Professor Bob Elliott, said two patients have been implanted with their first dose of DiabeCell® and are due for a second dose in 6 months.

Diabetes Type 1 Diabetes Type 2 Diabetes