Expert Blog
- Dr. Leahy’s comments are right-on target. Some further observations by another endocrinologist who can’t determine who the best patient for this new class of drugs will be:1. The advisory committee had problems with the bump in LDL-cholesterol. True, this is a surrogate, not a true “outcome” that will be determined in the CANVAS study. But do you recall the last time we had this debate with a diabetes drug?
Challenges of Accelerating Treatment to Get to Goal
Posted September 6, 2012 by Doron Schneider, MD, FACPDr. Doron Schneider, general internist, and Dr. Jack Leahy, endocrinologist, discuss intensifying therapy on a patient who is on two agents with A1C greater than 8.5.
The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly Part I: Why I’m not a Fan of the ADA/EASD’s 2012 Position Statement
Posted May 30, 2012 by John L. Leahy, MDThe highly awaited ADA/EASD statement on management of type 2 diabetes was published online April 19th, 2012.1 I feel like a curmudgeon,but as a general statement, I’m not a fan. In fact, I’m worried that at best it will have little impact, and at worst could be harmful.Diabetes Care Coordination in Patient-Centered Medical Homes
Posted April 26, 2012 by Kevin A. Peterson, MD, MPHThe patient centered medical home (PCMH) model has been considered a hallmark for high quality health care. Although the concept of coordinated care is fundamental to the principle of the PCMH, and although primary care teams are increasingly integrating patient- and family-centered approaches into their practice workflow for diabetes support,1 primary care physicians still need to develop a better understanding of how to coordinate population-based management of diabetes while maintaining a patient–centered approa
Beta Cell Failure: A Slippery Slope
Posted March 28, 2012 by John L. Leahy, MDIn the past decade or so, our attempts to define the "earliest” events in Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) have moved increasingly earlier. We’re considering even the years before what we now consider to be the “pre-diabetes” stage—that is, years considerably before there are any clinical signs or symptoms of disease.
Whose Diabetes Treatment Recommendations are Correct?
Posted March 8, 2012 by Irl B. Hirsch, MDPrimary care physicians are expected to be experts on dozens of different disease states despite the fact that each medical problem continues to evolve, with new understanding of the disease itself and its treatments. Frankly, I see this as a near impossible task since as an endocrinologist I can barely keep up with diabetes (in reality I can’t).Cinnamon: A Therapeutic Alternative?
Posted February 22, 2012 by Doron Schneider, MD, FACPAlternative medicine (also known as complementary medicine) has become a multibillion dollar industry. A subset of complementary medicine is dietary supplements–many of which may hold promise as adjuncts to more traditional therapies and treatments. The evidence basis for many of these ”therapies,” however, often remains immature and at best anecdotal in nature.At the same time interest amongst the public and traditional healthcare providers has increased in recent years, as have formal studies with increasing scientific rigor led by the NIH and other prominent aca