Diabetes

NEW YORK — Such mood disorders as anxiety and depression may be a precursor to diabetes in Latinos, according to a study by University of California at San Diego researchers scheduled for presentation at the American Psychiatric Association’s annual meeting in Honolulu.

As reported in the Los Angeles Times, the researchers found that while Latinos have higher-than-average rates of diabetes, they also seem to have higher-than-average risk of having both diabetes and a mood disorder.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — A controversial GlaxoSmithKline drug for treating Type 2 diabetes no longer will be available through retail pharmacies as of Nov. 18, the Food and Drug Administration announced Wednesday.

DEARBORN, Mich. — Ford Motor on Wednesday announced its research partnership with WellDoc — a healthcare company that develops technology solutions to improve chronic disease management outcomes and reduce healthcare costs — around integrating WellDoc services into Ford vehicles through the automaker’s SYNC voice-activated in-car connectivity system.

That SYNC system also will enable access to SDI’s Pollen.com Allergy Alert application, Ford announced Wednesday.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Cancer drugs are expected to see sharp increases in spending and use by 2013, according to the latest drug trend report by pharmacy benefit manager Medco Health Solutions.

The overall drug trend for 2010 was 3.7%, lowered by higher rates of generic drug dispensing; more than 71% of drugs dispensed were generics. Specialty drugs, mostly branded biologics, accounted for 70.1% of the overall drug trend, with especially strong growth in cancer drugs, whose drug trend reached 21.2%.

PARSIPPANY, N.J. — Global spending on medicines will reach nearly $1.1 trillion by 2015, according to a new study by market research firm IMS Health.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — A Food and Drug Administration panel will discuss findings in a clinical trial that has raised concerns about the safety and efficacy of Abbott's cholesterol-lowering drug when it’s combined with similar drugs, according to an FDA announcement.

SAN DIEGO — Amylin Pharmaceuticals filed suit against Eli Lilly in federal court Monday concerning an agreement between the latter and German drug maker Boehringer Ingelheim to develop drugs for diabetes.

In a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, Amylin said Lilly engaged in unlawful and anticompetitive activity in its development and commercialization agreement with BI for Tradjenta (linagliptin), an orally administered Type 2 diabetes drug that the Food and Drug Administration recently approved.

NEW YORK — Diabetics that have trouble sleeping likely experience high insulin resistance and have a more difficult time controlling the disease, according to study findings published in the June issue of Diabetes Care.

Researchers said they monitored the sleep of 40 subjects with diabetes for a duration of six nights and also measured the subjects' insulin and glucose levels during clinical examinations. The subjects also reported if they generally suffered from symptoms of such sleep disturbances as insomnia, snoring or sleep apnea.