Content about Diabetes mellitus

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The National Community Pharmacists Association on Tuesday released results from a survey of more than 800 independent community pharmacists about the negative consequences for their patients and their businesses if diabetes testing supplies under Medicare Part B are subjected to competitive bidding prices.

“The message from our survey is clear: applying competitive bidding prices for diabetes testing supplies to independent community pharmacies is financially unsustainable for these pharmacies,” stated NCPA EVP and CEO Douglas Hoey.

BAGSVAERD, Denmark — Danish drug maker Novo Nordisk has launched a five-
volume series of e-books designed to help patients work with their healthcare providers to better manage their diabetes.


The series is part of the Cornerstones4Care patient-support program launched earlier this year, and the books will be available at such e-book sites as iBooks, Reader Store, the Nook Book Store and Free-eBooks.net toward the end of this year.


NEW YORK — A popular breast cancer treatment may pose an increased risk of diabetes among older women, according to a new study.

The research, which was published in the latest issue of Cancer, found that among more than 14,000 breast cancer survivors, ages 65 years and up, 10% were diagnosed with diabetes over a 5-year period. However, the likelihood of developing diabetes was 25% more among those taking breast cancer drug tamoxifen.

NEUHERBERG, Germany — Scientists at the Helmholtz Zentrum München have shown that people with good vitamin D status have a lower risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, according to a study released Sept. 30.

WASHINGTON — The American Pharmacists Association is marking American Pharmacists Month by pushing people to work with their pharmacists to combat and control diabetes.

The APhA is promoting services that pharmacists can provide, such as medication therapy management, counseling on physical activity and nutrition, blood-glucose monitoring and guidance on healthy behavior and health maintenance.

BASEL, Switzerland — Roche has received approval from the Food and Drug Administration for its new generation of blood-glucose test strips.

Roche said that its Accu-Chek Aviva Plus test strips are maltose-independent test strips that are designed to prevent the interference of maltose on blood-sugar readings, which can occur in rare cases when drugs containing or metabolizing to maltose are parenterally administered.

The Accu-Chek Aviva Plus test strip is cleared for patient self-monitoring of blood glucose and can be used with the Accu-Chek Aviva system.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Intensive control of blood-sugar levels beyond standard targets provides no additional protection against cognitive decline in older people with diabetes than standard treatment, according to a national study coordinated by researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center that was published online in the The Lancet Neurology.

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — As consumers and patients increasingly use social media as a healthcare tool and resource, a survey by Harvard University, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and CVS Caremark researchers found a need to improve site guidelines, as there is great variability in the standards used to ensure a site effectively provides information and answers to important health-related questions.

PRINCETON, N.J., and LA JOLLA, Calif. — Two drug makers have entered a collaboration for novel biologics programs in diabetes and heart failure.

Under the partnership, Bristol-Myers Squibb will receive exclusive worldwide rights to research, develop and commercialize biologics, based on research by Ambrx of fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF-21) protein and relaxin hormone, which potentially can treat Type 2 diabetes and heart failure, respectively.

LOS ANGELES — Researchers at the University of California Los Angeles said they have found a possible link between two new drugs for Type 2 diabetes and cancers of the pancreas and thyroid, according to a new study published in the journal Gastroenterology.

The researchers, at UCLA's Larry L. Hillblom Islet Research Center, examined incidents reported in the Food and Drug Administration's adverse event database between 2004 and 2009 among patients using Byetta (exenatide), made by Eli Lilly and Amylin Pharmaceuticals, and Merck's Januvia (sitagliptin).

LISBON, Portugal — A drug made by Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly showed "meaningful and durable" reductions in blood sugar in adults with Type 2 diabetes, according to results of a late-stage clinical trial presented Friday at a conference in Europe.