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Researcher Seeks Lower Blood Sugar: Health Briefs

Posted on: Tuesday, 3 January 2006, 12:00 CST

By Times-News, Burlington, N.C., Times-News, Burlington, N.C.

Jan. 3--BATON ROUGE, La. -- A Pennington Biomedical Research Center researcher believes that diabetic patients should aim for much lower levels of blood sugar than current guidelines suggest. He believes the current recommendations for blood sugar levels are not low enough to avoid a major complication of diabetes: heart disease. Citing research published in the December issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. William Cefalu said that if the medical community believes long-term control of blood sugar levels can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, then "a reassessment of our clinical goals may be in order." The work, published Dec. 22, says that more aggressive control of blood sugar levels, by use of a more intensive insulin regimen, appears to help avoid long-term cardiovascular disease. Cefalu made his remarks in an editorial in the same issue of the journal. Currently, physicians advise diabetic patients to maintain a blood sugar level of 7 percent, which is suggested by the American Diabetes Association. This refers to the amount of blood sugar attached to hemoglobin, a protein found in red blood cells. A normal level is considered to be around 6 percent. Cefalu believes the medical community should rethink this number in light of the newly published findings suggesting that longterm intensive control of blood sugar levels leads to far less cardiovascular disease. He noted effects on the cardiovascular system that have been observed in people with Type 1 (or juvenile) diabetes compared to nondiabetic individuals. Cefalu acknowledged that these would be very difficult goals to reach, since many patients struggle to meet the existing guidelines. But he added, "The medical community needs better means, different strategies, and a different mind-set, if we hope to improve and maintain glycemic [blood sugar] control in patients with Type 1 diabetes and minimize side effects." Pennington Biomedical Research Center is part of Louisiana State University. It is the largest academic nutrition research center in the world, with the greatest number of obesity researchers on faculty. The center has 600 employees on a 234-acre campus in Baton Rouge.

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Copyright (c) 2006, Times-News, Burlington, N.C.

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Source: Times-News

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