Have you heard about the bionic pancreas?

Section of pancreas of dog. X 250. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The title of this post sounds like the setup for a punchline, but it's no such thing:  it's actually in clinical studies right now, spurred by a father's need to help his Type 1 son.  You can read the story on TheDiabetesSite, where there is a petition going to get the FDA to move it up to the top of their review list once it is sent to them.  Their goal is 10,000 signatures, and as of right now (12/28/13) they have 4,127.  This petition has implications for everyone (humans and animals) with diabetes, since the more pressure that is put on the FDA for expediting new diabetes treatments each time, the better for all of us.  

As it stands now, the bionic pancreas is a type 1 treatment and would not be practical for animals, but, as with any new idea, there is no way of knowing where it might lead others in their research and development efforts.  I urge you to sign the petition.

TheDiabetesSite.com is part of the Greater Good Network, where users click on a box to help various causes for free.  I've had a link to TheAnimalRescueSite.com since I began this blog, and I like to think that I've drawn some people to make clicking part of their daily activities. 

And, today there's a bumper crop of related articles for you.    

Related articles

• Medtronic hasn't made true artificial pancreas yet. The next 4 steps for this type 1 diabetes treatment (medcitynews.com)
• The Eyes are a Window to the...Pancreas? (ivanhoe.com)
• 4 Companies Completely Changing the Way We Treat Diabetes (dailyfinance.com)
• Medical advances made for diabetics (consumersresearch.org)
• Insulin "capsules" may ultimately replace daily injections for diabetics (gizmag.com)
• JDRF: Patient Needs Must Drive T1 Diabetes Innovation (diabetesmine.com)
• Wearing your pancreas on the outside. (northernmum.com)
• Dog Blood Glucose (dog-health-guide.org)
• D.A.D Diabetic Alert Dad (charliesfight2013.wordpress.com)
• New look identifies crucial clumping of diabetes-causing proteins (eurekalert.org)

Worried about your dog's food? There's something you can do

Oreo on WNBC for Nutro Pet Food Recall (Photo credit: SheepGuardingLlama)

You may have noticed the link to the Animal Rescue Site on this page.  It's part of the Greater Good Network, which raises money for various good causes through advertising.  You click (it's FREE!) on the site, the next page comes up (a combination of ads and real content), the advertisers pay money for the pageview, and the site uses it to aid in animal rescue, in this case.

Well, if you're on their mailing list, they also send you information from time to time about issues connected to animals, and the one I just received is about the possibility that the Food and Drug Administration is proposing new pet food safety regulations, just as they do for human food.   It's about time, but it may not go through, thanks to lobbying efforts by manufacturers who don't want to deal with regulations.  You can send a message to the FDA commissioner, Margaret Hamburg, from the website to put pressure on so that this doesn't just fall by the wayside.

I'm doing it, and I hope you will, too.  If you have a diabetic pet, any contamination in his or her food could be very dangerous, and under the present system it could take months (and animal deaths) before anything is done about it, resulting in more deaths and illnesses.

New Help from the FDA

Image via WikipediaI'm a couple days late with this, but it's worth noting anyway.  I've written before about the importance of reading pet food labels, and how we really need more information than is there.  Now the FDA has a new pet food initiative that will at least keep track of pet food problems as they occur.  Read their announcement of PetNet, which "is a secure, web based information exchange system that will allow FDA and Federal and State Agencies to share initial information about pet-food related incidents, such as illness associated with the consumption of pet food or pet food product defects."  Sounds good.

Related articles

• Give A Dog a Bone; "Feeding Pets of the Homeless" Leads National Pet Food Drive (prweb.com)
• Understanding Pet Food Labels (everydayhealth.com)
• A crash course in preservatives (barkersdogclub.wordpress.com)
• Safe Handling Tips for Pet Foods and Treats (everydayhealth.com)

Pet food labels

Image via WikipediaAfter my last post, I decided to do some research on dog food labels, and I found some interesting info.  First, WebMd has an article on deciphering the labels at http://pets.webmd.com/dogs/guide/how-to-read-a-dog-food-label, and you can also sign up for their pet health newsletter to receive the latest on new studies.  As far as I can see, the information on the labels may be fine for a healthy dog (although they should list sugars separately even then), but they're inadequate for dogs with health issues like diabetes.
Another site with a surprising amount of information is that of the Food and Drug Administration.  They have a full (maybe too full) explanation of the current labels.  Within the FDA, pet food issues are handled by the Center for Veterinary Medicine, whose director is Bernadette M. Dunham, D.V.M., Ph.D.  Now that I've got that name, at least I have someone to direct my inquiries to.  I'll let you know how that turns out.

Related articles

• Better pet food portion control may reduce pet insurance claims (money.marksandspencer.com)
• Pet foods and hygiene products can pose health risk to children (money.marksandspencer.com)
• New health/green ratings for pet food (sfgate.com)
• Consumer Ally Responds to Dog Food Ratings Brouhaha (walletpop.com)
• Pet nutrition: An intro (mnn.com)