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What’s New in Diabetes Management

Diabetes is one of the six critical health problems targeted in the federal government’s Initiative to Eliminate Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health. If you’re a nurse who is actively engaged in the battle to “close the diabetes gap,” here’s a roundup of some new diabetes management resources you may want to add to your arsenal.

• User-Friendly Glucose Monitor. The more easy-to-use, fast and painless a blood glucose monitoring system is, the more likely diabetic patients are to comply with their daily blood testing regimen. Roche Diagnostics’ new Accu-Chek Compact System is designed to provide extra convenience by integrating test strips directly into the glucometer, eliminating patients’ need to handle the strips or carry them in a separate container. The meter also features a streamlined, cell phone-like design that makes it easier to use in public places, such as at work or in an airport.

The Accu-Chek Compact System features an easy-to-load 17-strip cartridge that automates the strip handling process. The automated technology dispenses strips at the press of a button and calibrates the meter when the cartridge is loaded. Test results are delivered in approximately 15 seconds. Patients can also download the results into their computers via a separate Accu- Chek data management system. For more information, contact Roche Customer Care at (800) 858-8072 or visit www.accu-chek.com.

• First Insulin Analog Approved for Pump Therapy. The use of insulin infusion pump therapy has become increasingly popular with insulin-dependent diabetics because this technology more closely mimics the activity of the normal pancreas than conventional insulin delivery methods, such as injections. Pump therapy continuously delivers insulin to the body 24 hours a day and allows patients to program the rate of insulin delivery to simulate a natural biorhythm.

NovoLog (insulin aspart [rDNA origin] injection), manufactured by the Danish pharmaceutical firm Novo Nordisk, is the first—and currently the only-- rapid-acting insulin analog to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use with insulin pumps. Insulin analogs, a recently developed advance in insulin formulations, are particularly effective in controlling patients’ blood glucose levels after a meal and may help reduce the risk of post- prandial hypoglycemia. For more information about NovoLog, see the Web site www.novolog.com.

• Coming Soon—Affordable Generic Diabetes Drugs. Low-income and uninsured diabetes patients often face challenges in affording the medication they need to manage their disease. In January, however, the FDA granted approval to 11 generic drug manufacturers to market generic versions of the world’s top-selling diabetes medication, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company’s Glucophage© (metformin). The generic versions are expected to sell at an 80% discount from the brand-name drug.

Metformin is an oral medication used in the management of non-insulin- dependent diabetes. It reduces blood sugar levels by curbing production of glucose by the liver. Companies that have announced plans to bring generic metformin products to market in 2002 include Watson Pharmaceuticals, Ivax Corp., Alpharma Inc., Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Mylan Laboratories Inc., Barr Laboratories and Andrx Corp.