News Releases

2010

Joslin Diabetes Center, SETMA Announce Affiliation: BOSTON – November 1, 2010 – Joslin Diabetes Center, the world’s preeminent diabetes research and clinical care organization, has announced an affiliation with Southeast Texas Medical Associates (SETMA), LLP, in Beaumont, Texas. The Joslin Diabetes Center Affiliate at SETMA will offer some of the latest advances for treating diabetes and its complications as well as patient education and support services.
Joslin’s Asian American Diabetes Initiative Builds National Clearinghouse for Information: BOSTON, Mass. – September 8, 2010 – The Asian American Diabetes Initiative (AADI) at Joslin Diabetes Center has unveiled exciting additions to its web site, http://aadi.joslin.org, offering innovative, interactive and culturally relevant tools for Asian Americans who live with diabetes and their healthcare providers.
Joslin Physicians Hope to Teach Old Drug New Tricks: BOSTON, Mass. – September 7, 2010 – An anti-inflammatory drug called salsalate, commonly given for arthritis pain, is being tested here to determine whether it can also help prevent cardiac disease. Steven Shoelson, M.D., Ph.D., and Allison Goldfine, M.D., who are affiliated with Joslin Diabetes Center and Harvard Medical School, are teaming up in translational research efforts taking laboratory observations into clinical study.
Barton Center for Diabetes Education Purchases Camp Joslin: OXFORD, Mass., August 31, 2010 – The Barton Center for Diabetes Education, Inc. and Joslin Diabetes Center announce today that The Barton Center has purchased Camp Joslin, a camp for boys and young men with type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes. The Barton Center, which operates the nearby Clara Barton Camp for girls and young women with type 1 diabetes, will undertake a capital campaign to pay for improvements to Camp Joslin. The majority of the funds for the purchase came through an unrestricted grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust.
Study of Joslin Medalists Wins Beatson Challenge in Type 1 Diabetes Research: BOSTON – August 12, 2010 – Two years ago, philanthropist Thomas J. Beatson, Jr. asked four Joslin Diabetes Center scientists to present him with compelling proposals for research on type 1 diabetes. Inspired by all four, in January 2009 he decided to help fund each, splitting a $1-million gift evenly between the four labs. An avid cyclist who has cycled more than 100,000 miles, Beatson added a rider to his gift: The first funded researcher to publish a paper with a significant outcome in a peer-reviewed journal would win the Beatson Challenge—and a special yellow cycling jersey. This week Hillary Keenan, Ph.D., a Joslin research associate, and her colleagues grabbed the jersey.
Ultimate Diabetes Survivors, the Joslin 50-Year Medalists, Give Clues to Cures: BOSTON, Mass. – August 11, 2010 – In type 1 diabetes, the body relentlessly attacks and destroys its own insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells. But a study by Joslin Diabetes Center scientists now has firmly established that some of these cells endure for many decades in a small group of people with the disease—offering clues to potential treatments for preserving and even restoring the crucial cell population.
Joslin Diabetes Center, Cypress Fairbanks Announce Affiliation: BOSTON, Mass. – August 9, 2010 – Joslin Diabetes Center, the world’s preeminent diabetes research and clinical care organization, has announced an affiliation with Cypress Fairbanks Medical Center Hospital in northwest Houston. The Joslin Diabetes Center Affiliate at Cypress Fairbanks Medical Center Hospital will offer some of the latest advances for treating diabetes and its complications as well as patient education and support services.
Joslin Announces Opportunity to Win Iacocca Silver 45th Anniversary Edition Ford Mustang: BOSTON, Mass. – July 20, 2010 – The Mustang, the car that "changed everything" in the automotive industry, will now contribute to finding a cure for diabetes. Joslin Diabetes Center is raffling off a special edition of the famous "muscle" car – the Iacocca Silver 45th Anniversary Edition Ford Mustang. Only 45 of the limited edition Mustangs were made last year to honor the anniversary of the classic car’s introduction at the 1964 World’s Fair.
Dr. Lloyd Paul Aiello Receives Wasserman Award from Research to Prevent Blindness: BOSTON, Mass. – July 8, 2010 – Lloyd Paul Aiello, M.D., Ph.D., of the Department of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School has been granted a $60,000 RPB Lew R. Wasserman Merit Award by Research to Prevent Blindness.
Joslin Shows Transplanted Beta Cells Learn to Deal with Stress: BOSTON, Mass. - July 2, 2010 - For transplanted beta cells, life is tough. Not only are the insulin-producing cells in a stranger’s body, tucked into the liver rather than the pancreas, they are a bit short on oxygen and blood, and they are often exposed to raised levels of glucose. Joslin Diabetes Center scientists, however, have shown that the cells can protect themselves by actively adapting to their new homes—findings that may help to aid future transplants aimed at treating type 1 diabetes.
The Trouble with Tribbles in Diabetes: BOSTON, Mass. – July 1, 2010 – Named for the furballs whose astonishing fecundity made them stars in early Star Trek episodes, the tribbles protein, first identified in fruit flies, aids in regulating many cell processes in humans. Joslin Diabetes Center researchers now have identified mechanisms triggered by a variant of the tribbles gene that cause trouble in insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells—and that offer a promising target for therapies for people with type 2 diabetes, even if they don’t carry that gene variant.
Joslin Diabetes Center in National Diabetes Trial Showing Sensor-Augmented Pump Therapy Achieves Better Control than Daily Injections: BOSTON, Mass. – June 29, 2010 – Clinical research conducted at 30 trial sites in the U.S. and Canada, including Joslin Diabetes Center, showed adult and pediatric patients with type 1 diabetes achieved better blood glucose control by using a sensor-augmented insulin pump compared to multiple daily insulin injections.
Joslin Diabetes Center Expands Pediatric Clinic: BOSTON, Mass. – June 23, 2010 – Joslin Diabetes Center is opening an expanded version of its pediatric clinic, with enhancements that allow more optimal multi-disciplinary care for children, teens and young adults with diabetes and their families.
Facebook Game Helps People with Diabetes Improve Everyday Behaviors: BERKELEY, Calif., and BOSTON, Mass. -- June 14, 2010 -- A new game called HealthSeeker(tm) launched today on Facebook(r), with the goal of helping players make specific lifestyle changes that focus on healthy eating. While the benefits of the game are available to anyone, HealthSeeker specifically helps people with diabetes make more informed lifestyle decisions in an innovative way that complements their daily use of social media.
Joslin Diabetes Center Names John Brooks Chairman of the Board: BOSTON, Mass. – May 14, 2010 – John L. Brooks, III has been named Chairman of Joslin Diabetes Center’s Board of Trustees. He replaces Kevin E. Conley, President and CEO of Conley Search Group, who is stepping down after six years as Chairman.
Kuwait’s Dasman Institute Signs Agreement with Joslin Diabetes Center: BOSTON, Mass. – May 5, 2010 – Joslin Diabetes Center has signed a pre-implementation agreement with the Dasman Institute for the Research, Training and Prevention of Diabetes and Related Disorders for establishing a comprehensive program for diabetes care, management and research across Kuwait. The parties, already working on needs assessment and planning for the program, expect to execute a five-year agreement in September.
Joslin Research Shows Insulin Guards Against Artery Damage: BOSTON, Mass. – May 4, 2010 – Long suspected of worsening artery damage in patients with diabetes, insulin instead protects blood vessels, a new study by Joslin Diabetes Center scientists indicates.
Comparative-Effectiveness Study Confirms New Treatment for Diabetic Macular Edema: BOSTON, Mass. – April 27, 2010 – Researchers have shown that ranibizumab (Lucentis) eye injections, often in combination with laser treatment, result in better vision than laser treatment alone for diabetes-associated swelling of the retina.
Key Protein Links Insulin Action and Insulin Resistance in Diabetes: BOSTON, Mass. – March 28, 2010 - Biologists have long known that an enzyme called the PI 3-kinase is a crucial actor in the main molecular pathway for insulin signaling in cells. Researchers at Joslin Diabetes Center now have uncovered startling evidence that one of the proteins in this enzyme also drives a pathway with an opposite result—triggering a stress response that leads to insulin resistance.
Joslin, AtlantiCare Announce Affiliation : BOSTON, Mass. – March 23, 2010 – Joslin Diabetes Center, the world’s preeminent diabetes research and clinical care organization, has announced an affiliation with AtlantiCare, a regional healthcare organization based in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey.
Generic Drug for Type 2 Diabetes Passes Next Clinical Hurdle: BOSTON, Mass. – March 16, 2010 – Clinical studies of a generic drug called salsalate, widely prescribed for arthritis, now provide promising early results that it may be useful for the treatment of patients with type 2 diabetes as well. Salsalate is an atypical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agent that is chemically similar to aspirin but a bit easier on the stomach. In a three-month trial of people with type 2 diabetes that was led by Joslin Diabetes Center researchers, those who took the drug showed significantly improved blood glucose levels.
Clinical Trial Compares Leading-Edge Treatments for Obesity and Diabetes: BOSTON, Mass. – February 25, 2010 – Obesity is a major contributing factor to type 2 diabetes, a disease affecting more than 20 million people in the United States. For those who are overweight and have type 2 diabetes, weight loss lowers blood sugar levels and leads to improved health and better quality of life. However, it is difficult to lose weight and keep it off.
Joslin Study Finds Insulin Regulates Beta Cell Function in Healthy Humans : BOSTON, Mass. – February 15, 2010 – In type 2 diabetes, which is occurring at alarming rates, the hormone insulin does not work effectively to lower blood sugars and patients also do not make enough insulin. These two processes have been widely considered as separate. However, a surprising discovery was made by Joslin Diabetes Center researchers in animal models of diabetes: insulin is important in regulating its own production. Confirming this discovery, Joslin clinical scientists have now gone on to show that when blood sugar levels rise in healthy people, insulin signals the cells that make insulin to increase their production.
Beta cells need key protein to divide and conquer diabetes: BOSTON, Mass. – January 26, 2010 – In people who put on a lot of weight, or whose bodies start developing the inability to use insulin effectively that leads toward type 2 diabetes, the pancreas typically ramps up its supply of insulin-generating “beta” cells—at least in part by replication of existing beta cells. Researchers at Joslin Diabetes Center and their colleagues now have identified a cell-cycle protein that is essential for beta-cell replication to respond successfully to insulin resistance. The finding may point toward eventual therapies for preventing or treating type 2 diabetes.
Joslin Diabetes Center and dLife form new online partnership: BOSTON – January 26, 2010 – joslin.org, the Internet site for Harvard-affiliated Joslin Diabetes Center, the world’s preeminent diabetes research and clinical care organization, and dLife.com, the leading online community for people living with diabetes, today announced a new online partnership. dLife will host a resource page on its web site featuring the clinical and research information from Joslin. Joslin will host on its website food and cooking videos from dLife’s award-winning TV show dLifeTV as well as links to relevant information on dLife.com.