No huge diabetes news this week, but lots of lesser advances in every variety of the disease and many possible treatments. Feel free to add any news that has come your way. I’m still testing possibilities for diet, but I don’t have any results to report to you this time.
A breakthrough in treating insulin-resistant disorders such as type 2 diabetes has been discovered at the Olefsky lab at UC San Diego.
Olefsky and his team of researchers were able to isolate the positive and negative effects from a popular TZD drug.
“The exosomes don’t have those side effects. So they don’t cause body weight gain, and they don’t cause fluid retention. And those are the two main reasons why the other drugs are not being used. So we can avoid at least those side effects and still retain all the beneficial effects the metabolic beneficial effects,” said Olefsky.
The Atlantic [paywalled]
The long-term effects of GLP-1 drugs are unknown.
New research has identified a genetic variant amongst 7.6% of people of South Asian heritage that affects the results of the HbA1c test. People with this gene were found to have falsely lower HbA1c levels and differences in their full blood count.
According to the findings, people who had one copy of the genetic variant were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes on average one year later. Those with two copies were diagnosed on average two years later than those without the genetic variant.
The findings will be presented at the Diabetes UK Professional Conference 2024.
News-Medical
Systematic review in Clinical Nutrition analyzed randomized trials to assess the impact of prebiotics and synbiotics on glycemic control in patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes (T1D).
Synbiotics are combinations of probiotics and prebiotics. Probiotics are live microorganisms. Prebiotics stimulate growth of intestinal microbiota.
Medscape
New data showed considerable intrapersonal variability in fasting glucose and suggested that CGM adds important information.
- Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) data provide a more comprehensive characterization of glucose values than fasting glucose (FG) measurement alone.
- Considerable FG variability was seen even in the same individual, suggesting CGM can improve diabetes diagnostic precision.
More work is needed to determine which prediabetics would benefit most from continuous monitoring rather than a few fingersticks each day. I would have been one of them if there had been such a thing in 1997.
Clinical Trials
diaTribe.org
Phase 2 trial of BMF-219 by Biomea Fusion studies insulin sensitivity and beta cell regeneration in Type 1 Diabetes.
A trial is recruiting adults with type 1 diabetes to investigate BMF-219, a new oral medication that stimulates beta cell growth. The drug has already shown promising results in type 2 diabetes, improving time in range and glycemic control.
Join a Clinical Trial Investigating a New Medication to Prevent Nighttime Lows
The study is investigating whether an injectable drug, ZT-01, could prevent nighttime hypoglycemia in people with type 1 diabetes. Participate and shape the future of diabetes care.