‍Introduction

Welcome to the newly revamped MEDS eNews! New look, same valued content from leaders in the field. We hope you enjoy the new look!

This month we present Part 1 of a special segment called “5 Minutes With” that questions some of our foremost thought leaders. These key opinion leaders also serve as faculty for the upcoming MEDS Summer 2023, which is being held virtually from July 13 through 15. In the words of one faculty, David Doriguzzi, “MEDS 2023 is going to cover a wide variety of important endocrine topics that should give both primary care and endocrine specialty providers an amazing readiness to treat common and not-so-common disorders.” Register here.

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In this issue, thought leaders weigh in on the most helpful recent advance or new treatment option, and what’s on the horizon that promises to be impactful in advancing patient care, and valuable pearls from their upcoming MEDS Summer presentations.

In an upcoming Part 2, we will discuss the most challenging thing(s) to treat, since the care of our patients is often multifaceted, how they and their team approach multifaceted care to consolidate efforts and provide the most efficient treatment, and how, with care that is multidisciplinary, it can be a challenge to keep current on new advances, research and literature—and what they do to stay up to date across multiple clinical spectrums.

Read on for candid insights from these faculty.

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Save the Date! You can register for these online separately or save by purchasing as a bundle:

MEDS Summer 2023 Virtual—Join us online July 13-15, 2023 …

The latest advances in metabolic and endocrine diseases, from diabetes and thyroid and adrenal disorders to obesity…MEDS will get you current via panel discussions, Q&A, and case studies—We look forward to joining you online!

Click here for more info!

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MEDS Fall 2023—Join us on in person October 12-14, 2023 in Orlando, Florida…

• The best resource for the most up-to-date, clinically relevant information on treatment of diabetes, obesity, Cushing’s Syndrome, PCOS, osteoporosis, hypercalcemia, and thyroid disease, it’s a one-stop shop to get you up to speed with CME!
• Take home the cutting-edge knowledge and clinical breakthroughs that can make a lasting difference in your patients’ lives. 
• Click here to register and get info!

https://events.medscapelive.org/website/35587/home/

Thank you to these thought leaders featured in this issue for their continuing efforts to educate. Please contact me at colleen@cmhadvisors.com with comments or suggestions. Thanks for reading and look for Part 2 in an upcoming issue of MEDS eNews!—Colleen Hutchinson

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5 Minutes With… MEDS 2023 Faculty 

Faculty and participant affiliations can be found by clicking here.

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Can you share takeaways from your MEDS 2023 presentation topic(s)? (Agenda here: https://events.medscapelive.org/website/35586/agenda/)

Amy Butts: Inflated cost of medications has an effect on compliance. It is important for us as healthcare providers to be advocates for our patients. Keeping up to date with programs that are out there for cost reduction is imperative to improve quality care.

Davida Kruger: Type 1 Diabetes: Screening, Staging and Is that Type 1 Diabetes? I will talk about understanding the various stages of type 1 diabetes, new medication that can halt the development of type 1 diabetes, and as a clinician, when working with a patient, understanding if the patient has type 1 or type 2 diabetes.

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Lucia Novak: 1) Neuropathy - can only slow progression once it develops; 2) Prediabetes - we must screen anyone and everyone with risk factors frequently.

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Ashlyn Smith: The most important messages from the adrenal insufficiency lecture are the judicious use of testing while eliminating confounding factors. This eliminates unnecessary or duplicate testing, excessive worry, and misdiagnoses.

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Justine Herndon: My main takeaway - don't ignore those endocrine incidentalomas!

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David Doriguzzi: Guidelines covering the management of new onset type 2 diabetes have moved beyond “metformin first, other stuff later.”  We’ve learned that other medication classes such as the SGLT-2 inhibitors or GLP-1 receptor agonists can be viable first line therapies in appropriate patients. Furthermore, some these medications have been shown to carry benefits against cardiovascular, heart failure, and renal risk, making them great options for high-risk patients, independent of a need to reduce A1c. Lastly, patients with a higher starting A1c often need additional help getting to goal and starting with combination therapy may be necessary.

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What has been the most helpful recent advance or new treatment option in caring for your patients?

David Doriguzzi: New updates to treatment guidelines that include recent drug indication approvals for patients with diabetes, heart disease, and chronic kidney disease have helped to make diabetes management clearer.

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Davida Kruger: Hands down—continuous glucose monitoring in all patients with diabetes.

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Lucia Novak: The newer DM medication classes - they address abnormalities and risks beyond hyperglycemia and may be a critical piece with reducing/slowing the progression of DPN.

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Amy Butts: Technology has changed how we manage patients with type 2 diabetes with CGMs, insulin pumps, insulin smart pens, etc. Coverage continues to greatly improve, allowing greater access for our patients.

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Ashlyn Smith: The advent and advancement of telehealth has increased access to care, particularly in underserved populations who are at most risk of health disparities and gaps in care.

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Is there anything on the horizon that promises to be impactful in advancing patient care?

David Doriguzzi: Some new indications for drugs currently used for diabetes management may expand their use to allow patients with obesity to benefit from their weight-lowering features.

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Amy Butts: CGMs continue to reduce in size and improve in accuracy. This has changed the way we manage patients. When added to insulin pumps to allow for an AID (automated insulin delivery) system, this allows for much tighter glycemic control in our insulin dependent patients.

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Davida Kruger: We have new medications such as GLP1, SGLt2 inhibitors for people with type 2 diabetes, a new medication that can halt type 1 diabetes at stage 2, amazing CGM, and automated insulin pumps.

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Lucia Novak: The more we understand the other metabolic abnormalities associated with insulin resistance, the more we better understand their role in the development of DPN and hopefully will be able to develop treatments that will better address. One such hot topic is lipid management. Consistent associations have been found between plasma triglycerides/remnant lipoproteins and the risk of DPN. Post hoc and secondary analyses of clinical trials have found benefits of cholesterol reducing (statins and ezetimibe), triglyceride-reducing (fibrates), or lipid antioxidant (thioctic acid) therapies over the progression and severity of DPN - but we need lager RCT to test these findings.

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Ashlyn Smith: Pharmacogenomics hold significant promise to truly individualize therapy, reduce potential side effects, complications, and patient and provider frustration.  

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