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04 March 2010

A message from the CEO of Diabetes Australia-NSW on Australian Government Health Reforms

The Australian Government yesterday announced major reforms to Australia’s health and hospital system.

26 February 2010

Diabetes increases dementia risk in older people

British researchers have found that older people with mild cognitive impairment are three times more likely to develop dementia if they have diabetes.

09 March 2010

Combined diet and exercise the key to improving insulin resistance

Combining diet and exercise rather than diet and exercise alone leads to significantly greater improvements in body fat distribution and insulin resistance, according to the findings of a new study.

04 March 2010

Salt intake linked with stroke, heart disease risk

A new Italian study suggests that by lowering our salt intake we could substantially reduce the amount of deaths from heart disease and stroke worldwide.

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.