End of the diabetes jab? New insulin implant controls blood glucose levels without injections

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2545180/The-end-diabetes-jabs-New-insulin-implant-controls-blood-glucose-levels-without-injections.html
EMMA INNES

Insulin injections for diabetics could soon be a thing of the past thanks to the creation of a revolutionary new implant.

The device, which has been created by British scientists, works like an artificial pancreas by releasing insulin into the bloodstream.

It can be implanted into the abdomen from where it releases a precise amount of insulin meaning injections are no longer needed.

A new abdominal implant could spell the end of insulin injections for people with diabetes

The supplies of insulin in the implant can be topped up every two weeks using a tube which passes out through the skin.

The wristwatch-size device was created by scientists at De Montfort University, in Leicester.

They say it is the next best thing to a cure for diabetes because it means the patient no longer has to manage the condition themselves.

Professor Joan Taylor, professor of pharmacy at De Montfort University in Leicester, said: ‘The device will not only remove the need to manually inject insulin, but will also ensure that perfect doses are administrated each and every time.

‘By controlling blood glucose so effectively, we should be able to help reduce related health problems.

‘We are extremely close to embarking on clinical trials. Diabetes is costing society more than £1 million an hour in treatment, and much of that is spent on treating complications.’

Human trials of the device are due to begin in 2016 and the researchers hope the first implants will take place on the NHS within a decade.

The implant, which has to be inserted surgically, contains a reservoir of insulin that is kept in place by a gel barrier.

The implant was invented by Professor Joan Taylor (left) who says it is as good as a cure for diabetes as it means patients no longer need to monitor and control their condition themselves

The researchers hope their device could save millions of people from daily insulin injections (pictured) and that it could help to prevent the health problems associated with poor diabetes management

When glucose levels in the body rise, the gel liquefies and releases insulin into the body, mimicking the normal behaviour of a pancreas.

As the insulin lowers the glucose levels, the gel reacts by hardening again and preserving the reservoir. 

It would eliminate the need for diabetics to inject insulin up to four times a day.  

The artificial pancreas could help all type 1 insulin-dependent diabetics and some type 2 diabetics who need daily injections. 

‘This device is cheap and simple to use,’ said Professor Taylor. ‘It has the potential to bring an end to the misery of daily injections for diabetics.’

Why shift work is linked to so many health problems such as cancer and diabetes: Study finds it damages 1,500 genes

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2542780/Working-shifts-damage-1-500-genes-New-finding-explain-shift-work-associated-health-problems.html
 EMMA INNES


Shift work is thought to increase risk of cancer, heart disease and diabetes - and scientists say the finding that it damaged 1,500 genes may explain why

Shift work could damage almost 1,500 genes - explaining why it has been linked to a range of health problems, a study shows.

Disruption to the timing of sleep - also caused by jet lag - is feared to increase the risk of breast cancer, heart disease, diabetes and other life-threatening illnesses.

The researchers found disrupting the body’s natural 24 hour cycle disturbed the rhythm of genes.

To assess the effect on the body of this disruption, researchers placed 22 participants on a 28-hour day schedule without a natural light-dark cycle.

As a result their sleep-wake cycle was delayed by four hours each day until they were sleeping 12 hours out of sync with a normal day.

Blood samples showed that after this experiment the volunteers had a six-fold reduction in the number of genes that displayed a ‘circadian rhythm’ - a rhythm with an approximately 24 hour period.

Professor Derk-Jan Dijk, of the Sleep Research Centre at the University of Surrey, said: ‘We have found about six per cent of genes have a circadian rhythm - this means their activity is higher at certain times of the day than others.

One study showed night shifts triple the risk of heart disease. Mental health problems, cancer, depression, diabetes, obesity and strokes have also been linked to poor sleeping habits

‘We think those triggered mainly by day could be concerned with the immune function and those at night are involved in regulating other genes.

‘The study has important implications because we now need to discover why these rhythms exist and think about the consequences of that.

‘If we put people through these protocols we are influencing very basic processes deep down which could explain why shift work has been implicated in increasing the risk of a range of health problems.’

The human body is believed to have about 24,000 genes - suggesting more than 1,400 could be vulnerable to a change in sleeping habits. 

Professor Dijk said all the participants were in their 20s and the study was carried out in very carefully controlled lab conditions.

He said: ‘It would be nice to involve more people but you can see why this would be quite difficult. We were taking blood samples round the clock. It’s a trade-off.’

He hopes his findings, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, will be a ‘stepping stone’ to larger studies in the future.

Professor Dijk said: ‘By disrupting sleep - and eating patterns - we are changing molecular processes by causing disturbances in the rhythm of genes.

‘This research may help us understand the negative health outcomes associated with shift work, jet lag and other conditions in which the rhythms of our genes are disrupted.

‘The results also imply sleep-wake schedules can be used to influence rhythmicity in many biological processes which may be very relevant for conditions in which our body clocks are altered such as in ageing.’

Doctors have been worried for years that our 24/7 culture could have unintended consequences for human health with more than four million people – 17 per cent of employees - in the UK now working shifts.

One study showed night shifts triple the risk of heart disease while mental health problems, cancer, depression, diabetes, obesity and strokes have also been linked to poor sleeping habits.

Study co-author Dr Simon Archer said: ‘Over 97 per cent of rhythmic genes become out of sync with mistimed sleep which really explains why we feel so bad during jet lag or if we have to work irregular shifts.’

Why lie-ins may run in the family: Being an early bird or night owl could depend on your genes

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2542392/Why-lie-ins-run-family-Being-early-bird-night-owl-depend-genes.html

Whether you prefer an early night and rise the crack of dawn - or stay up late and lie in half the day - could depend on your genes, according to new research.

Experts believe our genetic make-up determines exactly whether we are early or late risers - dubbed larks and owls.

Neurogeneticist Dr Louis Ptacek, of University of California, says understanding a person’s chronotype - the time of day they function best - can help us live more healthily.

Whether you're an early riser or a late sleeper may be down to genetics, experts say (library image)


The hypothalamus controls all kinds of bodily functions, from releasing hormones to regulating our temperature and water intake. This internal clock is reset every day by light.


People who get up early are dubbed 'larks' and late sleepers 'owls' in the research by scientists at University of California

You might expect that since the earth’s day lasts 24 hours, everyone’s clocks would run to a similar schedule. But they don’t. That’s why there are larks and owls.

Families of extreme owls, with Familial Delayed Sleep Phase syndrome, were found to have a different mutation in the same genes.

Rick Neubig, a professor of pharmacology in Michigan, said he is an extreme lark.

‘People I communicated with in Europe will always notice that they get emails from me very early in the morning. The other thing I like a lot which fits in with the early mornings is that I’m a fairly serious bird watcher.

‘It’s much easier for me than other people to get up and see the birds at dawn.’

He said his early starts run in the family.

‘My mother would always drag us out of bed at 4 in the morning to go on vacation, and my daughter works out early in the morning.’

Dr Louis Ptacek, who is studying families like Rick’s that have Familial Advanced Sleep Phase syndrome, said he started researching sleep patterns after his colleague Dr Chris Jones met a 69-year-old who was worried about waking up very early.

Dr Ptacek said: ‘We recognised this was a strong genetic trait. We found the mutated gene resided near the end of chromosome 2.’

Prof Derk-Jan Dijk, Head of the University of Surrey’s Sleep Research Centre, said: ‘If you have a fast clock you like to do things early, and if you have a slow clock you like to do things late.’

Sugar is 'the new tobacco': Health chiefs tell food giants to slash levels by a third

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2536180/Sugar-new-tobacco-Health-chiefs-tell-food-giants-slash-levels-third.html
By SEAN POULTER

Food giants are being told to cut the amount of sugar they use because it has become the ‘new tobacco’.

Doctors and academics say levels must be reduced by up to 30 per cent to halt a wave of disease and death.

They found that even zero-fat yoghurts can contain five teaspoons of sugar, while a can of Heinz tomato soup has four.

Doctors and academics say levels must be reduced by up to 30 per cent to halt a wave of disease and death

The equivalent of 11 teaspoons are found in a small Starbucks caramel Frappuccino with whipped cream. A Mars bar has eight. 

‘Sugar is the new tobacco,’ said Simon Capewell, professor of clinical epidemiology at the University of Liverpool.

‘Everywhere, sugary drinks and junk foods are now pressed on unsuspecting parents and children by a cynical  industry focused on profit not health. 

The obesity epidemic is generating a huge burden of disease and death. 

Obesity and diabetes already cost the UK over £5billion a year. Without regulation, these costs will exceed £50billion by 2050.’

Doctors found that even zero-fat yoghurts can contain five teaspoons of sugar, while a can of Heinz tomato soup has four

Professor Capewell is part of a new US-UK campaign group – Action on Sugar – that says asking firms to make voluntary changes has failed. 

The typical Briton consumes 12 teaspoons of sugar a day and some adults consume as many as 46.

The maximum intake recommended by the World Health Organisation is ten, although this guideline is likely to be halved.

The UN agency says there is ‘overwhelming evidence coming out about sugar-sweetened beverages and other sugar consumption’ being linked to obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

A study by Action on Sugar found surprisingly high levels of sugar in many foods, including savoury products and healthy options.

The Pret a Manger Very Berry Latte with milk has 26.9g of sugar – the equivalent of seven teaspoons. Yeo Valley Family Farm 0% Fat Vanilla Yogurt has five.

Sweet: A Mars bar has eight teaspoons of sugar while a tin of Heinz tomato soup has four

Even Glaceau Vitamin Water, which is owned by Coca-Cola, has the equivalent of four teaspoons of sugar in a 500ml bottle. 

Action of Sugar said food firms should be able to reduce the amount of sugar they add to products by 20 to 30 per cent within three to five years, taking 100 calories a day out of the typical diet. 

This would be enough to halt or even reverse rising levels of obesity and associated ill-health, it claimed.

Graham MacGregor, a professor at the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine in London and chairman of Action on Sugar, said: ‘We must now tackle the obesity epidemic both in the UK and worldwide. 

‘We must start a coherent and structured plan to slowly reduce the amount of calories people consume by slowly taking out added sugar from foods and soft drinks.

‘This is a simple plan which gives a level playing field to the food industry, and must be adopted by the Department of Health to reduce the completely unnecessary and very large amounts of sugar the food and soft drink industry is adding to our foods.’ 

Dr Aseem , the group’s science director, said: ‘Added sugar has no nutritional value whatsoever, and causes no feeling of satiety.

‘Aside from being a major cause of obesity, there is increasing evidence that added sugar increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and fatty liver.

‘We must particularly protect children from this public health hazard and the food industry needs to immediately reduce the amount of sugar that they are adding, particularly to children’s foods, and stop targeting children with massive advertising for high calorie snacks and soft drinks.’ 

But sugar manufacturers rejected the claims of the health experts saying they were not supported by the consensus of scientific evidence.

Sugar Nutrition UK said the World Health Organisation published a review last year that found that any link between diabetes and body weight was due to overconsumption of calories and was not specific to sugar.

It said: ‘There have also been numerous studies, which have investigated potential links between sugar and diabetes, with experts from the British Dietetic Association, European Food Safety Authority, and Institute of Medicine being very clear that diabetes is not caused by eating sugar.

Respected expert committees have reviewed the evidence over many years and all have concluded that the balance of available evidence does not implicate sugar in any of the so-called lifestyle diseases.’ 

And Barbara Gallani, of the Food and Drink Federation, an industry group, also denied sugar was responsible for obesity.

She said the industry already provided clear information on sugar levels to consumers, using figures and colour-coded labels.

‘Sugars, or any other nutrient for that matter, consumed as part of a varied and balanced diet are not a cause of obesity, to which there is no simple or single solution,’ she added.

Professor Shrinath Reddy, a cardiologist at the Harvard School of Public Health and member of the WHO panel of experts, disputed this conclusion.

He said there was ‘overwhelming evidence coming out about sugar-sweetened beverages and other sugar consumption links to obesity, diabetes and even cardiovascular disease’. 

Yoni Freedhoff, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Ottawa, said sugar needed again to become an occasional treat rather than a regular ‘crutch’.

He said that added sugar had found its way into virtually everything we eat.