“Seeing others suffer is too stressful”: Why people buy, trade, donate medications on the black market

December 6, 2019

Altruism and a lack of access and affordability are three reasons why people with chronic illnesses turn to the “black market” for medicines and supplies, new research shows. Scientists at University of Utah Health and University of Colorado ran surveys to understand why individuals look beyond pharmacies and medical equipment companies to meet essential needs. […]



Tiny Change Has Big Effects, Reverses Prediabetes in Mice

July 5, 2019

A small chemical change — shifting the position of two hydrogen atoms — makes the difference between mice that are healthy and mice with insulin resistance and fatty liver, major risk factors for diabetes and heart disease. Making the change prevented the onset of these symptoms in mice fed a high-fat diet and reversed prediabetes […]



Following Twitter Conversations Around Hacked Diabetes Tools to Manage Blood Sugar

September 11, 2018

The diabetes online community is leading grassroots efforts focused on accelerating the development, access and adoption of diabetes-related tools to manage the disease. Researchers at University of Utah Health examined the community’s online Twitter conversation to understand their thoughts concerning open source artificial pancreas (OpenAPS) technology. The results of this study are available online in […]



New App Motivates Type 2 Diabetes Patients to Be More Active

January 11, 2018

As the holidays draw to a close, 29 million Americans with type 2 diabetes had to navigate the minefield of treats, drinks, and dinners. Many patients have stepped up to meet the challenge of moderating their diet, but fewer embrace the benefits of physical activity in controlling their blood sugar. A research team led by […]



Researchers identify protein that plays key role in diabetic blindness

October 24, 2017

For millions of Americans, their world is dissolving into an unrecognizable blur. Diabetic retinopathy is an eye disease affecting one-third of the estimated 30 million Americans who struggle with diabetes. As the patients’ vision slowly fades, it never recovers and few treatments are available. Researchers at University of Utah Health have identified a protein (ARF6) […]



Snails’ speedy insulin

September 6, 2016

University of Utah researchers have found that the structure of an insulin molecule produced by predatory cone snails may be an improvement over current fast-acting therapeutic insulin. The finding suggests that the cone snail insulin, produced by the snails to stun their prey, could begin working in as few as five minutes, compared with 15 […]