Battling Diabetes

Today marks my last day at Battling Diabetes. I have some new adventures that are waiting for me!

First–many thanks to Hart, the DUDE, and to the other bloggers at the Hart Empire for making this journey so comfortable. Thank you to the readers for your comments and participation.

I have learned far more from this site than I could have imagined. With a family history of diabetes, I have taken to heart the education gleaned here and hope you have also.

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The current initiative of the International Diabetes Federation (a worldwide alliance of some 200 diabetic associations in more than 160 countries) is Children and Diabetes:

Diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases to affect children. It can strike children of any age, even toddlers and babies. If not detected early enough in a child, the disease can be fatal or result in serious brain damage. Yet diabetes in a child is often completely overlooked: it is often misdiagnosed as the flu or it is not diagnosed at all.

Every parent, school teacher, school nurse, doctor and anyone involved in the care of children should be familiar with the warning signs and alert to the diabetes threat.

The Diabetes Warning Signs

• Frequent urination
• Excessive thirst
• Increased hunger
• Weight loss
• Tiredness
• Lack of interest and concentration
• Blurred vision
• Vomiting and stomach pain (often mistaken as the flu)

*In children with type 2 diabetes these symptoms may be mild or absent.

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In 2006 the FDA approved the DexCom STS Continuing Glucose Monitoring System for monitoring the blood glucose levels of diabetics over the age of 18.

Per the FDA guidelines, this prescription device is used to report glucose values every 5 minutes for up to 72 hours.

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New diabetic products are always fun to check out!

OneTouch UltraMini Meters!

• Purple Twilight
• Blue Comet
• Silver Moon
• Limelight
• Jet Black
• Pink Glow.

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The only trick to Halloween is how you are going to decipher manufacturer labels on candy products to make smart diabetes lifestyle choices.

When it comes to nutrition I’m constantly learning, just like you. Reading labels really is an important part of that education process.

Do you read labels? Here’s a few label reading pointers:

There are several important things I try to remember when I look at labels.

The first is that I better check out how many servings are in that candy bar my child brought home in his treat bag and I am about to consume in the closet with the light out. Sure it says 120 calories per serving, but if I look in the teeny tiny print, it also says two servings per bar. Two servings? Who eats half a candy bar?

Most labels are based on the daily nutritional value of a person who is on a 2000 or 2,500 calorie diet. Again my incredulity radar goes off. Who eats a 2,000 calorie diet? The Weight Loss Center says a 2000 calorie diet is appropriate for a large man. Terrific. So when I read that I am consuming 31 grams of carbohydrates and it is only 10% of my recommended daily nutritional intake of carbohydrates…I need to remember that they are talking to a large man on a 2000 calorie diet.

Sound complex and confusing. It can be.

Here are a few sites to help unscramble the American food labeling system.

• From the FDA: How to Understand and Use the Nutrition Facts Label
• RealAge: Food Labels
• Mayo Clinic: Nutrition Fact:Reading the Food Label
  

Reading Food Labels is available for purchase from the American Diabetes Online Store.

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Before we review what’s going on in diabetes clinical trials let’s review the basics of clinical trials for our new readers.

What is a clinical trial?

A clinical trial is scientific research involving people that studies the effects of a new medication, therapy or device to determine if it is safe and effective.

In the United States, clinical trials are monitored by the Food and Drug Administration.

The Phases of a Clinical Trial:

Phase I evaluates dosage parameters.

Phase II continues to evaluate safety and begins to study efficacy.

Phase III compares the new drug with standards of care or if there are none, a placebo.

Phase IV is used if the drug normally used as a standard is to be used for another condition or if the formulation is changed. This phase may also be used for extended studies on drug side effects.

Diabetes clinical trials may involve studies of prevention of diabetes or the treatment of diabetes.

Types of Diabetes Clinical Trials

• Action studies (doing something) - These focus on finding out whether actions people take, such as exercising more or quitting smoking, can prevent diabetes or their impact on current diabetics.
• Agent studies (taking something) - These studies examine whether taking certain medicines, vitamins or food supplements (or a combination) have an affect on preventing or treating diabetes.

Why Participate in a Clinical Trial?

People participate in clinical trials for many reasons including the opportunity to try new cutting edge therapies under the care of leading researchers and health care providers, and for the opportunity to contribute to research to help themselves and others.

Clinical trials do have side effects including the possible negative effect of the therapies and/or no effects at all and they can be more time consuming than originally anticipated.

If you are considering participating in a clinical trial not only is it important to explore all facets of the trials through informed consent, but it is important to determine the cost and funding of a clinical trial and how your insurance coverage or Medicare comes into play. While often the medication being tested is free, there may be additional costs such as lab tests and hospitalization which are not.

Get answers ahead of time.

In depth resources on clinical trials and registries for clinical trials:

ClinicalTrials.gov not only lists registries of current clinical trials in the U.S and other countries but breaks them down according to condition, drug, sponsor and location.

World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform. “The mission of the WHO Registry Platform is to ensure that a complete view of research is accessible to all those involved in health care decision making.”

CRISP, Computer Retrieval of Information on Scientific Projects. “A biomedical database system containing information on research projects and programs supported by the Dept. of Health and Human Services.”

Center Watch: Clinical Trials Listing Service. This site provides a notification services for new clinical trials.

American Diabetes Association provides basic information on clinical trials.

Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International lists current JDRF funded clinical studies and provides information on what phase those studies are currently in.

The Children With Diabetes site lists current clinical trials.

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