With the cost to sequence a human genome dropping by the day and medical records finally going digital, public health experts are excited for a new era of personalized, or "precision," medicine—a big data future in which there is no "average" patient, only individual patients with unique genes, environments, and lifestyles.
Which is more likely to raise blood sugar levels: Sushi or ice cream? According to a new Israeli study, the answer varies from one person to another. The study, which continuously monitored blood sugar levels in 800 people for a week, revealed that the bodily response to similar foods was highly individual.
The study, called the Personalized Nutrition Project, was led by Prof. Eran Segal and Dr. Eran Elinav of the Weizmann Institute. It was published in the November 19 issue of the scientific journal Cell, and has since stirred up the medical community, which might have to rethink dietary recommendations.
San Diego-based Elcelyx Therapeutics said today it has secured $40 million in a Series E financing—its biggest ever—after receiving official guidance from the FDA for late-stage trials of its oral drug candidate, a delayed-release formulation of metformin.
Elcelyx is targeting the 40 percent of patients with type 2 diabetes who can’t tolerate existing formulations of metformin, a first-line drug of choice for most of them.
La dieta mediterránea suplementada con aceite de oliva virgen extra tiene efectos beneficiosos que disminuyen el riesgo de desarrollar retinopatía diabética, la principal causa de ceguera en la población diabética, según un estudio del Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red-Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y la Nutrición (CIBERobn) del Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII).
En el mundo hay más de 347 millones de personas con diabetes, según la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS). Lejos de ser una patología en recesión, se prevé que se va a hacer cada vez más prevalente: así, para el año 2035, se calcula que serán 592 millones los diabéticos del mundo. De esta forma, según estimaciones de la OMS, la diabetes será la séptima causa de muerte en 2030.
The University of Leeds may have solved one of the biggest holy grails in medicine, the ability to measure blood glucose levels without penetrating the skin. Currently, finger pricking is the daily grind of diabetics worldwide, which also involves careful pipetting of the blood samples into the glucometer. Neither the pain nor the process is pleasant, and is particularly difficult for young children that don’t understand the purpose of it all.
Israeli researchers have found that a plant that grows in Israel, as well as in other parts of the Middle East, is effective in treating diabetes.
Dr. Jonathan Gorelick of the Judea Research and Development Center will present the results of his study of Chiliadenus iphionoides (sharp varthemia), an aromatic shrub that grows in Israel and throughout the Middle East, at the 25th Judea and Samaria Research Studies Conference in Ariel University on Thursday.
Companion Medical, a San Diego medical device startup founded about 16 months ago, has raised $3 million in an ongoing Series B financing round led by an investment from Eli Lilly, according to a statement from the company yesterday.
“We will use the capital to attempt to achieve FDA clearance of our device as well as other development,” CEO Sean Saint wrote in response to a query from Xconomy.
Few biotech startups have been as prolific as Intarcia Therapeutics at raising cash from private investors. And even with its implantable diabetes device in the midst of a massive, risky clinical trial, the Boston-based company still isn’t turning to Wall Street yet to keep its coffers full.
Israeli medical tech firm DreaMed Diabetes has struck a deal with Medtronic, the world’s biggest medical device company, to use its MD-Logic Artificial Pancreas algorithm in Medtronic’s insulin pumps.
Under the terms of the agreement, DreaMed Diabetes will receive undisclosed royalties from future sales of each device utilizing MD-Logic.
In addition, Medtronic has made a minority investment in DreaMed Diabetes of $2 million.
