Category: Endocrinology and Metabolism
A New Stem Cell Treatment for Type 1 Diabetes Shows Early Promise in 1 Patient
John Buse, MD, PhD Type 1 diabetes management is a lifelong job that can’t be eliminated by lifestyle changes or any currently available drugs or medical devices. Because there’s no cure and no simple way to treat this chronic disease, it’s easy to understand why people might get excited about an experimental stem cell therapy that appears to reverse the condition — even if it ha … Read more
InsideTraCS with Emily Pfaff, PhD
Emily Pfaff, PhD, MS Emily Pfaff, PhD, MS, assistant professor in the division of endocrinology and metabolism, is co-director of Informatics and Data Science at NC TraCS. She has a PhD in Health Informatics and a master’s in Information Science, both from UNC. Her primary expertise and research interests are in “computable phenotyping” and clinical data modeling in support of tr … Read more
Newsworthy from the Department of Medicine, Week of November 5 – 11
The below clickable headlines link directly to outside media outlets and feature Department of Medicine faculty during the past week, starting Friday, November 5, 2021. Laura Young, MD COVID-19 treatments are not vaccine replacements. Here’s why – Dr. David Wohl (ArcaMax Publishing) Is Type 2 Diabetes Ready for CGM? – Dr. Laura Young (The Journal of Healthcare Contracting) 10 gas … Read more
VCAG Project Set Out to Improve Glycemic Control at UNC Medical Center Now, the ‘Insulin Order’, a Subsequent Project, Is Expected to Change Practice Across UNC Health System
Morgan S. Jones, MD Changing practice takes time and careful consideration. Morgan Jones, MD, assistant professor in the division of endocrinology and metabolism, led the development and implementation of specialized diabetes inpatient consultative services in collaboration with multiple hospital services and departments. What started as a VCAG (Value Care Action Group) project i … Read more
Buse Explains Type 1.5 Diabetes
John Buse, MD, PhD Diabetes as we know it is typically organized into two neat categories: type 1 and type 2. In type 1 diabetes, antibodies from your own immune system destroy the cells which produce insulin. The disease starts suddenly and is usually diagnosed in children. Type 2 diabetes most often develops in adults as a result of insulin resistance (your cells don’t use the … Read more
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What’s Best for Diabetes After Metformin?
John Buse, MD Results of the five-year GRADE trial, designed to understand the best second-line agent for patients with type 2 diabetes already taking metformin, were reported at the virtual American Diabetes Association (ADA) 81st Scientific Sessions and published in Medscape Medical News. Researchers found the injectable drugs Lantus (glargine) and Victoza (liraglutide) outperf … Read more
Trial Results Show Two Medications Most Effective in Lowering Blood Glucose Levels in Type 2 Diabetes Patients
Sue Kirkman, MD Two medications, liraglutide and insulin, were better at keeping A1C (a measurement of average blood glucose) levels less than 7% in recent GRADE study. The UNC Diabetes Care Center, lead by site principal investigator Sue Kirkman, MD, professor of medicine, in the division of endocrinology and metabolism, was one of the 37 sites to be a part of this NIH-funded co … Read more
Department of Medicine Grants & Funding: June 1 – June 30, 2021
Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism Klara Klein, MD, PhD, received a physician-scientist award to cultivate her career as a translational clinician scientist. Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Resident Corey Ketchem, MD, received the Bondurant-Ehringhaus Award to support research with Evan Dellon, MD, MPH, on eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) and other esophageal dise … Read more
Two Medicine Scholars Named to Physician-Scientist Training Program
Klara Klein, MD, PhD, and Shetal Patel, MD, PhD Klara Klein, MD, PhD, a fellow in the division of endocrinology and metabolism, and Shetal Patel, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine in the division of oncology, have received physician-scientist awards to cultivate their careers as translational clinician scientists. As part of the Forward Together Strategic Plan, the UNC Sch … Read more
Geriatric Medicine Recognizes Endocrinology Faculty For Special Assistance in Telementoring Series
A recent UNC Center for Aging and Health workforce enhancement effort introduced speciality expertise from the division of endocrinology to Piedmont Health Services (PHS). Led by Marvin McBride, MD, MBA, Jennifer Hubbard, and Cristine Henage, EdD, in the division of geriatric medicine, “Diabetes Management for Older Adults Series for Piedmont Health Services” was one of several C … Read more
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UNC Researchers Lead Study of Diabetes Treatment of Severely Ill COVID-19 Patients
John Buse, MD, PhD Diabetes is one of the comorbidities most strongly associated with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the United States, and data from early in the pandemic suggested individuals with type 2 diabetes faced twice the risk of death from COVID-19, as well as a greater risk of requiring hospitalization and intensive care. Led by John Buse, MD, PhD, and A … Read more
Seven Autoimmune Diseases That Can Make You Gain or Lose Weight
Deepa Kirk, MD Deepa Kirk, MD, associate professor of medicine in the division of endocrinology and metabolism, explained autoimmune disease to Cosmopolitan magazine. “An autoimmune disease is any condition that causes your own immune system, which is designed to fend off foreign bodies, mistakenly attacks parts of your own body, said Kirk, medical director of the UNC Hospitals D … Read more