Pfizer Inc and said on Wednesday clinical trials of the inhaled insulin Exubera found increased cases of lung cancer, leading Nektar to stop seeking a marketing partner for the troubled product and abandon it.

I had hopes for Exubera. Did you?

Checking blood glucose levels regularly is critical to properly managing diabetes. The conventional method – a finger prick – is invasive, painful and often inaccurate. The implantable bio-sensor chip has a passive transponder, glucose sensor and integrated circuitry that allow anyone implanted with the microchip to painlessly scan it to determine their level of glucose concentration. The RFID microchip quickly and accurately transmits the glucose data back to a wireless scanner that displays the glucose level. The RFID microchip is powered by the scanner signal, avoiding the need for a battery in the microchip.

If anyone has more info about this, please feel free to post, thanks.

Medco Health Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MHS), and PolyMedica Corporation (NASDAQ:PLMD) today announced a definitive agreement under which Medco will acquire PolyMedica in an all-cash transaction valued at $53 per share, or $1.5 billion. The combination of America ‘s leading advanced pharmacy practice with the leading source for diabetes services and supplies creates the nation’s premier provider of comprehensive diabetes care and treatment.

I’m sure the health blogosphere will be alive with buzz about this. Any thoughts from my fellow WordPressians?

Whether you already have diabetes, or are overweight, or just want to prevent future health problems, here are 20 ways to make sure your blood sugar and insulin levels are as healthy as can be.

 Tuesday, December 12 – 9pm est in the DIABETEStalkfest chat room www.diabetestalkfest.com/chat.html we will be having a guest chat with Dr. Aaron Kowalski.

Dr. Aaron Kowalski is a Director of Strategic Research Projects at the JDRF and leads the research efforts of the JDRF Artificial Pancreas Projects, a multi-million dollar initiative aimed at acceleration of progress towards a closed-loop automated insulin-delivery system and diabetes technologies that will improve blood sugar control in people with diabetes.http://diabetestalkfest.com/forum/index.php

Price Cuts Will Put Suppliers Out of Business, Cause Lay-offs Throughout the Industry

New Braunfels, TX, October 10, 2006 — The SCOOTER Store announced today that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) decision to cut reimbursements by up to 41% for most power wheelchairs “will be devastating” for senior citizens and people living with physical impairments. Simply put, the CMS decision jeopardizes whether mobility equipment can be provided through Medicare in the future.

“These cuts are devastating and unwarranted,” said Doug Harrison, founder and CEO of The SCOOTER Store, America’s largest supplier of power mobility equipment. “This is a disturbing blow to every senior citizen and person in America living with mobility impairments. We hope CMS is aware that suppliers across the country cannot afford to provide adequate power wheelchairs to Medicare beneficiaries if government reimbursements are cut by up to 41%.”

Mr. Harrison noted that the reimbursement reduction will force many providers out of business and cause significant job losses for suppliers and manufacturers. The CMS decision creates a climate in which durable medical suppliers must shift to other products, leaving senior citizens and Americans with disabilities without a source to obtain power wheelchairs and scooters.

The company also expressed concern that CMS is cutting reimbursements at the same time that it is asking suppliers to expend more resources for accreditation, certification, and new quality standards. Over the past 18 months, CMS has implemented regulations that have made prescribing and providing power mobility to beneficiaries much more onerous for both physicians and suppliers. “If CMS wants to take costs out of the system, they should work with physicians and suppliers to streamline the prescription and documentation process for qualified suppliers,” Mr. Harrison said. “This would allow us to charge less for our products and services.”

Moreover, Mr. Harrison also noted that members of Congress should be concerned that by reducing usage of the mobility benefit, CMS will actually be costing taxpayers significantly more money. CMS says that utilization of the mobility benefit has increased by 2,700% over the last eight years. Studies show that the federal government has saved more than ten billion dollars over the same time period because people with power wheelchairs and scooters are living independently, require less homecare and hospitalization, and visit hospital emergency rooms fewer times due to falls and fall related injuries. The reimbursement cuts will limit any future savings from providing mobility equipment to Medicare beneficiaries.

In total, Mr. Harrison said studies show that among people with identical ailments, those without power wheelchairs and scooters required treatment and care that cost 2 1/2 times the price of mobility equipment. Specifically, Medicare pays $14,000 more per person for beneficiaries with physical impairments who did not receive mobility equipment.

“Unfortunately, CMS appears to be taking a shortsighted approach that is bad for senior citizens, bad for people living with physical impairments and bad for the taxpayers of this country,” Mr. Harrison said. “We hope CMS recognizes power mobility as an essential Medicare benefit. Seniors and disabled Americans should have every right to quality mobility devices to maintain active living within their community and not be forced into institutional settings.”

About The SCOOTER Store

Since 1991, The SCOOTER Store has helped provide freedom and independence to more than 250,000 people with limited mobility. The SCOOTER Store offers a full line of durable medical equipment, including power wheelchairs and scooters, lift, ramps and accessories through 126 locations covering 47 states. The SCOOTER Store has worked with more than 100,000 physicians, providing expertise and quality service to their patients, and is accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Health Care.

by Vivian L. Brennan

Diabetes is a chronic disease that will need to be managed over the course of a lifetime. Some patients get “diabetes fatigue” or “diabetes burnout” from the stress of having to manage their diabetes every day.

Type 1 diabetes can be managed with exercise, diet, and insulin injections. Type 2 diabetes can sometimes be managed simply with diet and exercise, though sometimes other medications are recommended. Regardless, it can be difficult to constantly measure and regulate what one eats and how one exercises.

It can be the most difficult to keep your diet under control when you are particularly busy. Then it can seem easier to buy processed and package foods that are less healthy but that can sometimes seem more comforting. Fitting in workout times in a busy schedule can also seem daunting. Other times that can also make it difficult to manage diet and exercise are the holidays, such as Christmas, when overindulging is encouraged.

Most diabetics will, at some point, experience diabetes fatigue, when they simply no longer want to manage their diabetes. There are some ways to get over this fatigue that will help you maintain your diabetes management program. Managing your blood sugar levels will also help prevent long-term complications. So, if you are feeling down at the prospects of managing your diabetes, consider these hints.

1. Mix it up!

Because exercise is an integral part of managing diabetes, you probably exercise five times a week. If you are tired of swimming lengths, take up cycling. Try doing a different exercise each day a week. If you have an exercise that you love (perhaps tennis? running?), you can do it as many times as you want. If you get bored of doing the same exercise, then try to switch it up to keep your interest.

Keeping a steady blood glucose level doesn’t mean that you have to keep a boring diet. If you try new foods, you will find new favourite dishes. Take a cooking class to learn how to make curry, or Thai food, or another kind of food that you don’t normally eat. Or perhaps treat yourself when you are at the grocery store and buy that exotic fruit that you wouldn’t get every time.

2. Use the Buddy System.

Find a friend that you can go and exercise with. This means that you will be getting your exercise in, but you will also have someone to help motivate you. You don’t have to have a buddy who is a diabetic, either. You just want someone who is sympathetic to your situation and who wants a good work out.

You might even consider getting a personal trainer to help you with your workouts. If you can’t get a trainer, at least you can find a friend who will advise you on how to exercise properly.

3. Pamper yourself.

Take some time to do something that you want to do, and that will make you feel relaxed and happy. Often having high stress levels creates higher blood glucose levels. So head to the spa or get a massage and take a few moments for yourself.

4. Plan your meals…or don’t.

You might find it easier to keep to your diet if you have a meal plan that can help you go to the grocery store and get all the ingredients that you need. But if it gets too busy to plan your meals, consider getting the healthy pre-packaged options at the store, such as pre-packaged salads, or pre-skewered kebabs from the deli section.

If you have a craving for desserts, find some desserts with fewer calories and less sugar that you can eat. Oftentimes you can satisfy a craving without having to ruin your diet.

5. Let People Know.

Tell your friends, family, and coworkers about your diabetes. Although they all probably know someone with diabetes, they might not understand how it functions and affects your life. If you help them understand the importance of keeping your blood sugar levels in range, they can help you by making healthier choices when they are with you too.

6. Talk it Through.

If you have chronic diabetes burnout, or if you simply feel that you can no longer handle managing your diabetes at all, call a professional. Getting a referral from your doctor can help this expense be covered through your insurance. A counselor can listen to your troubles and help you identify the problem spots that you can work on to get through the diabetes fatigue.

7. This too shall pass.

Although right this second it might be hard to deal with your diabetes and the idea of diabetes, most diabetics go through phases. Sometimes diabetes management seems like simple second nature. Other times it seems difficult and forced. Just recognize that feeling upset or depressed about your diabetes is natural, and something that you will be able to get through.

About the Author

For more information on how to manage your diabetes, visit The Guide to Diabetes. This site has recipes for diabetics, the latest news about diabetes medications, and tips on how to live a productive and happy life with diabetes.

Diet is the cornerstone of your diabetic treatment; let it not become the headstone! I might sound rude to you for passing on this sort of crude observation, but in the interest of your health and well-being, I feel it as my utmost duty to forewarn you!

It sets the diabetes man thinking-each spoon of liquid that he sips, each ounce of food that he offers to the taste buds-what will be the result when it goes to the stomach? He lives in a state of fear psychosis. Food is the necessary evil for him, for his existence, not a source of enjoyment!

The diabetes man needs to budget his day according to his food requirements. You are advised to take small quantities of food at periodic intervals, than take two heavy meals. Be flexible in this and do it as per yours lifestyle. Don’t take food as a punishment. Enjoy it, every particle of it. It is your food for both-your mind and body! 

The population of diabetes patients is awesome. They are a pressure group, a lobby and influence the decision of the policy makers. There are statutory rules governing food and consumer items for the diabetes patients that help them in selecting foods for a healthy meal plan.

Food guides, food labels for identifying the food choice, information about dietary supplements, what foods to be used by the weight loss seeking people, are available in plenty in the health market concerning diabetes.

Diabetes is a serious type of disease, often warranting utmost care, for many of its ‘tribesmen’. Its valiant supporters are waiting in the wings to attack and overpower you! To name a few of them: Heart diseases, certain types of cancer and osteoporosis. These diseases believe in giving two types of punishments to the diabetes patient-serious types of disability and death.

So, the diabetes patients need to be fully armed with complete information about diabetes, their present state of health and lay down for themselves, unassailable rules for living. Your paramount aim should be to maintain an optimum, healthy weight. Secondly, don’t be lazy, lying down on the couch, relaxing on the bed. This extra rest that you are forcing on yourself may ruin your health. As for the food, take plenty of fruits and vegetables. Let sprouted pulses be the part of your diet. You must have the up-to-date nutrition information based on the latest research reports. I presume you must be getting a news letter from a diabetic association of which you are a member.

Correct diabetes information may save you from lots of troubles. A stitch in time saves nine! What nine? You need to know them by your own experience of handling your diabetes!
About the Author

http://www.diabitieslife.com/diabetes/ & Diabetes Information provides detailed information on diabetes, diabetes symptoms, diabetes treatment and more.