A treatment that could help damaged nerves repair themselves would offer something different from pain relief alone.

Researchers at UTHealth Houston have reported progress towards that goal in mouse models of diabetes, using antibodies aimed at a specific inflammatory enzyme.

The target is matrix metalloproteinase-9, usually shortened to MMP-9.

The team investigated its role in nerve damage and impaired wound healing, then developed antibodies designed to block it selectively.

That selectivity is a central part of the research. MMP-9 belongs to a family of closely related enzymes, so an intervention needs to distinguish its intended target rather than broadly interfere with similar proteins.

In mice modelling type 1 and type 2 diabetes, treatment was followed by nerve-fibre repair and improved healing of paw wounds.

The work was published in Science Translational Medicine.

For patients, the distinction between pain and nerve function is important.

Peripheral neuropathy can cause burning pain, but it can also reduce awareness of touch, temperature and injuries.

A foot that hurts less is not necessarily a foot that has recovered normal sensation.

That is why researchers are interested in treatments that address the underlying injury rather than simply making symptoms more manageable.

However, an improvement in an animal model cannot establish how well the same approach would work in someone who has lived with neuropathy for years. It also cannot settle the safety, duration or practical demands of treatment in people.

Those are questions for further research, not details that can be assumed from encouraging laboratory findings.

The study should not alter current foot care. NHS advice stresses that reduced sensation can allow injuries to go unnoticed, making regular checks and prompt attention to problems important. Existing treatment also includes managing diabetes and finding suitable relief for nerve pain.

The promise here is a more ambitious treatment objective: not just less pain, but potentially less ongoing damage.

Whether these antibodies can deliver that safely in patients remains to be established.

Leaving hospital after a severe kidney injury does not always settle the question of when to begin protective treatment.

Kidney function, blood pressure and fluid balance may still be changing, leaving clinicians to weigh the benefits of treatment against the risks of starting too soon.

Research from National Taiwan University Hospital examined that decision for SGLT2 inhibitors, medicines used in type 2 diabetes that also have established roles in kidney and heart protection.

The study identified 4,406 adults who had required dialysis during an acute kidney injury, subsequently stopped dialysis and received their first SGLT2 prescription within 90 days of leaving hospital.

Researchers compared those starting within 30 days with those starting between 31 and 90 days.

Statistical matching produced two groups of 1,912 people for the main comparison.

• Kidney disease among people with type 1 diabetes triggered by yo-yo dieting

Adverse kidney outcomes occurred in 3.9% of the earlier-treatment group and 6.2% of the later-treatment group.

After adjustment, earlier treatment was associated with a 38% lower hazard of the combined kidney outcome.

The detail behind that result matters.

The difference was mainly driven by fewer people reaching a very low kidney filtration rate.

There was no statistically significant difference in restarting dialysis, death or major cardiovascular events.

Recorded safety outcomes over six months were also similar between groups.

This was an analysis of medical records, not a randomised trial. People well enough to receive treatment earlier may have differed from those whose clinicians waited, despite the efforts to make the groups comparable.

The researchers therefore describe the findings as a reason for prospective trials, not proof of a universal 30-day deadline.

• Research suggests GLP-1 and SGLT2 diabetes medications may reduce dementia risk
• High blood pressure can trigger kidney alterations

There is also an important distinction between recovery after an illness and the illness itself.

UK kidney guidance advises temporarily pausing SGLT2 inhibitors during acute illness, particularly when someone cannot maintain food or fluid intake, with treatment reviewed once they recover.

For patients, the useful question at a discharge review is whether there is a clear plan for medicines that were stopped or are being considered.

This research suggests unnecessary delay may deserve attention. It does not mean someone should start a tablet while dehydrated or unwell, or change a kidney specialist’s plan based on a headline.

Endometriosis is usually discussed in terms of pelvic pain, periods and fertility.

Research highlighted by the US National Institutes of Health suggests its wider health implications may deserve more attention, including a possible link with type 2 diabetes.

Researchers analysed health records from almost three million women in Utah, following their records over an average of 10.8 years.

Almost 100,000 were diagnosed with endometriosis.

After adjusting for several factors, including age and BMI, endometriosis was associated with a 46% higher relative risk of type 2 diabetes.

That is a comparison between groups, not a finding that 46% of women with endometriosis developed diabetes.

The pattern was particularly interesting among women who might not usually be considered at high metabolic risk.

The association was stronger before menopause and among those with a BMI below 30, a group that includes women with underweight, a healthy weight or overweight, but not obesity.

A stronger relative association does not necessarily mean a higher absolute risk than in women with obesity.

Researchers also found differences according to where endometriosis had been recorded.

The strongest associations appeared in the broad “other site” categories, which can include disease outside the usual pelvic locations.

Inflammation is one possible connection, as it features in both conditions.

But this study did not establish the biological explanation, and its authors acknowledge that earlier research has often found little or no overall association.

Medical-record studies also have limitations.

• Long term excess weight predicts cardiovascular risk better than a single BMI reading
• Hidden fat can quietly damage your arteries even if your BMI looks normal
• Birth weight of newborns not impacted by father’s BMI

Women receiving care for endometriosis may have more opportunities for diabetes to be detected, while treatment differences and other unmeasured factors could influence the results.

Those possibilities do not make the findings irrelevant.

They do mean the study should inform further investigation rather than be turned into a prediction about an individual woman’s future health.

For UK readers, the useful point is that diabetes risk assessment should consider more than body size alone.

The researchers suggest earlier metabolic screening may be worth studying in women with endometriosis who otherwise appear to be at lower risk.

That is a more constructive response than either dismissing the association or treating another diagnosis as inevitable.

Diabetic neuropathy can produce a difficult combination of symptoms: burning or shooting pain alongside numbness and reduced awareness of temperature or touch.

Relieving the pain does not necessarily restore the sensation that helps someone notice an injury.

A trial of high-frequency spinal cord stimulation has now reported improvements in both pain and sensory function, offering a potentially useful option for people whose symptoms have resisted conventional treatment.

The study involved 91 adults across 13 US centres.

Participants received either conventional medical management alone or that treatment alongside spinal cord stimulation.

The treatment uses an implanted system to deliver electrical stimulation near the spinal cord.

It is a specialist procedure, rather than a wearable device or something patients can try themselves.

In the trial’s conservative analysis, 27 of the 34 participants who underwent a temporary stimulation trial achieved at least 50% pain relief, compared with two of 50 receiving conventional care alone.

The sensory findings were also notable.

Among participants with six-month results, meaningful improvement was recorded in 55.2% of the stimulation group, compared with 25% of the conventional-care group.

Skin samples showed an increase in small nerve-fibre density, but that does not establish lasting nerve regeneration or prove the underlying disease had been reversed.

There are reasons to be cautious about the size of the benefit.

• Autonomic Neuropathy
• Motor Neuropathy
• Sensory Neuropathy

Participants knew which treatment they received, although sensory assessors were blinded, and the trial stopped early after meeting its effectiveness criteria.

The study was also funded by Nevro, the manufacturer of the system, and focused on severe, treatment-resistant neuropathy rather than milder symptoms.

For readers dealing with persistent nerve pain, the immediate implication is that unsuccessful treatment should lead to a review, not an assumption that nothing else can help.

NHS guidance notes that neuropathic pain often needs medicines other than ordinary painkillers, and that another treatment may help when the first does not. Managing the underlying diabetes remains important too.

Spinal cord stimulation adds to that discussion for selected patients. Whether its sensory effects endure, and whether they reduce problems such as foot injuries, will require longer follow-up.

Semaglutide may have a benefit beyond blood glucose and weight: fewer serious flare-ups of existing lung disease.

Research presented at the European Respiratory Society Congress linked its use with nearly 40% fewer asthma attacks and around 20% fewer exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD.

The Imperial College London team examined UK health records in four parallel studies, each involving roughly 20,000 to 22,000 people.

They compared people starting GLP-1 medicines with those starting sulfonylureas, another class of diabetes treatment.

Semaglutide showed the strongest association with fewer respiratory attacks.

The comparison is important. This was not a test of semaglutide against an asthma inhaler, and it did not establish that the medicine could replace respiratory treatment.

Nor were participants randomly assigned to the diabetes medicines.

People prescribed different treatments may differ in ways that medical records cannot fully capture, making it difficult to separate the drug’s effect from other influences.

For someone already managing diabetes alongside asthma or COPD, the possibility of an additional respiratory benefit is nevertheless worth investigating.

The researchers suggest anti-inflammatory effects may be involved, but the findings do not establish the mechanism.

Further trials would need to measure lung function, symptoms and attacks directly.

That leaves an important gap between an encouraging association and a treatment recommendation.

• Orforglipron pill beats oral semaglutide in major diabetes trial
• Tirzepatide and semaglutide reduce heart attack, stroke and death risk
• Dementia risk reduced by using semaglutide, study reveals

A medicine can look promising in routine records without yet having the evidence needed to prescribe it for a different condition.

Existing inhaler treatment still has a clear purpose.

Preventer medicines reduce airway inflammation, while appropriate reliever treatment helps manage symptoms when they occur.

Their use should follow the person’s prescribed treatment plan.

Improved breathing after starting a diabetes medicine would therefore be something to discuss at a review, not a reason to quietly stop an inhaler.

For now, this research provides a reason to study respiratory outcomes in GLP-1 trials, rather than a reason to change asthma care ahead of the evidence.

Type 1 diabetes can begin long before thirst, weight loss or dangerously high blood glucose reveal that something is wrong.

New international guidance sets out how healthcare services could identify that earlier stage, giving families time to prepare rather than facing an emergency diagnosis.

Published in Diabetologia, the recommendations focus on blood tests for islet autoantibodies.

These are markers of the immune response directed against the pancreatic cells that produce insulin.

The proposed schedule starts between ages two and four.

• Screening all children for type 1 diabetes is effective

Children who test negative would be screened again between six and eight, then between ten and 15, ideally alongside existing healthcare appointments.

A positive result would need confirmation. The presence of an autoantibody is not a reason to jump straight to a diagnosis or treatment decision.

Instead, repeat testing and an assessment of blood glucose would establish whether early-stage type 1 diabetes is present and what monitoring is needed. The distinction matters because the immune process and the loss of glucose control do not necessarily happen at the same time.

One of the main aims is to reduce diabetic ketoacidosis, or DKA, at diagnosis.

This potentially life-threatening complication can occur when insulin levels become dangerously low.

Detecting the condition earlier creates an opportunity to explain symptoms, monitor progression and discuss appropriate treatment or research options before a child becomes seriously unwell.

There is already relevant work under way in the UK. The ELSA study has been investigating childhood screening, with its next phase expanded to include children aged two to 17.

That is research into how screening could work, rather than a universal NHS programme already available through every GP surgery.

• New protective gel could help transplanted insulin-producing cells survive in type 1 diabetes
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The new guidance is also clear that a screening service cannot stop at sending out blood-test results. Families need explanations, access to specialist advice and a reliable plan for follow-up.

Without that infrastructure, early detection could leave parents with understandable anxiety but little practical support.

The authors therefore recommend introducing screening only when services can deliver the entire pathway.

For families affected by type 1 diabetes, the significance is not simply an earlier label. It is the prospect of replacing some sudden, frightening diagnoses with a more informed and supported start to care.

People with type 2 diabetes are already advised to manage cholesterol carefully.

That advice is usually framed around preventing heart attacks and strokes.

A new Danish study suggests there may also be a brain-health angle.

Researchers looked at 132,585 people who developed type 2 diabetes between 2006 and 2019 and had not previously used statins.

They compared dementia outcomes in people who did not start statins, those who started within one year and those who started between one and five years after diagnosis.

During a median follow-up of 7.1 years, 2.7% of patients developed dementia.

Compared with no statin initiation, early statin use was associated with a 15% lower relative risk of dementia over 10 years.

Later statin use was linked with a 10% lower relative risk.

The pattern was similar in women and men.

This does not prove statins directly prevent dementia.

The researchers used methods designed to reduce bias, but this remains an observational study.

People who start statins earlier may differ from those who do not in ways that are difficult to measure fully.

Even so, the finding is plausible.

Type 2 diabetes, high LDL cholesterol and vascular disease are all linked with cognitive decline.

The brain depends on healthy blood vessels.

If statins reduce vascular injury over time, it is not surprising that dementia risk might shift too.

The useful point is timing.

• Better cardiorespiratory fitness linked to lower risk of dementia, depression and psychosis
• Cooking at home may help lower dementia risk in older adults

The association was stronger when statins were started within one year of type 2 diabetes diagnosis.

That suggests cholesterol management should not be treated as an optional add-on years later.

For people in the UK, this is a conversation to have with a GP, diabetes nurse or pharmacist.

Statins are not suitable for everyone, and side effects need to be taken seriously.

But for many people with type 2 diabetes, they remain one of the most evidence-based tools for reducing cardiovascular risk.

This study suggests the benefits may extend further than the heart.

Study link: Association between timing of statin treatment after diabetes diagnosis and risk of dementia

Breakfast has always had a reputation for setting the tone of the day.

Now researchers think it may do something more specific: prime the liver for how it handles glucose later on.

The study looked at the “second-meal effect”, where the body’s response to one meal is influenced by what happened earlier.

For years, insulin has taken most of the attention here. That makes sense, because insulin helps move glucose out of the blood and encourages the liver to store it.

But this research puts glucagon firmly back in the picture.

Glucagon is often described as insulin’s opposite. It tells the liver to release stored glucose into the bloodstream.

The researchers found that when glucagon levels were higher in the morning, the liver was less able to store glucose at a later meal.

Instead of switching cleanly into storage mode, the liver continued releasing glucose.

The effect appeared to involve glucokinase, an enzyme that helps the liver capture and store sugar.

When glucagon disrupted that system earlier in the day, the liver’s afternoon response changed.

That is useful because many people with type 2 diabetes recognise this pattern.

Morning readings may look manageable, but glucose can climb later despite no obvious mistake.

This study suggests the liver may not be responding to each meal in isolation.

It may be carrying a kind of hormonal memory from earlier in the day.

That does not mean breakfast is magic, or that one meal decides everything.

But it does suggest that the timing, composition and hormonal response to breakfast may matter more than we usually admit.

For people with diabetes, the practical message is measured.

A breakfast that supports stable glucose may not only help the morning reading. It may influence the rest of the day’s pattern too.

Study link: Morning glucagon disrupts insulin induced hepatic metabolic memory and subsequent afternoon glucose metabolism in canines

GLP-1 medicines are no longer just diabetes drugs.

They are now reshaping obesity treatment, and a new review shows how quickly the field is moving.

Researchers reviewed 38 randomised controlled trials involving more than 25,000 adults with overweight or obesity who did not have diabetes.

Across the studies, people taking GLP-1-based medicines lost significantly more weight than those taking placebo.

Among medicines already available, tirzepatide appeared to produce the strongest weight loss.

Some newer experimental drugs were linked with body weight reductions above 20%.

That is the sort of result that, until recently, would have been associated more with surgery than medication.

The review also looked beyond the number on the scales.

Researchers assessed changes in body mass index, waist circumference and blood pressure.

That matters because obesity treatment is not just about appearance or weight loss targets. It is about reducing future risk of type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, heart disease and stroke.

The safety picture was familiar.

Gastrointestinal side effects were the most common issue, including nausea, diarrhoea, constipation and vomiting.

Serious adverse events and deaths were rare in the reviewed trials, and no new safety concerns were identified.

That does not make these medicines risk-free.

It means the evidence so far is consistent with what clinicians already see: powerful weight loss, common gut side effects and the need for careful prescribing.

• New GLP-1 pill helped people lose up to 12% of body weight
• Oral GLP-1 drugs may turn down the brain’s food craving circuit

For a UK diabetes audience, there is a prevention angle.

If effective weight loss can be achieved before type 2 diabetes develops, it may reduce future diabetes risk.

But access, long-term use, stopping treatment, muscle preservation and nutrition support all still matter.

These medicines are not one magic injection.

They are becoming a whole treatment class, and different patients may need different options.

Study link: Efficacy and Safety of GLP-1 Receptor Agonists and Co-agonists for Weight Loss Among Adults Without Diabetes

Retatrutide has not yet been approved for human use in the UK.

That has not stopped fake versions being sold through social media, gyms, beauty salons and unregulated online suppliers.

This is the dangerous side of the weight-loss drug boom.

People see dramatic headlines about new medicines, hear about appetite suppression and weight loss, then assume the next drug must be better than the last.

Retatrutide is attracting attention because it works differently from current GLP-1 medicines.

It targets three hormone pathways: GLP-1, GIP and glucagon.

GLP-1 helps reduce appetite, slow stomach emptying and support blood sugar control.

GIP can support insulin secretion and may work alongside GLP-1 on appetite and metabolism.

Glucagon is the newer part of the story. It may increase energy expenditure and support liver fat breakdown.

That triple action is why retatrutide is being watched closely by researchers, clinicians and people living with obesity or type 2 diabetes.

But the key point is simple: real retatrutide is still a trial drug.

It is not something you can legally buy from a UK pharmacy, an online seller, a personal trainer or a “research peptide” website for self-injection.

Anything being sold outside a properly regulated clinical trial should be treated as unapproved, unverified and potentially dangerous.

The biggest risk is that you do not know what is in the vial.

It may contain too much active ingredient, too little, the wrong ingredient entirely or contaminants from poor manufacturing.

That is bad enough with any medicine.

• Ozempic breath: gum and mint sales may be getting a boost from GLP-1 users
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With an injectable medicine, the risk is even higher because sterility matters.

An unregulated injection can carry risks of infection, incorrect dosing and unpredictable reactions.

Some products also arrive as powders that need mixing before use.

That creates another problem: people are doing medical calculations at home with no clinician, no pharmacist and no safety net.

A small mistake can mean taking several times the intended dose.

That can lead to severe nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, dehydration and, in more serious cases, kidney problems.

For people with diabetes, there is another layer of risk.

Medicines affecting appetite, digestion, insulin and glucose can change blood sugar patterns.

If someone is also taking insulin, sulfonylureas or other glucose-lowering medication, unsupervised use can become dangerous.

This is why proper prescribing matters.

With regulated obesity and diabetes medicines, clinicians check eligibility, medical history, mental health, medication interactions, pregnancy risk, side effects and blood results.

They also review dose escalation and stop treatment if the risks outweigh the benefits.

Black market sellers do none of that.

They are not managing your health. They are moving product.

The fact that someone online lost weight on a fake version does not make it safe.

It means they took a gamble and happened to get a result they wanted.

The next person might get a contaminated batch, the wrong dose or a completely different compound.

There is also a psychological risk here.

When a drug is framed as a shortcut to controlling cravings, weight or body shape, it can become especially risky for people with eating disorders, body image distress or obsessive food thoughts.

That does not mean GLP-1 medicines are bad.

• Retatrutide improves blood sugar and weight loss in type 2 diabetes trial
• Retatrutide may become the most powerful weight loss drug yet

The genuine, regulated versions have become important tools for obesity and type 2 diabetes care.

But this is exactly why counterfeit versions are so dangerous.

They borrow the reputation of real medicine while removing the safeguards that make medicine safe.

Retatrutide may become a major treatment in the future.

It may eventually be approved for obesity, type 2 diabetes or related conditions if regulators decide the evidence is strong enough.

But “promising” is not the same as approved.

Until then, buying so-called retatrutide online or from a local seller is not early access.

It is self-experimentation with an unknown injectable substance.

If you have already taken a product claiming to be retatrutide, do not take more.

Speak to a pharmacist, GP or NHS 111, especially if you have vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, dizziness, dehydration, confusion or unusual blood glucose readings.

Call 999 if symptoms are severe, if you cannot keep fluids down or if you feel seriously unwell.

The demand for weight-loss medicines is real.

So are the barriers to getting proper treatment.

But counterfeit retatrutide is not a solution to that problem.

It is the kind of risk that looks clever until something goes wrong.

Study link: TRANSCEND-T2D-1 phase 3 retatrutide trial

Official safety information: Eli Lilly information on retatrutide

Concerns about GLP-1 medicines and mental health have been circulating for several years.

A new review suggests the strongest evidence does not support a link with major psychiatric harm.

Researchers reviewed five years of mechanistic, pharmacovigilance, observational and regulatory evidence.

They looked at claims that GLP-1 receptor agonists may increase suicidal thoughts, depression, anxiety or other serious psychiatric problems.

Their conclusion was reassuring.

The review found no evidence that GLP-1 medicines increase psychiatric risk in the general treated population.

That includes medicines such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Saxenda and Zepbound.

The researchers also explain why early concerns appeared in the first place.

Spontaneous adverse-event reports can raise useful warning flags, but they cannot prove cause and effect.

They can also be distorted by media attention, baseline mental health risk and more frequent contact with healthcare services.

That matters because people living with obesity and type 2 diabetes already have higher rates of depression and psychological distress.

If someone reports low mood after starting a diabetes or weight loss medicine, the medicine may not be the cause.

The issue may have been there before treatment, or worsened by weight stigma, sleep problems, pain, diabetes distress or life pressure.

That said, the review does not argue for ignoring mental health.

• New GLP-1 pill helped people lose up to 12% of body weight
• Oral GLP-1 drugs may turn down the brain’s food craving circuit

It argues for routine screening.

People taking antidepressants or benzodiazepines, or those with a history of mood disorder, may need closer monitoring.

That is not a reason to deny effective treatment.

It is a reason to prescribe properly.

For people with diabetes, this is especially important. Mental health affects glucose monitoring, medication routines, eating patterns, activity and sleep.

The honest takeaway is simple.

Current evidence does not show GLP-1 medicines cause major psychiatric harm, but good diabetes care should ask about mood anyway.

Study link: GLP-1 receptor agonists and psychiatric safety review

The study, conducted in routine NHS rheumatology care at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, adds to the evidence supporting tailored digital weight management alongside specialist care.

What the study involved

Researchers followed 200 adults with psoriatic arthritis and a body mass index of at least 25 kg/m².

Half were offered a version of Gro Health tailored to psoriatic arthritis alongside their usual care. The other 100 formed a comparison group, matched by BMI, receiving standard care alone.

The programme combined digital-only structured weight management content and guidance.

Researchers assessed changes in body weight and disease activity, as well as engagement with the app.

Of the 100 people offered Gro Health, 46 used it at least weekly. The researchers compared these regular users with people who did not engage regularly and the standard-care group.

Improvements in weight and disease activity

Over six months:

• Regular Gro Health users lost an average of 1.55 kg, compared with 0.18 kg among non-engagers.
• The standard-care comparison group gained an average of 1.7 kg.
• Disease activity improved among regular users, with a 0.58-point reduction in the Composite Psoriatic Disease Activity Index, while it worsened in the other two groups.

Differences between the groups were statistically significant.

The most pronounced improvements in disease activity were in the arthritis and enthesitis domains.

Researchers also found an association between weight loss and improvements in disease activity.

What this means for care

The findings point to a potential role for coached digital weight management within rheumatology services. They also underline the importance of engagement: offering access is the starting point, and understanding what helps people use support consistently remains essential.

The weight loss observed was modest, and the study was observational rather than a randomised trial. It therefore shows an association between regular Gro Health use and improved outcomes, rather than proving that the app caused those changes.

• NICE recommends seven heart rehab apps including Gro Health
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Larger controlled studies are needed to confirm effectiveness and explore how to improve engagement.

Gro Health was provided alongside usual rheumatology care. This research examined its role as additional lifestyle support within that care.

Research supported by independent clinical evaluation

The study received charity funding from the Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis Alliance, with open-access publication funding supported by the University of Warwick.

High blood sugar is usually discussed in relation to eyes, kidneys, nerves and heart disease.

A new study adds another possible concern: how cancer cells hide from the immune system.

Researchers studied a dense outer coating around cancer cells called the glycocalyx.

This coating is made partly from sugar-derived molecules and can act like camouflage.

If it becomes too thick, immune cells may find it harder to recognise and attack cancer cells.

• Less sugar early in life linked to lower Alzheimer’s risk decades later
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The study found that high glucose could thicken this protective coating, but only under certain conditions.

That detail matters.

The effect appeared when cells were grown in a medium designed to better resemble the nutrient environment inside the human body.

It was not a simplistic “sugar feeds cancer” claim.

The tumour-like environment mattered too.

Cancer cells grown under conditions that mimic the physical and metabolic pressure of tumours behaved differently from cells grown in standard lab conditions.

A protein called HSF1 appeared to play a key role.

When HSF1 was active, high glucose helped cancer cells strengthen their protective sugar-rich shield.

The researchers suggest that targeting this pathway could eventually make cancer cells easier for the immune system to detect.

That is an early-stage idea, not a treatment.

This is laboratory research, not a clinical trial.

It does not mean a single high glucose reading helps cancer spread.

• Retatrutide improves blood sugar and weight loss in type 2 diabetes trial
• Delivered groceries improved blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes

It also does not mean people with diabetes should blame themselves if they develop cancer.

But it does reinforce a wider point.

Metabolism and immunity are deeply connected.

For people with type 2 diabetes, prediabetes or insulin resistance, glucose control may matter beyond the classic diabetes complications.

The practical message is not panic.

It is another reason to take blood sugar, weight, physical activity and metabolic health seriously.

Study link: High glucose and the cancer cell glycocalyx study summary

Gestational diabetes often resolves after birth, but the risk does not disappear.

Women who have had gestational diabetes face a much higher chance of developing type 2 diabetes later.

A new study looked at whether the places women live can influence that risk.

Researchers used data from 12,403 women in New York City who had gestational diabetes and gave birth between 2009 and 2011.

They followed the group through 2021.

Type 2 diabetes was identified using HbA1c results of 6.5% or above at least 12 weeks after birth.

Over 12 years, 20.6% of the women developed type 2 diabetes.

That alone is a serious figure.

The researchers then examined neighbourhood walkability.

After adjusting for individual and neighbourhood factors, women living in medium-walkability areas had a lower rate of developing type 2 diabetes compared with women in less walkable areas.

The finding makes sense.

A neighbourhood that supports walking can make physical activity easier to build into daily life.

That could mean walking to shops, schools, work, transport or appointments instead of needing a formal exercise session.

But the study also shows why “just walk more” is too simplistic.

The strongest benefit of high walkability was seen in more affluent neighbourhoods.

In deprived areas, walkability may come with heavy traffic, pollution, safety concerns, poor green space or fewer health-promoting resources.

So the built environment matters, but it does not work in isolation.

For a UK diabetes audience, the lesson translates well.

Postnatal diabetes prevention cannot rely only on leaflets telling women to exercise.

• Delivered groceries improved blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes
• Higher blood sugar linked to faster brain ageing

Women need safe streets, affordable healthy food, childcare, follow-up HbA1c checks, culturally relevant support and practical routes back into care after pregnancy.

Gestational diabetes should be treated as an early warning sign.

The years after birth are a key prevention window.

A walkable neighbourhood can help, but only if it is genuinely safe, usable and supported by wider social conditions.

Study link: Neighborhood Walkability and the Development of Type 2 Diabetes After Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

A ketogenic diet has again produced striking metabolic results, this time in people with obesity, prediabetes and fatty liver disease.

The trial compared a ketogenic diet with a Mediterranean diet and a plant-forward lower-fat diet.

All three groups lost around 10% of their body weight after four to five months.

That is already clinically meaningful.

But the liver-fat results separated the groups.

People following the ketogenic diet had an average 67% reduction in liver fat.

The Mediterranean and plant-forward groups each saw an average reduction of around 45%.

That difference matters because fatty liver disease is closely linked with insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular risk.

The keto group also showed a stronger shift out of prediabetes.

About 50% of participants in the ketogenic group no longer met criteria for prediabetes after the intervention.

That compared with 29% in the Mediterranean group and 7% in the plant-forward group.

Researchers also found that insulin sensitivity improved across all three groups.

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The ketogenic group had the largest rise in glucagon and the greatest fall in insulin levels, both of which may help explain the liver-fat reduction.

One surprising finding was that the keto group did not see the expected rise in blood fats or cholesterol despite eating the highest-fat diet.

That will get attention, but it should not be overinterpreted.

Keto diets vary hugely.

A diet built around fish, eggs, olive oil, nuts, seeds and non-starchy vegetables is not the same as one built around processed meats, butter and cheese.

For people with diabetes, medication safety matters too.

Low-carbohydrate diets can increase the risk of hypoglycaemia in people taking insulin or sulfonylureas unless medication is reviewed.

They may also be unsuitable for some people with kidney disease, a history of eating disorders or other medical conditions.

So this is not a casual DIY recommendation.

The real message is more nuanced.

Weight loss helps, but diet composition may change where the benefits show up.

For fatty liver and prediabetes, carbohydrate restriction may offer added metabolic effects beyond weight loss alone.

The next question is whether those benefits can be maintained safely and realistically over the long term.

Study link: Effect of diet macronutrient content on the cardiometabolic response to weight loss

Diabetes is often described as a problem of insulin resistance or insulin deficiency.

But inside the insulin-producing beta cell, the story is more detailed.

Researchers have identified a role for tiny cell structures called peroxisomes in beta-cell health.

Peroxisomes help cells break down fats and manage damaging molecules produced during normal metabolism.

That matters because beta cells are unusually sensitive to oxidative stress.

They have to sense glucose, produce insulin and release it at the right time.

If their internal machinery becomes stressed, insulin production can become less reliable.

In animal models, researchers disrupted peroxisome function by targeting a gene needed for normal peroxisome activity.

The result was not simply less insulin.

It was more complicated.

The animals developed glucose intolerance early in life, meaning their bodies struggled to keep blood sugar under control.

Yet their beta cells released more insulin in response to sugar.

That sounds contradictory, but it makes the finding more interesting.

More insulin does not automatically mean better glucose control if the insulin itself is damaged or the beta cell is losing its mature identity.

Researchers found evidence of oxidised insulin proteins.

That means insulin had undergone chemical changes linked to oxidative stress.

They also found reduced markers of mature beta-cell identity.

In plain English, the cells looked less like fully specialised insulin-producing cells.

The study does not prove the same mechanism is driving diabetes in humans.

It is animal research and needs much more work.

But it adds another layer to how we think about diabetes progression.

• Misfolded insulin may be part of how diabetes damages beta cells
• New protective gel could help transplanted insulin-producing cells survive in type 1 diabetes

Beta-cell failure may not just be about the pancreas being overworked.

It may involve damage to the cell’s internal quality-control systems, including structures that manage fat processing and oxidative stress.

If future studies confirm the relevance in people, peroxisome function could become a new research target.

The goal would be to protect beta cells before they fail, rather than simply forcing them to release more insulin.

That is a more ambitious and more interesting direction for diabetes treatment.

Study link: Reduced peroxisomal function increases insulin secretion, promotes insulin oxidation and impairs beta cell maturity

Taking the stairs is not glamorous, but it may be one of the easiest ways to add meaningful movement into everyday life.

A new analysis from the University of East Anglia and the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital suggests stair climbing is linked with a substantially lower risk of early death.

Researchers reviewed nearly 1,900 studies and analysed nine higher-quality studies involving more than 480,000 people.

The median follow-up period was 14 years, which gives the findings more weight than a short lifestyle snapshot.

People who regularly climbed stairs were 39% less likely to die from cardiovascular disease than those who did not climb stairs often.

They were also 24% less likely to die from any cause.

The same pattern appeared for major cardiovascular conditions.

People who climbed stairs more often were less likely to develop heart attack, stroke and heart failure.

That is important because heart disease remains one of the biggest risks for people living with diabetes.

• More daily steps can lower health risk even for people who sit a lot
• Forget 10,000 steps: for older women, 4,000 is enough

Diabetes already increases the likelihood of cardiovascular disease, so any practical habit that improves heart health is worth taking seriously.

Stair climbing works because it is a short, intense form of activity.

It raises the heart rate quickly, uses large muscles in the legs and challenges the lungs more than flat walking.

It is also built into daily life.

There is no kit, no class and no commute to a gym.

The study also points to a dose question.

One large cohort suggested around six flights of stairs a day may deliver strong benefit, although researchers say the ideal amount still needs more work.

The better message is that even small changes seem to matter.

Choosing stairs at work, in shops or at home can turn wasted moments into useful movement.

For people with type 2 diabetes, this may support fitness, weight management, blood pressure and glucose control over time.

But stair climbing is not for everyone.

Anyone with balance problems, severe joint pain, breathlessness, chest symptoms or foot complications should be cautious and speak to a clinician if unsure.

People with diabetes-related neuropathy should also think carefully about footwear, sensation and fall risk.

The takeaway is simple.

Where it is safe, taking the stairs is a low-cost habit with a surprisingly strong health signal.

It will not replace structured exercise, but it can make an inactive day less inactive.

Arjun Panesar has been featured in Scientists Making a Difference, a science education initiative designed to bring the stories of remarkable scientists into schools and classrooms.

His chapter, Decoding Data, focuses on using data to help people live healthier lives.

It is a fitting theme for someone whose career has been built around turning health data, artificial intelligence and lived experience into practical tools for people with diabetes and other long-term conditions.

Arjun’s story began with family.

After his grandfather was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, Arjun founded Diabetes.co.uk in 2003 while studying Computing and Artificial Intelligence at Imperial College London.

What started as an online community grew into one of the world’s largest diabetes platforms.

From there, it became the foundation for DDM Health and its evidence-based digital health services.

As Founding CEO and Head of AI and Ethics at DDM Health, Arjun has spent more than two decades working at the intersection of data, prevention, diabetes, obesity and health inequalities.

His work has helped move digital health beyond simple tracking apps and into personalised, clinically meaningful support.

The point is not technology for its own sake.

It is technology that helps people make better decisions, access support earlier and manage health in ways that fit real life.

Arjun’s contribution has been recognised widely.

Imperial College London named him an Emerging Alumni Leader in 2020, recognising alumni under 40 who have shown outstanding achievement, leadership and social impact.

Imperial’s profile highlighted how his work helped more than a million people better manage chronic health conditions, including type 2 diabetes, prediabetes, obesity and fatty liver disease.

DDM Health’s work has also earned major industry recognition.

In 2024, DDM Health and University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust won the HSJ Digital Award for Empowering Patients Through Digital for Gro Health W8Buddy.

The platform was recognised for supporting people on specialist weight management pathways and for showing how digital tools can improve access, personalisation and outcomes.

Earlier recognition includes Diabetes Digital Media being named Most Influential Diabetes Technology Company of the Year at the Diabetes Professional Care Industry Awards.

DDM also won an Innovation award at the UK Business Awards, where judges praised the company’s work in changing how type 2 diabetes prevention and management can be delivered.

Arjun is also a bestselling author and recognised thought leader in healthcare AI.

His books include Machine Learning and AI in Healthcare, now in two editions, and Precision Health and Artificial Intelligence.

He has also contributed to Springer’s Handbook of Global Health.

His writing has helped frame some of the central questions facing healthcare AI: how to use data safely, how to avoid bias, how to protect privacy and how to make precision health useful for people who are too often left behind.

His academic roles reflect that same focus.

Arjun is an Honorary Associate Professor at Warwick Medical School, a lecturer at WMG, University of Warwick, an advisor to the University of Sheffield Information School and a mentor at the UCL Institute for Global Health.

Through these roles, he teaches and advises on artificial intelligence, ethics, the digital phenotype and precision health.

• Who is Arjun Panesar
• New study finds weight loss app W8Buddy boosts outcomes in specialist obesity services

That combination of practical delivery, academic contribution and public impact is what makes the Scientists Making a Difference recognition feel well-earned.

Arjun is not being recognised simply for building a company.

He is being recognised for showing how data can be used responsibly to improve health, reduce inequalities and help people live better.

For a UK diabetes audience, the significance is obvious.

Diabetes care is becoming more digital, more personalised and more data-driven.

Arjun’s work has helped shape that shift from the inside.

His inclusion in Scientists Making a Difference gives that story a wider audience: students, teachers and the next generation of scientists who may now see health data and AI as a route to making a real difference.

• Read more at the Scientists Making a Difference website

Taking the stairs is not glamorous, but it may be one of the easiest ways to add meaningful movement into everyday life.

A new analysis from the University of East Anglia and the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital suggests stair climbing is linked with a substantially lower risk of early death.

Researchers reviewed nearly 1,900 studies and analysed nine higher-quality studies involving more than 480,000 people.

The median follow-up period was 14 years, which gives the findings more weight than a short lifestyle snapshot.

People who regularly climbed stairs were 39% less likely to die from cardiovascular disease than those who did not climb stairs often.

• More daily steps can lower health risk even for people who sit a lot

They were also 24% less likely to die from any cause.

The same pattern appeared for major cardiovascular conditions.

People who climbed stairs more often were less likely to develop heart attack, stroke and heart failure.

That is important because heart disease remains one of the biggest risks for people living with diabetes.

Diabetes already increases the likelihood of cardiovascular disease, so any practical habit that improves heart health is worth taking seriously.

Stair climbing works because it is a short, intense form of activity.

It raises the heart rate quickly, uses large muscles in the legs and challenges the lungs more than flat walking.

It is also built into daily life.

There is no kit, no class and no commute to a gym.

The study also points to a dose question.

One large cohort suggested around six flights of stairs a day may deliver strong benefit, although researchers say the ideal amount still needs more work.

The better message is that even small changes seem to matter.

• Boosting GLP-1: how to increase GLP-1 levels naturally
• Weight loss injection adverts from CheqUp, MedExpress and WLO pulled after regulator steps in
• Forget 10,000 steps: for older women, 4,000 is enough

Choosing stairs at work, in shops or at home can turn wasted moments into useful movement.

For people with type 2 diabetes, this may support fitness, weight management, blood pressure and glucose control over time.

But stair climbing is not for everyone.

Anyone with balance problems, severe joint pain, breathlessness, chest symptoms or foot complications should be cautious and speak to a clinician if unsure.

People with diabetes-related neuropathy should also think carefully about footwear, sensation and fall risk.

The takeaway is simple.

Where it is safe, taking the stairs is a low-cost habit with a surprisingly strong health signal.

It will not replace structured exercise, but it can make an inactive day less inactive.

Cured meats are often discussed as if the whole problem is nitrates.

That is too simple.

The cancer risk linked to processed meat appears to come from a combination of factors: nitrites, heme iron, smoking, charring, salt, processing methods and the overall food matrix.

Processed meat includes meat preserved by curing, salting, smoking, fermentation or similar methods.

That means foods such as bacon, ham, salami, sausages, chorizo and some deli meats.

In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified processed meat as carcinogenic to humans.

• Proccessed and ultra-processed foods: how do they affect your health?

The strongest evidence is for colorectal cancer.

That classification does not mean processed meat carries the same level of risk as every other Group 1 carcinogen.

It means there is strong evidence of a cancer hazard.

The chemistry is important.

Nitrates and nitrites can be transformed in the body into reactive compounds.

Under certain conditions, these can form N-nitroso compounds, some of which can damage DNA.

Heme iron from red meat may also promote formation of these compounds in the gut.

High-temperature cooking adds another layer.

Pan-frying, grilling, smoking and direct flame exposure can create substances such as heterocyclic aromatic amines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

These compounds are also linked with DNA damage.

That is why the source and preparation method matter.

A vegetable rich in nitrate is not the same as cured bacon.

Nitrate and nitrite ions may be chemically identical, but the surrounding food matrix changes what happens next.

Vegetables bring fibre, polyphenols and vitamins such as vitamin C and E, which can reduce nitrosation and steer chemistry towards nitric oxide rather than harmful N-nitroso compounds.

This is why plant-derived nitrate has not shown the same cancer-risk pattern as processed meat in current evidence.

The “natural” label can also mislead.

Some meats cured with nitrate-rich vegetable extracts may still generate nitrite during processing.

So “no added synthetic nitrite” does not necessarily mean nitrite-free or risk-free.

For people with diabetes, processed meats also raise another issue.

They are often high in salt and may be part of dietary patterns linked with poorer cardiovascular health.

That matters because diabetes already raises heart and stroke risk.

• Ultra-processed foods may affect focus even in people with healthy diets
• Ultra processed foods may raise asthma risk in children
• Ultra-processed food intake linked to poorer thigh muscle quality

The most sensible advice is not panic.

It is moderation.

Processed meat should not be an everyday staple.

Fresh poultry, fish, eggs, pulses, tofu, nuts and minimally processed meats are better regular protein options.

Cooking methods matter too.

Avoid charring, reduce direct-flame cooking and pair meals with fibre-rich foods such as vegetables, beans, lentils and wholegrains.

This is not about demonising one food.

It is about recognising that processing changes biology, and some processed meats carry risks that cannot be explained away by calling them traditional, natural or high protein.