FDA approves Lizard-Spit Derived drug for Diabetes

[Ian David]

WASHINGTON - Type 2 diabetics got a new option to help control their blood sugar Friday, a drug derived from the saliva of the Gila monster — but one that must be injected twice a day.

The Food and Drug Administration approved Byetta, known chemically as exenatide, the first in a new class of medications for Type 2 diabetes — but for now, it's supposed to be used together with older diabetes drugs, not alone.

<snip>

Byetta is the first so-called "incretin mimetic," meaning it mimics action of a hormone called GLP-1 that's secreted by the gut to spur insulin production after a meal — but only when blood sugar is high.

That's important, noted FDA metabolic drugs chief Dr. David Orloff, because other diabetes drugs spur insulin secretion even if blood sugar already is low, leading to the risk of hypoglycemia.

More:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050429/ap_on_he_me/diabetes_drug;_ylt=AhmJNhOw3hiKuY2Fc2huCIOs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA2bXJyZDI0BHNlYwNobA--

Gila Monster:

[silverweb]

1. Fascinating!

Every weapon in the arsenal against diabetes is an important one.

There's also a company called Nektar Therapeutics that's working on inhalation delivery of insulin and other medications. What a wonderful day that will be when diabetics don't need to inject themselves several times a day.

[Ian David]

2. One diabetic I spoke to said he wouldn't use inhaled insulin

He says he enjoys sticking himself with needles.

I guess we all know people like that.

<snip>
S&M Couple Won't Stop Droning On About Their Fetishes."

The Onion reveals a double complexity beneath the surface: "S&M Couple Won't Stop Droning On About Their Fetishes." They tell all their friends of fondness for SM role playing and practices, which supposedly shows them to be adventurous and open-minded, but, The Onion reports, their friends find their constant return to this topic makes them just as boring and uptight as the "normals." Their real fetish, the woman's former roommate concludes, is talking about fetishes; that discourse (fetish talk?) is the target of the satire.

More:
http://courses.washington.edu/hypertxt/cgi-bin/12.228.185.206/html/contexts/satire3.html


http://www.theonion.com/search.php?q=fetishes

[silverweb]

3. *LOL*

Well, I guess it will still be nice to have the choice.

Gotta love The Onion!