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TUESDAY, June 7, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- High-tech devices and communication helped ease the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns on children with type 1 diabetes, researchers said in a new study.Pandemic shutdowns caused significant disruptions in health care, and previous studies have shown that diabetes patients had worse blood sugar (glucose) control and more difficulty accessing care during the early days of the pandemic.But the researchers also believe that the increased use of continuous glucose monitoring and rapid implementation of telemedicine were major factors in preventing worse outcomes among patients. "Our diabetes team implemented telemedicine visits within weeks of the shutdown [in 2020], allowing us to provide care to our patients in an efficient and timely manner," said Dr....

MONDAY, June 6, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Obesity is a well-known risk factor for type 2 diabetes. Now, a large new study adds to evidence that it also contributes to the much less common type 1 diabetes.The study, of nearly 1.5 million Israeli teenagers, found that those who were obese were twice as likely to develop type 1 diabetes by young adulthood, versus those in the normal weight range.Experts said the findings add to evidence that obesity should be considered a risk factor for type 1 diabetes."It's important to have a healthy body mass index for many reasons, and this is yet another one," said Frank Martin, senior director of research at JDRF, a nonprofit that funds type 1 diabetes research. Martin, who was not involved in the study, said that past research on obesity and type 1...

MONDAY, June 6, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Patients with advanced cancer often suffer crippling fatigue, but there has been little in the way of relief for them as they battle their disease.Now, a new investigation may have landed on a surprising solution -- a dummy pill that contains no medication of any kind."Cancer-related fatigue is the most frequent and debilitating symptom experienced by advanced cancer patients," explained study author Dr. Sriram Yennu. In fact, between 60% and 90% of patients end up waylaid by persistent fatigue, noted Yennu, a professor of palliative, rehabilitation and integrative medicine at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.Encouraging patients to engage in physical activity is the usual go-to treatment. But many patients simply...

MONDAY, June 6, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- A newly approved drug for type 2 diabetes may be a game-changer for treating obesity, too.Given as a shot once a week, tirzepatide works on two naturally occurring hormones that help tell the brain that you are full. It may be as effective as weight-loss surgery."About nine of 10 people in the study lost weight, and the average weight loss for the highest dose was 22.5%, which is something we have never seen before," said study co-author Dr. Ania Jastreboff. She is an associate professor at Yale University School of Medicine and co-director of the Yale Center for Weight Management, in New Haven, Conn. "These results are an important step forward in potentially expanding effective therapeutic options for people with obesity," Jastreboff said.The...