Diabetes News

A new study from Northwestern Medicine found that the 2015 diabetes screening guidelines from the United States Preventive Service Task Force missed 55% of high-risk individuals with prediabetes or diabetes. The guidelines recommend patients be screened for diabetes if they are between 40 and 70 years old and are overweight or obese. But the study found many patients outside those age and weight ranges develop diabetes, especially racial and ethnic minorities.

A new study of 15 adult patients with type 2 diabetes and hypertriglyceridemia has found that profoundly lowering triglycerides improves insulin sensitivity over time, which helps them maintain healthy glucose levels. Volanesorsen, an experimental lipid-lowering medication, improved insulin sensitivity and glucose control by significantly decreasing patients' overall hemoglobin A1c—the standard clinical measurement of blood glucose levels for diabetics—in a new study reported by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The results are published online this month in Diabetes Care.

New research indicates that diabetes and kidney disease may increase African Americans' risk of stroke and coronary heart disease, as well as their risk of dying from cardiovascular causes. The findings, which appear in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN), suggest that assessing kidney function, especially among African Americans with diabetes, may be helpful for identifying individuals with elevated cardiovascular risks.

Intensive attempts to lower glucose levels in diabetes patients can lead to serious harm for patients, particularly for older patients with other medical conditions, according to a new study from the Mayo Clinic. They findings from the study were published online on June 6 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

A new study at at Queen’s University Belfast will examine DNA samples from 20,000 people with diabetes to help identify the genetic factors in diabetic kidney disease, the leading cause of kidney failure worldwide.

Diabetic kidney damage may start much earlier than previously thought, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Kidney Diseases.

Diets rich in potassium may help protect the heart and kidney health of patients with type 2 diabetes, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN).

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Relypsa, Inc.'s Veltassa (patiromer for oral suspension) to treat hyperkalemia. Veltassa is the first new medicine to treat hyperkalemia in more than 50 years.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Tresiba (insulin degludec injection) and Ryzodeg 70/30 (insulin degludec/insulin aspart injection) to improve blood sugar (glucose) control in adults with diabetes mellitus. Both drugs are manufactured by Novo Nordisk in Plainsboro, New Jersey.

Patiromer FOS, made by Relypsa Inc., significantly reduced blood potassium from baseline levels in patients with moderate-to-severe hyperkalemia (mean blood potassium levels at baseline: 5.93 mEq/L), who had chronic kidney disease and were taking at least one renin angiotensin aldosterone system (RAAS) inhibitor, according to a study published Sept. 16 in Kidney International.