Diabetes

The pain is still fresh, but Mary Ida Vandross has to find a way to face the music. A year after burying the last of her four children, the great song stylist Luther Vandross, the Philadelphia resident can hardly bear to hear recordings of her son's famed champagne tenor. "I'm getting a little adjusted to listening," she says. "Before, I just couldn't do it. It's one day at a time." She's promoting The Ultimate Luther Vandross, a posthumous best-of collection with two previously unreleased songs.

Dr. Frederick L. Brancati, an internationally known expert on the epidemiology and prevention of type 2 diabetes who was director of the Division of General Internal Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, died Tuesday of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, at his Lutherville home. He was 53. "He was a delightful human being — smart, witty and fun to be around," said Dr. Michael J. Klag, dean of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, whom Dr. Brancati succeeded as division chief.

Paula Deen's disclosure that she has type 2 Diabetes has triggered some harsh reactions. For years, Deen has featured high-calorie Southern foods in her cookbooks and on television. Some  folks are riled by the fact that that she was doing it while aware of her own diabetes, a disease that has been linked to a poor diets and excess weight. And they poked at Deen for aligning her new webste with Victoza, a diabetes medicine made by Novo Nordisk. Fellow celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain -- who has famously called Deen "the most dangerous person in America" -- issued a veiled tweet that did not mention her name, but was taken by many to refer to her. It said: "Thinking of getting into the leg-breaking business, so I can profitably sell crutches later.

As Monarch Academy music teacher Kenzie Turk talked about the trials of living with Type 1 diabetes, her service dog, Bear, lay nearby, drifting in and out of a deep sleep. Dozing in class isn't usually acceptable at the public charter school in Glen Burnie, but the 8-month-old black Labrador retriever had endured a busy night, waking Turk more than two dozen times to alert her that complications from the chronic disease had flared again, prompting her to take action before something went tragically wrong.

Long before Doug Masiuk became a serious runner, he had to learn how take his lifelong battle with Type 1 diabetes one step at a time. Diagnosed when he was a toddler, Masiuk, now 38, played soccer through high school at Severna Park. Once his soccer career ended, Masiuk had to find another physical activity to help him combat a life-threatening auto-immune disease that prevents the pancreas from producing insulin and can cause dangerously high blood-sugar levels. Several years ago, Masiuk turned to long-distance running.

Although my diabetes was diagnosed about 10 years ago, I had no significant problems with it until this past summer when both of my feet began to hurt, The pain has been getting worse, and pain killers like aspirin have not helped at all. Is there any treatment?You are almost certainly suffering from a common complication of diabetes referred to as distal or peripheral neuropathy.The most frequent symptoms are numbness and decreased sensitivity to touch and other sensory stimuli; tingling, pricking, or crawling sensations; and pain that can be severe at times.

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 people at St. Stephen African Methodist Episcopal Church in Essex believe their church and other black churches have been called by the spirit to break diabetes' destructive grip on the black community. Therefore, while St. Stephen still offers that old-time religion - with hymns to warm the soul and a Bible-based message to quench the hunger for spiritual knowledge - its health ministry might also throw in advice on healthy eating and exercise during the service. "We believe in the total development of a person," says St. Stephen's pastor, the Rev. William Gray III. "It's not good enough to be spiritual and not take care of the temple God has given you," he adds.

Two medical institutions are collaborating in a five-year study to see whether intensive patient education and physician training can reduce complications of hypertension and diabetes. The University of Maryland School of Medicine is recruiting 800 people with hypertension, and Bon Secours Baltimore Health System is enrolling 800 diabetics. Doctors will counsel and follow them to see whether greater attention to diet, medication and other factors makes a difference. The study will focus primarily on blacks, who suffer disproportionately from both diseases.

After growing up with a diabetic father, Tom Parks knew enough about diabetes to recognize the symptoms even before he was diagnosed six years ago.But it happened while he was on the road with his comedy act.And it seemed so unfair: "Wait!" he told the doctor. "I'm in Missouri and I've got diabetes?"The 41-year-old comedian, co-anchor of "Not Necessarily the News" on HBO, was in Baltimore last week for the 18th annual meeting of the American Association of Diabetes Educators. A spokesman for the manufacturer of a blood-sugar measuring device, as well as a member of the board of the American Diabetes Association, he says he wants to show that there is, indeed, life after diabetes.

Dr. Richard R. Rubin, a Johns Hopkins psychologist who counseled children and adults on how to cope with the emotional effects of diabetes, died of complications from prostate cancer March 25 at Johns Hopkins Hospital. The Monkton resident was 69. Born in Lima, Peru, he was the son of Goldie Rubin and Morton Rubin, a scientist who worked in meteorology in South America, Antarctica and South Africa. He lived with his parents in Pretoria, South Africa, and was a 1961 graduate of Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda.

The Jarrettsville Lions welcomed new member Ken Bowers, right, along with his sponsor Ron Holmes. Bowers has a deep interest in diabetes and will be working with that committee of the Lions Club.

Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler said Wednesday he has filed a lawsuit against GlaxoSmithKline, LLC for falsely saying three of its diabetes drugs were better than others on the market. The company also withheld data that showed the drugs - Avandia, Avandamet and Avandaryl - increase a patient's chance of suffering a heart attack, liver damage, excessive fluid retention and other adverse effects, the lawsuit alleges. The company promoted the drug as safe, sometimes using doctors in marketing efforts.

Living with diabetes The University of Maryland Center for Diabetes and Endocrinology will discuss simple nutrition and exercise changes to achieve weight loss, lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol and prevent diabetes. Classes will be held from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Jan. 28 in Suite 119 in the Diabetes and Endocrinology Center at Baltimore Washington Medical Center, 301 Hospital Drive in Glen Burnie. Cost: $25. Reservations and information: 410-787-4940. Chronic conditions The county Department of Aging and Disabilities is partnering with Baltimore Washington Medical Center to offer a six-week workshop for adults with chronic conditions including diabetes, arthritis, high blood pressure, obesity, chronic pain or anxiety and heart disease.

Long before Doug Masiuk became a serious runner, he had to learn how take his lifelong battle with Type 1 diabetes one step at a time. Diagnosed when he was a toddler, Masiuk, now 38, played soccer through high school at Severna Park. Once his soccer career ended, Masiuk had to find another physical activity to help him combat a life-threatening auto-immune disease that prevents the pancreas from producing insulin and can cause dangerously high blood-sugar levels. Several years ago, Masiuk turned to long-distance running.

Diabetes is the leading cause of new cases of blindness among adults 20 to 74 years old. Dr. Michael Grodin, co-director of retinal services and director of clinical research at Katzen Eye Group, discusses eye problems and the link to diabetes. Why is blindness from diabetes becoming so prevalent? As the number of people with diabetes is sharply rising, more people are developing complications like diabetic retinopathy — damage to the retina caused by diabetes. From 2000 to 2010, there was an 89 percent increase in the number of people with diabetic retinopathy, which is almost 7.7 million people.

I have been worried ever since my doctor discovered my diabetes three years ago, because my mother had a lower leg amputated as a result of this disease. What can I do to avoid an amputation?Diabetes is often complicated by a decrease or loss of sensation in the feet (peripheral neuropathy) and accelerated hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis) that obstructs the delivery of blood to the feet. With the poor sensation, minor injuries or blisters often go unrecognized and untreated. Reduced blood supply prevents healing, leading to infections and the development of ulcers.

Charlie Kimball has red, curly hair and sharp blue eyes that focus hard as he leans forward in his chair. There is no doubting his intensity. He doesn't want to waste any time. He has a story to tell, and he can't wait to get started. Surprisingly, it's not about some feat in his Chip Ganassi racecar, though he has had a few during this his rookie IndyCar season, which continues at this weekend's Baltimore Grand Prix. Instead, it's about how he is working to use his personal health problem — Type 1 diabetes — to help others.

Calvin Maddox was buried today, in the city where he won acclaim. The point guard on Dunbar's 1977 and 1978 Maryland Scholastic Association A Conference basketball champions, he was 54 years old. Maddox, who lived in Baltimore, died Nov. 2 after battling diabetes for a number of years. A three-sport standout at Dunbar, he was The Evening Sun's Male Athlete of the Year in 1978, after earning All-Metro honors in basketball, winning the MSA long jump and starring in football as a running back.

Description: The University of Maryland Baltimore County's Center for Aging Studies won a $1.4 million National Institutes of Health grant to explore the experiences of elderly, urban diabetes patients. The research will focus largely on how the patients care for themselves in their diet, exercise and treatment. Researchers: J. Kevin Eck ert, professor and chairman of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, and Sarah Chard, an assistant professor, are joint principal investigators.