The goal of the Diabetes Research Center is to foster and support both basic and clinical research in diabetes and related metabolic disorders with the ultimate purpose of translating findings into opportunities to prevent these diseases and to improve clinical care and outcomes.

 Full Story: Healio (free registration)/Cardiology Today (8/5) 

Researchers evaluated 3,730 patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction and found that adding 10 mg of the SGLT2 inhibitor empagliflozin to standard of care led to a reduced risk for a composite of HF hospitalization or cardiovascular death among those with and without diabetes, compared with placebo. The findings will be presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress.

Full Story: Healio (free registration)/Cardiology Today (7/30)

The number of children and adolescents who presented with diabetic ketoacidosis at type 1 diabetes diagnosis rose from 24.1% in 2018 and 24.5% in 2019 to 44.7% in 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdown in Germany between March 13 and May 13, according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Based on data from the German Diabetes Prospective Follow-up Registry involving 532 youths, findings also revealed an increase in the rates of severe DKA, especially among children younger than age 6.

Full Story: Medscape (free registration) (7/30)

A study in Diabetes Care showed a more than threefold increased amputation risk among diabetes patients who were admitted to a tertiary care center for diabetic foot ulceration during the COVID-19 lockdown in Italy from March 9 to May 18, compared with those seen in January through May 2019. Researchers said the “higher risk of amputation observed during COVID-19 lockdown confirms the need for proper and timely management of DFU patients to prevent dramatic outcomes responsible for a reduction of quality of life and increased morbidity and mortality.”

Full Story: Physician's Briefing/HealthDay News (7/29)

Some members of the Trump administration are reportedly trying to block proposals from Republican senators to include $25 billion to support COVID-19 testing and contact tracing as part of new pandemic relief legislation. Administration officials are also reportedly trying to remove $10 billion for the CDC from the package.

Full Story: The Washington Post (tiered subscription model) (7/18)

A meta-analysis of 129 studies involving 10,069,955 individuals found that among those with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, and even among the general populations, prediabetes was tied to a higher risk for cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality. The study was published in The BMJ.

Full Story: Physician's Briefing/HealthDay News(7/17)

A study in Diabetes Care found that patients with diabetes who had received influenza vaccination had lower risk of all-cause death, cardiovascular death, and death from acute myocardial infarction or stroke, compared with those who were not vaccinated. Based on data from 241,551 patients, the study also found that flu vaccination was tied to a lower risk of hospital admission for acute complications associated with diabetes, such as hypoglycemia, diabetic ketoacidosis or coma.

Full Story: Physician's Briefing/HealthDay News (7/17)

A database analysis published in Diabetes Care found that adults who were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes between the ages of 10 and 29 had a higher risk of developing renal failure, compared with those who developed diabetes between the ages of 30 and 39. Based on data from 1,113,201 adults with type 2 diabetes, the findings also revealed that when death from end-stage renal disease without renal replacement therapy was considered, the incidence of end-stage renal disease was greater among those with older-onset diabetes, compared with those with younger-onset diabetes.

Full Story: Healio (free registration)/Endocrine Today (7/13)

A study in Diabetologia found that fasting blood glucose of 7.0 mmol/L or higher at admission was an independent predictor for 28-day mortality among COVID-19 patients with no previous diagnosis of diabetes. Based on data from 605 COVID-19 patients with no pre-existing diabetes, the findings showed 28-day mortality was twice as high for those with a fasting blood glucose of 6.1-6.9 mmol/L and more than threefold higher for those with fasting blood glucose of 7.0 mmol/L or greater, compared with patients with normal glucose.

Full Story: Medscape (free registration) (7/13)

Researchers have found a way to preserve living human pancreatic slices for almost 2 weeks, allowing them to observe beta cell regeneration in real time. Described in the journal Nature Communications, the process could pave the way for developing new diabetes treatments, the researchers said.

Full Story: Diabetes (UK) (7/8)