Reports of deaths and serious liver damage caused by the diabetes drug Rezulin, a panel of scientific experts today recommended that the Government place stricter limits on the use of the drug, and urged that patients take it only when other therapies have failed. In a series of votes, the committee stopped short of recommending that the drug be withdrawn from the market, as some consumer safety advocates had urged

MY UNCLE had both legs amputated by the time he was 42. At 50, he was dead from the complications of diabetes. An embolism, the doctor said. A blood clot traveled through his body, blocking the circulation to his lungs. Then, there was the brother of my daughter’s best friend, a juvenile diabetic, who at 19 went into a diabetic coma while driving his car. Doctors said he was killed instantly when he hit the telephone pole.

FUND-RAISERS HIT THE ROAD IN WALK TO CURE DIABETES WORCESTER-Ten-year-old John D. Easson was diagnosed with diabetes when he was 2 1/2 years old and has taken insulin shots three times a day ever since. John wasn’t born with diabetes, but while still a toddler developed unmistakable signs of the disease, including extreme thirst, constant urination and irritability. Tests and a five-day stay in University of Massachusetts Hospital confirmed the presence of the illness. John’s father, David D. Easson of……   .

KNIGHT RIDING MIDNIGHT TRAIN TO SPREAD WORD ON DIABETES Gladys Knight has a story she wants the country to hear. It’s about family, a disease called Type 2 diabetes that runs in families, and her own advice after living with the impact of the disease on her mother, brother and cousin. “This is a serious disease, ” says Knight, singer, actress and author. “There’s so much more people can do. If people are aware, they can keep this under control. ‘

SPECTER OF DIABETES RESEARCHERS SEEK KEY TO PREVENTING POTENTIALLY DISFIGURING DISEASE The telltale sugar levels the test revealed in Vicente Serrano’s blood brought back a ghastly memory for him: His grandmother lost both legs to diabetes. “My mother had diabetes, ” says Serrano. “My older brother has diabetes. My youngest brother is insulin-dependent. But my grandmother. . . ” He shudders. “I got suspicious about my condition. ” Serrano, 65, doesn’t have diabetes.