Technology & Therapeutics Focuses On Self-Monitoring Of Blood Glucose In Diabetes

Main Category: Diabetes
Also Included In: Medical Devices / Diagnostics;  Pregnancy / Obstetrics
Article Date: 30 May 2008 - 5:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   view / write opinions   rate article

Subjects with type 1 or type 2 diabetes who self-monitor their blood glucose levels more frequently and use the results to adjust treatment regimens can achieve improved glucose control, according to a collection of state-of-the-art reports that comprise a Special Supplement to the June 2008 issue (Volume 10, Supplement 1) of Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (http://www.liebertpub.com/). The supplement is available free online at http://www.liebertonline.com/dia

"Increased frequency of self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) has been shown to significantly improve glucose control. SMBG not only complements A1C results, it guides the patient for self-management of diabetes at home on a day-to-day basis," writes Editor-in-Chief, Satish K. Garg, MD, Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center, in a supplement overview.

Spanning the clinical, practical, and economic implications of SMBG, the supplement includes papers probing the technology behind state-of-the-art glucose meters and self-monitoring techniques, SMBG in pregnancy, and SMBG in the Asia-Pacific Region.

Shoba Subramanian, MD, and Irl Hirsch, MD, of the University of Washington, Seattle, review the evidence supporting frequent SMBG, recent advances in glucose meters and SMBG data processing and how it can be applied for more effective type 1 diabetes management, as well as the potential barriers to use of frequent SMBG that limit its applicability, in an article entitled, "The Utility and Recent Advances in Self-Monitoring of Blood Glucose in Type 1 Diabetes."

Focusing on type 2 diabetes, Nalinee Poolsup, PhD, from Silpakorn University, Nakhon-Pathom, Thailand, and Naeti Suksomboon, PharmD, PhD and Warisara Jiamsathit, MScPharm, from Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand, conclude that SMBG can yield a significant decrease in HbA1C levels in patients with type 2 diabetes when the results of SMBG are used to adjust therapeutic regimens. They describe the benefits of SMBG in "Systematic Review of the Benefits of Self-Monitoring of Blood Glucose on Glycemic Control in Type 2 Diabetes Patients."

In a forward-looking report entitled, "The Future of Self-Monitored Blood Glucose: Mean Blood Glucose Versus Glycosylated Hemoglobin," Roger Mazze, PhD, from the University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, emphasizes the importance of SMBG in monitoring diurnal glucose patterns, rather than relying solely on HbA1C or mean glucose levels, which can be misleading indicators of therapeutic efficacy.

----------------------------
Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
----------------------------

Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics is a peer-reviewed journal published bimonthly that covers new technology and new products for the treatment, monitoring, diagnosis, and prevention of diabetes and its complications. Technologies include noninvasive glucose monitoring, implantable continuous glucose sensors, novel routes of insulin administration, genetic engineering, the artificial pancreas, measures of long-term control, computer applications for case management, telemedicine, the Internet, and new medications. Tables of contents and a free sample issue may be viewed online at http://www.liebertpub.com/dia

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including, Thyroid, Metabolic Syndrome and Related Disorders, Obesity Management, and Journal of Aerosol Medicine and Pulmonary Drug Delivery. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 60 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available at http://www.liebertpub.com/

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. 140 Huguenot St., New Rochelle, NY 10801-5215 www.liebertpub.com Phone: (914) 740-2100 (800) M-LIEBERT Fax: (914) 740-2101

Source: Vicki Cohn
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc./Genetic Engineering News