American Diabetes Association’s 77th Scientific Sessions, San Diego, USA

American Diabetes Association’s 77th Scientific Sessions was held at San Diego, USA in June 2017. Dr Jothydev Kesavadev, Chairman & Managing Director of Jothydev’s Diabetes Research Centers (JDC) participated in the 5 day International Conference and presented three original research studies conducted at JDC.

One of the topics presented at the ADA Scientific Sessions which gained much acceptance was on the importance and impact of repeated diabetes education and training in improving the insulin injection practices. The study showed that a good majority of patients (75%) went wrong in at least 10 of the insulin injection techniques such as choosing the correct insulin injection sites, systematic rotation of injection sites, changing needles as recommended etc. When patients were given brief education sessions on insulin injection techniques, marked improvements were noted in their overall diabetes control [the 3-month average blood glucose (HbA1c) decreased by 15%, fasting blood glucose by 12% and post-meal glucose by 19%].

Another study presented at the conference revealed the benefits of a new type of Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) system, FreeStyle Libre Pro (FSLP). In contrast to the earlier devices, FSLP has several advanced features like- an extended sensor wear time, provides an in-depth glucose report, requires no patient interaction or finger-prick glucose testing for calibration, is totally pain-free and user-friendly. With the help of 14-day glucose reports obtained from FSLP, our diabetes care team was able to take appropriate treatment decisions in a more individualised manner. Almost all the 750 diabetes patients who availed this technology, shared positive experiences about using the device.

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is a common comorbidity associated with diabetes. For 45% of patients who receive dialysis therapy, diabetes is the primary cause of their kidney failure. This was the basis of another study that was presented at the conference. Here, we explored the possibility of using simple technologies along with our telemedicine program to sustain individualised lifestyle and metabolic targets, and thus to slow down the progression of CKD. Analysis of a 5-year data of 166 patients revealed that by appropriate medication changes, education and motivation through virtual consultations (follow-ups through phone calls and/or e-mails) the progression of CKD was successfully halted among majority of our patients.

The research team from JDC who participated in the studies consisted of, Dr Jothydev Kesavadev, Dr Arun Shankar, Dr Ashwin David Ashok, Ms Lakshmy Ramachandran, Ms Sunitha Jothydev, Ms Gopika Krishnan, Ms Neethu Annie Ajai and Ms Geethu Sanal.

More Pictures