A small collection of blood thinners and diabetes medication cause two-thirds of emergency hospitalizations in older Americans, a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found.

Officials say each year there are nearly 100,000 emergency hospitalizations for adverse drug events among seniors, and they are trying to identifying which drugs are most likely to lead to overdoses or cause an unintended effect on the patient.

“These data suggest that focusing safety initiatives on a few medicines that commonly cause serious, measurable harms can improve care for many older Americans,” said Dr. Dan Budnitz, director of CDC’s Medication Safety Program, in a statement. “Blood thinners and diabetes medicines often require blood testing and dosing changes, but these are critical medicines for older adults with certain medical conditions. Doctors and patients should continue to use these medications but remember to work together to safely manage them.”

Authors of the study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, looked at data from 58 hospitals participating in the CDC’s National Electronic Injury Surveillance System-Cooperative Adverse Drug Event Surveillance project between 2007 and 2009.

Those aged 80 and older suffered almost half of the adverse drug events and two-thirds were due to overdoses or unintended effects of normal doses. Four drugs, alone or together, accounted for two-thirds of the hospitalizations: warfarin for blood clots (33 percent), insulins to control blood sugar in diabetics (14 percent), antiplatelets such as aspirin to prevent clots (13 percent) and oral hypoglycemic agents for diabetes (11 percent).

For more information about programs to reduce adverse drug events, go to  www.cdc.gov/medicationsafety.

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Categories: Diabetes, Drugs
        

American Chemical Society is reporting that scientists have successfully tested a sensor that can measure blood sugar levels from tears instead of blood, an advancement that could save diabetics from having to prick their fingers over and over.

The scientists say about 5 percent of the world’s population, which amounts to 26 million people in the United States, have diabetes and the number is growing.

Many of them now have to collect a blood drop multiple times a day and check it. The pain could be enough to discourage testing, said Mark Meyerhoff, a chemical professor at the University of Michigan.

That’s why he and others began looking for an alternative, a sensor they’ve tested on rabbits.

“Thus, it may be possible to measure tear glucose levels multiple times per day to monitor blood glucose changes without the potential pain from the repeated invasive blood drawing method,” said the researcher in a report that is published in the journal Analytical Chemistry.

AFP/Getty photo

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Categories: Diabetes
        

Have questions about health care reform in Maryland or want to hear about effort to improve residents' health?

The Maryland Science Center will host a free public health forum on Monday at 7:30 p.m. related to the reform effort and visions for the future of public health.

The forum is called “Public Policy and Our Health” and will be preceded by a reception for the first 100 registrants at 6:30 p.m. It stems from a traveling exhibit at the center, at 601 Light Street in Baltimore, about diabetes.

On the panel will be:

+Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein, secretary of the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and a former deputy commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration. He will talk about health care reform in the state and improving access to care for diabetes and other public health issues.

+Dr. Oxiris Barbot, commissioner of health for Baltimore City. She will discuss Healthy Baltimore 2015, an effort to address 10 of the city’s top health problems.

+Dr. Michelle Gourdine, chief executive and principal consultant for Michelle Gourdine and Associates LLC and a clinical assistant professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. She will talk about health inequities caused by public policy and cultural and social forces. She will also sign her book, Reclaiming Our Health: A Guide to African American Wellness.

There is no cost, but public participants must register. Send an email with your name and email address to publichealthprogram@marylandsciencecenter.org. Limit four guests per registration. The forum is sponsored by AEGON Transamerica Foundation.

For more information go to www.marylandsciencecenter.org or call 410-685-5225.

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Categories: Diabetes, Health care reform
        

Diabetes has reached epidemic proportions, with more than 230 million people around the globe and 26 million people in this country suffering. A new exhibit at the Maryland Science Center in the Inner Harbor gives people an up-close look at the disease and how to prevent it.

Called Diabetes: A Deeper Look, the exhibit uses dozens of interactive displays to explain the disease’s risk factors and means of prevention and management. 

For example, visitors can take a stroll through a giant blood vessel (see above), made of more than 40,000 LED lights pulsating to the sound of a heartbeat. They can see how much sugar is in their soft drinks. And a full-size model of a body shows how parts are impacted when someone doesn’t produce enough insulin.

Other displays from the American Diabetes Association answer common questions about prevention. The Science Center will also host public event on maintaining a healthy lifestyle and the latest research from June-August.

For more information, call 410-685-5225 or go to marylandsciencecenter.org.

Photo courtesy of the Maryland Sciene Center

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Categories: Diabetes
        

Johns Hopkins joined five other universities in sharing $1.3 million in McKesson Foundation money to study how mobile technology can help patients manage diabetes.

Dr. Lawrence Cheskin, an associate professor in the Bloomberg School of Public Health and director of the Johns Hopkins Weight Management Center, will use the money to study “Tailored Rapid Interactive Mobile Messaging” for weight control among the underserved.

The foundation, affiliated with the McKesson health care services company, funds research into chronic disease management in the United States, with a current focus on diabetes. These grants, of up to $250,000, will be used specifically for programs that use mobile devices to improve patient care as part of a foundation project called “Mobilizing for Healthsm.”

They will be completed in a year and will target patients serviced by community health centers.

“These studies are part of an ongoing foundation effort to tie innovative technologies to low-cost, scalable health solutions in order to better help patients manage their chronic conditions,” said Carrie Varoquiers, president of the McKesson Foundation, in a statement. “Through initiatives like Mobilizing for Healthsm, the McKesson Foundation is committed to increasing access to affordable, high-quality healthcare for all.”

The foundation notes that diabetes is a growing health problem around the country. The American Diabetes Association reports that 25.8 million American children and adults have diabetes, more than 8 percent of the population. Rates are higher among minorities. And the associated health care and indirect costs reached $174 billion in 2007. 

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Categories: Diabetes