Isn't it amazing that even toddlers can operate computers and cell phones these days? Alex Merriam lives in Pleasanton, Texas. Alex is only two-years-old, but he helped save his dad's life recently. His father, William Merriam, has had type 1 diabetes since he was only four. Last Friday, William's blood sugar got dangerously low and and he fell unconscious in a chair. Alex was the only one in the house with him at the time.

Alex's mom, D'anna, was worried when she kept trying to call her husband. No one answered. In the end, aware that a hypoglycemic episode could have hit William, she had her father try calling too. Eventually, Alex - all of two-years-old, mind you - got the ringing cell phone out of his dad's bag and answered it. He told his grandpa that his dad was "asleep" and then hung up. Kids do the darndest things! The grandfather called back and, yet again, Alex picked up. This time the boy took the phone over to his father and it was clear that dad was not responding at all. Emergency services were alerted and an ambulance arrived not long after that.

After recovering, dad William said "It's nice he doesn't know what's wrong, but knew enough to tell the right person at the right time." Cute story.

A little something in the news the other day caught my eye: schools in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area of North Carolina have organized an informational meeting especially for families of diabetic pupils. The meeting was titled "Diabetes: Back to School Basics." Reports The Charlotte Observer, the idea is to prepare parents and children for the school-year, looking specifically at how diabetic kids should expect to deal with their condition during school hours, what parents can and cannot expect of school staff and so on.

Also included on the agenda was a chance for parents and kids to work on personalized care plans for while they're at school. The meeting is also a chance for everyone to meet the diabetes nurse who has just joined the Charlotte-Mecklenburg district. The nurse is trained in diabetes management and will be available to help kids and parents with educational materials and resources.

Here's to the powers-that-be at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. You can see there is a problem with so many diabetic kids in your schools, (The Observer says around four hundred kids in that school district are diabetic), and you are tackling it head-on. What I'm not clear on is what the schools' policy is on insulin-dependent type 1 kids who need shots during school hours. This has become so problematic of late, with schools concerned about liability issues in having staff assist with supervising/administering shots. But, nevertheless, this is a sign of the times and a good one. In fact, this is so good I'm wondering...why don't all schools do this?

As Bev observed in a post yesterday, California schools will now be required to ensure that diabetic kids get their medical needs met during school hours. Parents are relieved by the settlement, which was reached between the California Department of Education and two school districts (on one side) and four families with diabetic children, working in conjunction with the American Diabetes Association (ADA).

It's a thorny issue. If you require by law that kids be in school during specified hours, you'd better make darn sure you can meet their needs while they're there. As Michelle Ferry, mom of a seven-year-old boy with diabetes, observed "If I had a child in a wheelchair, they wouldn't expect me to come in and take them out of a wheelchair" as necessary throughout the school day. Michelle, you see, was required to drop everything and come running to the school when her son needed a shot because there was no one at the school willing/qualified/permitted to administer it.

While she has a point, you could also argue that helping a (developmentally normal) child in and out of a wheelchair doesn't require special training. Helping a child monitor and adjust his or her blood sugar level most certainly does. Understandably, school administrators were, and remain, concerned about legal liability. Teachers also have a right to be concerned.

A new study, a report of which has been published in Nature, has identified gene flaws that increase the risk for type 1 diabetes in children. By examining the genetic codes of thousands of children, some with and some without diabetes, as well as those of parents of diabetics, the researchers identified three changes on one specific gene present in those with diabetes. They then looked at 1600 additional diabetes patients' genetic codes and again found the very same marks, sometimes called "flavors" or "flaws." Two of these variations increase a person's odds of developing diabetes by fifty percent, say the researchers. However, the third seems to decrease risk for the disease.

Type 1, says lead author Hakon Hakonarson, is a complex genetic disorder "involving mutations in several genes acting in concert to predispose someone to the condition." Important? Very. Best case scenario: understanding how these genes operate is the kind of knowledge that could lead to a cure. At the very least, such knowledge could help medical caregivers identify at-risk children - a step that could eventually precede the standard diagnosis procedure as we know it today.

Click here for more details about this study.

What a "super" find! Even Superheroes Get Diabetes is the coolest diabetes-related book for children. Not corny. Not striving (in an obvious way) to be educational. Just a fun read that's witty and brought to life with the most beautiful comic book-style color illustrations. Truly, this is a book that any child, not just kids with diabetes, would enjoy.

So here's the premise: main character Kelvin is a boy obsessed with superheroes. One day Kelvin discovers he has diabetes, but the diagnosis comes complete with a huge surprise: Kelvin has superhero powers. (That's our hero pictured at right in full super-dude attire.) These powers include the gift of flight ("fly a betes") and Kelvin uses his new-found skills to help other diabetic kids. Along the way, fictional characters and readers alike get to share in a little wisdom about coming to terms with living with a chronic medical condition.

Even Superheroes Get Diabetes is written by Sue Ganz-Schmitt and illustrated by Micah Chambers-Goldberg. The book has its own website, where you can view some sample pages - you will be hooked! - and you can also link into an online store and purchase a copy ($15.95 before shipping). Or go to Amazon.com.

Thousands of pre-school age children are being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes as new figures show a dramatic rise over the past 20 years.

Between 1985 and 2004, the study conducted by Bristol University, has seen an increase in cases of type 1 diabetes in children under the age of 5 five times the previous average. Type 1 diabetes is an auto-immune disease in which the body fails to produce insulin or makes only a little. One of the theories leading to the rise in type 1 diabetes is due to infants being exposed to exorbitantly clean households. The researchers found that incidence in all children under 15 had doubled. But the incidence of type 1 diabetes in children under the age of five went from .2 cases per 1,000 to 1 case per thousand.

The hypothesis offered by Prof Bingley leads to a very good argument. He said, "the increase is too steep to be put down to genetic factors, so it must be due to changes in our environment. This could mean that we are being exposed to something new or that we have reduced exposure to something that was previously controlling our immune responses". Much like the denouement in a game of CLUE: perhaps it was Mr. Clean, with the mop, in the kitchen!

Parents of diabetic kids have lots to worry about, including how their children are cared for at school. Clearly parents, school administrators and lawmakers want clarification over who would deal with diabetes-related health problems that occur while children are at school. Here's an example from Utah: the state's lawmakers have just passed a law ruling that diabetic kids may take glucagon to school. The drug, available by prescription, could be stored in the child's backpack, school room or locker. The only requirement is that the parents of each child fill out a form for their child's school, stating exactly where the meds are kept in case the child should be unable to tell teachers/staff him or herself.

Just as important, the new law also states that students and their parents may request that schools appoint volunteers who could administer the hormone should a diabetic student experience hypoglycemia (dangerously low blood sugar levels). The volunteers would have to receive training on diabetes and hypoglycemia-related first aid. This means that children and teens are safeguarded in the event of a severe hypoglycemic episode, in which case they might not be able to administer the medication to themselves even if they are old enough and have been trained how to do it.

My only question is what about the volunteers? What if the appointed volunteer was unavailable when they were needed? Who would take over if there is no school nurse? (Often, there isn't one.) Wouldn't it be better to give all teachers a training session on kids and diabetes? Or would that be overkill?

The Duluth News Tribune is running a story about a support group for parents of Type 1 diabetic kids. The group has been going for seven years now and it usually involves the moms meeting at a restaurant once a month to chat, while the kids stay at home with dad. The parents say that while doctors are an essential part of the support equation, only other parents of diabetic children really know the practical ins and outs of caring for those kids.

Says member Shonda Peller, "I need them...They will be there for you 24/7." Peller adds, as an example of how tight knit the group has become, that when her diabetic daughter got her tonsils removed and her glucose levels went up, another mom came over with special shakes and other foods suitable for a diabetic kid with a very tender throat. At other times, all you need is the sympathetic ear of others who know what special responsibilities you bear. Says another mother Linda Klint, "Sometimes it's nice just to know you're not the only one in the world who has to get up at 3 a.m (to test)." It's awesome when people get together for mutual encouragement and friendship, isn't it?

Back in June I posted a blog about a Canadian family in which three out of four children have been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. That's unusual, to be sure. At the time, I wondered how many other families out there have had to deal with something like this. Well, there is at least one other one out there that turned up in a little Seattle Times local news item: The Watkins family of Bothell also consists of mom, dad and four kids and, again, three of the four have Type 1 diabetes. Daughter Austyn (now twenty-one) was diagnosed at age eleven. One year later, son Lucas (now seventeen) was also diagnosed at age ten. Later, son Jake (now eight) was diagnosed. The family's fourth child, Cole (eleven) so far shows no sign he's headed down the same path.

Mother Stephanie Watkins downplays the experience, saying it's just something you learn to manage day-by-day. "We don't feel sorry for ourselves. Everyone has something to cope with and this is ours. Taking care of diabetes has become natural, just like brushing our teeth." She even says there's been an up-side to the situation: "Our kids are good at math because they have to calculate their carbohydrates and insulin ratio." Wow, how about that for a great attitude? On the other hand, this is a mom who has been dealing with this for ten years. I guess you make your peace with it and become super-pragmatic.

Yesterday I posted a blog about a study showing that people first diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes at under twenty years of age stand to face extra-serious health consequences if they go on to develop kidney disease. In a similar vein, I now see in the news that yet another study shows one in five children and teens with diabetes are already exhibiting two or more risk factors for heart disease. Of that number, around fourteen percent have Type 1 diabetes. A very frightening ninety-two percent have Type 2 diabetes. The problem - surprise, surprise - is overweight and obesity in young Americans. Those most at risk are minorities, especially girls from minority communities. (See my previous blog for more on this topic.)

Think about it: all those kids are heading towards a future of dealing with heart disease. And they're not even adults yet. So sad, isn't it?

The study was carried out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health.

Sending diabetic kids to school can be a big source of anxiety for parents who worry that overworked teachers or school health workers will not supervise their child's health properly. It's also a lot of work for parents to determine all the medication-related odds and ends that kids need to tote with them to school each day. If you count yourself as one of these anxious parents, you may want to try out the ACCU-CHEK Back-to-School Tool Kit. I have not seen one myself, but they sound like they might be handy.

The kit, offered by ACCU-CHECK manufacturer Roche Diagnostics, can be ordered online at the ACCU-CHEK website. According to a press release by Roche, the kit contains information and tips on how to help kids deal with diabetes while at school. Also included: a personalized diabetes management plan that parents/students can give to the school to keep on file, a quick reference card to help identify signs of hypo/hyperglycemia, and a sports and exercise info tip sheet.

Baltimore researchers from Johns Hopkins University have concluded a study indicating that being short -- specifically having short legs and a low leg length-to-height ratio -- is linked to an increased type 2 diabetes and obesity risk in middle age. It all goes back to childhood nutrition, as short leg length translates into the lack of proper nutrition during the formative years of physical growth.

According to the researchers, "Insofar as adult stature is an indicator of development and growth during early life, the risk of obesity and diabetes in adulthood might begin to accrue before puberty." They recommend early intervention to improve childhood nutrition in diabetes prevention.

This is observational on my part, and not the result of any study, but I do not believe this will apply to type 1 diabetes. My father-in-law was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and he reached an adult height of 6-foot 4-inches. My sister-in-law was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and she reached an adult height of 6-foot. 

Mom and Dad's attitudes shape their kids' development, and this is also true when it comes to kids and diabetes, according to a new survey. My first thought when I read the headline "Parents' attitude impacts kids' diabetes control" was, oh, they probably found that kids whose parents encourage or expect them to take care of their own blood sugar probably do a better job at controlling their blood sugar than kids whose parents have lower expectations.

Prepare for a surprise! In fact, the opposite is true. The children who were perceived by their parents to be more capable in this role actually have poorer blood sugar control. Kids are still kids, say the researchers, based in Birmingham. They need guidance and supervision. They need their parents to take the lead in ensuring their diabetes is under control.

Even more interesting is that the researchers say they too were surprised by the results of their own study; that they had expected the reverse to be true--that kids would do better when their parents had the highest expectations of them. The researchers speculate that maybe the overly-confident parents use their upbeat attitude as a coping strategy.

It seems that not only is there a link between having diabetes and depression, but that that link extends to children as well. That's the word from researchers at Harvard Medical School who have conducted a study on the mental health of children and adolescents with Type 1 diabetes. The kids involved in the study have had diabetes for at an average of eight years. Each participant and his/her parents filled out questionnaires dealing with family issues, emotional states and so on.

The results have been published in the latest issue of Diabetes Care (June 2006). The conclusion? 15.2 percent of the kids had symptoms of depression and this was linked to having less than optimal control of blood sugar levels. The recommendation is that doctors try to get involved by paying closer attention to the emotional state of diabetic kids and their families.

Ha! I'm sorry, but it seems to me that doctors have so many responsibilities already and are always pressed for time. My first thought is that the best response would be the often-talked-about collaborative approach that many diabetes experts now recommend--this would give families a support network that might be more likely to pick up on depression and be able to coach families through it.