Stroke Risk May Be Genetic
Among white adults, stroke risk may be predicted to some degree by studying an individual's genetic makeup. A recent study indicates that one particular gene appears to increase stroke risk by 68%.
In a recent issue of Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association (volume 32, pages 822-829, April 2001), researchers from the University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center disclosed information about their study. The study included over 1,000 Americans between the ages of 45 and 64.
The researchers found that a version of the gene called GN beta-3 led to a 68% higher risk of stroke in white study participants. This same gene variant did not affect the stroke risk in African American study participants. The gene variant has already been linked to high blood pressure and obesity, but the increased stroke risk was not dependent upon these factors.
Researchers are unclear why the gene variant did not affect African American participants, particularly since African Americans have a stroke rate that is almost double that of white Americans. Also unclear was the fact that the gene variant did not increase the risk of silent strokes, which are small strokes that have no symptoms. The gene variant was only linked to ischemic strokes, which happen when arteries become blocked and the brain's blood supply is therefore cut off.
The doctors who led the study say that more research is needed before GN beta-3 can be used to definitively predict stroke risk, but that connections certainly seem to be present.
  
Weight Training Helps To Control Diabetes
For elderly people with diabetes, doctors often recommend moderate exercise like walking to help control the disease. However, new research indicates that weight training has a more direct influence on controlling blood sugar levels.
Recently, the Experimental Biology 2001 meeting was held in Orlando, Florida. At the meeting, researchers from the USDA Human Nutritional Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts presented information on the benefits of weight training in the elderly. The researchers had conducted a study of 31 Latino men and women around the age of 66.
In the study, half the participants were involved in a strength-training program that included weight and rowing machines. These participants exercised three days per week for sixteen weeks. At the conclusion of the study, researchers found that those who had done the strength-training program had better blood sugar control than those who did not participate in the program.
Additional findings indicated that those who were involved in the strength-training program also lowered their intake of saturated fat. This may be due to the fact that the training made the participants feel healthier, and therefore more inclined to modify their diet to eat healthier foods.
The research suggests that weight training may be a very beneficial way for older people with diabetes to control their disease and adopt a healthier lifestyle.
For many people with diabetes, ACE inhibitors are an essential part of managing their disease. A recent review of several studies conducted to determine the benefits of the drugs indicate that they can reduce the risk of developing diabetes in those who don't have it, help lower blood pressure and minimize the risk of heart disease.
The review of several recent ACE inhibitor studies was conducted by researchers at the State University of New York at Brooklyn, and appears in the journal Hypertension (April 2001). One of the studies included in the review found that people with high blood pressure who take ACE inhibitors had a 34% reduction in the development of diabetes. Another study indicates that people with diabetes who took ACE inhibitors had a reduction in blood pressure of about 2%, resulting in a 25% decrease in the risk of death from heart disease.
ACE inhibitors work by blocking the enzymes that cause blood vessels to constrict, which increases blood pressure. Although there have been many recorded benefits of ACE inhibitors, up to 15% of people for whom the drugs have been prescribed cannot tolerate the associated side effects, which include a persistent cough.
Lantus Compared To NPH
For people with Type 2 diabetes, two major drug therapies are Lantus, which is a long-acting analog insulin, and NPH, which is an intermediate-acting insulin. A recent study compared the two drugs for safety and efficacy.
The study was sponsored by Aventis Pharmaceuticals, and is published in the journal Diabetes Care (April 2001). Results of the study indicate that the continuous release of Lantus decreased the risk of overnight hypoglycemia, as opposed to NPH, which tends to peak at night when taken at bedtime.
The study included 518 people between the ages of 40 and 80 with Type 2 diabetes. The participants were given Lantus once a day or NPH once or twice a day for 28 weeks. Those taking Lantus had a 25% reduction in nocturnal hypoglycemia, and also had less weight gain than those taking NPH.
New Diabetes Drug Approved In Europe
The European Commission has recently granted approval for the drug company Novartis to market its diabetes drug Starlix as a treatment for Type 2 diabetes. The drug has already been approved in the United States, Switzerland, and Brazil.
Starlix has been approved for use in combination with metformin to treat the dual problems of loss of insulin secretion at mealtimes and insulin resistance that occur with Type 2 diabetes. Starlix works by stimulating early insulin secretion to stop spikes in glucose that occur after meals, while metformin acts to decrease baseline glucose levels. Starlix also reduces the risk of hypoglycemia between meals and the risk of the production of excess insulin because it responds to the levels of glucose in the bloodstream.
Helen's Outpost--Spring Renewal
May brings renewal, in my mind at least. Winter in Ohio, where I grew up, meant dead looking trees, no cheery flowers, less activity, and heavier foods. Spring meant time to spruce up the body to match the new liveliness of nature, expressed in tiny green leaves, colorful flowers, and fresh-smelling grass. Let's renew our health this season as much as we can. It's ready, set, go time--our changing world can inspire us to speed up the tempo of our care, watch for visible improvements, and let our spirits lift until we are feeling that there is some fun in our lives again!
This is excerpted from the May 2001 issue of Keeping In Touch Newsletter, and written and contributed by Helen Oswalt, leader of a support group for the Scripps Whittier Diabetes Program in San Diego, CA.
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