Nature: Mounting clues suggest the coronavirus might trigger diabetes. “Diabetes is already known to be a key risk factor for developing severe COVID-191 and people with the condition are more likely to die2. ‘Diabetes is dynamite if you get COVID-19,’ says Paul Zimmet, who studies the metabolic disease at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. Now Zimmet is among a growing number of researchers who think that diabetes doesn’t just make people more vulnerable to the coronavirus, but that the virus might also trigger diabetes in some3. ”
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Diabetes .co .uk: COVID-19 resource website launched for people with diabetes
Diabetes .co .uk: COVID-19 resource website launched for people with diabetes. “The central reference site was created by the JDRF-Beyond Type 1 Alliance and has been endorsed by the American Diabetes Association, Harvard Medical School and the International Society for Pediatric Adolescent Diabetes. Available in English, Spanish, French and Turkish, the website also provides advice on what to do should a person with diabetes contracts COVID-19, people’s stories about how they coped when they became ill with the virus and a range of toolkits for people with diabetes to follow.”
EurekAlert: Using telehealth to transition diabetes inpatients to virtual care during COVID-19
EurekAlert: Using telehealth to transition diabetes inpatients to virtual care during COVID-19. “Data collected over a 15-week period showed that using virtual care to manage diabetes patients in the hospital does not have a negative impact on their glycemic outcomes. This study, aimed at reducing provider and patient exposure during the COVID-19 pandemic, has broader implications for implementing telehealth to diabetes care in remote locations and to limit the transmission of hospital-acquired infections.”
Miami Herald: Insulin company offers free 90-day supply amid coronavirus pandemic. Who qualifies?
Miami Herald: Insulin company offers free 90-day supply amid coronavirus pandemic. Who qualifies?. “An insulin company is offering a free 90-day supply to people with diabetes who’ve been financially affected by the coronavirus pandemic. People who use Novo Nordisk insulin who have lost health insurance coverage during the pandemic may be eligible for the company’s Diabetes Patient Assistance Program, according to a news release.”
BBC: The TikTok stars giving diabetes the needle
BBC: The TikTok stars giving diabetes the needle. “When best friends Ellen Watson and Beth McDaniel posted a TikTok video of themselves getting glammed up for a night out, they had no idea they were about to become a viral sensation. Overnight, a video of them dancing around racked up 500,000 views – not because of their outfits or before-and-after hair and make-up transformation, but because the Northern Irish students happily showed off their wearable blood glucose scanners which help them manage their type one diabetes.”
Michigan State University: New resource helps food pantry staff serve clients with diabetes
Outside my wheelhouse, sharing anyway. Michigan State University: New resource helps food pantry staff serve clients with diabetes. “On average, 33% of all households that use food pantries have at least one family member with diabetes. Unfortunately, these factors can often lead to a cycle of poor health outcomes — food insecurity is more common among households with a person living with diabetes, yet food insecurity is a risk factor for developing diabetes. To help fight this problem, MSU Extension has created a free online learning module called Navigating the Food Pantry with Diabetes. This course helps food pantry staff better serve clients who are managing diabetes.”
OneZero: A Black Market for Life-Saving Insulin Thrives on Social Media
OneZero: A Black Market for Life-Saving Insulin Thrives on Social Media. “Insulin is an essential and life-saving drug used by 7.4 million people in the United States. Over the last few years, it’s become increasingly expensive. Between 2012 and 2016, the price of insulin effectively doubled for people with type one diabetes, with costs jumping from $239 to $475 per month, on average. These controversial and dramatic price hikes, singled out by presidential candidates like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, have become symbols of a failing American healthcare system. They have also created a thriving online black market for insulin.”
Techdirt: Abbott Laboratories Sends Heavy-Handed Copyright Threat To Shut Down Diabetes Community Tool For Accessing Blood-Sugar Data
Techdirt: Abbott Laboratories Sends Heavy-Handed Copyright Threat To Shut Down Diabetes Community Tool For Accessing Blood-Sugar Data. “A few months back there was a post on Diabettech about some code posted to GitHub. A patch to Abbott Laboratories’ LibreLink app allowed data from the same company’s FreeStyle Libre continuous monitor to be accessed by other apps running on a smartphone. In particular, it enabled the blood-sugar data to be used by a program called xDrip, which provides ‘sophisticated charting, customization and data entry features as well as a predictive simulation model.’ Innocent enough, you might think. But not according to Abbott Laboratories, which sent in the legal heavies waving the DMCA.” Heaven forbid people get as much access to and use of their own personal medical information as possible. Pllbbt.
The Register: Scumbags can program vulnerable MedTronic insulin pumps over the air to murder diabetics – insecure kit recalled
The Register: Scumbags can program vulnerable MedTronic insulin pumps over the air to murder diabetics – insecure kit recalled. “Health implant maker MedTronic is recalling some of its insulin pumps following the discovery of security vulnerabilities in the equipment that can be exploited over the air to hijack them.”
Newswise: Facebook Posts Better at Predicting Diabetes, Mental Health Than Demographic Info
Newswise: Facebook Posts Better at Predicting Diabetes, Mental Health Than Demographic Info. “Language in Facebook posts may help identify conditions such as diabetes, anxiety, depression and psychosis in patients, according to a study from Penn Medicine and Stony Brook University researchers. It’s believed that language in posts could be indicators of disease and, with patient consent, could be monitored just like physical symptoms. This study was published in PLOS ONE.”
Business Wire: T1D Exchange Launches Online Registry to Drive Type 1 Diabetes Research (PRESS RELEASE)
Business Wire: T1D Exchange Launches Online Registry to Drive Type 1 Diabetes Research (PRESS RELEASE). “T1D Exchange today announced the official launch of the T1D Exchange Registry, an online longitudinal database of people living with type 1 diabetes (T1D). This pioneering effort provides a mobile-friendly platform for people throughout the U.S. to participate online and share information about their T1D in order to help researchers develop more targeted and effective approaches to treating and living with the disease. The effort may also help inform reimbursement and policy decisions.”
Saving sight: Using AI to diagnose diabetic eye disease (EurekAlert)
EurekAlert: Saving sight: Using AI to diagnose diabetic eye disease . “Researchers have used artificial intelligence to support the instant diagnosis of one of the top causes of blindness, diabetes-related eye disease, in its earliest stages.”
CNET: Google sister company puts glucose-sensing contact lenses on hold
CNET: Google sister company puts glucose-sensing contact lenses on hold. “Alphabet’s life sciences arm, Verily, is putting a hold on its work with glucose-sensing contact lenses, Chief Technical Officer Brian Otis said in a blog post Friday.”
University of Utah: Following Twitter Conversations Around Hacked Diabetes Tools To Manage Blood Sugar
University of Utah: Following Twitter Conversations Around Hacked Diabetes Tools To Manage Blood Sugar. “The diabetes online community is leading grassroots efforts focused on accelerating the development, access and adoption of diabetes-related tools to manage the disease. Researchers at University of Utah Health examined the community’s online Twitter conversation to understand their thoughts concerning open source artificial pancreas (OpenAPS) technology. The results of this study are available online in the September 10 issue of the Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology.”
STAT News: FDA approves first AI software that can identify disease, no specialists needed
STAT News: FDA approves first AI software that can identify disease, no specialists needed. “The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first artificial intelligence software that can decide, without a clinician’s involvement, whether a patient might have a certain disease, the agency announced Wednesday. The software, called IDx-DR, looks for diabetic retinopathy, an eye disease that afflicts individuals with diabetes.”
