When your only tool is insulin, every problem is a carbohydrate

Automatic insulin delivery systems might have a problem. As British researchers found, there’s a lot more affecting blood glucose levels than just carbohydrates, but insulin delivery systems only have one tool: insulin. If something else is affecting glucose levels — e.g., hormones, exercise, stress — patients will still get a dose of insulin, even when there are no excess carbs to respond to.

The problem is that, while we might have a general idea of these other factors, we don’t have specific information about their effects.

For factors beyond carbohydrates to become more systematically included in clinical practice, scientists need to find a way to measure and quantify their impact and utilise this information in insulin-dosing.

In the meantime, clinicians are left with a single blunt instrument until more research can be done.

ICYMI

The Biden administration is proposing that Medicare and Medicaid cover GLP-1 agonists to help reduce obesity and all the issues that come with it. Although Medicare is prohibited from covering weight-loss drugs (to avoid cosmetic use), CMS’s angle is that the drugs are treatments for obesity.

This sets up a cage match between incoming HHS secretary-nominee Kennedy (anti GLP-1s) and incoming CMS administrator Oz (pro GLP-1s).

Saving you a click

“Need to sleep? Study pinpoints optimal melatonin dosage and timing”

4 mg of melatonin three hours before bedtime maximized the sleep-inducing effects of the hormone.

Bird flu follow-up

Canadian officials have given up trying to figure out where a British Columbian teen contracted bird flu: “an exhaustive investigation of the people and domestic animals the unnamed teen had contact with shed no light on how the teen became infected.”

The kid has improved from critical to serious condition, but still requires a ventilator. He or she is showing signs of recovery, though.

Weird science

Did you have to let it linger? (Press 1 for yes)

Concerned about “excessive flatulence,” the Australian national science agency is asking residents to sign up for the continent-wide “Chart your Fart” campaign. Participants download an app and record their gas-passing ‘events,’ with the option to rate them for (seriously) stench, loudness, duration, linger, and detectability.

The Chart Your Fart app is designed to better understand the flatulence patterns and concerns of Australians as part of our public-led research in the area of health and wellbeing.

Every one of you will look at your hands

Women whose ring finger is significantly longer than their pointer might be more likely to have alcohol-dependence issues. Yep, that’s what a new British study found.

There’s actually a logic behind it. The hypothesis is that a longer ring finger indicates more testosterone exposure before birth, and men tend to have more alcohol issues than women.

In fact, the same lead researcher — who really has a thing for finger length — previously found associations between finger-length ratio and Covid outcomes and oxygen consumption.

RIP, John Tinniswood

At 112 — born August 26, 1912 — the British man was the world’s oldest living man. He died this past Monday.