26 June 2010

Side effects of insulin – can they be stopped?

C-peptide, yes, the c-peptide molecule when given with insulin may reduce the damage of insulin.

What damage you ask? Insulin causes some cells within blood vessels to grow and cause narrowing of the blood vessels. This in turns leads to heart problems, a risk in people with diabetes. Now researchers at the University of Leeds have found that C-peptide when administered with insulin stops these cells from growing. This will prevent many of the heart problems experienced by people with diabetes.

I have wondered why very few other publications or bloggers have not picked up on this article as important as this is. Telegraph dot co dot uk is only one of two places I have seen this article. It was published May 10, 2010. Please take time to read this important article.

25 June 2010

Has your medications passed their expiration date?

All of us on medications have to ask ourselves about this when we take our medications. Is the expiration date on the bottle or vial correct? Has it been stored correctly? What other factors affect the expiration date?

National Public Radio is not a source I rely on for information generally, but their article on expiration dates for medicines is one that I will say is written with more thought than many. This article is published June 21, 2010, and another on March 20, 2000.

I find that the statement “drugs stored under ideal conditions can last longer than a year” to be an excellent example of where we need to begin to doubt the expiration date. Was the medication transported properly in the winter or summer. Was the medication frozen while in transit? Or was the medication cooked in a hot van during the summer?

These are all questions we need to have answered. This information would lead us to a better understanding of the expiration date validity.