This blog tracks updates to the Blood Sugar 101 Web site.


Friday, October 28, 2011

Free Antibody Testing Available for People with Family Members Diagnosed with Type 1

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Free Antibody Testing Available from TrailNet

An organization called Type 1 Diabetes TrialNet is sponsoring several studies which offer those with relatives diagnosed with Type 1 the opportunity to get free antibody testing. Those who have already tested positive for the antibodies can be enrolled in studies involving experimental treatments intended to delay the destruction of beta cells.

To be eligible for the screening test you must meet one of the following criteria:
  • 1 to 45 years of age and have a brother, sister, child, or parent with type 1 diabetes

  • 1 to 20 years of age and have a cousin, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, half sibling, or grandparent with type 1 diabetes
More information about the TrialNet screening and studies can be found at:
Type 1 Diabetes TrialNet: Information for Study Participants

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Added Discussion of The Toxic Effect of ACCORD Study Misinterpretations to the Blood Sugar Targets Page

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But My Doctor Says Lowering Blood Sugars is Dangerous

If you are told that lowering your blood sugars is dangerous or can cause a heart attack, the chances are that your doctor read about a study called ACCORD in a newsletter. This was a study that followed a large group of people who attempted to reach an A1c of 6.5. It was reported as concluding that those who achieved the lower A1c had a slightly higher risk of heart attack.

Subsequent analysis of the ACCORD data found two things:

  • Those who had heart attacks were those in the group attempting to lower A1c who did not achieve the lower blood sugars, and
  • The excess heart attacks occurred in those who took Avandia, a drug now known to raise heart attack risk.

Unfortunately, though the original finding received a great deal of press, the subsequent analyses explaining the result did not.

The only other study that found a problem with lowering A1c was in a group of elderly veterans who were also using the sulfonylurea drugs glipizide and glimepiride, two drugs that, like Avandia and Actos, have also been found to damage the heart over time.

There is not a single piece of research, anywhere, that suggests it's harmful to lower blood sugar by cutting down on carbohydrates. In addition, there's a lot of research suggesting that lowering blood sugars without the use of the drugs known to be harmful to the heart prevents or reverses neuropathy, retinal damage, and heart disease.

For further insight into ACCORD and links to the actual research visit:

Diabetes Update: ACCORD Redux, It's the High Blood Sugars Stupid

Diabetes Update: Avandia is sufficient to explain the excess deaths in ACCORD

You can learn more about this issue by typing "ACCORD" into the Google Search box at the upper left corner of this page.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

New Study Confirms that Post-Meal Sugars and A1c Predict Heart Disease & Mortality

Page changed: A1c and High Post-Meal Blood Sugars Predict Heart Attack

Moved discussion about cholesterol as a predictor of heart attack to the bottom of the page and edited it.

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Post-Meal Blood Sugar and A1c Predict Cardiovascular Events and Deaths

A study conducted in Italy which analyzed 14 years of blood sugar data taken from people recently diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes concluded "A1C and blood glucose 2 h after lunch but not FBG [fasting blood glucose] predict cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality." The reason only sugars after lunch were cited here is that the study did not analyze post-dinner readings, only pre-dinner readings. The methodology of this study was crude--basically they compared people who met the anemic ADA blood sugar targets with those who didn't, classifying those with post-meal readings under 180 mg/dl (10 mmol/L) as "good" and comparing them with those that were over and hence "bad." Even with this crude filter, the post-meal reading was predictive.

Postprandial Blood Glucose Predicts Cardiovascular Events and All-Cause Mortality in Type 2 Diabetes in a 14-Year Follow-Up Lessons from the San Luigi Gonzaga Diabetes StudyFranco Cavalot et al. Diabetes Care October 2011 vol. 34 no. 10 2237-2243.doi: 10.2337/dc10-2414