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Continuous glucose monitoring to improve health in non-diabetics
For instance, in the Hall et al. study cited above, those with a glucotype associated with the largest fluctuations in blood glucose – roughly 24% of all normoglycemic participants tested – were found to spend roughly 15% of their time (over a 2-4 week test period) with glucose levels exceeding the threshold for prediabetes, demonstrating how even those considered metabolically healthy can have subclinical metabolic dysregulation that would likely be missed by a one-time blood glucose measurement.
Small rises in blood glucose trigger big changes in insulin-producing cells -- ScienceDaily
In a paper recently published in Molecular Metabolism, Weir's lab laid out a wealth of new data about how beta cells behave at slightly raised levels of blood glucose. The work provides major additional evidence of a "glucose toxicity" effect that helps to drive the development of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
Studying beta cells in lab rats whose blood glucose levels were slightly elevated, Weir's lab found changes in gene expression that affect not just how well the cells function but their ability to divide and grow, as well as their vulnerability to autoimmunity and inflammation.
Weir, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, has long studied a puzzling type 2 diabetes phenomenon called first-phase insulin release and how this release is shut down as the disease progresses.
In healthy people with normal blood glucose levels, Weir explains, the body responds quickly to glucose with a big spike of insulin secretion. "If then you take people who have slightly higher glucose levels, above 100 mg/dl, which is still not even diabetes, this first-phase insulin release is impaired," he says. "And when the level gets above 115 mg/dl, it's gone. So virtually all the beta cells don't respond to that acute stimulus." Fortunately, the cells eventually do wake up and respond to other stimuli well enough to keep blood glucose in a prediabetic range.
Verily tangos with a health tech partner — and steps on a few toes - STAT
In his presentation, Conrad described tremendous potential for its work with Dexcom to help patients connect factors like diet and exercise with their blood sugar levels. And he showed an image of the new device, which is smaller than a quarter and called the G7.
Conrad also announced — for the first time — that the device contained an accelerometer, so patients could see in real time how exercise impacted their disease.
The Dexcom CEO said he was not pleased about Conrad’s decision to share the image or to announce the accelerometer. He didn’t want competitors to know about either detail, he said. More importantly, he isn’t certain the accelerometer will make it into the version of the device slated to launch at year’s end, he added.
“That is a competitive thing that I actually did not want disclosed,” said Sayer, who is known as a straight shooter. “I’d rather that not even be public. We haven’t told anybody and we weren’t planning to.”
Need to control blood sugar? There's a drink for that: Ketone supplement may control glucose by mimicking some aspects of a ketogenic diet -- ScienceDaily
"There is mounting evidence that a low carbohydrate ketogenic diet is very effective in controlling blood sugar and even reversing Type 2 diabetes," says Little. "We wanted to know what would happen if artificial ketones were given to those with obesity and at risk for Type 2 diabetes but who haven't been dieting."
To test the idea, Little and his team asked 15 people to consume a ketone drink after fasting overnight. After 30 minutes, they were then asked to drink a fluid containing 75 grams of sugar while blood samples were taken.
"It turns out that the ketone drink seemed to launch participants into a sort of pseudo-ketogenic state where they were better able to control their blood sugar levels with no changes to their insulin," explains Little. "It demonstrates that these supplements may have real potential as a valuable tool for those with Type 2 diabetes."
On the keto diet? Ditch the cheat day: Just one dose of carbohydrates can damage blood vessels -- ScienceDaily
For their test, the researchers recruited nine healthy young males and had them consume a 75-gram glucose drink before and after a seven-day high fat, low carbohydrate diet. The diet consisted of 70 per cent fat, 10 per cent carbohydrates and 20 per cent protein, similar to that of a modern ketogenic diet.
"We were originally looking for things like an inflammatory response or reduced tolerance to blood glucose," says Durrer. "What we found instead were biomarkers in the blood suggesting that vessel walls were being damaged by the sudden spike in glucose."
Little says the most likely culprit for the damage is the body's own metabolic response to excess blood sugar, which causes blood vessel cells to shed and possibly die.
"Even though these were otherwise healthy young males, when we looked at their blood vessel health after consuming the glucose drink, the results looked like they might have come from someone with poor cardiovascular health," adds Little. "It was somewhat alarming."
Light drinking may be beneficial in type 2 diabetes: Further research needed -- ScienceDaily
The authors found ten relevant RCTs involving 575 participants that were included in this review. Meta-analysis showed that alcohol consumption was associated with reduced triglyceride levels and insulin levels, but had no statistically significant effect on fasting blood glucose levels, glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c, a measure of blood glucose control), or total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein (bad) cholesterol, and high density lipoprotein (good) cholesterol.
Subgroup analysis indicated that drinking light to moderate amounts of alcohol decreased the levels of triglycerides (blood fats) and insulin in people with T2DM. Light to moderate drinking was defined by the authors as 20g or less of alcohol per day. This translates to approximately 1.5 cans of beer (330ml, 5% alcohol), a large (200ml) glass of wine (12% alcohol) or a 50ml serving of 40% alcohol spirit (for example vodka/gin).
Ketogenic Diet for Schizophrenia: Clinical Implication
Abnormal glucose and energy metabolism and mitochondrial functioning are emerging as important pathophysiological mechanism in schizophrenia. Therapeutic ketogenic diet shows promise to interfere with these processes resulting in the restoration of normal synaptic communication and alleviation of the devastating psychiatric symptoms. Furthermore, because of the impact of ketogenic diet on systemic metabolism, it is possible that the metabolic features and cardiovascular risk typical of patients with chronic schizophrenia can be addressed by this dietary intervention. However, more research is needed both at preclinical level and in the form of controlled clinical trials before ketogenic diet can take its place in the mainstream of the treatment and management of schizophrenia.
What drives inflammation in type 2 diabetes? Not glucose, says new research - ScienceBlog.com
The team was surprised to find that glycolysis wasn’t driving chronic inflammation. Instead, a combination of defects in mitochondria and elevated fat derivatives were responsible.
It's OK to indulge once in a while, study suggests: The body adapts to occasional short-term overeating: Body focuses on removing glucose to preserve insulin sensitivity in short-term overeating bout -- ScienceDaily
Although the amount of visceral fat that surrounds internal organs increased substantially, short-term overeating did not have a significant effect on the men's weight or fat mass. In addition, fasting levels of blood sugar and C-peptide -- an amino acid the body releases in response to increased production of insulin -- did not change. This finding was surprising because fasting levels of endogenous glucose -- new glucose the body produces in addition to what it has already stored for future use -- increased during the short-term trial.
Chronic overeating increased the amount of total body fat and visceral fat as well as post-meal blood sugar and C-peptide levels. However, it did not alter fasting blood sugar levels, endogenous glucose production or the rate of glucose removal from the body (glucose disposal). This may be because the nutrient profile in the long-term trial was consistent with a typical diet and dietary fat percentages did not increase. Long-term overindulgence in fatty foods, instead of more nutritionally balanced foods, may be an important factor that causes rapid changes in blood sugar control.
