Some off-topic T1 topics … fun and interesting reading …
Health Benefits of Coffee: Mounting Research Suggests You Really Should Be Drinking It, as reported on Newsweek.com by Scottie Andrew, 20 June 2018.
A team of Swiss researchers say a new implant that produces insulin when triggered by caffeine could obviate daily insulin pricks traditionally used to treat type 1 diabetes and prove there are more benefits to coffee than a quick boost of energy. Using human kidney cells, the team created a medicine that releases insulin when caffeine enters the system. When triggered by Starbucks coffee, Red Bull and energy gum, among other stimulants, the implant successfully signaled the medicine’s release in tests performed on mice.
Read more: Health Benefits of Coffee: Mounting Research Suggests You Really Should Be Drinking It
CGM Hacks: A Collection of Tips and Tricks from People With Diabetes … what a great collections of tips and tricks on wearing and using CGMs by the folks at ASweetLife.org, June 2018.
Tapes, Calibration, Placement for CGMs, Insertion comfort. Ease when traveling and Insurance coverage are covered here … plus: “sometimes the advice we need most is how to take a breather before reacting to the CGM data. With a steady stream of information coming at you all day long, it can be a little chaotic to manage all that data without feeling overwhelmed.”
Read more: CGM Hacks: A Collection of Tips and Tricks from People With Diabetes
New Finding Could Improve Depression Treatment in T1D is a wonderful read by Katie Doyle on BeyondType1.org, 18 June 2018.
A new study, recently published in Endocrine Connection, examined the relationship between Type 1 diabetes, depression, and neuroinflammatory responses in the body. The research, titled “Depression in type 1 diabetes was associated with high levels of circulating galectin-3,” was conducted by clinicians at Sweden’s Lund University.According to the Mayo Clinic, Galectin-3 is a type of protein called a lectin, which binds to cell membranes. Also known as GAL3, this lectin plays a role in the body’s inflammatory processes.
As you may have gathered from the stuy’s title, the findings indicate for the first time that high levels of this specific physiological component may play a role in depression among people with Type 1, when controlling for other factors (medications, lifestyles, etc.).
Dr. Engler-Chiurazzia, a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience at West Virginia University was excited to read about these new findings and shared her thoughts on their potential. “The search for non-brain-driven causes for depression has opened up the idea that the immune system may be playing a role — the answer could be that depression isn’t completely a brain disease. If we accept that there is an immune component to depression, I think this provides an opportunity to prove a viable treatment for people using both antidepressants and NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs).”
Read more: New Finding Could Improve Depression Treatment in T1D
This capsule of glowing E. coli will probe your gut for signs of trouble was reported by Beth Mole on AreTechnica.com, 25 May 2018 … under the subtitle of “Trouble in the Tract?”
Our intestines are an extensive, inaccessible tangle of tubes, full of dark tucks and turns. But with a new ingestible capsule, researchers hope to shed light on the depths of our perplexing plumbing—quite literally.
I have always felt there was an immune system component to depression. I am glad it may be showing promise as a cause.