Diabetes

ST. PAUL, Minn. — UltiMed is offering 50-count pen needles for patients with diabetes, the company announced.

The company said the needles would give diabetes patients a high-quality and cost-effective option for their pen needle supplies. Before, pen needles were dispensed in quantities of 100.

UltiMed said its needles, manufactured in its De Smet, S.D., factory, are the only ones assembled in the United States.

PRINCETON, N.J. — The Food and Drug Administration has accepted a regulatory approval application for a Type 2 diabetes drug from Bristol-Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca, the two drug makers said Tuesday.

The FDA accepted the application for dapagliflozin, an investigational drug for adults with the disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that 1-in-11 U.S. adults has diabetes, with 90% to 95% of them having Type 2 diabetes.

The agency expects to take action on the application in late October.

CATANZARO, Italy — A new study revealed that a single gene mutation might be the cause of Type 2 diabetes.

NEW YORK — Researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have discovered that potassium levels in the blood may explain a racial disparity among Type 2 diabetes patients.

According to a new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, among 12,000 participants, more than 2,000 African-Americans in the study had lower average serum potassium levels than the more than 9,000 whites in the study. They also were twice as likely to develop Type 2 diabetes.

WASHINGTON — Walgreens on Friday joined the Care Continuum Alliance, an alliance of more than 200 stakeholders providing services across the continuum of care — from wellness and prevention to chronic condition management and complex care management.

Alarming statistics are as common in the healthcare world as healthcare workers themselves, but some of the latest numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are particularly dramatic: Nearly 26 million Americans have diabetes, the agency said in late January, and an estimated 79 million U.S. adults — representing more than one-third of all adults in the country — have prediabetes.

GREENVILLE, S.C. — Bi-Lo has developed and launched its own nutritional tagging system that identifies healthful attributes in particular foods.

The retailer said the system features a wide range of categories established by Bi-Lo’s registered dietitian, Monica Amburn. Amburn said the system allows customers to create positive attitudes about healthy eating.

The tags highlight such benefits as "low sodium" or "an excellent source of vitamin C," as well as gluten-free and organic products.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The National Association of Chain Drug Stores and the National Community Pharmacists Association have expressed their support for H.R. 891, the Medication Therapy Management Benefits Act of 2011, as it would expand the pool of Medicare Part D beneficiaries who can qualify for the service provided by a licensed pharmacist to any patient with a chronic medical condition. Currently, only those patients suffering from multiple chronic conditions are eligible.

Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., and Mike Ross, D-Ark., introduced the bill.