Rachel's Cure by Design Story

In 2005, at the age of 12, Rachel Tobin from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was diagnosed with Type 1 Juvenile Diabetes.

Since then, Rachel, has been supporting the work of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and their mission to find a cure for diabetes through designing and selling a unique collection of handmade beaded bracelets.

All of Rachel's personally designed bracelets include two special charms, a sterling silver "hope" charm that symbolizes her hope for a cure for diabetes and a heartshaped "Made with Love" charm.

Initially her goal was to sell enough bracelets to make a $100 donation to JDRF, but so far, she has donated more than $42,000 to the JDRF Western Pennsylvania Chapter.  Her new goal is $100,000.

This fall Rachel began her freshman year at Emory University in Atlanta.  She said, "It's so exciting and rewarding knowing I can make a difference."

For her complete line of  "Rachel's Cure by Design" bracelets and necklaces, visit RachelsCBD.com

Shared with: the healthy home economist

MD-Logic Artificial Pancreas Tested

Prof. Moshe Phillip, director of the Institute of Endocrinology and Diabetes at Schneider  Children's Medical Center, demonstrates MD-Logic on a young patient.

The MD-Logic, developed by Eran Atlas along with Prof. Moshe Phillip, Dr. Revital Nimri and Shahar Miller of the Schneider Children's Medical Center in Tel Aviv, mimics the workings of the pancreas, monitoring blood sugar levels and delivering insulin automatically, even at night.

The MD-Logic is the first system of its kind to be tried outside the hospital with resounding success.  Recently the researchers set up a control room at a hotel where 18 Israeli children between the ages of 12 and 15 attended a 3 day camp for children with diabetes.

In type 1 (insulin-dependent, juvenile-onset) diabetes, the pancreas doesn't produce or release insulin as it should, so, in turn, the body can't metabolize sugars properly, meaning, blood sugar levels need continuous monitoring, even while sleeping, when blood sugar readings can get out of control.

The MD-Logic Artificial Pancreas, that "thinks like a doctor", consists of a glucose sensor and an insulin pump connected to a laptop computer that can be carried in a backpack or set beside the bed, monitoring information and stipulating the amount of insulin to be released in order to maintain blood glucose balance.

The next stage is to test the device under supervised conditions in the home setting.

The researchers believe that the MD-Logic will give kids with diabetes and the adults who supervise them, a worry-free night's sleep.

Before being sold in the US, the MD-Logic will need the approval of the FDA.

Source:  Artificial Pancreas Could Revolutionize Diabetic Care

Shared with: the healthy home economist

Can Probiotics Totally Undo Antiobiotics Damage to Gut Flora?

According to Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist, evidence is now emerging that damaged gut flora may actually be permanently altered by drugs.

Dr. Martin Blaser, MD, of New York's University's Langone Medical Center writes in the August 2011 edition of Nature: "Early evidence from my lab and others hints that, sometimes, our friendly flora never fully recover.  These long-term changes to the beneficial bacteria within people's bodies may even increase our susceptibility to infections and disease.  Overuse of antibiotics could be fueling the dramatic increase in conditions such as obesity, type 1 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, allergies and asthma, which have more than doubled in many populations."

Did you know that, on average, most children receive up to 20 courses of antibiotics before the age of 18.  Also, between one third and one half of pregnant women receive antibiotics during pregnancy.  And, with the high rates of C-sections performed, surgical births negatively affects the composition of gut flora in newborns as they completely miss out on exposure to their mother's friendly bacteria while they travel through the birth canal.

If you have been given antibiotics anytime throughout your lifetime, a good defense, is still the use of probiotics, such as, drinking kefir, eating yogurt, supplementation with probiotic capsules.  Your gut will love you for it.

Source:
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
Nature

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