BOSTON -- On the HealthBeat Wrap, NewsCenter 5's Liz Brunner had information for people who've had a heart attack, contact lenses that work best for people who are near-sighted, and a new way to detect diabetes before it develops.

Diabetes Detection

Resources Heart Attacks, Exercise Contact Lenses

Researchers at the Joslin Diabetes Center and Massachusetts General Hospital believe they have discovered a new way to detect diabetes before it develops.

Researchers used magnetic resonance imaging to look at mice, and were able to detect inflammation in the animals' pancreases -- a telltale sign that diabetes will develop.

Clinical trials on humans start soon.

"The goal is to image patients who are at higher risk of getting type 1 diabetes, and to see if we can image that inflammation and how we stop that inflammation through novel therapies," said Dr. Umar Mahmood, of Massachusetts General Hospital.

Contact Lenses

Authors of a new study say implantable contact lenses may be the best option for people with severe myopia, or nearsightedness.

Researchers looked at almost 300 patients with the lenses and 60 percent had 20-20 vision three years after implantation. Nearly 95 percent had 20-40 vision or better.

Less than 1 percent said they weren't satisfied with their implantable lenses.

Heart Attack Survivors

A new study suggested patients who participate in a cardiac rehabilitation exercise program after a heart attack dramatically reduce their risk of death.

Researchers looked at more than 1,800 heart attack survivors, and nearly half of those who died within three years did not participate in cardiac rehab.

The people who did participate had the same three-year survival rate as people the same age who never had a heart attack.

Unfortunately, doctors say, only about half of eligible heart attack patients ever participate in cardiac rehab programs.