A few interesting links

[Guest guest]

While the American Heart Association is warning the public about the dangers

of high-protein diets <A

HREF= " http://ad.asimba.com/cgi/aolha?http://www.cnn.com/2001/HEALTH/diet.fitne

ss/03/20/protein.diet.heart/index.html " >

http://www.cnn.com/2001/HEALTH/diet.fitness/03/20/protein.diet.heart/index.htm

l

</A>, Dr. Atkins is again scheduled to debate his " dietary nemesis, "

Dr. Dean Ornish. We say, try the Asimba Pro <A

HREF= " http://ad.asimba.com/cgi/aolha?http://www.asimba.com/re/int/AAI/asm/ToND

?pg=asm3WeightManagement.pgAPWLJump " >

http://www.asimba.com/re/int/AAI/asm/ToND?pg=asm3WeightManagement.pgAPWLJump

</A>, and watch reruns of the debate after your workout. - J. Mack

and then only on aol is so i c/p it below this.

<A HREF= " aol://4344:3167.diawatch.21065296.669743743 " >Click here: AOL News:

FDA OKs Watch-Like Diabetes Monitor</A>

FDA OKs Watch-Like Diabetes Monitor

By LAURAN NEERGAARD

..c The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (March 22) - Diabetics won their first painless way to measure

blood sugar Thursday, as the government approved a wristwatch-like device to

do the job.

Cygnus Inc.'s GlucoWatch checks glucose levels every 20 minutes by sending

tiny electric currents through the skin.

The GlucoWatch won't completely replace those finger-prick blood tests that

diabetics perform because it's not perfect, sometimes giving erroneous

readings, the Food and Drug Administration warned.

But it will supplement finger testing, providing the more frequent blood

monitoring that can help keep diabetics healthier, the FDA said. Better, it

sounds an alarm if blood sugar hits dangerous levels - possibly life-saving

if glucose plummets while they sleep.

To use the prescription-only GlucoWatch, patients slide a thin plastic sensor

onto the watch's back each time they strap it on. Small electric currents

extract a tiny portion of glucose from fluid in skin cells instead of blood,

measuring it every 20 minutes for 12 hours.

So far, the device is only for adults, the FDA stressed. That will greatly

disappoint many parents of child diabetics, who particularly struggle with

those painful finger-prick tests and are anxiously awaiting painless

monitoring.

But not only has Cygnus not yet studied the GlucoWatch in children, doctors

simply don't know if glucose measured in skin cell fluid correlates to blood

measurements in children like it does in adults. So the FDA will watch

closely to ensure it is properly prescribed just to adults.

California-based Cygnus did not immediately say how soon the watch would

start selling, or its price. But physicians must be trained to use it, and

then train patients who must accurately answer a quiz before Cygnus can ship

them a watch.

Some 16 million Americans have diabetes, meaning their bodies cannot properly

regulate blood sugar, or glucose. They check their levels by pricking a

finger and placing a drop of blood on reactive strips.

Doctors urge those tests be done frequently, four to eight times a day,

because they can help patients better control diabetes and thus lower their

chances of debilitating complications such as blindness, kidney disease and

nerve damage.

But these fingerstick tests are painful and inconvenient, leading the average

patient to test only twice a day.

Even those who frequently test cannot know if glucose soars or drops between

testing or during sleep. Indeed, many diabetics who become hypoglycemic at

night set alarm clocks to wake them every few hours for testing and

treatment.

But never decide to use insulin based on a GlucoWatch reading without first

double-checking with a fingerstick test, the FDA warned. While the GlucoWatch

generally is as good as blood tests, a quarter of the time GlucoWatch

readings can differ from blood tests by about 30 percent.

That could be a problem, particularly in detecting hypoglycemia, or low blood

sugar. But Cygnus says patients can program the GlucoWatch to sound an alarm

before glucose plummets to dangerous levels, giving time for a blood test.

Also, the watch won't measure if the patient's arm becomes too sweaty and is

less effective at detecting very low glucose than very high levels, the FDA

cautioned.

AP-NY-03-22-01 1020EST

Copyright 2001 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news

report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed

without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active

hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.