Chromium Study May Help Juvenile Diabetes Patients

[sherilakey]

Chromium study may help juvenile diabetes patients
by CAROLYN SUSMAN

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. _ Children's Hospital Los Angeles will conduct the first double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial to study the effects of chromium picolinate supplementation in overweight pediatric patients with poorly controlled type 1 diabetes.

Dr. Francine R. Kaufman, director of the Hospital's Comprehensive Childhood Diabetes Center, is the principal investigator in the seven-month study, to determine if adding 600 mcg of chromium as chromium picolinate to the daily diet of patients 12 to 18 years of age will improve blood glucose.

It is estimated one in 400 children, or up to 10 percent of the 13 million Americans diagnosed with diabetes, have type 1 diabetes, also known as juvenile diabetes.

The 30 study participants include female and male patients between the ages of 12 to 18 years with type 1 diabetes for more than one year with a body mass index (BMI) greater than the 85th percentile for age and gender. The primary outcome measure is HbA1c levels, which measures long-term glycemic control. Secondary outcome measures include blood glucose levels, body weight and BMI, along with cardiac risk factors.

More than 15 scientific studies support the safety and role of chromium in improving insulin function and glucose metabolism in people with type 2 diabetes. "There is strong scientific evidence to suggest that supplemental chromium picolinate may improve insulin sensitivity, blood glucose control, and cardiovascular risk factors in adults with type 2 diabetes," according to Kaufman, former president of the American Diabetes Association.

Chromium is an essential trace mineral critical to proper insulin function and necessary for carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolism.

Carolyn Susman writes for the Palm Beach Post. E-mail: carolyn_susman@pbpost.com
Cox News Service