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Pancreatic cancer is one of the most difficult cancers to treat, being highly resistant to chemotherapy. However, there are no effective alternative therapies to chemotherapy, so chemo remains the best available treatment. Researchers report that a hyperglycemic state—that is, one where the blood glucose level is raised—made pancreatic cancer more sensitive to chemotherapy in a mouse model. (Pancreatic cancer is more formally known as Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma and shortened as PDAC). Results were replicated in cell culture and a cohort of patients with metastatic PDAC. These findings present a potentially new method of making chemotherapy more effective against pancreatic cancer,...

Several factors increase the risk of heart attack, such as high blood sugar (hyperglycemia), obesity, abnormal cholesterol levels, high blood pressure (hypertension), and smoking. A study has quantified the impact of each factor associated with death from cardiovascular disease. Hyperglycemia correlated 5 to 10 times more than other factors. "Regardless of the control we used—and we tested variables, statistical models and methods of different kinds—diabetes was also associated with mortality from cardiovascular disease. Moreover, the association was not confined to the year analyzed but lasted for up to a decade," said Renato Gaspar. According to the authors, the findings provide...

Automated insulin delivery system will ease some of the burden of living with the condition "This first-of-its-kind technology can provide people with type 1 diabetes greater freedom to live their lives without having to consistently and manually monitor baseline glucose levels and administer insulin," Dr. Jeffrey Shuren, director of the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said in an agency news release. The device -- Medtronic's MiniMed 670G -- is what's known as a hybrid closed-loop system. That means it monitors blood sugar and then delivers necessary background (also known as basal) insulin doses. The device will also shut...

Traditional Chinese herbal medicines have been found to effectively slow the progression from prediabetes to diabetes diagnosis in a clinical trial. Yuan said that traditional Chinese herbs can be used to control blood sugar levels, either by consuming alone or in combination with other treatments. The study will be published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism (JCEM).

Vitamin D Tied to Hypertension, Hyperglycemia: Teens with the lowest vitamin D levels had low HDL, metabolic syndrome, and high triglicerides. Low serum levels of vitamin D were linked to increased blood pressure, hyperglycemia, and obesity in an analysis of more than 3,500 American teenagers, a link previously seen in adults. “Vitamin D plays a useful role in general human health. We are just now beginning to understand the role that vitamin D may play in cardiovascular health,” said Dr. Jared P. Reis, who presented a poster on the associations of vitamin D levels and cardiovascular risk factors at a...