13th edition – Friday, September 12, 2014

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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New diabetic retinopathy drug a step closer

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Diabetes cycling team saddle up for tour

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Charity hits out at ‘pre-diabetes’ scare

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Sanofi release children's diabetes app

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Picking cherries – Dr Partha Kar’s latest blog post

It was always the thin end of the wedge. The day one specialty was allowed to have the option of opting out of general medicine because they were 'special'. Anyone worth their salt knew what was coming... and low and behold... the leak on the dam gradually just kept getting bigger... and bigger... and inexorably we keep sliding, or even hurtling towards an inevitable conclusion.

History would suggest the cardiologists took the first plunge in spite of objections from others and that very day, whatever the reason, the camaraderie amongst physicians ended. One group was deigned to be more special than the others... they would have their own rota, their own service, their own cherry picked patients. Flip the coin and you actually see that also made sense for patients with cardiac problems, up and down the country, many hospitals have swashbuckling cardiology units, swanky, efficient, slick... let me even use a management speak for a second...Lean. Financially it made even more sense...in a world of PbR where every single catheter gets costed and put on a spreadsheet, the more stents you put in, the more profitable the unit became... the more the swagger of the cardiologists... they were the top dogs in town... and Frankenstein was born, the camaraderie was gone, the cherry pickers were in town. To read more, click here.

New ulcer 'preventing' device available on NHS

A liquid gel shoe insert that aims to prevent diabetes-related foot ulcers has been made available on prescription for the first time.

An average of 300 new foot ulcers are diagnosed every day and 120 people undergo an amputation each week – 80 per cent of which are preceded by a foot ulcer. to read more, click here.

New diabetic retinopathy drug a step closer

A new treatment for diabetic retinopathy has started being tested in people for the first time.

The trials of experimental drug KVD001 began this month, focussing on assessing the safety and tolerability of the drug in treating diabetic macular oedema, a particular type of retinopathy.

The trials are being conducted at the internationally acclaimed Beetham Eye Institute, with recruitment due to be gradually rolled out through five centres in the US.

Manufacturer KalVista, based in Hampshire, has been working with JDRF on the drug for a number of years.

Rachel Connor, Head of Research Communication at JDRF in the UK said: “So, we’re excited to see KVD001, a drug that we have helped Kalvista to develop, make it to the first phase of clinical testing. There is of course still a long way to go, but if this treatment works it will provide a new option for people who develop diabetic macular oedema.” To read more, click here.

Diabetes cycling team saddle up for tour

The first all-diabetes professional cycling team have been competing on British roads for the first time this month in the country’s leading race.

Team Novo Nordisk is taking part in The Tour of Britain between September 7 and 14 in a bid to help inspire, educate and empower the 3.2 million people affected by diabetes in the UK.

It is a global sports team with more than 100 cyclists, triathletes and runners who live with diabetes, spearheaded by the professional cycling team. This unique team of cyclists all have Type 1 diabetes, and manage their condition while training and competing in one of the toughest endurance sports. To read more, click here.

Charity hits out at ‘pre-diabetes’ scare

The “artificially created” medical condition pre-diabetes could be causing more harm than good, according to the InDependent Diabetes Trust (IDDT).

The recently conceived term ‘pre-diabetes’ refers to slightly increased glucose levels but not high enough for diabetes but leading medics say it is an “artificial category with virtually zero clinical relevance”.

The IDDT has been bombarded with calls from people concerned over being labelled as ‘pre-diabetic’, with healthcare professionals even prescribing blood sugar-lowering drugs for the “non condition”.

In a position statement on pre-diabetes released today, the charity said pre-diabetes was not a medical condition and using this term can do more harm than good. To read more, click here.

Sanofi release children's diabetes app

A new app to encourage children to learn more about how to live with diabetes has been launched.

Mission T1D by Sanofi Diabetes is aimed at children with Type 1 diabetes and their parents and carers.

The free game – available on Apple, android and PC devices – takes place in a school setting and features educational messages for primary school children. To read more, click here.

DIABETES DIGEST

Tweetchat seeks to address 'real world' challenges

People with diabetes are being invited to take part in a Tweetchat covering support, challenges and medicine.

Organised by Atlantis Healthcare and pharmaphorum, ‘Managing diabetes in the real world’ takes place on Thursday, September 18, between 4pm and 5pm using the hashtag #rwdiabetes.

The session will look at the challenges people face in managing their diabetes, with a particular focus on how they take their medicines. To read more, click here.

Loss of sensation in feet linked to cardiovascular disease

Loss of sensation in the feet in people with diabetes may be a predictor of cardiovascular events such as heart attack and strokes, research has shown.

A study by St George’s, University of London, carried out using information on over 13,000 patients with Type 2 diabetes in England, shows a lack of sensation in feet, which can be easily identified by GPs, may also indicate future heart and circulation problems. To read more, click here.

Audit credits Diabetes UK with footcare improvements

Diabetes UK’s Putting Feet First campaign has been credited by the latest National Diabetes Inpatient Audit (NaDIA) report as having led to more hospitals than ever having specialist footcare teams that can help prevent amputations.

According to the audit, the percentage of hospitals without one of these teams, which the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence says every hospital (providing emergency medical care) should have, has fallen from 41.7 per cent in 2011 to 28.2 per cent now. To read more, click here.

Couple in parachute jump for diabetes

A couple are going to jump out of a plane to raise money for Diabetes UK.

Soni Ghatt, a receptionist at the Leicester Diabetes Centre, and boyfriend Amit are planning to do the skydive on, or around, September 27.

DSC_3524Soni, who is from Leicester, said: “It started off as something we always wanted to do, either that or a bungee jump, and we decided to explore Google. We searched skydiving and it came up with all sorts, including a charity skydive." To read more, click here.