Docs Shelve Diabetes Study After Deaths

UK treatment ends insulin dependency for type 1 sufferers

(NEWSER) - Car crashes, comas, sudden stabbings, divorces – all are being indirectly diminished as Britain spearheads a new procedure to help sufferers of type 1 diabetes. Victims of the growing disorder are often subject to fits and blackouts as they scramble for insulin, but a new operation is offering hope: already a dozen Britons are infused with cells to eliminate insulin dependency entirely. More»

Testicular tissue could help patients grow their own insulin

(NEWSER) - Scientists have made a breakthrough that they think could lead to a cure for diabetes in men. In recent experiments on diabetic mice, researchers were able to use tiny slivers of human testicular tissue to make replacements for the faulty cells that cause the condition, allowing the mice to produce their own insulin, the Daily Mail explains. The researchers predict they could be able to fully cure type 1 diabetes in men and boys in as little as five years. More»

88-year-old woman was eating 2 to 3 pounds of raw cabbage daily

(NEWSER) - An 88-year-old woman who took "eat your vegetables" a little too seriously wound up in the hospital after several months on a diet that included 2 to 3 pounds of raw bok choy per day. The patient was attempting to treat her diabetes, but she consumed so much of an enzyme present in the raw cabbage—cooking renders it harmless—that she developed a thyroid condition known as a myxedema coma. More»

(NEWSER) - A French man who received a groundbreaking face and double hand transplant to repair damage from severe burns has died from a massive infection, reports the Independent. The patient, 30, suffered a heart attack during surgery to battle a super bug invasion in his face. Despite the problem, his body did not reject the transplants, said doctors. He was the sixth person in the world to receive a face transplant. One other died in China after ceasing drugs to fight rejection of transplanted organs. More»

Researchers liken degenerative disease to brain diabetes

(NEWSER) - Alzheimer’s disease “is a type of brain diabetes”—meaning that insulin treatments could help fight it, scientists say. Researchers found that brain cells treated with insulin plus a drug to speed its effects were much less affected by the disease, the BBC reports. “Our results demonstrate that bolstering insulin signaling can protect neurons from harm,” said a researcher at Northwestern University. More»