Research into alternative insulin delivery methods by Chandra Sharma of Sree Chitra Triunal Institute for Medical Science and Technology has opened up a potentially groundbreaking way to deliver insulin to the body. The system makes use of nanotechnology which is fast becoming a major part of the medical research industry although this latest discovery could be a major breakthrough for diabetes sufferers.

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The Ellesmere Port branch of SpecSavers is the unlikely location for some very sound advice with regards to diabetes and the potential for sufferers to seriously affect their eyesight without knowing it. It is well known that diabetics are at greater risk of potentially going blind in later life but were you aware that a diabetic is actually 20 times more at risk than someone without the condition?

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US scientists have made what could potentially be one of the largest and most significant breakthroughs for diabetic sufferers around the world. It has been revealed that scientists are currently working on a program of pancreatic cell transplants for humans although they have taken the first steps towards this using laboratory mice. Pancreatic cell transplant is the Holy Grail for diabetic suffers as if successful it will lead to the body producing its own insulin and the need for medication will disappear. So how far have the US scientists moved ahead?

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While much of the attention regarding diabetes seems to fall on the more common type II diabetes, there is concern that some schools across the UK are failing many of the younger sufferers of today. Many people will be surprised to learn that in UK schools there are 1400 sufferers of type II diabetes and 20,000 sufferers of type I diabetes. Juvenile diabetes is on the increase in type II sufferers but there has also been a significant movement upwards for type I sufferers. So how are UK schools failing type I diabetes sufferers?

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Doctor Roger Dixon of the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada has come forward with the results of his own diabetes research which he has carried out over the last few years. He took a group of type II sufferers between the ages of 55 and 81 and tested their mental well-being and ability to carry out a number of simple tasks. The procedures tested their memory, learning and executive functions but interestingly when he redid the tests three years later with the same group the results were somewhat alarming.

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A Washington-based research programme into diabetes and dementia has uncovered a number of surprising facts which in some ways are unhelpful in the short term but longer term should assist in the treatment of both diabetes and dementia. At the moment there is no known cure for dementia, the commonest form being Alzheimer’s, as drugs of the today merely delay the onset of this most debilitating of conditions. However, it has been known for some time that diabetic sufferers are more prone to dementia than the “average” population of the world although this is the first in-depth research into how and why the brain format changes in diabetic sufferers.

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As diabetes continues to become a major problem around the world with sufferers growing in numbers year-on-year, a Canadian biotechnology company has stepped forward with what could be the solution to long-term insulin demand around the world. SemBioSys has developed a genetically modified variation of the safflower which can produce high concentrations of human insulin on a regular basis. The insulin is produced and stored in the plant seeds which can be harvested by drug companies and then potentially administered by diabetic sufferers.

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