New Test For Early Diabetes In High-Risk Persons There are more than 5 million Americans with undiagnosed diabetes, and more than 41 million with prediabetes. These people sometimes go undiagnosed until they appear at the doctor's office with an established diabetes-related complication. Since much is currently known about the complications, and even more about how to prevent them, it would be very beneficial to have the capability for early diagnosis. The current accepted method for diagnosis is the cumbersome OGTT – oral glucose tolerance test. In this test the subject is given a 75 gram glucose drink and venous blood is taken prior, one hour after, and two hours after ingestion of the drink. A more simple test has been devised by Dr. Baginsky from Touro College , where the subject is given a standard high-carbohydrate breakfast from a fast food restaurant, and 2 hours after the meal capillary (finger) glucose is measured using a glucometer. This test had a positive predictive value (the ability to predict that the subject had the condition) of 85.7%, and a negative of 95.5%. This simple test will probably be utilized now in large populations that are thought to be at high risk for diabetes.     ED (Erectile Dysfunction) Drugs (e.g. Viagra) Can Be Safely Used By Many Men With Stable Coronary Heart Disease Men with ED and coronary heart disease have typically shunned the use of the Viagra-class of drugs for fear of exacerbating their heart condition and even causing a fatal complication. Most of these patients are on drugs called nitrates which typically cause dilatation of the coronary arteries. The rational behind not allowing these patients to use the Viagra drugs was based on fear that the two drugs in combination may cause a drastic decline in blood pressure and thus may precipitate a heart attack. A recent study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine reports that patients with ED and stable heart disease who were on nitrates and either a beta blocker drug or a calcium-channel blocking drug, were allowed to stop the nitrate and to take a Viagra-like drug prior to sexual activity. 22 out of 26 men who stopped the nitrates reported no adverse heart effects and a satisfactory erectile response. This study may allow the many diabetic men who typically suffer from ED to safely engage in Viagra-enhanced sexual activity. Prior consultation with your cardiologist is, of course, mandatory.
Home Psychotherapy Helps Teens Control Diabetes Teenagers with diabetes type 1 are typically very “brittle” – with wide swings of glucose levels, and consequently very difficult to treat. In a study out of Wayne State University a group of 127 adolescents with a history of poorly-controlled type 1 diabetes were randomly assigned to either standard medical care only, or to standard medical care plus 6 months of psychotherapy. The group receiving psychotherapy showed a significant improvement in blood glucose control. This seems so obvious now, but it had to be rigorously shown to be believed. In my opinion, all teens with type 1 diabetes should have the benefit of psychotherapy in order to be able to address the multiple issues that they face every day. Insulin treatment alone is never enough, sometimes the family environment is incapable of supplying the necessary support.
Special Socks Special socks, with a double-layer construction, have been shown to reduce in-shoe pressure on the underside of the foot, and cause a reduction of 5.4 kg in total foot pressure. Since increased foot pressure is causal in the occurrence of foot ulcers in the diabetic patient with neuropathy, reduction of that pressure is certainly beneficial. These special socks have a double-layer construction consisting of a padded outer layer to cushion the feet, as well as a low-friction fiber inner layer to reduce friction at the sock/foot interface. It has as yet not been shown that the rate of foot ulcers decrease in patients who wear these socks, but that's what this UK group would like to show in the future.
Yoga May Minimize Weight Gain The New York Times had an article recently reporting on a study from the July/August issue of Alternative Therapies regarding the effect of Yoga on weight control. The authors looked at a group of adults who were practicing yoga for 4 or more years, for at least 30 minutes once a week. They found that people practicing yoga had a 3.1-pound lower weight gain after age 45, if they were normal weight at that age. Those individuals who were overweight at age 45 lost an average of 5 pounds, as opposed to an average gain of 13 pounds in overweight individuals who were not practicing yoga. In addition to weight control, yoga promotes a sense of well being, and encourages commitment and discipline, all of which are important characteristics for the diabetic. Yoga may also serve as a prelude to more vigorous exercise in individuals who are in poor aerobic condition. To my knowledge no one has done any scientific study on the effect of yoga on glucose control in the diabetic patient, but considering the fact that it may contribute to weight control, it can only translate to a positive effect on glucose levels, as well. Please consider yoga seriously if you are a diabetic - at any age!
A Feel-Full Hormone Scientists at Hammersmith Hospital in London have discovered a digestive hormone that is apparently responsible for telling the brain that the body has reached satiety and it's time to stop eating. The hormone's name is Oxyntomodulin. These scientists are now conducting experiments where 3 injections a day are given to 14 volunteers. Results have been very encouraging, and the scientists are now trying to develop a pill form of the same hormone. The beauty of this product is that it is natural, and therefore will have no side effects. So far, volunteers have shown a reduction of 250 calories in daily intake.
Read Dr. Litvin's August Blogs New To The Site: Featured Products - HTTP://DIABETES-DOCTOR.COM We recently added a new area to our web site called "Featured Products." This area features novel devices that have recently been introduced into the diabetes marketplace, and have been selected for presentation because it is deemed by the staff to have definite potential to help the average diabetic patient.  Obviously, not all devices are for every patient, but we hope that enough patients will find our selection informative and helpful.  Since diabetes is unfortunately on the rise, we anticipate that in the future, there will be no lack of new devices for us to report on, and would like to encourage you to send us information about possible devices which would be suitable for presentation in this section.   With your help, we hope to disseminate this important information to all subscribers. Also, let us know how you like our site, our newsletters and Dr. Litvin's Blogs by commenting in our Guest Book. It's located in the header of our web site. Let us know if there is anything else you would like to see us do! We welcome your feedback and would love to hear what you think. Enjoy!

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