Tag: diabetes

Self-Monitoring Blood Glucose Meters Recalled Due to Potentially Defective Displays: FDA

Florida-based Trividia Health Inc. is recalling a limited number of blood glucose meters because of potentially defective liquid-crystal displays that could affect product performance, the company said in an Oct. 7 statement published by the Food and Drug Administration.

The recall applies to Trividia’s True Metrix self-monitoring glucose meters that are co-branded under the Good Neighbor Pharmacy brand. The affected items belong to lot number KD0746, printed on the side of the product box. They were manufactured on Sept. 4 and sold between Sept. 8 and 16 across the United States.

“It is possible that the LCD display for the affected products may show partial or missing numerical segments or characters or show ghosting (fading) of numerical segments or characters,” the company said. “As a result, it is possible that users could misinterpret a test result or experience a delay in obtaining test results. For users with low glucose (hypoglycemia), this could result in a delay in treatment or therapy decisions.”

According to Trividia, it has so far not received any reports of people suffering injuries as a result of using the recalled products.

The company said it was sending notifications to customers, including pharmacies, to inform them of the issue.

“If you have an affected Product, the Trividia Health Customer Care Department will help with return and replacement information,” it said.

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DIABETES SHOCKER: JAMA published mind-blowing study conducted on diabetes drug that skyrockets patient’s risk of heart attack by 13%

Got heart problems? It’s probably one of two things, or both: Your diabetes medication or the Covid clot shot(s) you got. Do the research and you’ll see the science is there.

Millions of Americans rely on affordable diabetes medications to control blood sugar, but a major new study from Mass General Brigham has uncovered troubling findings about one of the most widely prescribed diabetes drugs in the U.S. – glipizide. According to research published in JAMA Network Open, glipizide is associated with a 13 percent higher risk of major cardiovascular events compared to newer alternatives, posing significant concerns for the long-term heart health of patients with Type 2 diabetes.

  • Popular diabetes drug glipizide linked to higher heart risk: A large-scale study of nearly 50,000 patients found that glipizide, a commonly prescribed sulfonylurea for Type 2 diabetes, is associated with a 13 percent higher risk of major cardiovascular events compared to DPP-4 inhibitors.
  • Not all sulfonylureas are equal: While glipizide showed the highest cardiovascular risk (9.1 percent over five years), other sulfonylureas like glimepiride (8.6 percent) and glyburide (8.4 percent) had smaller, less statistically significant risks — challenging the idea that all drugs in this class are interchangeable.
  • Real-world data strengthens findings: Researchers used electronic health records and insurance data from 10 U.S. sites to assess cardiovascular outcomes like heart attacks, strokes and heart failure, making this one of the most comprehensive studies of its kind.
  • Heart risks may stem from drug effects beyond the pancreas: Although glipizide primarily targets blood sugar, it may also impact heart receptors, potentially weakening the heart’s ability to protect itself under stress — though the exact mechanism remains unclear.

Popular diabetes drug linked to 13% higher heart attack risk in major study

The study, led by Dr. Alexander Turchin of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, analyzed data from 48,165 patients with type 2 diabetes and moderate cardiovascular risk. All participants were on metformin as their base therapy and were tracked over a five-year period.

Patients were grouped based on the second medication they began using: glipizide, glimepiride, glyburide (all sulfonylureas) or DPP-4 inhibitors (a newer drug class). The research drew from real-world health records and insurance claims data through the BESTMED consortium, making its findings broadly applicable.

Key findings include:

  • Patients on glipizide had a 9.1 percent five-year risk of major cardiovascular events, compared to 8.1 percent for those on DPP-4 inhibitors.
  • This amounts to a 13 percent relative increase in risk, including higher rates of heart attacks, strokes, heart failure hospitalizations, and cardiovascular deaths.
  • Glimepiride (8.6 percent) and glyburide (8.4 percent) also showed increased heart risk, but to a lesser and statistically less significant extent.

Dr. Turchin emphasized that a 13 percent relative risk increase is considered clinically significant, especially in a patient population already vulnerable to heart disease. These findings challenge the long-held medical assumption that all sulfonylureas function similarly and carry equal risk. Glipizide, while effective and inexpensive, may be more harmful to heart health than previously recognized.

Although the exact mechanisms behind glipizide’s elevated heart risk remain unclear, researchers suspect the drug may interfere with cardiac receptors and the heart’s protective responses during periods of reduced blood flow. Interestingly, glipizide doesn’t appear to affect these receptors more aggressively than other drugs in its class, making the specific cause of the increased risk still unknown.

This discovery reinforces the need for personalized medicine and informed decision-making between doctors and patients. Cost and familiarity should not be the sole factors in selecting a diabetes medication, especially when cardiovascular health is on the line.

In addition to medication, patients can reduce both blood sugar and heart risks through natural strategies, such as:

  • Eating whole foods that don’t spike blood sugar (e.g., vegetables, lean proteins, nuts).
  • Supplementing with nutrients like magnesium, fish oil, and alpha-lipoic acid.
  • Staying active, even through simple routines like daily walks.
  • Managing stress, which plays a crucial role in both blood sugar control and heart function.
  • Reducing inflammation using anti-inflammatory foods like turmeric and ginger.

Ultimately, this study is a wake-up call to reexamine common diabetes treatments. For patients and physicians alike, balancing effective glucose control with cardiovascular safety is vital for long-term health.

Tune your internet dial to NaturalMedicine.news for more tips on how to use natural remedies for preventative medicine and for healing, instead of succumbing to Big Pharma products, like dangerous diabetes drugs, that cause, spread and exacerbate disease and disorder, including heart attacks.

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Barbie launches first doll with Type 1 diabetes, glucose monitor

Barbie is aiming to expand on inclusivity with the launch of its first doll with Type 1 diabetes.

The doll, part of Barbie’s Fashionistas line, comes complete with a continuous glucose monitor, insulin pump and other features to represent those diagnosed with the chronic disease.

The brand partnered with Breakthrough T1D, formerly JDRF, a diabetes research organization, to create the doll. Barbie said in a news release that it is also donating dolls to the Breakthrough T1D 2025 Children’s Congress, a biennial event that brings over a hundred children with Type 1 diabetes to Washington to meet with members of Congress.

“Introducing a Barbie doll with type 1 diabetes marks an important step in our commitment to inclusivity and representation,” Krista Berger, senior vice president of Barbie and global head of dolls at Mattel, said in a release. “Barbie helps shape children’s early perceptions of the world, and by reflecting medical conditions like T1D, we ensure more kids can see themselves in the stories they imagine and the dolls they love.”

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China’s Groundbreaking Diabetes Breakthrough—And the Global Backlash

In a revelation that could transform global healthcare, Chinese scientists have reportedly developed a stem cell therapy that reverses both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. While this scientific leap offers new hope for over 500 million people worldwide living with the chronic disease, it also threatens to shake up the multi-billion-dollar pharmaceutical industry that thrives on treating—not curing—diabetes.

At the core of this innovation is a technique that uses a patient’s own fat cells to generate insulin-producing islet cells. These engineered cells are then transplanted into the body, where they naturally regulate blood sugar levels. Since the cells are autologous (derived from the same person), there’s no risk of immune rejection, and patients don’t require immunosuppressants.

Initial trials have produced jaw-dropping results:

  • A 25-year-old woman with Type 1 diabetes went off insulin completely within 75 days.
  • A 59-year-old man with Type 2 diabetes was insulin-free in just 11 weeks. One year later, he remains off all medication.

This therapy takes advantage of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology, a method of reprogramming adult cells to behave like embryonic stem cells. Scientists then coax these cells into becoming islet cells, which the pancreas uses to produce insulin.

The process essentially rebuilds a diabetic pancreas from the inside out—without the need for donor organs, immune-suppressing drugs, or lifelong insulin therapy.

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World’s first transgenic cow can produce human insulin in her milk

Diabetes happens when the body doesn’t have enough insulin, also called Type 1 diabetes, where the body’s own immune system damages cells in our body’s insulin-making machine called the pancreas.

Diabetes can also happen when the body gets insulin but doesn’t know how to use this insulin properly. This is called Type 2 diabetes, where the body becomes resistant to insulin, and the pancreas can’t make enough to keep up.

Both lead to high blood sugar levels

Although scientists have found ways to make insulin using different methods, such as E coli and yeast, researchers at the University of Illinois aim to make insulin in cow’s milk.

This is because they produce much milk, and milk is an everyday product in most homes. 

The researchers explain in their paper that they used special techniques to put human insulin genes into cow cells so that the cows produce milk containing human insulin. This milk can, in turn, make insulin for people.

“Mother Nature designed the mammary gland as a factory to make protein really, really efficiently. We can take advantage of that system to produce a protein that can help hundreds of millions of people worldwide,” said Matt Wheeler, professor of biotechnology and developmental biology at the University of Illinois and co-author of the study.

Wheeler and his team used somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), which was previously used to create transgenic animals, like sheep, cows, and pigs, that can produce specific proteins, like insulin. 

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People Who Use Marijuana Are Half As Likely To Develop Type 2 Diabetes, New Meta-Analysis Finds

People who use marijuana are about half as likely to develop type 2 diabetes, according to a new meta-analysis of scientific studies.

Researchers at the Tabriz University of Medical Sciences in Iran published the study in the journal Phytotherapy Research this month, expanding on the scientific literature examining the effects of cannabis on glucose regulation and insulin secretion that are tied to the chronic disease.

To investigate the relationship, the researchers analyzed 11 relevant surveys and four epidemiological cohort studies that were published in scientific databases such as PubMed up through July 1, 2022.

They found that the incidence of type 2 diabetes among people who consume marijuana “was 0.48 times lower than in those without cannabis exposure.”

“A protective effect of cannabis consumption on the odds of diabetes mellitus type 2 development has been suggested,” the paper says. “Yet given the considerable interstudy heterogeneity, the upward trend of cannabis consumption and cannabis legalization is recommended to conduct studies with higher levels of evidence.”

Prior studies have similarly linked marijuana to lower rates of type 2 diabetes, which is the version of the disease where patients produce low amounts of insulin and can become resistant to the hormone.

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Heavy Cannabis Use by Female Adults Associated With Lower Incidence of Diabetes

A new study recently published in Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research found that women who heavily used cannabis had lower incidence of diabetes, a chronic condition that prevents the body from either making enough insulin (type 1) or being able to use insulin efficiently (type 2).

Approximately one in 10 Americans has diabetes, and the condition accounted for 87,647 deaths in the United States in 2019, making it the seventh leading cause of death for that year.

For the study, Texas A&M University School of Public Health graduate students Ayobami Ogunsola, Samuel Smith, Udeh Mercy and Olatunji Eniola, along with a colleague from Hofstra University, analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2013-2018). From approximately 15,000 participants. The majority of participants were female, white (non-Hispanic), over 40, and had at least a college-level education.

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