Today's Top Story: Diabetes Study Stirs Treatment Debate

A study shows that diabetes patients who used medicine to
lower their cholesterol and blood pressure displayed improvements
in several important markers of heart and vascular disease, but
they were just as likely as less aggressively treated patients to
have heart attacks and strokes.

The debate hit the front pages of the nation's newspapers early in
February when findings from the 10,000-person ACCORD study suggested
that rather than reducing heart attack and stroke deaths, intensive
blood sugar lowering may increase such risks among people with type 2
diabetes.

"We have basically taken as gospel that if we change risk factors
[like LDL, blood pressure, and blood sugar] good things will happen,"
Duke University Medical Center cardiologist Eric D. Peterson, MD, tells
WebMD.

"Studies like ACCORD and this one suggest that modifying risk factors
alone may not ensure better outcomes."

BAR-SF


ELLIS: {Notice that they don't say to what level they lowered
blood glucose. And if this is the same study as I commented
about last month, they were all high risk heart disease patients
anyways... and in that study they didn't lower their blood
sugars low enough, not even to 5.5% which is still too high,
"according to Ellis" and also "according to Dr. Bernstein."

Anyways... anybody that is smart and wants to live a long and
healthy life should continue to keep blood glucose levels well
controlled... That means less than 100 mg/dl all day every day,
preferably near 85 mg/dl... and eat a diet that is low in fruits
and starches and breads and sweets and cereals and sugar, and
high in protein and vegetables... and do exercise...

Growth Hormone replacement therapy is a great idea, but I think
by unanimous consent, 100% of all diabetes specialists including
Doctor Bernstein are against it for diabetics.

I am not against growth hormone replacement for diabetics,
but I am not a doctor, and I am not a diabetic... Diabetics
and non-diabetics must control their blood glucose, and if
blood glucose is controlled, they will live happily ever after...

And if blood glucose is not controlled, they will suffer the
consequence of high blood glucose, and also of a lack of
growth hormone if they don't take growth hormone, and they
will not suffer the lack of growth hormone if they do take
growth hormone. It sounds too simple, but that is how I see
it.

The important thing is: Nobody will ever convince 100% of
everybody. I am not trying to convince diabetes doctors or
diabetes patients to take growth hormone, and I am not phased
by studies that show that lower blood glucose levels do not
lower mortality. I am convinced that lower blood glucose
levels lower mortality, and the studies themselves are mistaken
or incorrectly interpreted.

So you can be certain that I will continue to take insulin
to control my blood glucose, and so far, so good.

- Ellis}