Diabetes warning added to popular class of cholesterol drugs

SEATTLE – The Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday it is adding warnings to labels on statins over concerns that the popular cholesterol-lowering drug could increase the risk of diabetes.

The agency also says some medicines that may interact with the drug lovastin could increase the risk for muscle injury.

There have also been reports that statin use can affect the brain, including memory loss and confusion. The FDA says the reports generally have not been serious and that the symptoms subsided when the patient stopped using statins.

Statins are mainly prescribed to prevent heart attacks in people with clogged arteries and work by dramatically lowering LDL or “bad cholesterol.” They were the third best-selling drug class in the U.S. f

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NH Girl Tests Artificial Pancreas

   

  • A New Hampshire girl and her family are fighting to get federal approval for a device they said could change the lives of people with diabetes.

    Elle Shaheen, 12, was recently in a trial to test an artificial pancreas that allow those with diabetes to avoid having to constantly check blood sugar levels and calculate how much insulin they need.

    Elle, who has Type 1 diabetes, said she typically has to prick her fingers and check her blood sugar levels dozens of times a day. In people with Type 1 diabetes, the pancreas doesn’t produce insulin, which is needed to process sugar obtained from food.

    Those with the illness must carefully control the types of food they eat, inject insulin to allow their body to process sugar or both. F Read more…

    Health Tip: Help Prevent Eye Problems

    Your vision may weaken as you get older, but the Cleveland Clinic says there are things you can do to maintain the health of your eyes:

    BP Check by Dental Student Gives Patient New Lease on Life

    A dental student who urged a patient to see a physician for high blood pressure before having a routine dental cleaning in a School of Dentistry clinic has given the patient a new lease on life.

    “No question about it, dental student Steve Nichols, saved my life,” patient, Glen Toadvine declared. His wife, Sandy, agreed. “Glen’s supposed to be dead,” she said. “But coming home on Christmas Day, three days after having quadruple bypass surgery, was the best Christmas present ever.”

    For more than two years, Toadvine has been traveling from the Jackson area to the School of Dentistry for care. He met Nichol

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