Letter from the Editor, #771

Novo spent a lot of time on studies and research on liraglutide as a weight loss product. Saxenda was approved in December 2014, and they are starting to gain market traction. The question comes to mind — if you give a diabetes drug to an non- or pre-diabetes patient, do you prevent or delay the onset of the disease? Most of us would say "Yes" and when it comes to the GLP-1 analogs, we could also make a case for weight loss, decreased glucagon, and increased first phase insulin release. Now, research from Steno Diabetes Center in Gentofte, Denmark, shows exactly how GLP-1 affects pre-diabetes and why a DPP-4 inhibitor may not be the right choice.

This week’s Tool for Your Practice has some extra benefit for our patients. They think that we tell them about the complications of diabetes to scare them into doing what is right and, if they have no symptoms, they never take what we have to say seriously. You can help them find their own way to the reasons to prevent complications by having them use the My Health Advisor online risk calculator.

*****

Announcements: 

TCOYD Health Fair Conference, Santa Clara Convention Center, Santa Clara, California, Saturday, March 7, 2015

With a day packed full of education, motivational tools, one-on-one sessions, and workshops, the TCOYD health fair is a great way to get your patients to take better care of their health and themselves. TCOYD.com

dLifeTV.com: Sunday, March 8, 7PM ET