DIABETES

Walmart is launching its own brand of insulin for diabetes patients.

Every day, hundreds of diabetics have no choice but to have part of a leg or foot amputated. The good news is that The Save A Leg, Save A Life Foundation in Ponte Vedra is working hard to bring those numbers down and they just got a big donation. Next Science, a medical tech company based in Jacksonville, has just given the nonprofit a $300,000 product donation that’s really going to help. “We are determined to reduce lower leg amputations, leveraging all relationships and resources to make this happen,” Dr. Desmond Bell, executive director for The Save A Leg, Save A Life Foundation, said. In the U.S., these infections contribute to approximately 500,000 deaths each year and cost an estimated $94 billion to treat.

Safe to say, most people have heard of diabetes, the disease that affects the way your body regulates blood sugar, or glucose.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 84 million adults have pre-diabetes, or elevated blood sugar levels. Now, a recent study looks at how many children and young adults are impacted by pre-diabetes. The study looked at 2,606 U.S. adolescents (ages 12-18) and 3,180 U.S. adults (ages 19-34). Researchers also found young people who had pre-diabetes were also more likely to have elevated cholesterol, high blood pressure and obesity. Left unchecked, pre-diabetes can lead to type-two diabetes over time, which puts people at high risk for major health problems such as heart disease and stroke.