December 3, 2016 : Issue #862

• Implantable CGMS Submitted to FDA
• Non-nutritive Sweeteners Can Increase Insulin Resistance In Those Who Are Obese
• Is Swallowing Balloon Capsules the Answer to Weight Loss?
• Safety Alert: Lantus Overdose Tied to Confusing Vial Label
• How to Solve the Problem of Insulin Costs
  • Guest Article by David Kliff, Diabetic Investor
• How to Treat Hypoglycemia—as Quickly and Effectively as Possible
  • Tool for Your Practice by Sheri Colberg, Ph.D., FACSM

When I first met Steve Freed 22 years ago, it was because of my desire to get pharmacists involved with a nutritional multilevel marketing company. Although I was a pharmacist, I did not really have an interest or passion for diabetes like I do now. The company I was involved with had a mixed soluble fiber product to help with weight loss by making you feel fuller, and it even had patents for lowering serum cholesterol and glucose levels. I had started taking the product, and when Steve joined me, we used the product three times a day to lose over 150 pounds between us. The difficulty in maintaining this was the three times a day thing. I would constantly forget to mix the drink when I was at a restaurant or skipped a meal, and often I did not have time to wait the 15 minutes that the manufacturer recommended waiting before eating.

Now there is an easier long-lasting way to keep your patients full and eating less; to find out what we are talking about, be sure to click on item 3 to learn how balloons can be the answer.

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We can make a difference!

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Dave Joffe, Editor-in-chief

See item 4.

Do you feel that with our new president, changes to the Affordable Care Act will be:

1. Negative
2. Positive
3. Unsure

Follow the link to share your opinion and see what your colleagues think!

You have to love it when research studies come out and prove what you believed all along. I had this experience recently when a systematic review and meta-analysis (looking at the results from multiple studies simultaneously) e-published ahead of print in Emergency Medicine Journal in September 2016 (1) compared the speed of glucose tablets against dietary sugars for treating hypoglycemia in adults who had symptoms of being low. The dietary forms of sugar tested included sucrose (table sugar), fructose (fruit sugar), orange juice (containing fructose), jelly beans, Mentos, cornstarch hydrolysate, Skittles, and milk.

This injectable drug class focuses on the incretin system and leads to increased insulin secretion, decreased glucagon secretion, and slowed gastric emptying. One of its advantages is that its use can lead to weight loss:

1. GLP-1 receptor agonists
2. SGLT-2 Inhibitors
3. DPP-IV
4. Sulfonylureas

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

In a letter sent Thursday, Nov. 17th, Sanders and Representative Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) referred to a pattern in which prices for insulin sold by Eli Lilly, Sanofi, and Novo Nordisk often rose in tandem over several years. The lawmakers expressed concern that the drug companies may have been coordinating their pricing and, as a result, driving up the cost for millions of Americans, including both patients and taxpayers.  Their letter cited a recent analysis that found the cost of insulin more than tripled — from $231 to $736 a year per patient — between 2002 and 2013. Meanwhile, since 2009, the lawmakers pointed to 13 instances in which the prices of Sanofi and Novo Nordisk insulin brands rose in lockstep. They said Lilly did the same. The practice is known as shadow pricing.  The original insulin patent expired 75 years ago. Drug makers in general argue that they have to raise prices in order to give substantial rebates to pharmacy benefit managers, who are the middlemen that negotiate with health plans. Each company has stated that they set prices for the life-saving medicines independently.  — Bloomberg News Nov. 2016  (See comments from David Kliff –  Diabetic Investor – Item 4.)

Premarket Approval application submitted for Eversense® CGM system.

Sucralose may adversely affect glucose metabolism.

Two products approved by FDA will be available in 2017.

Mixup also reveals knowledge gaps in handling insulin.

David Kliff, of the Diabetes Investor newsletter, attempts to explain why the cost of insulin is so high and how to solve the problem.

Quote of the Week!

“You have to accept whatever comes and the only important thing is that you meet it with courage and with the best that you have to give.”

…Eleanor Roosevelt

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