US ENDOCRINOLOGY – VOLUME 11 ISSUE 1 – SUMMER 2015

Welcome to the spring edition of EU Endocrinology, which features a diverse range of articles covering multiple topics in endocrinology. This issue begins with an article by Sandow et al. that provides an overview of bioequivalence studies of recombinant human insulin preparations, as well as considering the relevance of human insulin in the age of […]

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D), also referred to as insulin-dependent, childhood-onset, or juvenile diabetes, is an autoimmune disease that occurs when insulin-producing β cells in the pancreas are aberrantly targeted and destroyed by a person’s immune system, usually leading to an absolute insulin deficiency.1 A diagnosis of T1D is made when a patient has glycemic […]

There are two major forms of diabetes mellitus, type 1 (T1DM) and type 2 (T2DM), with the latter being the most common form, accounting for over 90 % of cases.1 Further, with the epidemic of obesity, T2DM can occur at any age, including children and adolescents,1 affecting nearly 30 million in the US and 400 […]

In 1971, Omran described the concept of epidemiologic transition to improve the understanding of patterns of disease in opposition of single disease epidemiology across the world and to provide better forecast and societal response to disease patterns.1 Although three main types of transition were described, including the classic transition experienced by most developed countries, the […]

The level of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C) has been equated with the rate of development of chronic diabetic vascular complications since the publication of the two classic intervention trials: the Diabetes Control and Complication Trial (DCCT) in patients with type 1 diabetes1 and the United KingdomProspective Diabetes Study (UKPDS) in patients with type 2 diabetes.2 This […]

It is widely accepted that diabetes self-management education (DSME) (and ongoing support) is an important component of care.1 Diabetes is a lifestyle disease that requires that the person living with the disease to make numerous daily decisions regarding food, activity, and medications. It also requires that the person be proficient in a number of self-care […]

Patient registries are essential in the management of diabetes.1,2 Numerous diabetes registries have been implemented3–5 in primary care populations, supporting the assessments of patient health, care delivery practices, primary prevention measures, and quality assessment. Patient registriesmay also be beneficial to specialist healthcare providers (HCPs) that primarily support referred patients who have longer treatment histories, more […]

From a neutral perspective, in today’s world, diabetes management should be a cakewalk. Advances in pathophysiology have provided a rational basis for choosing appropriate therapy. Developments in pharmacology have created a wide spectrum of drugs, drug combinations, delivery devices, and formulations to choose from. Improvements in diagnostics have allowed better screening and monitoring of diabetes, […]

Recent advances in high-throughput metagenomic sequencing have provided a substantial body of knowledge regarding the gut microbiome and its potential relationship to disease.1 Although the search for genetic explanations of chronic disease, such as diabetes and insulin resistance, continues, there exists growing interest in the epigenetic determinants of such conditions. The human genome consists of […]

Rationale for Development of a New Discipline Lifestyle medicine is a nascent discipline that has recently emerged as a systematized approach for management of chronic disease. The individual elements and skillsets that define lifestyle medicine are determined, in large part, by the primary contributors to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Unhealthful lifestyle behaviors are among the leading […]

Chronic kidney disease (CKD), a condition that affects up to a third of patients who have diabetes, is a major public health problem in the US.1 There is a high level of interindividual variability in the rate of CKD progression, and reasons for this variability are not completely understood. Presence of comorbid conditions, genetic predisposition, […]

Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) were introduced for the therapy of type 2 diabetes about 10 years ago, with exenatide the first drug in the class. Natural GLP-1 is secreted post-prandially by the L-cells of the intestine. It stimulates insulin secretion and inhibits glucagon secretion in a glucose-dependent manner. In addition to having direct […]

Atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of death in the West,1 and dyslipidemia is the major risk factor for atherosclerosis.2 The majority of CVD events would be more susceptible to prevention with effective management for prevention of dyslipidemia. Unfortunately, many patients who have high cardiovascular risk still have unfavourable lipid profiles.3 Because the […]

Cushing’s disease (CD) is a rare condition caused by an adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)-secreting pituitary adenoma. Chronic hypercortisolism is associated with the development of several morbidities that impair health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and contribute to an increased mortality rate.1–5 Obesity and metabolic alterations, hypertension and cardio-/ cerebrovascular complications, neuropsychiatric, muscle/skeletal, hypercoagulability/thromboembolism and immune consequences remain […]