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Adeceptively simple exercise routine could significantly improve the health of people suffering from diabetes, a Canadian study suggests.

The key to its success is using two types of exercise, rather than just one.

The study found that diabetics who combined endurance exercises (such as brisk walking or jogging) with strength training (like weightlifting) saw their blood-sugar levels improve at twice the rate of those who only did one form of exercise.

People with Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease, either don't produce enough insulin or their bodies cannot use it effectively, a condition known as insulin resistance. Insulin is a hormone that plays a major role in moving glucose (sugar) from the bloodstream into the body's tissues, where it is needed for energy. As a result of insulin resistance, glucose levels build up in the bloodstream which, in turn, can lead to heart disease, blindness and kidney damage.

Doctors have long known that regular workouts help to control blood-sugar levels. But there was very little research on what exercises work best to manage the disease, which afflicts two million Canadians.

The new Canadian study, by researchers at the University of Calgary and the University of Ottawa, suggests that a combo approach appears to offer clear benefits.

Ron Sigal, who led the study, speculated that endurance (also known as aerobic) exercises combined with strength (resistance) training worked on muscles in different but complementary ways that led to an overall improvement in blood-sugar levels.

"It makes insulin work better and makes the muscle use more glucose," said Dr. Sigal of the University of Calgary.

Although the approach sounds easy, he cautioned diabetics who are in poor shape not to jump into a new exercise routine without first talking to their own doctors.

The study was published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Scar-free surgery

It is being hailed as the next big step toward the much-sought-after goal of scar-free surgery. This week, French doctors revealed they have removed a 30-year-old woman's gall bladder through her vagina, leaving her without any visible scars.

The surgical team, led by Jacques Marescaux at the University Louis Pasteur in Strasbourg, made an incision inside the woman's vagina. Surgical instruments, plus a tiny camera at the end of a flexible cable, were then inserted through the opening. By watching their actions on a TV monitor, the doctors were able to safely remove the diseased gall bladder.

The new form of surgery is called Natural Orifice Transluminal Endoscopic Surgery - or NOTES for short. The aim is to gain access to internal organs through natural openings in the body, such as the mouth, anus and vagina.

Doctors have already made big stride toward "scar-free" surgery. They routinely use laparoscopic surgery to remove gallbladders through small "key-hole" incisions in the abdomen.

By going through the vagina instead, doctors don't have to cut through the heavily muscled wall of the abdomen. That could also mean a speedier recovery.

In a report published in the journal Archives of Surgery, Dr. Marescaux said his patient recovered promptly and experienced no pain.

But will NOTES really take the surgical world by storm? Other doctors, especially in the United States, are already experimenting with the technique. Dr. Marescaux, however, acknowledged it is "time-consuming and difficult" to perform. The new gall bladder operation took three hours - about twice the time of laparoscopic removal through an abdominal cut.

Quicker cure for lazy eyes

There is no need for children with a "lazy eye" to wear a corrective eye patch all day long, according to the results of a new study. Just several hours might do the trick.

The medical name for the condition is amblyopia. Essentially, the vision in one eye does not develop properly during early childhood. (Sometimes, it is linked to misaligned or crossed eyes.) To strengthen the weak eye, doctors often recommend putting a patch over the good eye for up to 12 hours each day.

The new study, by researchers at City University in London, England, and McGill University in Montreal, found that kids aged 3 to 8 who wore a patch for three to six hours a day did just as well as those who donned one for the maximum 12 hours. And children under 4 made gains with even less than three hours of daily eye-patch use.

What's more, using a patch beyond 12 weeks did not result in additional improvement.

The study, published in the British Medical Journal, should come as good news to parents who struggle to get their children to wear eye patches. As the researchers point out, being forced to put on an eye patch in public "can cause considerable distress for both the child and family."

ptaylor@globeandmail.com