Pilot study shows that an SGLT-2 inhibitor doses of 5-mg and 10-mg were associated with significant reductions in blood glucose and total daily insulin dose…. Dapagliflozin is a member of the SGLT2 inhibitor class of diabetic medications indicated only for treatment of type 2 diabetes. Dapagliflozin helps reduce blood glucose …

There is some interesting research going on at the University of Missouri about high protein breakfasts that actually delivers a profound message for a reason to use the medication Cycloset. Researchers found that eating breakfast, particularly meals rich in protein, increases young adults’ levels of dopamine which may reduce food …

Typically when we diagnose a type 2 patient we start on the normal pathway of metformin and “diet and exercise” modifications. For many of our patients this regimen makes a significant improvement in their glucose levels and A1c values…. But for those patients who don’t improve, we are then forced …

We have added five totally new classes of non-insulin medications for the treatment of diabetes and so sometimes the reasons to even try insulin make no sense to many of us. However, when we identify patients that have severe cases of glucotoxicity and/or lipotoxicity we often find that they will …

Rudy Bilous, MD, FRCP Richard Donnelly, MD, PHD, FRCP, FRACP   Much of the impact of chronic diabetes results from the development of tissue complications, mainly microvascular (retinopathy, nephropathy and neuropathy) and macrovascular disease (atherosclerosis). Microangiopathy is characterized by progressive occlusion of the capillary lumen with subsequent impaired tissue perfusion, increased vascular …

In this week’s slide series, courtesy Dr. Stanley Schwartz, we review some of the basics of diabetes mellitus but this time from a cardiologist’s perspective, focusing in on the connections between diabetes and heart disease…. To download the complete set of these slides in PowerPoint (.ppt) format, just use this …

This past weekend I was in Lexington, Kentucky to visit my father and sisters. While I was there, I saw a commercial for a heart institute and they mentioned that heart disease was the number one killer in America today. I would have to agree that many people die of …

ACO Performance Measures and Results    Of the 32 original Pioneer ACO participants, nine dropped out after the first year and another four have dropped out for this year citing increased costs of care as a reason. While these plans had losses in the first year of as much as …

After two years, only 19 of original 32 CMS Pioneer ACO’s still participating. See this week’s Tool for Your Practice and Letter from the Editor.

Two years ago the Affordable Care Act brought about the beginning of ACO’s (accountable care organizations). These organizations were created to bring quality of care into play for patients and to reward the best care providers with financial incentives. CMS wanted to prove the value of these ACO’s and so …