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Researcher Ian Joughin stands along the edge of a large fracture running through the basin of a lake in Greenland. He and researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution wrote in Science Express that surface melt, though dramatic, may not be enough to cause catastrophic loss of ice sheet mass. (Sarah Das, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) |
Discoveries
Blood sugar checks costly, and raise depression risk
DIABETES
Regular needle sticks are, for many diabetics, the most annoying, painful, and expensive aspect of the disease. Previous research has suggested that such home monitoring might not be helpful for diabetics who don't need insulin. Now, a new study suggests it might even cause harm. Judit Simon of the University of Oxford and colleagues examined more than 400 patients, all of whom had type II diabetes and did not require insulin as part of their therapy. The patients were randomly divided into three groups: two that received training in home monitoring and a third that received usual diabetes care, including taking medications and visiting the doctor regularly. Researchers found that after 12 months, patients in the home monitoring groups cost the healthcare system $180 more than the standardized group. Plus, patients in the home monitoring groups reported a decreased quality of life and increased chance of depression.BOTTOM LINE: Patients with type II diabetes who don't require insulin don't benefit enough from self-monitoring to justify the cost.
CAUTIONS: "There may be a subset of patients who might do better with home sugar monitoring," says Simon.
WHAT'S NEXT: Identifying exactly which patients might benefit from home monitoring is an important challenge for future researchers.
WHERE TO FIND IT: The British Medical Journal, April 18.
SUSHRUT JANGI
BIOLOGY
Americans have a distinct metabolic signature
Urine samples can be used to determine a person's characteristic "metabolic signature" - a description of the way in which the body processes food - which in turn may help in determine the person's risk for stroke and heart attacks. British researchers, in the largest study of its kind, recently examined metabolic profiles of almost 5,000 middle-aged people from China, Japan, UK, and the United States, along with their lifestyle, and dietary information. The data was analyzed for hundreds of metabolites - chemicals made during metabolism in the body. Researchers found that people in the UK and the United States were very similar metabolically, but very different from Western populations. Chinese and Japanese people had different metabolic profiles, even though they are genetically quite similar, and Japanese living in the United States were similar to other Americans even though they are genetically different. Researchers concluded that environment and lifestyle may be at least as important as genes in determining metabolic differences among populations.BOTTOM LINE: "Where you live, what you eat, and what you do is more important than who you are," said professor Jeremy Nicholson from Imperial College London, one of the study's lead authors. "Our work complements the new generation of genetic studies in finding new indicators for heart disease, stroke, and other illnesses."
CAUTIONS: The study is the first of its kind and uses previously collected data. More work is needed before the metabolites analyzed in the study can be used as markers for disease risks in individuals.
WHAT'S NEXT: The researchers want to look at populations over a length of time and correlate their lifestyle and dietary habits to blood pressure.
WHERE TO FIND IT: Nature, April 20 online
SENA DESAI GOPAL
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