Focus on Diabetes

Over 40 children a day are diagnosed with type I diabetes in the United States. What are the clinical management issues pediatric practitioners face today? Joining host Dr. Mary Leuchars is Dr. H. Peter Chase, professor of pediatrics at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and past-executive and clinical director of the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes in Denver, Colorado. Their subject is type I diabetes in children, from U.S. population trends to keys in clinical recognition, counseling methods for patients and families, and recommendations for follow-up glucose management.

Almost a third of all type I and type II diabetics develop macular edema. Join host Dr. Bruce Bloom and his guest, ophthalmologist, researcher and vitreo-retinal surgeon Dr. Mary Elizabeth Hartnett, professor of opthamology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, as they discuss the etiology and treatment of diabetic macular edema.

Gastric bypass surgery has received significant attention as an up-and-coming treatment for type 2 diabetes. At the same time, we are also seeing the emergence of encouraging results from laparoscopic gastric banding surgery for patients with diabetes. Dr. John Dixon, associate professor of medicine and head of obesity research at Monash University Medical School in Melbourne, Australia, compares the efficacy of gastric banding surgery with gastric bypass as a treatment for diabetes. Further, some medical experts have been very critical of any form of surgery as a means to reverse lifestyle tendencies that often contribute to the onset of diabetes, including one's propensity to eat too much or an aversion to exercise. Dr. Dixon responds to this notion in this conversation with Dr. Mark Nolan Hill.

There is mounting evidence that surgery can be a key weapon against diabetes, improving glycemic control or sending the disease into remission entirely. As the scourge of diabetes continues across our country and abroad, safety and efficacy of surgery are two legitimate concerns. How does gastric banding surgery stack up against more traditional therapies for diabetes? What is the key mechanism behind gastric banding: does it reduce the patient's appetite or make the patient ill if they eat too much? Dr. John Dixon, associate professor of medicine and head of obesity research at Monash University Medical School in Melbourne, Australia, details his research team's work to assess the viability of gastric banding surgery. Dr. Mark Nolan Hill hosts.

We all know that exercise is crucial in the successful management of diabetes. But how do you actually get patients to do it? Certified diabetes educator Jeanne Diaz, certified diabetes educator and personal trainer, provides practical tips as she discusses diabetes fitness with host Dr. Leslie Lundt.

Glucose regulation is a complicated process governed by many different metabolic factors. Increasingly, we are realizing that even sleep has an important role to play. Host Dr. Leslie Lundt welcomes Dr. Kristen Knutson, whose research at the department of health studies at the University of Chicago focuses on the association between sleep and health, to discuss her work linking sleep duration and diabetes.