February 11, 2017 : Issue #872

• CGM Will Change The Way We Treat Type 1 And Type 2 Diabetes
• Starting Insulin Earlier Can Limit Weight Gain for Type 2 Diabetes
• Pancreatic Cancer Sign: Rapid Deterioration of Diabetes Control
• New Hypertension Guidelines for Adults Age 60 and Older
• Once Again, Periodontitis Tied to Diabetes Complications
• Is Enteric Coated Aspirin Effective For Prevention of Strokes and Heart Attacks?

In 2006, I had the distinction of doing more education programs for the DIN network than anyone else in the program. Our publisher, Steve Freed, was also part of the more that 400 educators that delivered 1-hour programs to thousands of patients. This was a real change from the all-day classes that had been the stalwart of diabetes education. Over the past 10 years, the funding for these 1-hour programs has all but disappeared, and patients either are not getting education or reading things on the Internet that may be alternate truths. Now the value of short education classes and the Internet have been merged into the best solution for our patients. dMeetings is a new way to educate your diabetes patients that gives them the freedom to learn at their own pace from knowledgeable certified educators.

Just give them the web address and see if it works.

To learn how to get started with dMeetings, see our New Product item.

*****************************

We can make a difference!

*****************************

Dave Joffe, Editor-in-chief

Do you think dentists should do A1c tests for patients with periodontal disease, especially before surgery, then report the results to their patient’s primary care doctor? Follow the link to share your opinion!

This past Monday morning, privately held Intarcia Therapeutics announced the FDA has accepted the New Drug Application for the Medici system, a micropump that delivers exenatide. As we have seen from recent earning reports, the GLP-1 category continues to gain strength and is one of the few bright spots when it comes to diabetes therapy options. As we predicted, the category has grown with each improvement in delivery options. Byetta began this process with twice-daily injections. Victoza helped things along being a once-daily injection and now Trulicity, Bydureon and Tanzeum are moving it further into the mainstream with once-weekly injections. Medici has the potential to push the category even further as once inserted into the patient, it lasts for one year before having to be reinserted. Simply put, in the GLP-1 category, a patient has gone from 730 injections to 365 injections to 52 injections and now just one insertion. Keep in mind once Medici is inserted, the patient doesn’t have to do anything, THERE ARE NO INJECTIONS.  Check it out here.

Lilly’s Trulicity® (dulaglutide) label update will include use in combination with basal insulin for adults with type 2 diabetes.

dMeetings online diabetes self-management education curriculum offers a new way to educate  patients: five hours of DSME  content developed and delivered by Certified Diabetes Educators (CDEs) and focused on positive patient outcomes reduces health care costs and increases patient and employee productivity. The curriculum, approved for use in both accredited and non-accredited diabetes education programs, is delivered to  patients, anytime, anywhere and on the go. The online DSME/T curriculum has been approved by the AADE  and is delivered across 10 sessions, with each session being about 1/2 hour in length.  The curriculum is based and delivered according to the AADE 7 Self Care Behaviors.

The dMeetings web series can assist a full range of health care professionals in educational efforts: practitioners; family, and primary care practices; endocrinologists; health systems; pharmaceutical concerns; health plans; and corporate wellness programs. HCPs and organizations can administer diabetes education and easily track patient learning progress by knowing exactly what, when and how much they have learned and retained over time.

The series is designed to be easily provisioned to a practice or organization: it accommodates the branding of the organization, and is customizable to the unique approaches of each of their clients. A Learning Management System (LMS) is provisioned with the content allowing educators to track patient activities including progress and usage, quizzes and the ability to chat Q and A. One great feature that educators agree on is that it reduces the repetitive nature of delivering DSME education, allowing more time for personalized coaching and patient attention resulting in the ability to accommodate more patients.

To learn more about the dMeetings program, curriculum, and pricing options, or to schedule a demo, click here.

The United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study early results data suggested metformin conferred greater cardiovascular benefits to the overweight diabetes participants than dietary interventions alone. All of the following were observed for the metformin group EXCEPT:

A. A relative risk reduction for myocardial infarction of 39%.
B. A relative risk reduction for all-cause mortality of 36%.
C. A relative risk reduction for diabetes related death of 42%.
D. An overall mean A1c reduction of 1.5%.

Did you get it right? Follow the link to find out!

Researchers found that adults with type 2 diabetes who consumed at least three servings of fish per week had a 0.6 hazard ratio for myocardial infarction and 1.04 for stroke, compared with those who ate three or fewer servings of fish per month. The accumulated evidence supports an inverse association of fish consumption with cardiovascular disease and mortality, but data among patients with type 2 diabetes is sparse. This study aimed to assess fish consumption in relation to myocardial infarction (MI), stroke and mortality among individuals with type 2 diabetes.  Women and men with diagnosed type 2 diabetes (n = 2225; aged 45–84 years) were followed from 1998 through 2012. They identified 333 incident MI events, 321 incident stroke events and 771 deaths (154 with coronary heart disease [CHD] as underlying cause) during follow-up of up to 15 years. The multivariable HRs comparing >3 servings/week with ≤3 servings/month were 0.60 for MI and 1.04  for stroke. HRs for total mortality were lowest for moderate fish consumption of 1–<2 servings/week and 2–3 servings/week compared with ≤3 servings/month. The corresponding HRs for CHD-related mortality were 0.53; 95% CI, 0.32–0.90 and 0.75; 95% CI, 0.45–1.27.  Fish consumption was associated with lower MI incidence among individuals with type 2 diabetes, whereas no association was observed with stroke. The data further indicated an association with lower mortality, particularly for CHD-related deaths. These findings support the current general advice on regular fish consumption also in the high risk group of type 2 diabetes patients.

Let’s start off with what is in the pipeline.

Early initiation of therapy hoped to reduce long-term morbidity, mortality by getting to goal earlier; potentially alter the natural history of the disease.

At diagnosis and shortly thereafter, if their control deteriorates rapidly it could be a sign of asymptomatic pancreatic cancer.

Blood pressure recommendations have been swinging back and forth for a number of decades.

Adults with type 2 diabetes and microvascular complications have an increased risk for severe periodontitis compared with those without microvascular complications.

Commonly recommended aspirin is given to prevent irritation to the stomach.

Quote of the Week!

“Not everything that is faced can be changed until it is faced.”

…James Baldwin

Your Friends in Diabetes Care
Steve and Dave
Diabetes In Control
810 Bear Tavern Road Suite 102
Ewing, NJ, 08628
USA
www.diabetesincontrol.com