diabetes

When you need to give yourself a whole new image, there's nothing like changing your name. Which may be why high fructose corn syrup, the scourge of dieticians and dieters everywhere, wants to rebrand itself "corn sugar." But there's one big obstacle: the sugar industry, which is going to court to protect its good name.

Pharmaceutical companies looking for fresh sources of profit are increasingly investing in a range of health care innovations that aren't drugs at all, from smartphone apps and educational websites to social media platforms and wireless devices, reports Ernst & Young.

Diabetes is a growing global scourge, but for Big Pharma it's more of a lifesaver -- and many drugmakers are cranking up their research efforts. After all, many existing drugs will soon be losing their patents, and diabetes could be a $55 billion market by 2019.

Abbott Laboratories is recalling roughly 359 million blood-sugar test strips for diabetics after the strips turned out to yield falsely low readings.

As many as one-third of American adults could develop diabetes in the next 40 years, according to a new analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The disease is also among the most expensive chronic illnesses to treat, and is considered one of the culprits in rising health care costs.

Diabetics who undergo weight-loss surgery have been found to need fewer medications and have lower health-care costs. Around 75 percent of obese patients with Type 2 diabetes were able to stop insulin and other blood-sugar controlling drugs within six months of bariatric surgery, according to a...

Soda and processed-food makers insist that all sugars are the same. Yet with studies linking fructose to obesity, diabetes and, most recently, pancreatic cancer, big brands are quietly backing away from using corn-based high-fructose sweetener. Could it eventually become another tobacco-like liability?

MannKind shares jumped about 10% in afternoon trading after the pharmaceutical company announced the Food and Drug Administration accepted its resubmission of its inhaled insulin, Afrezza. The FDA set a review date for Dec. 29.

GlaxoSmithKline diabetes drug Avandia has been found to have increased heart attack risk compared to similar medication. But a majority of the Food and Drug Administration's panel of outside experts have voted to keep the drug on the market -- though new restrictions are likely.

On Tuesday, the FDA will convene a panel of experts to discuss GlaxoSmithKline's type II diabetes drug Avandia. Once a blockbuster, sales of the drug have dropped by more than half since studies suggested it significantly increases risk for serious heart problems.