ALEXANDRIA, VA–(Marketwire – July 20, 2010) – Pregnancy is a time of wonder and amazement — and for women with pre-existing diabetes, it is also a time for very extremely careful (and sometimes baffling) disease management. How do you plan for this? What risks are involved? What can you expect? The August issue of Diabetes Forecast, the consumer magazine of the American Diabetes Association, features articles about pregnancy with pre-existing diabetes to help you. With good care and planning, says Diabetes Forecast, women with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes can have safe pregnancies — and healthy babies.

Planning starts now. If you have diabetes and want to become pregnant, the first step should be visiting your doctor — or several doctors. Depending on your diabetes management, you may want to see an endocrinologist in addition to your ob-gyn for a pre-conception visit. When choosing your doctors, keep in mind that you may have appointments as often as twice a week, so try to find a physician that you are comfortable with and whose office you are comfortable getting to.

While pre-existing diabetes automatically puts your pregnancy in the high-risk category, healthy habits can lower the chance of problems for both mother and child. First and foremost, keep your blood glucose in check — in general, your A1C should be below 7 percent before you conceive. Your health care team may also want to discuss your weight, use of prenatal vitamins and other supplements, the status of any diabetes-related complications, and your current medications (such as ACE inhibitors or statins, which are not considered safe for use in pregnancy). Polycystic ovary syndrome is associated with type 2 diabetes, so for some women with diabetes, asking about fertility treatments may also be in order.

Once you become pregnant, your body’s changes can make blood glucose levels go from one extreme to the other. ”I spent the entire first trimester with my face buried in the fridge,” says Kerri Sparling, 31, who has type 1 diabetes and whose daughter was born in April. “I was low all the time. It wasn’t until probably the second trimester that the insulin resistance kicked in. Everything I ate, the insulin didn’t cover it.” As your body changes through your pregnancy, so will its reactions to the elements you normally use to manage your blood glucose, so be prepared to communicate with your health care team often and make any necessary adjustments.

From pre-conception planning to integrating diabetes management into your birth plan and facing post-partum depression, having a baby can seem like an overwhelming task for women with diabetes, and yet, many women with diabetes find they have the best glucose control of their life during pregnancy. ”This was so, so important to me that I was willing to do whatever to make sure she came out right,” says Sparling. “It’s so worth it.” Find more advice, explanations and insight about what to expect in the August issue of Diabetes Forecast.

This issue of Diabetes Forecast also features:

• A Birthday Challenge: Marking 40 years with 40 races for ADA’s Team Diabetes
• Drinking Calories: How you hydrate yourself makes a difference
• A Serious Subject: Dealing with erectile dysfunction

Diabetes Forecast has been America’s leading diabetes magazine for more than 60 years, offering the latest news on diabetes research and treatment to provide information, inspiration and support to people with diabetes. 

The American Diabetes Association is leading the fight to stop diabetes and its deadly consequences and fighting for those affected by diabetes. The Association funds research to prevent, cure, and manage diabetes; delivers services to hundreds of communities; provides objective and credible information; and gives voice to those denied their rights because of diabetes. Founded in 1940, its mission is to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes. For more information, please call the American Diabetes Association at 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383) or visit www.diabetes.org. Information from both these sources is available in English and Spanish.

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ALEXANDRIA, VA–(Marketwire – July 13, 2010) – Prepararse para el verano significa sembrar
los jardines, limpiar el asador y salir a comprar trajes de baño. Los
productos del verano y las opciones para cocinar también significan que la
temporada es una oportunidad para mejorar sus hábitos alimenticios. La
Asociación Americana de la Diabetes anunció hoy sobre una herramienta en
línea de nutrición en español y en inglés que le ayudará a prepararse para
la temporada.: MiConsejerodeComida™ http://tracker.diabetes.org/es/.

MiConsejerodeComida tiene características nuevas y mejoradas que le
permitirán a las personas a mantener un registro de sus comidas diarias,
sustituir alternativas más saludables para recetas o en el plato. Las
personas con diabetes, enfermedades cardiacas, enfermedad renal, alta
presión arterial, alto colesterol y aquellas personas que quieren bajar de
peso pueden utilizar MiConsejerodeComida para encontrar información
nutricional sobre calorías, carbohidratos, sodio, grasa y colesterol.

“Hacer pequeños cambios al tiempo de la comida puede tener un impacto
positivo en su salud,” comentó Lorena Drago, RD, CDE, voluntaria de la
Asociación Americana de la Diabetes. “MiConsejerodeComida le puede enseñar
hacer alternativas saludables, crear metas y registrar lo que come. Si
pierde solamente 10 o 15 libras, usted puede ponerle alto a la diabetes al
prevenir o retrasar la diabetes tipo 2 o sus complicaciones…”

Las características nuevas incluyen:

• Versión en español – Todo el sitio web está disponible ahora en
  español. La prevalencia de la diabetes es de 2 a 4 veces más alta entre
  los hispanos/latinos.
• Regístrelo – Usted puede crear sus metas para calorías,
  carbohidratos, sodio, grasa saturada y fibra y compararlas con lo que
  actualmente está comiendo y lo que quisiera comer. Este análisis le permite
  hacer opciones más saludables para reducir el consume de sodio y grasa
  saturada o para mantener su consumo de carbohidratos consecuente en el día
  a día.

Las características actualizadas incluyen:

• Alternativa saludable – Esta característica, exclusiva a
  MiConsejerodeComida™, le permite buscar comidas más saludables. Por
  ejemplo, si busca una alternativa más saludable para la carne de res
  molida para su receta favorita de hamburguesa, le proporcionaría otras
  opciones de carne molida tales como, pavo molido o alternativas
  vegetarianas. El algoritmo, que es basado en investigaciones recientes,
  toma en cuenta 13 nutrientes diferentes para recomendar la mejor
  alternativa basándose en sus selecciones.
• Análisis de recetas – Analice sus recetas favoritas con nuestra
  función de Crear un plato. Usted puede solicitar opciones más saludables
  para los ingredientes de su receta para hacer que un viejo favorito sea un
  favorito saludable. Sus propias recetas pueden ser guardadas en su
  recetario e importadas a la herramienta de registro y los ingredientes
  pueden ser agregados a su lista de compras.
• Crear un plato – Los tamaños de las porciones han sido
  incrementadas para reunir sus preferencias al utilizar medidas simples de
  cocina.
• Navegación simple – Esto le permite buscar y comparar opciones
  de comidas con más facilidad.

“Los tamaños de las porciones en MiConsejerodeComida son basadas en 15
gramos de carbohidratos, lo cual hace que sea más fácil para las personas
con diabetes y sus cuidadores a contar carbohidratos. MiConsejerodeComida
también tiene información sobre fósforo y potasio, 2 nutrientes importantes
que se deben vigilar para las personas con enfermedad renal, comentó Lorena
Drago. “Sin importar para qué, MiConsejerodeComida puede ayudar a cualquier
persona a prepararse para el verano al enseñarle como hacer mejores
opciones de comida.”

La Asociación Americana de la Diabetes es líder en la lucha para ponerle
alto a la diabetes y sus consecuencias fatales y lucha por las personas
afectadas por esa enfermedad. La Asociación financia la investigación a fin
de prevenir, curar y controlar la diabetes; ofrece servicios para cientos
de comunidades; suministra información objetiva y verosímil; y da voz a
aquellas personas privadas de sus derechos como consecuencia de la
diabetes. La Asociación se fundó en 1940. Nuestra misión es prevenir y
curar la diabetes, así como mejorar la vida de todas las personas afectadas
por esa enfermedad. Para más información llamar al 1-800-DIABETES
(342-2383) o visitar www.portufamilia.org. Información sobre ambas fuentes
se encuentra disponible en inglés o en español.

ORLANDO, FL–(Marketwire – June 28, 2010) –  Rosiglitazone, a commonly used diabetes drug, poses no significant increased risk of death, stroke or heart attack, though it does increase the risk of fractures, according to a new analysis of thousands of patients with established cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. The findings are being presented at the American Diabetes Association’s 70^th Scientific Sessions^®, and are part of the Bypass Angioplasty Revascularization Investigation in Type 2 Diabetes (BARI 2D) study, a landmark multicenter trial focusing exclusively on patients with both diabetes and established heart disease.

The safety of rosiglitazone, marketed as Avandia, a medication in the class of thiazolidinedione (TZD) drugs, has been a controversial topic since a 2007 meta-analysis published in the New England Journal of Medicine concluded that rosiglitazone “was associated with a significant increase in the risk of myocardial infarction and with an increase in the risk of death from cardiovascular causes.” The strength of this study, which reviewed the results of 42 previously published investigations but did no independent testing of the drug, has been questioned by others in the field but ultimately led to a review of the drug’s safety by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In November 2007, the FDA added a warning label to the drug regarding potential heart risks.

The following year, however, researchers conducting the Veterans Affairs Diabetes Trial (VADT), a large-scale clinical trial in which 80 percent of patients were taking rosiglitazone, added further, while still inconclusive, information to this discussion. During the American Diabetes Association’s 68^th Scientific Sessions, the VADT researchers reported that a specific analysis of rosiglitazone found that it did not appear to cause excess cardiovascular events and may in fact provide protective benefits for cardiovascular health.

Now a post-hoc analysis of the BARI 2D findings also shows no increased risk of heart attack or cardiovascular death with rosiglitazone treatment. Analyzing 4.5 years of follow-up data for patients who were being treated with rosiglitazone, compared to those not taking any TZD drugs, the study found no increase in risk of death or heart attack from taking rosiglitazone. While no protective cardiovascular benefit was shown, the analysis found that the rate of death, heart attack and stroke tended to be lower — about 28 percent lower in fact — among patients taking rosiglitazone. As has been seen with other studies of TZDs, the rate of congestive heart failure was significantly higher among patients taking rosiglitazone, but this difference was not statistically significant. 

As seen in previous studies, the analysis of BARI 2D reported a 45 percent increase in fracture rates for those taking rosiglitazone, compared to those not taking any TZD medications.

“I think these data are important because they suggest there is no significant cardiovascular harm posed by taking rosiglitazone for patients with type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease,” said lead researcher Richard Bach, M.D., Associate Professor of Medicine at the Washington University School of Medicine. “There is an increase in fractures, but when one considers the dramatic morbidity and mortality associated with ischemic cardiovascular events in patients with diabetes, these data are reassuring.”

The BARI 2D study, led by principal investigator Sheryl Kelsey, Ph.D, of the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, evaluated both a cardiovascular treatment approach as well as a diabetes control approach in 2,368 persons with type 2 diabetes and stable coronary artery disease (CAD) to reduce deaths or deaths and cardiovascular events (heart attacks and stroke) combined. The first component compared intensive medical treatment with prompt coronary revascularization by either bypass surgery or angioplasty (which opens blocked arteries by inserting metal stents or balloons through the arteries, without recourse to surgery) to intensive medical treatment alone. The second component compared whether controlling diabetes with drugs to make insulin work better (insulin sensitization) had an advantage for heart health or survival compared to using a strategy emphasizing drugs increasing insulin itself (insulin provision).

Nearly 24 million Americans have diabetes, a group of serious diseases characterized by high blood glucose levels that result from defects in the body’s ability to produce and/or use insulin. Diabetes can lead to severely debilitating or fatal complications, such as heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney disease and amputation. It is a leading cause of death by disease in the United States. Type 2 diabetes involves insulin resistance — the body’s inability to properly use its own insulin — and occurs mainly in adults who are overweight and age 40 and older. More than 65 percent of people with diabetes die from heart disease or stroke. With diabetes, heart attacks occur earlier in life and often result in death.

The American Diabetes Association is leading the fight to stop diabetes and its deadly consequences and fighting for those affected by diabetes. The Association funds research to prevent, cure and manage diabetes; delivers services to hundreds of communities; provides objective and credible information; and gives voice to those denied their rights because of diabetes. Founded in 1940, our mission is to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes. For more information please call the American Diabetes Association at 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383) or visit www.diabetes.org. Information from both these sources is available in English and Spanish.

Oral presentation, Tuesday, 8:50 a.m.

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ORLANDO, FL–(Marketwire – June 28, 2010) –  The American Diabetes Association has announced a change in the embargo time of the rosiglitazone study being presented at the 70^th Scientific Session in Orlando, FL. This is part of the Bypass Angioplasty Revascularization Investigation in Type 2 Diabetes (BARI 2D) study, a landmark multicenter trial focusing exclusively on patients with both diabetes and established heart disease. The new embargo time is 4:30 pm (EDT).

The American Diabetes Association thanks the BARI 2D investigators for their collaboration and appreciates their willingness to present this important scientific information to the diabetes community during the 70^th Scientific Sessions. The full scientific disclosure and discussion of these data will be featured at the Late Breaking Clinical Trials session on Tuesday, June 29, 2010 at 8:50 am.

The American Diabetes Association is leading the fight to stop diabetes and its deadly consequences and fighting for those affected by diabetes. The Association funds research to prevent, cure and manage diabetes; delivers services to hundreds of communities; provides objective and credible information; and gives voice to those denied their rights because of diabetes. Founded in 1940, our mission is to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes. For more information, please call the American Diabetes Association at 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383) or visit www.diabetes.org. Information from both these sources is available in English and Spanish.

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