Keeping up With Diabetes
Apr 12, 2016, 12:57 PM
I
f you are like me, I am deluged with articles and information regarding diabetes and its comorbidities. I try to read as much as possible but often find it difficult, if not impossible, to keep up.
These are a few of the articles that I thought pertinent over the past month. So, in case you missed it:
NCDBE: from NCBDE newsletter
Beginning in 2016, the CDE Examination is administered on an ongoing basis using a window of 90 days after approval of the application. Approved candidates must schedule an appointment and take the exam within that 90 day window on a date of their choosing. Applied Measurement Professionals, NCBDE’s professional testing agency, has multiple testing locations across the country where the Examination can be taken; trained proctors will be available to assist with the process.
Appointments are available on a first-come, first-served basis, so make plans soon after you are approved to provide you with the most flexibility. Visit goamp.com for more information.
TIME magazine:
“This invention could seriously change the management of type-1 diabetes”
Recently at the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting, Ed Damiano, a professor of biomedical engineering at Boston University announced that he has launched a company to bring the bionic pancreas to market.
The bionic pancreas (also referred to as the artificial pancreas), is being developed by a company called Beta Bionics. Recently, Eli Lilly, the company that manufactures the insulin used in the device, provided Beta Bionics $5 million for assistance in this project. “My goal is to bring this technology in a responsible and expeditious manner to as many people with diabetes as possible,” says Damiano.
The device, called the iLet, takes blood sugar readings every five minutes. Depending on blood-sugar levels, iLet releases insulin to bring the sugar down or glucagon to bring it back up, keeping blood sugar steady throughout the day.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA):
In a response to mounting evidence, the
FDA announced that metformin can be used safely in patients with mild and, in some cases, moderate kidney impairment after decades of warning against it. This means that a generic and therefore cheap effective agent for type 2 diabetes should be more widely available for use, as many patients with diabetes also have some form of renal impairment.
Metformin had previously been contraindicated for patients with renal disease or dysfunction, as suggested by serum creatinine levels at or above 1.5 mg/dL for men and 1.4 mg/dL for women or abnormal creatinine clearance.
The FDA now says that after reviewing a number of studies, it has concluded that this contraindication is no longer necessary for certain patients with reduced kidney function. The reason for the contraindication was that patients with reduced renal function are at higher risk of developing lactic acidosis, a very rare side effect associated use of metformin.
A recent committee led by Kasia Lipska, MD from Yale petitioned the FDA, that while lactic acidosis is a serious, and potentially life-threatening condition, it was indeed no more common in patients prescribed metformin.
AADE:
Early registration for AADE16 in San Diego ends April 22. The next price break, Advanced registration ends June 17. Register now for
significant savings!
About the Author
Barbara Walz is an RN, BSN and has been a certified diabetes educator since 1986. Since 2000, Barbara has coordinated a multi-site diabetes study examining the macro-vascular effects of diabetes at the South Texas Veterans’ Healthcare System under the supervision of Dr. Ralph DeFronzo.