Should Type II Diabetes Sufferers risk Intensive Insulin Therapy

Across the nation, medical professionals are pondering the benefits and risks of intensive insulin therapy for type II diabetes. What is intensive insulin therapy? Well, in the past, intensive insulin therapy was the standard for treatment of Type I diabetes, and it involved the use of insulin to keep blood sugar levels as normal as possible in order to prevent long-term diabetic complications such as retinopathy, diabetic neuropathy, renal problems, and amputations.

Currently, some physicians are prescribing intensive insulin therapy for their type II diabetes patients. A study recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine indicated that keeping blood sugar levels as close to normal as possible reduced the risk of death including deaths that were the result of cardiovascular disease, in addition to preventing or slowing the progression of diabetic complications. However, this same therapy may lead to severe episodes of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar).

In a recent government sponsored study of about 10, 000 type II diabetic sufferers, 257 patients who were receiving intensive insulin therapy died compared to only 203 who were receiving standard type II medical treatment. The study offers no conclusion as to why there was an increased death rate for the patients who were receiving intensive insulin therapy; there is some suggestion that other conditions may contribute to the overall riskiness of intensive insulin therapy such as obesity, heart disease, hypertension, elevated cholesterol, and tobacco use. Since the deaths do not appear to be related to low blood sugar or medication combinations, researchers are at a loss to explain the increased death rate.

Although there are some risks associated with intensive insulin therapy, the jury is out as to the actual dangers of intensive insulin therapy for type II diabetics. Some researchers are in favor of continuing intensive insulin therapy for type II diabetes patients, although researchers are suggesting that higher average blood sugar level targets be used.

Of course, the researchers continue to stress the importance of exercise, healthy diet, and tobacco cessation as part of an overall treatment plan for Type II diabetes even if your physician has you on intensive insulin therapy.




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An Improved Understanding of Fibromyalgia may lead to Better Treatment Options

About six million Americans suffer with fibromyalgia, mostly women.

Fibromyalgia has not been well understood because, historically, the disorder has been defined by symptoms not objective medical testing (which is why the condition is referred to as a syndrome, versus a disease). In fact, many fibromyalgia sufferers have been met with skepticism from their physicians and often were thought to have mental problems, stress, or even other medical conditions such as lupus.

Fibromyalgia symptoms include chronic body pain, sleep problems, and fatigue. Obviously, due to the generic nature of fibromyalgia symptoms, the condition has been difficult to diagnose.

However, recent studies indicate that fibromyalgia is most likely an imbalance of neurotransmitters similar to that of depression. But physicians are quick to point out that chronic pain is not simply a symptom of depression. Recently, researchers and physicians have come to understand that fibromyalgia is actually a disorder of the nervous system that causes severe pain all over the body.

Thankfully, there are exciting new medications such as Lyrica that have changed the face of fibromyalgia treatment. Soon, individuals who were once told there was nothing that could be done to treat the chronic pain associated with fibromyalgia will have a choice of nearly twenty additional medications that are now in development.



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