Health Front: Diabetes and Melatonin - Two Rivers Tribune

By DR. JERRY DeCAPUA, TRT Contributing Writer

? Low levels of melatonin, a hormone involved in the regulation of sleep, may boost the risk of diabetes, a new study suggests. Researchers at Harvard?s Brigham and Women?s Hospital expected to find some association between melatonin, a brain hormone that balances most hormones, and diabetes risk. They were surprised by the magnitude of what they found. Over a twelve year period, women with the lowest levels of melatonin were more than twice as likely to develop type-2 diabetes, compared to those with the highest levels of the brain hormone.

Receptors for melatonin are found all over the body, including the pancreas, which makes insulin. The presence of the hormone receptors in the pancreas suggests that melatonin has an impact on insulin production, as well as insulin resistance. ?It?s entirely possible that the melatonin levels are simply an indicator of how well a person?s internal clock is working,? said Dr. Mitchell Lazar, a professor of medicine and director of the Institute for Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. A person?s sleep-wake cycle is an environmental factor that contributes to the risk of diabetes. It has been shown that people on changing shift work have an increased incidence of diabetes. ?Now it could be that low melatonin causes diabetes, but it could also be possible that diabetes causes low melatonin,? said Dr. Lazar.

More research is expected before doctors recommend melatonin supplements for people with high blood sugar levels, reports the Journal
of the American Medical Association.

? The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) is lifting the October 31, 2012 extension of the annual mussel quarantine for Humboldt and Del Norte counties. The CDPH is also lifting the warning to consumers to not eat recreational harvested bivalve shellfish (such as clams and scallops) from Del Norte County. Recent testing shows levels of paralytic shellfish poisoning toxins have declined to safe or undetectable levels.

There have been no reports of human poisoning from toxins in California during this event. However, the health advisory for all sport-harvested shellfish in Marin County remains in effect.

? The United States government researchers have decided to reexamine health risks of cellphone radiation. The Federal Communications Commission is seeking comment from other agencies and health experts on whether it should review and update its standards limiting exposure to cell phone electromagnetic radiation, particularly as they apply to children. The last time the FCC reviewed those standards was back in 1996, prior to the ubiquitous use of mobile phones among children. At that time, scientists were unable to determine whether radio waves emitted by cell phones to the skull pose any health threats.

? Only about half of the people who have a knee or hip replacement see meaningful improvements in pain and disability in the months after surgery, a new study from Canada suggests. Researchers found that people who had severe knee or hip pain to begin with, and no arthritis outside the replaced joint, were more likely to report benefits. Expectations of improvement are better if the patient has only one arthritic joint.

More than one million people in the U.S. have a knee or hip replacement each year, researchers said ? a rate that is expected to continue to grow. The procedures cost $20,000 to $25,000. Since 1996 Canadian researchers at the University of Toronto studied 2,400 adults (mostly women) with osteoarthritis. A disability analysis was given to the 479 who had a knee or hip replacement. By a year after surgery, 54% of patients had a nine-point improvement, which is considered ?minimal important difference? in symptoms.

Researchers said the new findings provide more evidence for patients and their doctors to use while discussing the pros and cons of knee and hip replacement. Good outcomes and improvement might be reached by the surgery but patients need to keep their expectations within reason.

Source: http://www.tworiverstribune.com/2013/04/health-front-diabetese-and-melatonin/

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