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03 October 2008

Take your marks for the 2009 NSW Corporate Games

It was a sea of red and yellow at the launch of the 2009 NSW Corporate Games.

01 October 2008

Young Australians healthy, but more can be done

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07 October 2008

Predictors of recurring gestational diabetes

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03 October 2008

Extra benefits from exercise for those at risk

Women with a family history of type 2 diabetes gain greater benefits from exercise than those without one.

Less hypos and DKA with insulin pumps

1 February 2008

Children who use an insulin pump have improved diabetes management, a new study has found.

German researchers from the Catholic Children's Hospital in Hamburg, who studied almost 870 children with type 1 diabetes, say the children need less insulin and have lower rates of hypoglycemia and diabetic ketoacidosis.

Diabetic ketoacidosis is caused by a severe lack of insulin with high blood glucose levels and a breakdown of fat, leading to a build up of acids, which can result in coma and death.

During the three-year study, half of the children were managed with multiple daily injections and half with an insulin pump.

The results, published in the January issue of Diabetic Medicine, show that pump users had lower HbA1c levels during the first year, compared to those having multiple daily injections.

By the third year of the study, both levels were the same.

However, those on the pump had significantly lower insulin requirements over the three-year study period.

They also decreased the rate of severe hypoglycemia by 21 per cent compared to 16 per cent in those having multiple daily injections.

Their rate of diabetic ketoacidosis was lower at the beginning of the study and remained significantly lower over the study period.

The authors note that both groups had the same intensity of care, suggesting that this did not influence the results.

They conclude that insulin pumps are a safe form of intensive insulin therapy with similar effects on blood glucose control compared to multiple daily injections, but with significantly reduced rates of hypoglycaemia and DKA and a lower insulin requirement.

To find out more about insulin pumps visit www.rch.org.au/diabetesmanual/manual.cfm?doc_id=2750.

Source:
- Jakisch et al. Comparison of continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) and multiple daily injections (MDI) in paediatric Type 1 diabetes: a multicentre matched-pair cohort analysis over 3 years. Diabet Med. 2008 Jan;25(1):80-5.