UCLA-led study blames mental lapses on sleep-deprived brain cells
Ever sleep poorly and then walk out of the house without your keys? Or space out while driving to work and nearly hit a stalled car?
A new study led by UCLA’s Dr. Itzhak Fried is the first to reveal how sleep deprivation disrupts brain cells’ ability to communicate with each other. Fried and his colleagues believe that disruption leads to temporary mental lapses that affect memory and visual perception. Their findings are published online today by Nature Medicine.
“Lack of sleep interfered with the neurons’ ability to encode information and translate visual input into conscious thought.”
“We discovered that starving the body of sleep also robs neurons of the ability to function properly,” said Fried, the study’s senior author, a professor of neurosurgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and Tel Aviv University. “This leads to cognitive lapses in how we perceive and react to the world around us.”
The remainder of the article is found here.
Did Eli Lilly just get into the insulin pump game?
Dexcom said today that it inked a development deal with Eli Lilly to include its continuous glucose monitor in the insulin-maker’s connected delivery devices.
The pair plans to start clinical trials by the end of this year, adding that they hope to position the combination of their technologies as a comprehensive solution for people with diabetes.
“Lilly’s Connected Diabetes Ecosystem promises to drive a significant step forward in diabetes management. As technology converges in our industry, we believe that connected systems will become the standard of care over time,” Kevin Sayer, Dexcom president & CEO said in prepared remarks.
“By combining devices, drugs and technology, we can deliver solutions that adapt to each person’s unique needs in managing their diabetes while also providing compelling advancements for both physicians and payers.”
“The Connected Diabetes Ecosystem relies not only on Lilly’s core diabetes expertise, but also the strength of our key partners such as Dexcom,” Enrique Conterno, president of Lilly Diabetes and Lilly USA, added. “Dexcom will be an important collaborator in our mission to improve outcomes and reduce the daily burden for people with diabetes.”
Daylight Saving Time to Fall Back
It's that time again and whether you are a fan of the practice of Daylight Saving Time (I thought Saving had an S at the end until today) or not, it's about to happen.
In 2017 most of our watches, clocks and appliances adjust themselves but there are still a few items in the world that aren't connected to the Internet and much of your diabetes technology falls into that category.
Don't forget to adjust the time on your meter, continuous glucose monitor and insulin pump this weekend.
The person that came up with daylight saving must have had a child with type 1 diabetes, because who else considers two in the morning to be a viable time to accomplish something?
Daylight saving officially ends this year at 2 a.m. on November 5th but you can adjust your D-tech anytime before you go to bed. Be cautious, some insulin pumps will suspend bolus calculation assistance for a period of time after your adjust it's clock - plan accordingly.
If you want to learn more about Daylight Saving there is a quick video and detailed blog post over on National Geographic that you may enjoy.
"No good. Diabetes." - Donald Trump
Have diabetes? Trump thinks that makes you unable to perform your job.
This blog post will be quoting a reporter from Jonathan Swan at Axios.com. Jonathan is citing sources who say that Donald Trump believes he'll be replacing four supreme court justices during his term.
"Asked how he comes to that jaw-dropping number, Trump mentions the obvious: he's already replaced Antonin Scalia with Neil Gorsuch, and there are rumors Anthony Kennedy will retire."
"Ok," one source told Trump, "so that's two. Who are the others?"
"Ginsburg," Trump replied. "What does she weigh? 60 pounds?"
"Who's the fourth?" the source asked.
"Sotomayor," Trump said, referring to the relatively recently-appointed Obama justice, whose name is rarely, if ever, mentioned in speculation about the next justice to be replaced.
Trump explained...
"Her health, No good. Diabetes."
In ten years of writing about type 1 diabetes I've perhaps posted twice about something even remotely political. But today it is being reported that the President of the United States believes that type 1 diabetes is an impediment to acting as a Supreme Court Justice. I would like to know what further bias Trump holds against people living with chronic illness. If Justice Sotomayor can lose her job for having type 1, can you? Maybe she doesn't deserve healthcare? Why is it so easy for Trump to dismiss a human being because they happen to have type 1 diabetes? Why is the person making decisions about how the country receives healthcare so painfully unaware of what it means to live with type 1 diabetes.
Please consider sharing this image on your social media channels and ask news agencies to look deeper into the Axios story. Use the hashtag #RespectUs
Johnson & Johnson (Animas) Exits Insulin Pump Business
Ping, Poof, Pow!!!
From Reuters - Johnson & Johnson’s diabetes care unit, which makes insulin pumps, said on Thursday it would shut its business in United States and Canada amid increased competition and after failing to find a buyer.
The entire story is here on Reuters.
More from MarketWatch
Johnson & Johnson's Animas Corp. said Thursday it plans to close operations and exit the insulin pump business. The company will discontinue the manufacturing and sale of its Animas, Vibe and OneTouch Ping insulin pumps. Animas said Medtronic PLC MDT, +1.30% will help facilitate a transition for the 90,000 patients who use Animas pumps, and who will be offered the option to transfer to a Medtronic pump. Animas employs 410 people around the world. The move comes as part of J&J's strategic review announced in January, in which it is continuing to evaluate options for LifeScan, a blood glucose monitoring company with the OneTouch brand of products. J&J's stock was inactive in premarket trade. It has slipped 0.6% over the past three months, while the SPDR Health Care Select Sector ETF XLV, -0.10% has gained 3.9% and the S&P 500 SPX, +0.50% has advanced 4.3%.