Diabetes

Candy canes, pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes, oh my. Holiday treats can wreak havoc on anyone's diet plan, but for the approximately 23.6 million Americans with diabetes who are trying to maintain good glucose control, the festive season can be particularly difficult to navigate. Nonetheless, this doesn't mean that diabetics can't join in the festivities, says Michelle Bravo, a dietitian and certified diabetes educator at the Johns Hopkins Diabetes Center. There are steps that can be taken to help maintain good health.

When we first heard about Maggie Smith's situation, it didn't seem as serious as some we've dealt with in The Sun's monthly Make Over My Meal series. Boy, were we wrong. The 32-year-old working mother of two does a good job of getting a meal on the table every night in spite of a lengthy commute from Owings Mills to her home in Frankford. Usually the family has dinner together, and everyone pretty much eats the same thing. While 4-year-old Melina and 2-year-old Myles aren't great eaters, they enjoy some fruits; and Smith makes sure they drink lots of milk.

Researchers said yesterday that they have identified seven new genes connected to the most common form of diabetes - the latest result of an intensifying race between university researchers and private companies to find genes linked to a range of diseases. The findings, presented in three reports by university scientists and one report by a private company, offer novel insights into the biology of a disease that affects 170 million people worldwide. And the sudden spate of new results marks an acceleration, and perhaps a turning point, in the ability to find disease genes, the long-promised payoff from the Human Genome Project that began in 1989.

Health screenings offered at center Upper Chesapeake Healthlink's Community Wellness Center at 626A Revolution St. in Havre de Grace offers free blood pressure, sleep disorder and body composition screenings. Also available are cholesterol screenings for $10, osteoporosis screenings for $25, and full cardiac risk assessments for $20 (cash or check only). No appointments are necessary. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Wednesday. Osteoporosis screenings require a scan of the bare foot; dress so that socks or stockings may be easily removed.

For most people, candy and desserts are sweet indulgences to be enjoyed anytime. But for those with diabetes, the sugary temptations can make them sick, very sick.This can be especially difficult for the parents of children with diabetes. They constantly have to monitor what their child is eating, especially during the holidays, when treats seem to be everywhere."It takes over your life," says Joyce Mason of Glen Arm, whose 9-year-old son, Tyler, was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes when he was 2. "You don't have a child with diabetes.

Five of the eight managed care organizations providing health care for Maryland's poor failed to meet required standards, according to a study released yesterday.As a result, the state will withhold $640,000 in payments to the companies until their performance improves, said Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Secretary Georges C. Benjamin."These fines are in the range to get people's attention," Benjamin said. "I would like to see them improve."The report was the first independent evaluation of the state's HealthChoice program since it began in 1997.

NORFOLK, Va. -- Researchers from NASA Langley and Eastern Virginia Medical School are teaming up to develop an interactive computer system that could help improve blood flow in diabetic patients. Loss of blood flow can lead to nerve damage, gangrene and amputation.The technology, which draws on NASA experiments for airplane pilots, lets patients see a simulated, three-dimensional network of their own blood vessels. Shown as red and blue images, the vessels move with the patient's own pulse and contract and expand depending how well blood is flowing.

On his best days, Orioles fifth starter Jason Johnson carries what his manager describes as an "electric" fastball plus an obedient breaking ball and a developing changeup. Johnson also possesses the potential that the club sees in Sidney Ponson and Matt Riley, arms projected as the backbone of their rotation for at least the next four seasons.Johnson also lives with diabetes, a disease so intrusive he often carries a syringe with him to the bullpen. He is never far from the kit that tests his blood sugar level every two or three waking hours.

In November of 1997, Linda McKeldin had to depend on her mother to dress her. She was facing surgery for a disc in her back that had herniated into her spinal cord, and she had just found out she was diabetic.Next Sunday, McKeldin -- fully recovered, 23 pounds lighter and with her diabetes under control -- is looking forward to competing in the second annual Avon Running -- Baltimore 5K Walk/Fun Run. "I'm going to try to run the 5K," says McKeldin, 48, of Ellicott City, "and next year hopefully I'll be able to run 10K."

The Ravens Stadium's North Club Level Lounge was filled with sweet talk at the 11th annual Sugar Ball, a black-tie fund-raiser for the American Diabetes Association, Maryland Area.Executive director Cinda Showalter and event chair Dr. David Miller made the rounds through a crowd of 400, sprinkled with the likes of Sonya and Bruce Goodman, national and regional ADA board member; Dr. Christopher Saudek, director of the Johns Hopkins Diabetes Center; Donna Vaughn, area business man-ager for Parke-Davis; Dr. Alan Shuldiner, director of the Joslin Center for Diabetes at the University of Maryland Medical Center; Dr. Elizabeth Streeten, a Joslin Center endocrinologist; and Edwin Hale, CEO of First Mariner Bank.

Gastroparesis, otherwise called "paralyzed stomach," affects about 25 percent of people with type 1 diabetes and 10 percent of people with type 2 diabetes. People diagnosed with a neurologic disease, such as Parkinson's, and those who have had stomach ulcer surgery may also be affected. However, the largest group of individuals with paralyzed stomach suffers solely from this condition, without additional illness; they have what is called "idiopathic" gastroparesis. Dr. Linda Lee, board certified in internal medicine and gastroenterology and the director of the Johns Hopkins Integrative Medicine and Digestive Center, explains the disease and provides insights on symptoms, causes, diagnosis, treatments and prevention.

Richard L. Nelson, a retired insurance executive and medical philanthropist, died Aug. 10 from complications of diabetes at his Pikesville home. He was 89. Mr. Nelson was born and raised in Northwest Baltimore. He was a graduate of Castle Heights Military Academy in Lebanon, Tenn.. Graduating at 15, Mr. Nelson felt he was too young for college, so he took a job with an insurance company during the late 1930s making $12 a week. "He had his own private secretary when he was 17," said his wife of 42 years, the former Natalie "Nickie" Fish.

Elaine Works Interment, January 5, 2:30 P.M. at St. Mark Cemetery. Memorials may be made to the American Diabetes Assoc. Condolences may be sent at www.rsfh.net. Reins-Sturdivant Funeral Home of Newland is serving the Works family.

Candy canes, pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes, oh my. Holiday treats can wreak havoc on anyone's diet plan, but for the approximately 23.6 million Americans with diabetes who are trying to maintain good glucose control, the festive season can be particularly difficult to navigate. Nonetheless, this doesn't mean that diabetics can't join in the festivities, says Michelle Bravo, a dietitian and certified diabetes educator at the Johns Hopkins Diabetes Center. There are steps that can be taken to help maintain good health.

Glaucoma, a disease of the optic nerve that, left untreated, can cause blindness, occurs in approximately 1 percent to 2 percent of the population over the age of 40, says Dr. Donald Abrams, chief of Sinai Hospital's Department of Ophthalmology based at the Krieger Eye Institute. However, in some populations, such as among African-Americans, the disease occurs more frequently; and in some age groups, it can occur in 6 percent to 10 percent of the population. But the disease often goes undiscovered - and untreated.

In the hunt for better treatments for the growing and related epidemics of diabetes and obesity, researchers may have uncovered an unlikely drug: sugar. Tagatose is a natural, low-calorie sugar that has been used to sweeten such things as orange juice and candy in Europe. And, for a short time, it was used in Diet Pepsi Slurpees at 7-Eleven in the United States. But now tagatose is in a yearlong clinical trial to show that it's not just a palate pleaser but a manager for the most common form of diabetes, Type 2. If the trial goes well, it could be a big step in tagatose becoming a medicine, and eventually, an uber-sweet diet aid, according to an article in February's Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism.

Blood drive targets players' parents The Anne Arundel Medical Center Blood Mobile will host a blood drive at the 2008 Grant Turner Memorial Baseball Tournament from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the General's Highway Corridor Park in Crownsville. AAMC, in partnership with Nancy and Phil Turner, Grant's parents, is recruiting the parents of players to donate blood. This year's tournament will feature 67 registered teams. Held each spring by the Maryland Diamond Umpire Association, the tournament raises funds for the Officer Grant Turner Memorial Scholarship Fund.

Dr. Deepak Kashyap has joined the Endocrine and Diabetes Center at Franklin Square Hospital Center. Kashyap completed his medical training and a fellowship in endocrinology at the George Washington University School of Medicine. The American Urological Association Foundation, based in Linthicum, has named Sandra Vassos as executive director. Dr. Roy H. Phillips, of Harford Primary Care LLC in Forest Hill, has received recognition from the Diabetes Physician Recognition Program for providing quality care to his patients with diabetes.

Medicine has made life-saving advances in treating and preventing heart disease, the major killer of people with diabetes, yet female diabetics are dying at higher rates than three decades ago, researchers reported this week. "There's good news here; we are making progress," said Dr. Deborah Burnet, a diabetes expert at the University of Chicago. "The bad news is it appears to be limited to men." The trend has ominous public-health consequences, experts note. Diabetes is growing more common in the U.S. as the population gets older and fatter, and elderly women are the fastest-growing segment of society.

Health screenings offered at center Upper Chesapeake Healthlink's Community Wellness Center at 626A Revolution St. in Havre de Grace offers free blood pressure, sleep disorder and body composition screenings. Also available are cholesterol screenings for $10, osteoporosis screenings for $25, and full cardiac risk assessments for $20 (cash or check only). No appointments are necessary. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Wednesday. Osteoporosis screenings require a scan of the bare foot; dress so that socks or stockings may be easily removed.