She said that while she wasn’t planning to make any major lifestyle changes in the wake of the diagnosis, she did make changes “in” her life, including taking more walks and taking a drug called Victoza. Other than drinking less sweet tea she didn’t mention any dietary changes. Diet, of course, plays a huge part in both preventing and managing Type 2 diabetes.

Deen’s mention of the drug she takes is no accident: She also announced she’s a paid spokesperson for the drug.

And that admission, along with her lack of acknowledgement that her high-fat recipes could contribute to the disease, is drawing fire from many nutritional experts, health care professionals and some fans. When asked if the diagnosis would cause her to re-examine her recipes, she said “I’m your cook, I’m not your doctor. You are going to have to be responsible for yourself.” (Her son, incidentally, recently landed his own show, “Not My Mamma’s Meals” which focus on lighter versions of the same kind of foods Deen makes.)

No doubt, people are responsible for what they put in their own mouths. But the average American’s nutritional ignorance is well-documented. It’s easy to believe that many people treat recipes touted by someone as popular as Deen as a normal and healthy way to eat — not as the type of high-carb fat-bomb they should treat as an occasional indulgence.

Even other chefs have been critical of Deen’s position. Chef and TV personality Anthony Bourdain once said of her cuisine (before the announcement of her diabetes), “If I were on at seven at night and loved by millions of people at every age, I would think twice before telling an already obese nation that it’s OK to eat food that is killing us.” After her announcement he tweeted a response that likened her stance to “getting into the leg-breaking business” in order to sell a lot of crutches.

Does Deen have a responsibility to model healthier eating patterns to her audience? Or is it up to grown adults to figure out their own path to healthy eating? Sound off in the comments.

A study published in PLoS Medicine found that employees, especially women, who work even just a few overnight shifts a month may be at a greater risk for Type 2 diabetes.

Several health factors are negatively affected by rotating shift work, including obesity, high blood pressure, depression, heart disease and decreased metabolism. The body often has trouble adjusting when normal sleep patterns are disturbed, which can contribute to those conditions. Also, nurses working rotating shifts may not always get proper exercise and nutrition.

Since obesity is linked to Type 2 diabetes, it’s no wonder shift work is correlated with the disease.

Women who had rotating work schedules for 20 years had a 60% greater chance of developing the disorder than those who never worked night shifts. Women on shift work for 10-19 years had a 40% greater chance, and those who spent three to nine years on shift work had a 20% greater chance.

The study only included nurses whose schedules rotated between night and day shifts.

In addition to that study, the Institute of Medicine recently released a report stating there is evidence of a possible link between shift work and breast cancer.

Hospital management can help prevent those issues by offering wellness programs to encourage nurses who work rotating shifts to get the proper diet, rest and excercise.

Jay Radcliffe, a security expert who also happens to be diabetic, did a little off-the-job research and discovered there are flaws in the pumps that would allow a hacker to remotely control them and alter the amount of insulin delivered to the patient.

While no real-life hacking attempts are known to have been made, Radcliffe warned that the capability is there for anyone so motivated. The discovery also raises concerns that other medical devices, such as pacemakers, deep-brain stimulators and an array of operating room devices that are built to be remotely controlled by patients and/or doctors, could also be at risk.

Most medical device manufacturers say the risk of such attacks is low, because only people with very specialized knowledge would be able to breach the devices’ security.

But some lawmakers are taking notice. Two members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Representatives Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Ed Markey (D-MA), have written to the General Accountability Office to investigate how safe medical devices with built-in wireless connectivity are. You can see the letter here.

Researchers at Stanford University crunched data from a huge FDA side effects database, looking for evidence of diabetes-related drug interactions. They found that two drugs commonly used to treat depression and high cholesterol appear to make a dangerous combination.

According to the report, taking Paxil (paroxetine) and Pravachol (pravastin) can dangerously increase some patients’ blood sugar, sending borderline patients into a diabetic state or making existing cases of the disease harder to control. Researchers estimate more than 700,000 people take both drugs.

The finding was completely unexpected. The researchers said it showed the value of having access to large numbers of electronic health records so they can essentially study large populations in real time.

The study was published in Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics.

It works by allowing the microbes that occur naturally in the human gut to do their work in fighting off the bacteria. C. difficile is particularly tough to treat due to a virulent strain that’s proven to be antibiotic-resistant. The fecal transplants by comparison have a 90% cure rate.

The procedure has been around since the ’80s, but is gaining wider use now as researchers test it’s ability to treat patients with other GI disorders, and even metabolic syndrome, which can often lead to diabetes.

While the transplants are effective, and relatively cheap, they’re generally considered a last resort. And because stool is not yet a marketable biologic product, the procedure isn’t federally regulated.

In a recent column for the Los Angeles Times, Valerie Ulene argues that obese people are often assumed (wrongly) to be lazy, undisciplined or stupid. And those biases are just as common among health care providers as they are the general public.

Ulene claims that many people who hold those biases against the obese are more likely — consciously or not — to use negative tactics, like shaming and stigmatizing, to motivate people to lose weight. Not only are they less likely to work than positive reinforcement, but when coming from a health care provider patients should be able to trust, the effects can worsen whatever issues are underlying the person’s weight gain.

Worse, if the interaction with a doctor or nurse becomes too negative, obese patients who are already at higher risk for serious illnesses like diabetes and heart disease, are likely to put off medical appointments.
Do you agree that too-negative feedback from health care pros is hurting patients? If so, how should this touchy topic be addressed? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Among the report’s findings: For the 12-month period that ended in March 2010, 59.1 million people had no health insurance for at least part of the year. That’s an increase of about 400,000 people from the prior year.

About half of the increase was among adults with family incomes two to three times higher than the federal poverty level. (The current poverty rate is about $22,000 for a family of four.) For many of those who are newly uninsured, it’s because they no longer have access to private insurance. Private insurance coverage has dropped by about 9% over the past 10 years. Public insurance programs cover many of those families’ children — but the adults frequently lose all coverage.

Not surprisingly, adults who didn’t have insurance were more likely to forgo care. Last year, 40% of uninsured adults with a chronic health condition such as asthma, diabetes or high blood pressure skipped treatment.

For more information, visit the CDC site.

A variety of studies and programs have shown it works. And improved compliance can keep patients out of the hospital — saving money in the long run. That’s especially true for vital maintenance drugs for chronic conditions like diabetes, or drugs like blood-thinners that can prevent serious conditions from developing.

But the practice isn’t without its potential drawbacks. For starters, there’s the question of how long and how much patients should be paid. Once they’re on a regular schedule, should payments continue? Or is the benefit of the medication (and the momentum of routine) enough to keep them compliant?

Some health care professionals and ethicists question the fairness of paying people who aren’t compliant to take their meds, while the patients who are more responsible and take the medication on their own aren’t “rewarded.”

A group of students in the University of New Mexico’s physician assistant program were offering free blood sugar tests at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque. The diabetes screening was offered as part of the center’s “Pueblo Days” celebration of American Indian Week. Each patient had a finger pricked to obtain a small blood sample for testing.

Unfortunately, after the event, school officials realized that the students had re-used the single-use devices on several patients, and hadn’t kept appropriate records of their activities.

Officials estimate that as many as 55 patients were put at risk of contracting Hepatitis B and C, although other diseases such as HIV could also have been transmitted.

If there’s any good news, the design of the “sticker” means that the risk of transmission is very small — though not non-existent. The estimated risk of infection is less than 0.5%, according to the school.

The school is working with the Indian Health Service, the New Mexico Department of Health, and the CDC to identify the patients who were put at risk. The school will provide testing for affected patients as well as any needed treatment.

LaCoste, who had congestive heart failure and diabetes, was brought to the hospital by her family before the storm, to deal with complications from pneumonia.

By all accounts, staffers did a heroic job trying to keep LaCoste alive after the storm — hand-pumping air into her lungs for hours in the darkened building.

Her family is now suing — not for medical negligence, but general negligence.

Methodist originally fought the suit, saying Katrina was an “act of God” that couldn’t be foreseen — or protected against — and that LaCoste’s poor health meant she may not have survived even if she had been transported to another hospital.

But the hospital’s own records show it had previously identified building projects that would have better protected the hospital. Among the projects the hospital management had identified but never actually started: moving a key generator from the first floor to the roof, specifically to protect against losing power during a major flood.

This week, the hospital settled the case. The terms of the settlement were sealed.

But several cases in New Orleans are still pending, including another suit against Methodist filed by the family of a 58-year-old woman who died in the same ward as LaCoste.