Insulin Dos and Don’ts

From everydayhealth.com

If you’re on insulin to treat type 1 or type 2 diabetes, it’s critical to know exactly how to use it.

“Insulin can be a very dangerous drug if used improperly,” says Stanley Mathew, MD, an endocrinologist at Barnes-Jewish St. Peters Hospital in St. Peters, Missouri. “Correct dosing and correct technique of insulin administration are both crucial to prevent very high or very low blood sugar, both of which can have serious implications for one’s health.”

Do Take Mealtime Insulin Before You Start Eating

Short- or rapid-acting insulin is taken around mealtime to control the blood sugar rise that results from eating carbohydrates. If you use this type of insulin, do so 15 minutes before mealtime, says Rachel Halverson, CDCES, RN, a board-certified diabetes care and education specialist and the founder of Give Me Some Sugar in Acworth, Georgia. “This insulin takes some time to start working, so taking it before your meal gives it a head start.” 

This protocol essentially mimics what the body does naturally, since the pancreas typically releases some insulin when you’re even thinking about food, she says. 

If it’s challenging for you to get into this habit, Halverson recommends pairing it with another daily habit. “Take your insulin when making coffee or brushing your teeth,” she says. And if your provider recommends taking insulin on a different schedule for whatever reason, follow their instructions carefully.

Don’t Always Inject Your Insulin in the Same Place

“Technique of insulin administration is as important as the dose administered,” says Dr. Mathew. It’s best to rotate the area where you administer insulin, because repeatedly injecting in the same place increases your risk of lipohypertrophy, a build-up of fat, protein, and scar tissue that can affect how quickly your body absorbs insulin, he says. 

For rapid and long-acting insulin, rotate body parts such as the abdomen and thighs, as well as specific sites on each body part. For his patients, Mathew recommends injecting into the abdomen for a week, then the thighs the next week, and so on.

Intermediate-acting and premixed insulin can absorb differently from different body parts, so pick one body part for your insulin injections, but change the specific injection site on that body part regularly. They also appear cloudy and need to be rolled in your hands until they look uniform prior to injection. All other insulins should always appear clear.

Ask your health provider for their injection site recommendations as well, as these suggestions are general guidelines. 

                                                                                                                    Getty Images

Do Check Your Blood Sugar Before Injecting

It’s best practice to check your blood sugar before using insulin, says Halverson. If your glucose is low, you may need to hold off on your insulin dose and eat something first, she says. Conversely, if you’re above your blood sugar target, you may need to add a correction dose. 

There are other factors to consider as well. “The dose of insulin administered is usually based on the measured blood sugar, one’s expected activity level, and what’s being eaten,” says Mathew. If you’re planning to exercise soon, for example, it might be smart to use a smaller dose. For instructions on how to best approach dose adjustment for your specific needs, talk to your healthcare provider.

Don’t Reuse Needles

Whether you use a syringe or an insulin pen, you want to use fresh and sharp needles every time. “Just as important as rotating insulin administration sites, change the pen needles or insulin syringes with each insulin administration,” says Mathew.

Used needles become duller, which can make injections more painful and increase your likelihood of developing lipohypertrophy or an infection, he says. Change your needle each time, and never use someone else’s needle, as sharing can put you at risk of contracting viruses such as hepatitis and HIV.

Do Count Your Carbs

Adjusting your mealtime insulin dose to the food you’re eating is essential in managing your blood glucose levels. 

Healthcare providers typically prescribe mealtime insulin doses in an insulin to carbohydrate ratio, which indicates how many units of insulin you need based on the number of carbohydrates you consume, says Halverson. For instance, one unit of rapid-acting insulin is often initially prescribed for 12–15 grams (g) of carbohydrates, but this amount will differ for most people with diabetes. Your ratio can also be a moving target, depending on factors like your activity level, the time of day, or your menstruation cycle. It can take a lot of experimentation and collaboration with your provider or a diabetes educator to understand your specific needs.

Successful insulin dosing also requires an understanding of the carbohydrate content in common foods and portions so you can make smart adjustments independently as needed.

“There are different ways to dose insulin and count carbs,” says Halverson. Some people, for example, dose differently for high-fibre ingredients with low net carb counts. If you’re having trouble with the plan you’re on, Halverson recommends asking your diabetes educator for a different type of insulin dosing, such as moving from fixed to flexible dosing, or vice versa.

Don’t Inject Into Muscle

Insulin should be injected into fat that lies just beneath the skin (called subcutaneous fat), says Mathew. “It’s very important that it’s not administered into the muscle or blood vessels or other tissues, as absorption can vary dramatically if it’s administered into areas other than subcutaneous tissue,” he says. 

Injecting into subcutaneous fat leads to more consistent insulin absorption, whereas injecting into muscle can lead insulin to absorb in unreliable ways. To ensure you’re injecting into fat just beneath the skin, lift the skinfold or angle the needle 45 degrees from the skin. 

Do Educate Your Friends, Family, and Co-workers

All insulin users have a risk of severe hypoglycaemia (low blood glucose). Most of the time, you can treat hypoglycaemia yourself by having a quick snack or drinking something sugary. But if you experience a severe episode, you’ll be unable to treat yourself and will have to rely completely on the people around you for help.

Teaching the people close to you what to do in the case of an emergency could save your life. “Time can be of the essence with hypoglycaemia, and letting friends, family, and co-workers know that you’re on insulin and training them on what to do if you’re hypoglycemic is of utmost importance to prevent complications,” says Mathew. 

Those close to you should know that if you're slurring your speech or becoming disoriented or unconscious, those are signs of a severe hypoglycemic episode. They can help you by administering emergency glucagon (available in dry nasal sprays or injections) and calling 911 immediately if they’re unsure what to do.

Don’t Forget About Exercise and Stress

Other factors beyond carbohydrates can affect your glucose control as well. For example, your blood sugar can rise as a side effect of certain medications like steroids, or from illness, psychological stress, menstrual periods, and dehydration. Some lifestyle factors can contribute to lower blood sugar, too, such as drinking alcohol or increasing your level of physical activity. 

“You may need to adjust your insulin based on where you are in your menstrual cycle, stress levels, or new medications,” says Halverson. And if you’re planning on taking a walk after a meal, you may not need to take as much insulin for that meal, since the activity will naturally lower your blood sugar, she says.

It takes education and experience to get to the point where you’re making these adjustments effectively. If you have access to a registered dietitian-nutritionist, diabetes educator, or nurse who can spend time with you to go over all this information and personalize your insulin needs, Halverson encourages you to make an appointment.

Do Protect Your Insulin From Extreme Temperatures

Severe hot and cold temperatures can damage insulin, rendering it less effective. Store insulin out of direct sunlight (for example if you're at a beach or pool), and don’t keep it in a car where it can get too hot. While you can store insulin in a cooler when you’re in a hot environment, it shouldn’t directly touch ice or a freezer pack, either. If insulin freezes, don’t use it.

The Takeaway

• Take mealtime insulin about 15 minutes before eating to allow it time to start working, and always check your blood sugar before injecting, as your dose may need to be adjusted depending on your glucose levels, planned activity, or food intake.
• To prevent complications like lipohypertrophy, don’t inject insulin in the exact same spot repeatedly; instead, rotate injection sites across different body parts, and always inject into subcutaneous fat tissue.
• Never reuse needles or syringes, as dull needles cause pain and increase infection risk. It’s also essential to protect your insulin from extreme temperatures (both hot and cold) to ensure its efficacy.
• Be aware that factors like exercise, stress, other medications, and menstrual cycles can affect your blood sugar, and educate those around you on how to recognize and treat hypoglycaemia to help keep you safe.

https://www.everydayhealth.com/diabetes/insulin-dos-and-donts/

How to grocery shop if you have diabetes

From news9.com

By Victor Pozadas

Learn essential grocery shopping tips for diabetes management from a Registered Dietitian. Discover how to choose healthier foods, read labels, and control portions to maintain blood sugar levels. Ideal for those with diabetes or prediabetes

Diabetes affects 11.1% of the U.S. population, that is the equivalent of 38.4 million Americans according to a study conducted by the CDC. This leaves people with the condition asking: What can I eat? What can’t I eat?

In today’s Medical Minute, we follow Registered Dietitian Lynette Hem-Lee with a group of curious people who are affected by diabetes, as she informs them of what to look out for when buying everyday groceries and meal prepping.

Watch the full story above, or follow along for the biggest takeaways:

Diabetes Grocery Guide

• Carbohydrates and vegetables affect blood sugar; monitor timing and portions.
• Very ripe bananas tend to be higher in sugar; consider consuming earlier or later in the day.
• Beets have notable sugar content; understand sugar sources in produce.
• Whole grains offer more fiber and protein than white grains.
• Cereals require portion control; check added sugars.
• Labels matter: pay attention to sodium and total sugar on product labels before purchase.

What Patients Had To Say

• Kevin Turner, prediabetic, finds supermarket guidance helps narrow healthier choices with his daughter.
• Andrea Gillispie, diagnosed with prediabetes, benefited from label-reading lessons on sodium and sugars for future shopping trips.

Prediabetes in the U.S.

• According to the Center for Disease Control about 98 million American adults have prediabetes, with many unaware of their condition.

https://www.news9.com/medical-minute/how-to-grocery-shop-if-you-have-diabetes 

Did You Know There Are 5 Types of Diabetes? Here’s How They Differ

From eatingwell.com 

From type 1 to gestational diabetes, each type affects your body differently. Knowing which form you have is important for proper treatment

• Diabetes isn’t one disease. There are several types of diabetes and each has different causes, symptoms and treatments.
• Insulin plays a central role in diabetes. The body may not make enough or use it properly, which can lead to high blood sugar. 
• Lifestyle habits make a big difference for helping manage diabetes, but medication may also be necessary.

More than 1 in 10 Americans have diabetes—that’s a lot of people. But diabetes isn’t just one universal condition. There are many different types. All types involve problems with blood sugar regulation and insulin, but the underlying causes and symptoms vary—and so do the treatments. For example, type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition that requires insulin, type 2 diabetes can sometimes be managed with lifestyle changes—though some people may also need medication—and gestational diabetes happens during pregnancy and often resolves after delivery.

Understanding which type of diabetes you’re dealing with is really important in properly managing it. Let’s take a look at what sets apart the many different types of diabetes, with expertise shared by diabetes experts, including an endocrinologist and registered dietitians. 

                                                  Credit: Design elements: Getty Images. EatingWell design.

What Is Insulin?

“Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas that acts like a key, unlocking cells to allow glucose—blood sugar—to enter and be used for energy or stored for later,” says Michelle Routhenstein, RDN, CDCES.

When someone has diabetes, insulin either is not produced or is not used properly, leading to high blood sugar levels. In type 1 diabetes, which is an autoimmune condition, the body doesn’t produce enough insulin. In type 2 diabetes, the body becomes resistant to insulin or doesn't produce enough of it.

Type 1 Diabetes

Type 1 diabetes is a chronic autoimmune condition where the body makes little or no insulin, leading to high blood sugar. “People with type 1 diabetes will need daily insulin and monitoring to manage their blood glucose and overall health,” says Vandana Sheth, RDN, CDCES. Among all people with diabetes, approximately 5% to 10% have type 1.

Along with taking insulin, people with type 1 diabetes need to regularly check their blood sugar levels, often through continuous glucose monitoring. This helps track blood sugar and adjust insulin doses in real time. Blood sugar that is too high or too low can cause issues. Lifestyle factors like exercise and balanced nutrition are also important.

“Managing type 1 diabetes involves paying attention to net carbohydrate loads and planning meals within a heart-healthy lifestyle, including plenty of fibre, healthy fats and lean proteins, to help maintain stable blood sugar and reduce long-term cardiovascular risks,” Routhenstein says. 

Type 2 Diabetes

“Type 2 diabetes is a condition where blood sugar is consistently elevated because the body’s cells do not respond properly to insulin, leading to poor glucose control,” Routhenstein says. When the body has trouble using insulin properly, this is called insulin resistance. Type 2 diabetes tends to develop gradually and can be influenced by weight, lifestyle and genetics, Sheth says. This is the most common form of diabetes, affecting around 10% of all Americans.

Type 2 diabetes is treated and managed with oral and injectable medications, regular blood sugar monitoring and lifestyle changes like a healthy diet, regular exercise and weight management.

Prediabates

Prediabetes is an in-between stage where blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to diagnose diabetes. “Prediabetes often has no obvious symptoms, so it is important to check blood work annually and request an HbA1c test,” Routhenstein says.

People with prediabetes are at an increased risk for developing a bunch of different conditions, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke. But type 2 diabetes can sometimes be prevented or delayed with lifestyle changes like losing weight, eating a nutritious diet and exercising.

“It is very important to identify prediabetes early because interventions can prevent progression to diabetes,” says Jocelyne G. Karam, M.D., director of the Division of Endocrinology at Maimonides Health. 

Gestational Diabetes

This is a form of diabetes that is diagnosed during pregnancy. It usually develops around the 24th week of pregnancy, so most women have a glucose screening test somewhere between weeks 24 and 28 to screen for it.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Maternal Infant Health. Diabetes During Pregnancy.

Treating and managing gestational diabetes involves nutritious eating, physical activity and close blood glucose monitoring. “If targets are not being met by lifestyle factors alone, insulin may be added to the regimen,” Sheth says. 

This form of diabetes usually resolves after delivery, but both the mother and child will have a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes later on down the line.

Type 1.5 Diabetes

Type 1.5 diabetes, also called latent autoimmune diabetes in adults, is a form of diabetes that shares features of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. “It occurs later in life like in type 2 diabetes, but its mechanism is an autoimmune destruction of the pancreas like in type 1 diabetes,” Karam says.

Somewhere between 2% and 12% of adults who are diagnosed with diabetes have this form. In the early stages, LADA is sometimes treated with oral medications and diet and lifestyle changes. But as the condition progresses, insulin is needed.

Tips for Managing Diabetes

• Get regular exercise: Exercise helps regulate blood sugar and is also good for heart health. Karam recommends aiming to fit in 30 minutes of physical activity at least five times per week.
• Make a habit of resistance training. “Resistance training increases muscle glucose uptake, which makes the cells more sensitive to insulin and helps lower blood sugar,” Routhenstein says.
• Stay hydrated: “Water supports blood glucose balance, energy and overall health and well-being,” Sheth says.
• Be consistent with your mealtimes: “Eating at consistent times of day supports your body’s circadian rhythm, which influences insulin release and blood sugar regulation,” Routhenstein says. “Irregular meal timing can cause larger blood sugar spikes and impair insulin response.”
• Eat balanced meals: “Pair protein and healthy fats with fibre-rich carbs to slow digestion and help keep blood glucose steady,” Sheth says.
• Prioritize complex carbohydrates: It’s important to limit refined sugars, but don’t cut all carbohydrates. Complex carbohydrates—like starchy vegetables, beans and whole grains—are digested more slowly and less likely to cause sharp spikes in blood sugar.
• Work closely with your health care team: See a health care provider, such as an endocrinologist, to talk through any questions or concerns you have about diabetes. It can also be helpful to work with other health care professionals, like a registered dietitian and a certified diabetes care and education specialist (CDCES), to learn more about managing diabetes.

Our Expert Take 

Diabetes isn’t a one-size-fits-all diagnosis. There are several different types, and each is managed and treated slightly differently. Some people require insulin or an oral or injectable medication, while others may be able to get by with lifestyle changes like healthier eating and regular workouts. The good news is, all types of diabetes can be managed effectively with the right knowledge, support and care. Working with your health care team is important in finding out which treatment is most appropriate for you.

https://www.eatingwell.com/types-of-diabetes-explained-11845839

The Morning Habit That Can Spike Your Blood Sugar

From eatingwell.com

And how to build a more balanced start 

• Sugary breakfasts are a common habit that can spike your blood sugar fast.
• Pair protein, fibre, and healthy fats to keep blood sugar steady all morning.
• A balanced breakfast supports better focus, energy, and appetite control.

It’s 8 a.m. and you’re already rushing. You grab a chocolate muffin and a hazelnut latte from your favourite cafe and dash off to work. Quick and easy, right? While convenient, a breakfast that’s loaded with added sugar can set your energy and blood sugar levels on a roller coaster ride that may leave you feeling worse than before eating it.

“This roller coaster can lead people to feel hungry, tired, irritable in some cases, and not as mentally sharp or able to focus,” says Amy Huelle, M.P.H., RD, CDCES. You may even feel hungrier than before you ate, she adds. We can all agree that’s probably not the greatest state of mind or body for starting your workday.

Ahead, we break down what happens in your body after a sugary breakfast, how those blood sugar swings make you feel, and what to eat instead to help support stable energy and blood sugar levels throughout your morning. 

                                                                         Credit: Design elements: Getty Images. EatingWell design.

Why Eating a Sugary Breakfast Can Raise Your Blood Sugar

Grabbing a pastry or sipping a sweetened latte can cause blood glucose to rise rapidly. This is especially true if your breakfast doesn’t have much fibre, protein or healthy fat to slow the absorption of sugar into the bloodstream, says Andrea Miller, RDN, CDCES.

But it doesn’t end there. That rapid surge in blood sugar triggers your pancreas to release a large amount of insulin, which can lead to a rapid drop in blood sugar. This may leave you feeling shaky, irritable or ravenous just an hour or two later.

 “Some people can actually release too much insulin after a high sugar meal and their body overcompensates, causing their blood glucose to drop too low,” Miller says. “This is a condition known as reactive hypoglycaemia.”

Miller explains that it’s normal for blood sugar to rise and fall after eating, but if you have a lot of sugar at once—especially on an empty stomach—you might experience more drastic peaks and drops. “For some people, this could lead to low energy and cravings for more sugar,” Miller says. “It can be a vicious cycle.”

How someone feels after a sugary breakfast varies from person to person. And some people may not notice any symptoms at all. For those who do, they may “notice a significant improvement in how they feel after making changes to their morning nutrition,” Huelle says. Yet, she points out, people with healthy blood sugar have a good set of checks and balances in the body to keep blood sugar at a steady state, and a rise in blood sugar after eating isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

“It is important to remember that one meal or an occasional day of [sugary meals] is not going to have long-term effects,” Miller says. “It's all about our overall diet quality.”

How to Support More Stable Blood Sugar in the Morning

• Build a balanced breakfast: Start your day with a balanced meal that includes protein, fibre, and healthy fats. “Protein and fibre slow down digestion and keep blood sugar nice and steady, not a roller coaster ride like sugary refined carbohydrates,” Huelle says. Some of her favourite balanced breakfast meals include: strained (Greek-style) yogurt parfait with berries and seeds or a veggie omelette with whole-grain toast.
• Pair carbohydrates with protein: Combining carbohydrates with protein helps slow glucose absorption. Miller suggests topping your oatmeal with plain strained (Greek-style) yogurt or stirring in some protein powder. Other protein options include eggs, cottage cheese, tofu, beans, nuts and seeds.
• Limit sugary drinks: Juices, flavoured coffee drinks, sweetened coffee creamers, soda and energy drinks are often loaded with added sugar, which can cause rapid spikes in blood sugar and increase the risk of type 2 diabetes. Try scaling back on sweeteners or choosing unsweetened options more often.
• Choose whole grains over refined carbs: White bread, pastries and sugary cereals digest quickly and can spike blood sugar. Instead, reach for high-fibre foods like whole-grain bread, oats, nuts, seeds, fruit and veggies. “These slow carbohydrate absorption, blunt blood sugar spikes and promote satiety,” Huelle says.

• Other Morning Factors That May Play a Role

  • Physical activity: “Light to moderate activity after meals can significantly lower blood sugar,” Huelle says. “I encourage my patients to walk 10-15 minutes after meals.” 
  • Sleep: Pay attention to your sleep quality, timing and duration. These all can influence your blood sugar and can increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, Huelle says. Prioritize getting enough rest to support your energy and metabolic health.
  • Caffeine sensitivity: Some people are more sensitive to caffeine than others and may experience a blood sugar spike after drinking coffee, even if it’s unsweetened. Tune into how your body feels after your morning brew.

  Our Expert Take

  A sugary breakfast might give you a short-lived energy boost, but it can also lead to crashes that leave you feeling drained and craving more sugar. That said, occasional sweets are part of a balanced approach to eating. The key is making nourishing choices most of the time. 

  Starting your day with a balanced meal that includes protein, fiber, and healthy fats will provide more stable energy levels and help prevent a blood sugar rollercoaster.

• https://www.eatingwell.com/morning-habit-that-can-spike-your-blood-sugar-11846280
  

How diabetes affects sleep patterns: here are five articles for World Diabetes Day

From frontiersin.org

Over 800 million people globally have a type of diabetes, with numbers steadily rising. November 14 marks World Diabetes Day. This year the theme is ‘diabetes across life stages.’ It highlights that diabetes can affect people at all ages, aims to improve prevention, and seeks to empower diabetics young and old alike. We’re highlighting five recently published articles on aging and diabetes.

Young people are more than twice as likely to have diabetes than 30 years ago

Risk factors for type 2 diabetes (T2D) are multifold, they may include behavioural, environmental, and social factors, but also genetics or epigenetics may play a role. Young people can be especially insulin resistant and make up a disadvantaged group who might have less access to high-quality healthcare, compared to adults with T2D.

In a new Frontiers in Endocrinology study, researchers in China set out to understand trends and burden of T2DM in younger people.

Their results showed that between 1990 and 2021 the global incidence of T2D in people aged 15 to 24 years old increased from 56 per 100,000 people to 123.9 per 100,000 people, which means the number of individuals changing in status from non-disease to disease has more than doubled. The sharpest increase of new cases was found in youth aged 15 to 19 years and was higher among males than females. In specific regions – North Africa and the Middle East – the increase in new cases was highest, which highlights the importance of developing targeted strategies and interventions to address T2D among youth, the researchers wrote.

Article link: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/endocrinology/articles/10.3389/fendo.2025.1626225/full

Extreme heat or cold could lead to negative diabetes outcomes

Diabetes and a changing climate are two of the grand challenges of our time. More than 11% of the world’s population has diabetes, and case numbers are expected to rise over the coming decades. At the same time, the effects of climate change – extreme temperatures, wildfires, food security, water quality, and disease vector distribution to name a few – impact both human and planetary health.

Writing in Frontiers in Public Health, an international team of researchers has examined the impact that extreme heat or cold has on the risk of diabetes, disease-related emergencies, and mortality.

Compiling data from 13 previously published articles, they found that extreme temperatures significantly increase likeliness of adverse diabetes-related events, hospitalizations, emergency department visits, and risk of diabetes-related deaths. This may be due to the fact that people with diabetes are more prone to impaired thermoregulation and autonomic dysfunction. Excessive heat can cause dehydration, systemic inflammation, or impaired nervous system functioning, whereas extreme cold can lead to minimized physical activity and a sedentary lifestyle which can lead to obesity and insulin resistance.

Article link: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1677522/full

Less common types of diabetes might disrupt sleep

There are many types of diabetes, and some are better known and studied than others. Most frequent and best studied is T2D, but we know of more forms of diabetes including type 1 (T1D); monogenic diabetes (MODY), which includes various inherited types and neonatal diabetes; drug-induced diabetes; and other disease-associated forms.

Now, researchers in the US and Ecuador reviewed the current state of knowledge on the relationship between sleep patterns and diabetes management in people with less common forms of diabetes, namely T1D and monogenic diabetes. They published the results in Frontiers in Endocrinology.

They found that – like people with T2D who are more likely to have shorter sleep duration, poorer sleep quality, and increased risk of sleep apnoea – T1D patients are more likely to sleep shorter and poorer. Both adults and children with T1D often don’t sleep the recommended number of hours for their age. MODY patients, too, sleep poorer, are more likely to suffer from insomnia and sleep apnoea. The mechanism and differences between different types of monogenic diabetes, however, aren’t fully known. In the future, paediatric and adult large-scale cohort studies should be carried out to improve understanding of sleep quality in less common forms of diabetes, the researchers said.

Article link: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/endocrinology/articles/10.3389/fendo.2025.1388995/full

This digital twin could help optimize diabetes treatment

While various treatments and medications for T2D are available, not all drugs and dosing approaches work the same for all patients. To prevent adverse disease outcomes, individual treatment plans are essential.

Now, writing in a recently published Frontiers in Pharmacology article, researchers in Germany developed a whole-body model that simulates how glimepiride, an antidiabetic medication, moves into, though, and out of the body.

The model uses data from 20 clinical studies, which means diverse patient populations, treatment plans, dosing regimens, and health conditions are included. It comprises key organs involved in glimepiride absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion, such as gut, liver, and kidneys. The digital twin doesn’t simply focus on one variable, instead it integrates multiple patient factors, including organ function, bodyweight, and genetics, at the same time. Being able to reflect complex clinical realities found in real patients, the twin can aid with the personalization of glimepiride therapy and support clinical decisions on initial dosing to ensure patient safety, the team wrote.

Article link: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pharmacology/articles/10.3389/fphar.2025.1686415/full

Diabetes might make keeping balance harder

Keeping balance is essential in daily life, and we do it countless times without thinking about it. Aging and aging related conditions, including T2D, may limit balance control.

In a recent Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience article, researchers in the US examined the effects of T2D on the small, unconscious, movements the body makes to keep balance, known as postural sway, among older adults. The sample was made up of 24 non-diabetic older adults and 20 older adults with T2D, with participants in both groups older than 65 years. They carried out a single task (quiet standing) and a dual task (standing and visual search).

The results showed that the T2D group showed signs of reduced postural stability during both tasks, compared to the non-diabetic group. Less postural control and greater disruption thereof among T2D patients could increase risk of falls, but longitudinal studies are necessary to track changes in postural control over time to better understand their relationship to fall risk in older adults with T2D, the team wrote.

Article link: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/aging-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2025.1650484/full

https://www.frontiersin.org/news/2025/11/07/diabetes-sleep-aging-world-diabetes-day