A new study published in Wednesday’s Journal of the American Medical Association showed that the hormone-like chemical bisphenol A, or BPA, used in food containers and other household products may cause heart disease and diabetes at real-life levels.

The study found people with the highest level of the chemical ran nearly three times higher risk of cardiovascular disease than people with the lowest concentration. Their risk of Type 2 diabetes — the most common type — was 2.4 times as great.

Losing weight through diet and exercise lowers diabetes risk in men and women, but men may have to work harder for the same benefit, new research suggests.

In a study of more than 1,100 adults at risk of type 2 diabetes, researchers found that those who went on an “intensive” regimen of calorie-cutting and exercise lowered their risk of developing diabetes over the next year.

There are 23.6 million adults and children in the United States who have diabetes; 1.6 million new adult cases were diagnosed in 2007. More than 10 percent of people age 20 or older have diabetes, while more than 20 percent of people age 60 and older have the disease.

Early diagnosis and excellent blood sugar control is key in preventing the complications that can occur. Unfortunately, more than 5 million people with diabetes are undiagnosed. Signs and symptoms of diabetes include excessive thirst, frequent urination, unusual hunger, weight loss, fatigue, irritability, frequent infections, blurred vision, cuts or bruises that are slow to heal and numbness/tingling in the hands and/or feet. Signs and symptoms may come and go.

Ensuring that patients’ blood sugar levels were closely regulated also led to them being 15 per cent less likely to have a heart attack.

More than two million people in Britain currently suffer from Type 2 diabetes, the most common kind, and experts estimate that that number could increase to four million by 2025, because of lifestyle issues such as obesity.

Diabetes occurs when the body loses the ability to control its blood sugar levels.

Devices that constantly monitor blood sugar levels of people with diabetes help them control their glucose better than the old-fashioned method of pricking their fingers throughout the day, researchers reported on Monday.

Tests of all three brands of continuous glucose monitoring devices showed that people with type 1 diabetes who used them consistently could keep their blood sugar levels within the desired range, the researchers found. Abbott Laboratories, Medtronic and DexCom Inc all make the devices.

A certain class of oral drugs used to treat type 2 diabetes can double the risk of heart failure in patients, warn a group of group of researchers led by an Indian origin researcher.

Sonal Singh, assistant professor of internal medicine, and Curt D. Furberg, M.D., Ph.D., professor of public health sciences, from Wake Forest University School of Medicine faculty members have said that thiazolidinediones can exacerbate heart attack risk.

Eli Lilly (LLY.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Daiichi Sankyo’s (4568.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) new blood-thinning drug prasugrel appears better for diabetes patients than Plavix, researchers said on Sunday.

Prasugrel — a rival to Plavix from Sanofi-Aventis (SASY.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) — is a key product for Lilly and Daiichi. But its path to market has been delayed and the drug has been associated with serious bleeding.

Scientists at Harvard University have coaxed pancreas cells in mice to produce insulin without taking the cells out of mice, giving pro-lifers hope that diabetes may one day be cured without embryo-destroying research.

Insulin-producing cells are destroyed in diabetes. The idea of “reprogramming” cells to produce insulin –without destroying embryos – gives those suffering from diabetes hope for an ethical treatment.

People who are both obese and have diabetes are highly likely to develop heart disease during their lifetime, a new study shows.

Researchers found that of more than 3,400 adults in a long-running U.S. heart study, women who were obese and diabetic had a nearly 80 percent chance of developing heart disease at some point. For their male counterparts, that figure was nearly 90 percent.

A recent study found that initial weight loss after a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes had improved outcomes for blood pressure and blood sugar. The individuals that lost the weight initially still benefited even if they eventually regained the weight. The study was published in the online Diabetes Care, which is an American Diabetes Association journal.