Health Bulletin

FDA approves inhaled diabetes medication

People with type 1 or 2 diabetes now have a new means of getting their medication, with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)'s approval on recently of the first inhaled medicine for reducing the blood sugar.
The drug, Afrezza, is a new treatment option for patients with diabetes requiring mealtime insulin said in a news release by FDA.
However, the agency stressed that Afrezza should never substitute for long-acting insulin, and patients with type 1 diabetes must use the drug in combination with long-acting insulin.
Smokers should avoid Afrezza, as well, the agency said, and the drug is not to be used in the treatment of a condition called diabetic ketoacidosis. People with certain lung conditions like asthma and COPD should also not use Afrezza.
Afrezza is manufactured by MannKind Corporation of Danbury, Conn.

Brisk walking may help curb Parkinson's

People with Parkinson's disease who regularly walk for exercise may significantly improve their physical and mental function, a new study published in the journal Neurology finds.
Parkinson's is a motor system disorder that impairs a person's ability to control their muscle movements. Researchers said that the benefits of exercise that apply to a normal, healthy person are even greater in Parkinson's disease because it also affects the symptoms of the disease.
A person with Parkinson's will get all the benefits that a normal, healthy person does, plus it will modify the symptoms of their disease.