   
New Internet Product Evaluates EyesOne of the most useful benefits of the internet is the power it provides medical personnel to evaluate people's health from a great distance. A new product developed by Inoveon accesses that power to monitor the retinas of people with diabetes. The product, known as the Inoveon Advanced Diabetic Retinopathy Evaluation Service, works by providing a central evaluation site for the retinal images taken at clinics. Once a doctor has performed the digital retinal imaging, he/she enters information regarding the level of diabetic retinopathy into the computer and sends it via the internet to the evaluation center. Results of the evaluation are then made available within one day. The service also provides clinical management guidelines. Using the internet to evaluate the eyes of people with diabetes is now being tested at a clinic in Somers, New York. Inoveon hopes to open more test sites within the year, and perhaps launch a nation-wide test of the system in 2001.
Treating Diabetes With ExerciseMost treatment plans for people with Type 2 diabetes involve changes in diet and medication. However, the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) feels that an important and underutilized aspect of treatment is that of exercise. The group has published their statement in the latest issue of the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. One of the greatest benefits of exercise is that it reverses obesity---the major cause of Type 2 diabetes. Exercise can also lower blood glucose and increase insulin sensitivity. The report recommends that people with diabetes exercise 3-5 times per week, and burn a total of 1,000 calories, equivalent to walking 10 miles a week.
Bringing Health Up To Par By GolfingA game of golf should no longer be considered merely a leisure activity. A recent study shows that golfing without using a cart is a way to improve your health. The study was conducted over a period of twenty weeks, and involved 110 male participants between the ages of 48 and 64. It was led by doctors at the Tampere Research Center of Sports Medicine in Finland, and results were published in the August issue of the American Journal of Medicine (Am J Med. 2000 Aug 1; v 109(2): pgs. 102-108). The men were all less than ten pounds overweight, but none had participated in any kind of regular exercise in the seven months preceding the study. The men were divided into two groups. One group was encouraged to play golf several times a week without using a golf cart and the other group was not encouraged to do any kind of exercise. Those in the first group played golf an average of 2 1/2 times per week, and burned an average of 1,750 calories per game. By the end of the study, they had lost an average of five pounds, decreased abdominal fat by 10%, decreased their diastolic blood pressure, lowered their LDL ("bad") cholesterol by 4%, and increased their HDL ("good") cholesterol by 5%. Researchers hope that their study will lead people to consider alternative ways of exercising, so that the process of achieving better health can actually be enjoyable.
Oral Insulin Now In DevelopmentThe pharmaceutical companies Generex Biotechnology Corporation and Eli Lilly and Company have joined together to promote the development of an oral insulin spray. The spray will be developed using the technology of Generex, which will then receive initial fees and royalties based on sales of the product. Lilly will receive the worldwide rights to products that develop from the partnership. Lilly will also conduct the clinical trials of the product, and secure FDA approval. Trials of the first product are currently in place in North America and in Europe.
Causes of Death In WomenThe leading causes of death among women as published by the National Center for Health Statistics do not include autoimmune diseases. However, some researchers feel that these disorders do indeed have a place on the list. Researchers from the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington have published their findings in the American Journal of Public Health (volume 90, pages 1463-1466, September 2000). The researchers examined mortality data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from the year 1995. They found that 24 different autoimmune diseases, including diabetes and cancer, were found to be among the top ten killers of women under the age of 65. However, these diseases were not classified as such by the CDC. Researchers believe that a possibility for the absence of autoimmune disorders in mortality statistics is the fact that many doctors do not list such diseases as the primary cause of death on death certificates. Also, many autoimmune diseases aren't on the lists that doctors use when recording cause of death. Researchers hope that their study indicates the importance of continued research into autoimmune diseases as a major women's health issue.
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