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The following reflects new findings and outcomes in medical research as presented at major medical meetings and published peer-reviewed medical journals. In this section members can view reports from important congresses as well as summaries of some recently published journal articles. Please let us know if you have a particular area of interest you would like to see covered. HEALTH ODYSSEY - Diabetes Management Circle Blood Glucose Self-Monitoring in Diabetes: Identifying and Dismantling Barriers to AdherenceMay 2010 Studies have long indicated that maintaining normal glucose levels in patients with diabetes is critical for the prevention of diabetes-related complications. Patients must take an active interest in their own care by following an all-in-one diabetes management plan, the foundation of which is self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG). There is considerable evidence that adherence to recommended frequencies of SMBG is far from optimal but a recent survey of patients on insulin therapy has (...) Read more... PRIORITY PRESS - 20th World Diabetes Congress (IDF 2009) The Role of Combination Therapies in Early, Intensive Treatment of Type 2 DiabetesMontreal, Quebec / October 18-22, 2009 Montreal - Evidence-based guidelines for the management of type 2 diabetes support the achievement and maintenance of A1C 1C and fasting plasma glucose concentrations over time and the development of complications from chronic hyperglycemia, constitutes a strong argument for intensive blood glucose control very early on in the disease process. “There is a nice correlation between the increasing glucose concentration and the risk of microvascular complications; and the risk association (...) Read more... PRIORITY PRESS - Primary Care Today New Pathways to Consistent Blood Glucose ControlToronto, Ontario / May 7-9, 2009 Toronto - Achieving and maintaining an ideal level of glycated hemoglobin (AIC) is a challenge for many patients with diabetes, given the progressive nature of beta-cell dysfunction. Increasingly aggressive therapy is typically required, but this raises the risk of hypoglycemia and may be associated with weight gain. New therapies that replicate the normal effect of gut hormones, or incretins, correct insulin and glucagon levels in a glucose-dependent manner and are unlikely to cause (...) Read more... MEDICAL FRONTIERS - 6th Annual ENETS Conference for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Neuroendocrine Tumor Disease Paradigm Shift in the Treatment of Well-differentiated Neuroendocrine TumoursGranada, Spain / March 5-7, 2009 Granada - The treatment of choice for primary neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) is surgery, but once metastatic disease occurs, options are limited. Management has generally focused on controlling symptoms using somatostatin analogues. Importantly, results from a phase III trial first presented at ASCO GI in January 2009 demonstrate solid evidence that underlying disease progression can now be slowed using the somatostatin analogue octreotide LAR, as confirmed here during the scientific (...) Read more... Based on the following article: Journal of Clinical Lipidology 2008;2(2):71-8. Testosterone Deficiency in Men: Identifying the RisksINTRODUCTION
30th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research Innovative Approaches to OsteoporosisMontreal, Quebec / September 12-16, 2008 Montreal - The burden of osteoporosis remains high despite the availability of numerous therapeutic options. Current therapies act by primarly inhibiting bone resorption or increasing bone formation. A novel agent described by speakers here increases bone strength by both types of activity and by preserving mineral distribution. In phase III studies, this agent has exhibited a potent ability to influence bone mineral density and reduce vertebral and nonvertebral fractures. Efficacy and (...) Read more... 30th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research Emerging Therapeutic Concepts in OsteoporosisMontreal, Quebec / September 12-16, 2008 Montreal - Numerous interrelated factors contribute to age-related bone loss and frailty. Existing therapies for osteoporosis take advantage of well-known mechanisms of bone resorption and formation, and many have undergone further refinement to enhance convenience and patient adherence. As explored here this week during the scientific sessions, expanding knowledge of bone biology has introduced novel therapeutic targets, many of which are now being investigated in preclinical and clinical (...) Read more... 68th Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association Anti-diabetes Therapy Acting on the Incretin System Associated with Improvement in ß-cell FunctionSan Francisco, California / June 6-10, 2008 San Francisco - In a series of recent studies on type 2 diabetes, it was suggested that treatment to improve incretin effect should be initiated early with the intention of slowing the disease process. Unlike sulfonylureas, which stimulate insulin secretion indiscriminately, some agents that promote meal-stimulated incretin activity have been shown to improve ß-cell function over time. In an otherwise progressive disease characterized by declining ß-cell function, this finding is highly (...) Read more... 28th Annual Conference of the Canadian Pain Society Management of Central Neuropathic Pain, Fibromyalgia and Chronic Allodynia: Examining Modulation of the Endocannabinoid SystemVictoria, British Columbia / May 27-30, 2008 Victoria - The discovery of the physiological functions of the endocannabinoid system in the central and peripheral nervous systems and peripheral organs has created opportunities to develop and study new treatment alternatives in a variety of pain states. At this year’s Canadian Pain Society conference, experts from the field of pain medicine presented new and updated findings on central neuropathic pain (CNP), fibromyalgia and chronic allodynia treated with an endocannabinoid system (...) Read more... 6th European Breast Cancer Conference Managing Endocrine-responsive, Early Breast CancerBerlin, Germany / April 15-19, 2008 Berlin - Experts here confirmed that determining endocrine responsiveness is of primary importance as a first approach to choosing systemic therapy for postmenopausal women with early breast cancer and estrogen receptor-positive tumour. This issue has grown in magnitude because present-day aromatase inhibitors (AIs) are adding significantly to treatment choices available after more than two decades of tamoxifen. Debate persists over the relative merits of AIs and the anti-estrogen tamoxifen (...) Read more... Based on the following published article: Clinical Interventions in Aging 2007;2(4):1-10. Clinical Impact of Age-related Testosterone Depletion and TherapyThe march of time brings about many alterations to the endocrine system, including a reduction in hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular function and a variable decrease in testosterone. Both total and bioavailable testosterone levels are affected; the latter exhibits a steeper decline. The effects of decreased testosterone tend to become clinically apparent in the sixth or seventh decades of life but sometimes appear as early as the fourth. The reduction has an impact not just on libido and (...) Read more... 15th International Meeting of the European Society of Gynecological Oncology Ovarian Cancer: Treatment Challenges and Decision-MakingBerlin, Germany / October 28-November 1, 2007 Berlin - Ovarian cancer remains the leading cause of death from gynecologic malignancies. Generally asymptomatic in its early stages, this disease is diagnosed in most women at advanced stages which correlate negatively with survival. While conventional first-line cisplatin/paclitaxel chemotherapy can induce some degree of remission in most advanced-stage ovarian cancer patients, the majority develop recurrence after a relatively short median time to progression. Pegylated liposomal (...) Read more... Update on Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Infant Development: Weighing the Evidence for ActionJune 2007 June 2007 - Within the medical community there is still considerable debate over whether a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids supports optimal neurodevelopment in the fetus. This debate has arisen largely because there remains a need for high-quality research to support the consumption of omega-3 either from seafood or from supplementation in pregnant and lactating women. The Australian government has set aside approximately $4 million to test the effect of omega-3 long-chain fatty acids on (...) Read more... 67th Annual Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association Research and Clinical Practice in Diabetes: Latest News on Dipeptidyl Peptidase IV InhibitionChicago, Illinois / June 22-26, 2007 Chicago - New medication classes are providing physicians with a broadened armamentarium in the battle against type 2 diabetes, according to leading investigators who presented their findings during the scientific sessions here this week. One such class, dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP IV) inhibitors, increases insulin sensitivity by impeding the action of DPP IV, an enzyme that facilitates the breakdown of peptides that in turn are important to the metabolism of glucose. Sitagliptin is (...) Read more... 67th Annual Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association The Impact of Inhaled Insulin on Glycemic ControlChicago, Illinois / June 22-26, 2007 Chicago - Glycemic control for patients with type 1 or 2 diabetes remains poor, despite robust evidence that tight control reduces the incidence of microvascular and macrovascular complications. Typically, hemoglobin A1c levels remain above target for several months before therapy is advanced. Patients in whom oral agents fail to adequately regulate glucose are candidates for insulin therapy or intensification of insulin if they are already on an insulin regimen in addition to their oral (...) Read more... 5th International Symposium on the Diabetic Foot Advances in Diabetic Foot Infection: Making Appropriate Treatment ChoicesNoordwijkerhout, The Netherlands / May 9-12, 2007 Noordwijkerhout - A worldwide epidemic of diabetes poses even greater challenges for clinicians than recently estimated, speakers emphasized here. Whereas epidemiologists in 2004 anticipated 250 million diabetic patients by 2025, that figure has already been reached. Because the peripheral nerves of patients with diabetes are damaged, they are prone to develop diabetic foot infections, mostly from trauma. Wounds are more likely to become infected because immune and circulatory systems are (...) Read more... 2nd International Congress on Prediabetes and the Metabolic Syndrome Managing Prediabetes: Lifestyle Changes and Novel Preventive InterventionsBarcelona, Spain / April 25-28, 2007 Barcelona - Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) is already a major health problem and it is expected to get worse in the coming years. Patients with T2DM have passed through a prediabetic state, defined as impaired fasting glucose or impaired glucose tolerance. Delegates at this year’s congress learned of possible interventions in individuals with prediabetes to prevent clinically manifest diabetes. Lifestyle interventions are and will remain the cornerstone of management of these individuals and (...) Read more... 7th European Congress on Clinical and Economic Aspects of Osteoporosis and Osteoarthritis (ECCEO 7) Improving and Extending Management of OsteoporosisPorto, Portugal / March 28-31, 2007 Porto - Like most diseases that affect older people, osteoporosis will become increasingly prevalent with future demographic shifts, experts reported here this week. Given that half of all postmenopausal women will experience fractures, the consequences in terms of increased morbidity and mortality could be dramatic. Fortunately, management of osteoporosis has been bolstered in recent years by the use of nitrogenous-containing bisphosphonates, which increase bone mineral density and so (...) Read more... 19th World Diabetes Congress Treating Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Through Incretin EnhancementCape Town, South Africa / December 3-7, 2006 INTRODUCTION
39th Annual Meeting and Scientific Exhibition of the American Society of Nephrology Managing Bone and Mineral Metabolism Disorders in Chronic Kidney DiseaseSan Diego, California / November 14-19, 2006 San Diego - Treatment of end-stage renal disease is challenging if physicians are to prevent the accompanying disorders in bone and mineral metabolism. Because adynamic bone disease is associated with increased vascular calcification risk, reducing calcium load may help attenuate progression of vascular calcification and its sequelae. Calcium-containing or not, most phosphate binders are associated with a substantial pill burden, making compliance difficult and by the same token affecting (...) Read more...
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