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It is important for patients with type 1 diabetes to maintain their weight, according to a study by the University of Washington in Seattle. Lead author, Dr. Ian H. de Boer says “Our results suggest that weight control is important in type 1 diabetes and that overweight patients with type 1 diabetes may need further evaluation and treatment."

The researchers looked at long term data for nearly 1,300 patients to determine how obesity (specifically central obesity around the midsection) affects the risk of kidney disease. They found that the risk of microalbuminuria was significantly higher for patients with central obesity. In fact, the bigger the waistline, the higher the risk.

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Travel can be a lot of fun, but it takes some advance planning. People with diabetes have to plan a little more. Here are a few things to keep in mind about your insulin when you head out for that dream vacation.

Your Blood Sugar

When you are traveling, it is important to monitor your blood sugar more closely. This means checking your blood sugar every four hours when you are awake. Travel can be stressful, which can raise your blood sugar level. Don’t treat your blood sugar without monitoring it, and monitor it to make sure that you are giving the correct dosages of medication and/or insulin.

Insulin Storage

Keep your insulin with you when you travel, in your carry-on or purse. Insulin needs to stay in a fairly moderate temperature zone, and as such, cannot go with your luggage in the depressurized compartment. Also, if there were ever a baggage handling mishap, you would want your insulin to be with you: if your bags end up in Minneapolis-St. Paul’s when you are in Sao Paulo, you want to make sure you have your insulin.

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Diabetes can lead to many complications, some of them very severe. This means that the effect that diabetes has on your teeth can often be completely overlooked. Diabetics are at a higher risk for periodontal disease (diseases of the mouth) than most people.

Having high blood sugar means that your teeth and gums are at a higher risk, because germs multiply in high-sugar environments. This means that the first step to protecting your teeth is to lower your blood sugar and to maintain a constant blood sugar level. The difficulty is that if you already have some gum disease, it can be another stress that leads to high blood sugar levels. This can be an overwhelming cycle, but luckily you can stop it.

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Were it not for the Sertoli cell, none of us would ever have been born. It is the testicular Sertoli cell which keeps the human body’s immune system from destroying a man’s sperm. This same cell might create an immunologically protective environment for transplanted pancreas islets and could provide new hope for Type 1 diabetics whose bodies reject those transplants.

Sernova Corp (TSX: SVA), which holds more than 20 patents related to the therapeutic use of Sertoli cells, is currently researching how to prevent islet cells from being killed off by immune-suppressing drugs. Current islet transplant procedures require the use of these anti-rejection drugs to prevent the body’s immune system from destroying the transplanted islet cells.

Diabetes is a very serious and widespread disease that affects most of the systems in the body. It is currently the fifth leading cause of death in the United States. It is responsible for a staggering 210,000 deaths annually and steadily rising.

What exactly is Diabetes? There are two major types of Diabetes: Type I (formerly known as juvenile onset diabetes) and Type II (which is much more common). High blood glucose levels that lead to a host of problems characterize both types.