February 5, 2010 (JDRF) - In a landmark study in children and teenagers with type 1 diabetes, JDRF-funded researchers at the University of Cambridge showed that using a first-generation artificial pancreas system overnight can lower the risk of low blood sugar emergencies while sleeping, and at the same time improve diabetes control. 

February 3, 2010 (EurekAlert) - A small but significant proportion of morbidly obese people are missing a section of their DNA, according to research published today in Nature. The authors of the study, from Imperial College London and ten other European Centres, say that missing DNA such as that identified in this research may be having a dramatic effect on some people's weight.

February 3, 2010 (EurekAlert) - A hormone responsible for the body's stress response is also linked to the growth of insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, according to JDRF- funded researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in California. The findings are the latest advances to underscore the potential for regeneration as a key component of a possible cure for type 1 diabetes.

February 3, 2010 (Newswise) - The levels of an inflammatory chemokine were significantly elevated in patients with pancreatic cancer who were extremely obese, according to research conducted by scientists at the Jefferson Pancreatic, Biliary and Related Cancers Center. They presented their data at the 5th Annual Academic Surgical Congress, held in San Antonio.

February 2, 2010 (EurekAlert) - By considering molecular-level events on a broader scale, researchers now have a clearer, if more complicated, picture of how one class of immune cells goes wrong when loaded with cholesterol. The findings reported in the February 3rd issue of Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication, show that, when it comes to the development of atherosclerosis and heart disease, it's not about any one bad actor—it's about a network gone awry.

February 2, 2010 (EurekAlert) - Researchers reporting in the February 3rd issue of Cell Metabolism may have a new way to trick the body into consuming more energy. The target in this case is an enzyme that indirectly controls the activity of what the researchers refer to as the "energy master switch." It boils down to this: When you give mice a chemical that blocks the function of the enzyme known as Fyn kinase, they almost immediately begin burning more fat.

February 2, 2010 (Newswise) - Together with colleagues in Barcelona, researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have generated a complete map of the areas of the genome that control which genes are “turned on” or “off.” The discovery, made in pancreatic islet cells, opens new avenues for understanding the genetic basis of type 2 diabetes and other common illnesses.

February 2, 2010 (Newswise) - Lurking in your kitchen may be a killer. According to Saint Louis University cardiologist Melda Dolan, M.D., the fast, convenient and processed foods that fill American’s freezers and pantries are bad news for your heart and waistline, as well as your taste buds.

This February, in honor of American Heart Month, Dolan is encouraging the SLU community to give their kitchen a heart-healthy makeover.

February 1, 2010 (EurekAlert) - Although transplantation of pancreatic islets is an attractive way to treat type 1 diabetes, early islet loss soon after transplantation has limited its clinical use. By studying islet transplantation in a mouse model of diabetes, a team of researchers, at the RIKEN Research Center for Allergy and Immunology, Japan, and Fukuoka University, Japan, has now identified a potential new set of targets to improve the efficiency of pancreatic islet transplantation.

February 1, 2010 (Trinity College Dublin) - New research on Type 2 diabetes by Trinity College Dublin  researchers could benefit young adults (aged 18-25 years) with the condition. The research led by Professor John Nolan of Trinity College Dublin and St James’s Hospital, Dublin, has just been published online in the leading international journal, Diabetes Care.