November 23, 2004 – As Diabetes Month draws to a close, here are the results of some research, some of which gives people with diabetes some hope, while others point to new risks.
The HISS
In terms of the good news, a Winnipeg laboratory – specializing in the manufacture of drugs – claims to have isolated a hormone secreted by the liver that could detect symptoms of type II diabetes up to 15 years before they appear. Until now, scientists believed that the only clue that the body was managing glucose was insulin. However, it seems that this hepatic hormone – called HISS (hepatic insulin-sensitizing substance) – can also play this role.
The feet
On another note, careful monitoring of the temperature of the feet would allow diabetics at risk to avoid complications attributable to ulcers of the lower limbs, including amputation. A study1 conducted at the Texas A&M Health Science Center, with 44 patients, showed that before the appearance of a foot ulcer, the foot had a temperature of at least 2.2 oC (4 oF) more than the other foot. Among the patients who monitored this warning sign, only one experienced complications, compared to nine in the group whose patients did not monitor their feet temperature.
In addition, two new risk factors have recently been identified by scientists with regard to diabetes.
Vitamin C
First, researchers at the University of Minnesota followed2 in 2,000 postmenopausal diabetic women. They found that compared to those who took no vitamin C supplements, those who took a high dose (300 mg per day) were twice as likely to die from a heart attack or stroke. (Stroke). Note that the recommended daily dose of vitamin C is 90 mg for men and 75 mg for women.
Premature babies
Finally, premature birth could be a predisposing factor to insulin resistance in childhood. From blood samples provided by children aged 4 to 10, New Zealand researchers3 analyzed the action of insulin in 50 children born prematurely as well as in 22 other children born at term. They observed that regardless of the weight of premature infants at birth, they all presented some form of insulin resistance, compared to the control group.
For more information on this disease, see our special section on diabetes.
Martin LaSalle – PasseportSanté.net
According to Reuters and Radio-Canada.
1. Lavery LA, Higgins KR, Lanctot DR, Constantinides GP, Zamorano RG, Armstrong DG, Athanasiou KA, Agrawal CM, Home monitoring of foot skin temperatures to prevent ulceration, Diabetes Care, November 2004, Vol. 27, No. 11, 2642-7.
2. Lee DH, Folsom AR, Harnack L, Halliwell B, Jacobs DR Jr, Does supplemental vitamin C increase cardiovascular disease risk in women with diabetes?, Am J Clin Nutr. November 2004, Vol. 80, No 5, 1194-200.
3. Hofman PL, Regan F, Jackson WE, Jefferies C, Knight DB, Robinson EM, Cutfield WS, Premature Birth and Later Insulin Resistance, New England Journal of Medicine, November 18, 2004, Vol. 351, No. 21, 2179-86.
