ADA 2008: ACCORD trial reveals increased risk of death
June 8th 2008An intense glucose-lowering strategy in high-risk patients with type 2 diabetes was associated with an excess of mortality in the ACCORD (Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes) trial, the U.S. counterpart to the ADVANCE (Action in Diabetes and Vascular Disease: Preterax and Diamicron-MR Controlled Evaluation) study.
ADA 2008: Novel agents for glycemic control are under investigation
June 8th 2008Several novel classes of agents designed to treat hyperglycemia are under investigation. These agents were the subjects of a symposium here. One such novel class is the sodium glucose co-transporter (SGLT) type 2 inhibitors, which reduce glucose levels by increasing kidney excretion of glucose. The kidney plays an important role in the handling of glucose, said Robert R. Henry, MD, professor of medicine and chief of VA endocrinology and metabolism at the University of California, San Diego. SGLT-2 is expressed almost exclusively in the kidney. About 90% of glucose reabsorption by the kidney is mediated by SGLT-2 under normal circumstances.
ADA 2008: Putting weight loss into clinical practice
June 8th 2008Translating weight loss research into clinical programs is not easy. Too many clinical protocols exist in isolation, according to Donald Williamson, PhD, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, LA. The key gap is extending methods that contribute to weight loss into programs that maintain weight loss.
ADA 2008: Human factors make or break continuous glucose monitoring
June 7th 2008Real-time continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) can significantly improve glycemic control, but it will not help all patients. "Real-time CGM will add significantly to glucose management for some people, but not for all," said Irl Hirsch, MD, University of Washington, Seattle. "Human factors make all the difference between success and failure. Some patients will never figure it out. That?s why real-time control is so challenging.
ADA 2008: Pharmacologic options for painful diabetic neuropathy reviewed
June 7th 2008Good glycemic control is not sufficient to relieve painful diabetic neuropathy, necessitating investigation of other modalities to achieve analgesic efficacy. Dan Ziegler, MD, German Diabetes Clinic, German Diabetes Center, and professor of internal medicine, Leibniz Institute at the Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, provided an overview of pharmacologic treatments that have been explored for painful diabetic neuropathy and the success achieved with each.
ADA 2008: Progress is rapid in islet cell transplants
June 7th 2008Islet cell transplants are effective in both the short- and long-term in freeing patients with diabetes from insulin injections and have proven to be safe, said Bernhard J. Hering, MD. The use of embryonic pig pancreatic precursor tissue as the source of islets appears promising and would expand the number of transplant recipients, which is currently limited by number of potential donors.
ADA 2008: GLP-1 secretion: No acute affect on insulin
June 7th 2008Take another look at the popular hypothesis that suggests type 2 diabetes has an acute effect on the secretion of GLP-1 and that lower GLP-1 secretion has an acute effect on insulin. It doesn?t work that way, said Michael Nauck, MD, PhD, Diabeteszentrum Bad Lauterberg, Bad Lauterberg, Germany. Decreased GLP-1 secretion is not part of the pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes.
ADA 2008: Endothelial dysfunction in diabetes is marker, cause of complications
June 6th 2008Endothelial dysfunction is both a marker for and a cause of diabetic complications. Researchers are teasing out pathways that involve oxidative stress and endothelial dysfunction, said Per-Henrik Groop, MD, PhD, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland. The challenge is in finding drugs that show the same activity in vivo that they show in cell studies or animal models.
ADA 2008: ADVANCE: Intensive blood glucose control has renal benefits
June 6th 2008Intensive blood glucose control in patients with type 2 diabetes resulted in a significant reduction in the risk of microvascular complications compared with standard blood glucose control. This was driven by a reduction in the occurrence of nephropathy, in the Action in Diabetes and Vascular Disease: Preterax and Diamicron-MR Controlled Evaluation (ADVANCE) study.
Evidence suggests that treating periodontal disease can improve glycemic control
June 6th 2008Periodontal disease makes glycemic control more difficult in patients with type 2 diabetes, said George W. Taylor, DrPH, DMD, associate professor of dentistry, School of Dentistry and Public Health at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
ADA 2008: Greetings from the ADA in San Francisco
June 6th 2008The editorial teams in the Modern Medicine Primary Care Content Group, with content from our legacy brands ? Medical Economics, Drug Topics, Geriatrics, Formulary and Contemporary OB/Gyn ? will cover key medical meetings, bringing you breaking news, the latest research findings and reports from the general sessions.