Bobby Moore's son died following complications linked to his diabetes

[Northerner]

The diabetic son of football legend Bobby Moore died after collapsing from a life-threatening complication of the disease, an inquest heard today.
Dean Moore, 43, a recovering alcoholic, was found lying on the living room floor of his Notting Hill support centre by a care worker after his worried mother Tina - the football legend's wife - was unable to contact him on July 27 this year.
Next to him were inhalers, a packet of pain-killers and a 'significant amount' of medication including insulin and insulin-delivery systems.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ations-linked-diabetes.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

They have missed the fact that you get ketones from not having enough insulin, not 'not enough glucose'

 

[mcdonagh47]

They have missed the fact that you get ketones from not having enough insulin, not 'not enough glucose'

Surely the statement is correct ? Ketones are a second class fuel made from fatty acids when there is not enough glucose - isn't that the whole basis of Ketotic diets like Atkins ?

 

[Northerner]

Surely the statement is correct ? Ketones are a second class fuel made from fatty acids when there is not enough glucose - isn't that the whole basis of Ketotic diets like Atkins ?

Not in the case of diabetic ketoacidosis - there is plenty of glucose (high BG levels), but insufficient insulin to process it (or to help process the ketones out of the blood, which also requires insulin). So for an insulin-dependent diabetic it's misleading to say there was insufficient glucose, that would suggest low BG levels.

 

[FM001]

TBH the article is very misleading to someone who doesn't have diabetes, thought the Pathologist could have summed it up a lot better why insulin is essential when blood glucose starts to rise after eating. It could be that the Mail has missed out certain parts of the report which has caused the confusion.

 

[margie]

I think its just badly worded.

I think that when the phrase 'the body does not have enough glucose' is being used it is meant to indicate the glucose that the body is able to use is too low, rather than the actual blood glucose level. Whether even 5% of readers will pick this up is another matter.

I hope I have phrased that correctly it was hard to put the right words together.

 

[Copepod]

I'm sure the pathologist did explain accurately, and the explanation then was mangled by a Daily Mail journalist, who, on balance of probability, hasn't studied any science past age 16 years. It's not just anything technical about diabetes that is usually badly reported in the regular media, but anything scientific. While it seems acceptable to admit lack of knowledge or, or interest in, science among many people not working in science, I don't know any scientists who feel it acceptable not to be interested in arts, humanities etc. I particularly remember detailed and impassioned discussions of fine points of history, languages, word origins, music of many genres etc all in the canteens of various antarctic, ecological, medical and nutritional research institutions where I have worked.

 

[Northerner]

I'm sure the pathologist did explain accurately, and the explanation then was mangled by a Daily Mail journalist, who, on balance of probability, hasn't studied any science past age 16 years. It's not just anything technical about diabetes that is usually badly reported in the regular media, but anything scientific. While it seems acceptable to admit lack of knowledge or, or interest in, science among many people not working in science, I don't know any scientists who feel it acceptable not to be interested in arts, humanities etc. I particularly remember detailed and impassioned discussions of fine points of history, languages, word origins, music of many genres etc all in the canteens of various antarctic, ecological, medical and nutritional research institutions where I have worked.

Agree wholeheartedly! Bad Science by Ben Goldacre should be essential reading for everyone who ever sits down to read a newspaper report on anything even vaguely scientific 🙂

 

[Copepod]

Ben Goldacre's Bad Science column in The Guardian is one of the best reasons to read the paper online or on paper. He tends to concentrate on medical science issues, naturally, as that's his area of expertise, rather than other big topics, such as climate change, an area that I follow as an environmental scientist and with many friends working in Antarctic climate research.