COVID-19’s New Diabetes Cases; Unrefrigerated Insulin Still Stable?

Following a November study finding that nearly 15% of hospitalized COVID-19 patients developed diabetes, healthcare providers are carefully watching for new cases. (Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism/The Philadelphia Inquirer)

A modified-release hydrocortisone therapy helped to improve morning and early afternoon biochemical control for adults with congenital adrenal hyperplasia in a phase III study. However, the trial missed its primary endpoint of change in 24-hour standard deviation score of androgen precursor 17-hydroxyprogesterone. (Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism)

Medicare Advantage patients with type 2 diabetes were less likely than commercially insured patients of similar age to be treated with newer classes of glucose-lowering drugs with GLP-1 receptor agonists and SGLT-2 inhibitors. (JAMA Network Open)

Insulin remained stable even after exposure to fluctuating temperatures, according to a new study. “These results can serve as a basis for changing diabetes management practices in low-resource settings, since patients won’t have to go to hospital every day for their insulin injections,” said study co-author Philippa Boulle, MBBS, of Médecins Sans Frontières Switzerland in a statement. (PLOS One)

An 18-year study in Britain found cancer to be the leading cause of death among those with with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. (The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology)

More than a quarter of patients on dialysis died from COVID-19 in a recent Canadian study of over 12,501 patients. (CMAJ)

A phase I study is now underway for an investigational, oral adrenocorticotropic hormone antagonist, CRN04894, aimed at the treatment of congenial adrenal hyperplasia and Cushing’s disease, Crinetics Pharmaceuticals announced.

Could zinc supplementation improve fertility in both men and women? (Reproductive Sciences)