Home. Diabetes costs 'out of control' 26 July 2010Last updated at 03:06 By Emma Wilkinson Health reporter, BBC News Insulin is just one of many drugs available for diabetes control The NHS is spending too much on diabetes drugs say researchers, who found the medicines account for 7% of the UK prescribing budget. A big rise in the number of people with type 2 diabetes in recent years does not fully explain the spiralling costs, say Cardiff University researchers. With rates of the condition expected to rise further, the NHS needs to get the budget under control, they conclude. But GPs said they had to look out for the best interests of their patients. In 2008 the NHS spent £700m on drugs to control blood sugar, figures show.
Continue reading the main story “Start Quote We need to do whatever it takes to get blood sugar down and some of the cheaper drugs don't do the job” End QuoteDr Niti PallGP, Diabetes UK The researchers calculated that between 2000 and 2008 the number of prescriptions for glucose-lowering drugs had risen by 50%. Type 2 diabetes 'cut' after weight-loss surgery. 13 April 2011Last updated at 08:27 By Adam Brimelow Health Correspondent, BBC News Surgeons called on the government to acknowledge the obesity problem urgently The UK's first large-scale study on the impact of weight-loss surgery has reported a large reduction in type 2 diabetes and other health problems.
The National Bariatric Surgery Registry said type 2 diabetes fell by 50% and on average patients lost nearly 60% of their excess weight a year after surgery, based on 1,421 operations. The Royal College of Surgeons says the NHS should prepare for rising demand. Ministers say it is up to the local NHS to provide weight management services. The report says the world has been engulfed by a pandemic of obesity. Out of an estimated 10,000 such operations carried out in the UK during the financial years 2008/09 and 2009/10, the audit looked at 7,045. The report includes detailed one-year follow up data for 1,421 operations. 'Unsustainable burden' Continue reading the main story “Start Quote.
Type 2 diabetes in newly diagnosed 'can be reversed' 24 June 2011Last updated at 01:19 Researchers found that blood sugar levels of all participants had returned to normal in one week. An extreme eight-week diet of 600 calories a day can reverse Type 2 diabetes in people newly diagnosed with the disease, says a Diabetologia study. Newcastle University researchers found the low-calorie diet reduced fat levels in the pancreas and liver, which helped insulin production return to normal. Seven out of 11 people studied were free of diabetes three months later, say findings published in the journal. More research is needed to see whether the reversal is permanent, say experts.
Type 2 diabetes affects 2.5m people in the UK. When this happens, glucose - a type of sugar - builds up in the blood instead of being broken down into energy or fuel which the body needs. The 11 participants in the study were all diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes within the previous four years. Fat loss Susceptibility question. Fat 'disrupts sugar sensors causing type 2 diabetes' 14 August 2011Last updated at 20:02 By James Gallagher Health reporter, BBC News US researchers say they have identified how a high-fat diet can trigger type 2 diabetes, in experiments on mice and human tissue. Writing in the journal Nature Medicine, they say that fat interferes with the body's sugar sensors.
The authors argue that a deeper understanding of the processes involved could help them develop a cure. Diabetes UK said the study was interesting and a "theory worth investigating further". One of the main risk factors for type 2 diabetes is being overweight - rising obesity levels have contributed to a doubling of diabetes cases in the last 30 years. Fat and sugar Sugar in the blood is monitored by pancreatic beta cells. Key to this is the enzyme GnT-4a. Continue reading the main story “Start Quote End QuoteDr Jamey MarthLead researcher Experiments on mice showed that those on a high-fat diet had elevated levels of free fatty acids in the blood. Obesity burdens Mexican economy.
Diabetes rate 'doubles' - Imperial College and Harvard research suggests. 26 June 2011Last updated at 06:48 Obesity is a major risk factor for Type 2 diabetes The number of adults with diabetes in the world has more than doubled since 1980, a study in the Lancet says. Researchers from Imperial College London and Harvard University in the US analysed data from 2.7m people across the world, using statistical techniques to project a worldwide figure. The total number of people with all forms of the disease - which can be fatal - has risen from 153m to 347m. The authors called for better detection and treatment to combat the rise. Its authors said 70% of the rise was down to people living longer. The rise has been most pronounced in the Pacific Islands.
Majid Ezzati, of Imperial College London, said: "Diabetes is becoming more common almost everywhere in the world. Diabetes leads to inadequate blood sugar control, which can damage the kidneys and cause blindness. The study looked at Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. Of developed nations, the US had the highest prevalence. Researchers seek patients for diabetes 'dating agency' 7 October 2011Last updated at 02:22 By Dominic Hughes Health correspondent, BBC News Three regions in England are taking part in a pilot diabetes 'dating agency' scheme A massive recruitment drive is under way to match up thousands of diabetes patients with research projects aimed at finding a cure for the disease.
The scheme is being likened to a kind of "dating agency" that puts researchers and patients in contact. Researchers say about 30% of cancer patients may be taking part in clinical trials, but for diabetes that figure is less than 1%. About 2.8 million people in the UK are known to have diabetes. But the charity Diabetes UK believes another 800,000 people may not know they already have the disease. Hard to find Part of the reason researchers have found it hard to find diabetes patients is that most only see their GP. A recruitment drive is taking place in north-east London and the south-west and north-west of England. Continue reading the main story.